Aria's POV

The moment my eyes landed on her, my heart shattered into a million pieces. 

My knees buckled, but I grabbed the wall for support before I could collapse. 

It was truly her. 

Vivienne-the only woman Alpha Kael craved for. 

When did he find her? 

I knew he was desperately searching every nook and cranny for her, but I never realized he had already found her. 

Was that why he had been at the pack house for the past two weeks? 

Though three years had passed, nothing seemed to have changed about her. Her beauty that made men drool over her, her smile that could melt the most irate man-everything was still intact. 

Kael's hands rested on her hips, grabbing them possessively as though he was trying to show the whole world she was his. 

He smiled brightly, his eyes looking at her the way they had never stared at me before-not now, not ever. 

Truly, Vivienne was the only one that could make the almighty Alpha show his soft side. 

I watched him tickle her, and she burst into laughter. 

'Stop it, Kael..." Her giggle echoed through the walls as her hand playfully hit his chest. 

My stomach twisted in jealousy. 

Why couldn't that be me? I could have been the one seated on his lap and the one he tickled. 

It could have been me he looked at so lovingly-so obsessively. But it wasn't. 

I knew I was just a replacement. I knew I stole the spot that wasn't meant to be mine, but that wasn't my fault entirely. 

If he hadn't gotten drunk and forcefully had his way with me that night, whatever happened wouldn't have. So, why was I the only one taking the heat? Why couldn't he just forgive me and move on from the past? 

I am a human too and I deserved to be loved! 

"Baby," Kael called in a low voice, his hand moving away from her hip and sliding underneath her top. 

"I want you," he whispered, biting his lower lip seductively. 

"Hmm.." Vivienne moaned softly as his hand wandered lower.

"I'm all yours, my Alpha," she teased. 

In no time, their lips locked, moving in perfect sync as if the world around them didn't exist. Before I knew it, their clothes were scattered across the floor.

My breath hitched, my vision blurred as tears welled up in my eyes. 

I couldn't move-couldn't breathe. Though my heart bled, I couldn't look away. 

The way he touched her like she was something precious, the way he ran his hands through her body, the way he moaned her name as though it was sacred... he had never done that with me. 

A shaky breath escaped my lips, my grip on my bag tightened as I fought back the urge to burst into the room. 

I couldn't keep watching-not when every second felt like a knife was being twisted deeper into my heart. 

I turned around to leave. But just then, her voice came. 

"Kael," Vivienne called. 

"Yes, baby?" he replied. 

"I have a question for you."

"Babe, can the question wait? Let's finish what we started. Please," he begged. 

"Nope, it can't."

Kael groaned softly, his hand running through his hair. "Vivienne..."

"Answer me first," she insisted, her arms wrapped around her chest. 

"Fine. What is it?"

"Well, I have been hearing some rumors since I returned. So, I just want to get a confirmation from you."

"And what's that?"

"It's about your 'supposed' Luna," she laid emphasis on the word 'supposed', her voice dripping of sarcasm. 

His brows furrowed. "What about her?"

"I heard you both have been trying hard to conceive. Is that true?" 

There was a brief silence. 

Then his voice came. 

"Yes, it's true. Just that she has been the one trying and not we," he responded, rolling his eyes in disgust. 

A soft chuckle escaped Vivienne's lips. 

"She has been trying?" she smirked. "And has there been any success?"

The way they subjected me to an object of ridicule made my skin crawl. 

Kael let out a cruel laugh. 

"Success you say? You and I know she can never conceive. Not in this world, not in the next!"

My breath caught. 

What did I just hear? For a second, I thought I misheard. But then, Vivienne laughed-soft and mocking. 

"Poor thing. She doesn't even know she can never bear a child again?"

"Yeah. She has no idea. After what happened to her womb three years ago, her doctor friend already concluded she can never conceive again," Kael said without hesitation. 

The world spun around me. I felt the walls closing in on me. My grip on the wall tightened as dizziness washed over me. 

No, that couldn't be true. 

Lea never mentioned anything like that-not even once. 

"How did you manage to keep her little doctor friend quiet?" Vivienne asked, running her hand through his chest. 

"That was quite simple. I tossed some bundles of cash her way and threatened to exile her family from the city if she dared breathe a word."

Lea knew? 

"That was quite easy," she shrugged. "But what if she mysteriously gets pregnant again?"

"That's not possible."

"Just what if. What are you going to do?" she stared at him keenly. 

He shrugged.

"Well, the company that manufactures the drug we fed her back then hasn't gone into extinction. She will simply lose it like she lost the first..."

My mind went blank. 

The rest of his words faded into thin air. 

She will simply lose it like she lost the first-my mind replayed his words over and over. 

Drug? 

Didn't I lose my baby back then because of stress? That was what Lea told me. 

The drug we fed her...

A shaky breath escaped my lips, but I quickly clamped my hand over my mouth.

No...

That couldn't be true. 

That night-the pain I felt, the blood that gushed out of my body, it wasn't because my body was tired. 

It was them. 

Tears streamed down my cheeks, quiet sobs escaping my lips. 

My legs trembled violently, this time, not from heartbreak. But from rage, despair, and anguish. 

"You're cruel," Vivienne teased lightly, and Kael chuckled. 

"Only when it comes to things I don't want," he muttered. 

Things he didn't want? 

My child... his blood... was something he didn't want? 

At that moment, my body suddenly went rigid. It felt like a veil had been lifted from my eyes, and everything snapped back into focus.

My tears stopped and so did my trembling. 

For three years, I blamed myself for the death of my child. They made me guilt-trip myself for a crime they committed. 

And there they were, laughing over an incident that cost my child's life as if it were nothing. 

How ironic it was. The man I once looked at like he was my whole world, was the very person who turned it into ashes. 

My hand instinctively went to my belly, rubbing it protectively. 

They might have killed my first child, but this one, I would protect with every ounce of breath in me. 

I looked at them one last time, my hand curled into a fist. 

That smile on their faces, I vowed to turn it into sadness. Every tear I shed, every pain they made me feel, I would make sure they experience it a thousandfold. 

I was done being the obedient Luna who longed for his affection. 

For the first time, I accepted the truth. 

I was indeed his mistake. 

A mistake... that would burn his empire to the ground and watch the almighty Alpha Kael crumble.

Aria's POV.

I staggered down the stairs, my face pale like someone who life was slowly being drained out of. 

If I hadn't heard everything myself... if someone had told me, I wouldn't have believed Kael could do such a cruel thing.

"Luna..." Silas, who was standing at the end of the stairs, called, the rest of his words dying in his throat.

His eyes widened as he realized my heartbreaking state-my trembling hands, my unfocused gaze, and the tears I didn't even realize were still rolling down my cheeks.

I stopped midway down the stairway, my hand gripping the rail tightly as dizziness washed over me again.

"Are you alright, Luna?" his voice dripped with concern as he took a step toward me.

Alright?

Would any woman be alright after finding out her husband murdered her child... and was planning on doing it again?

"Silas," I called calmly, lifting my head slowly as my gaze locked with his.

"Yes, Luna."

"How long?" my voice shook. "Since when have they gotten back together?"

He stilled.

His lips parted open and then closed.

"Since when, Silas?" I asked again, this time, my voice was cold and eerie.

"Vivienne never left, Luna," he muttered, his gaze fell.

For a second... I stopped breathing.

The world tilted, and the words echoed in my head-not once, not twice.

She never left?

So, calling off the engagement three years ago was all a facade? His search for her, was it all a lie?

A hollow laughter escaped my lips, my tears flowing uncontrollably. I released the railing slowly and took the remaining steps down the stairs.

"Luna..." he called again, but I didn't answer. I walked past him but then I stopped.

"Silas."

"Yes, Luna."

"I was never here. You never saw me today. Do... you understand what I mean?"

Silas froze.

He stared at me keenly as though trying to figure out what was running through my head. He hesitated for a moment, but eventually gave in.

"Yes. Luna," he gave a small nod.

Good.

I turned around and walked out of the house.

No one needed to know I was there that day, just the same way they didn't need to know what would happen next.

"Zayden, we never came to be pack house today. Do you understand me?" I said as soon as I entered the car.

"Well noted, Luna."

"Are we going straight home or you need to stop by somewhere Luna?" he asked.

Home?

I needed some time alone-time to think and figure out the next step to take. If I wanted to keep my child safe, I needed to act fast.

"Take me to the beach," I concluded.

I spent hours at the beach, watching as the waves crash against the shore repeatedly. I wished the waves would just wash away my sadness, but no matter the number of times I stared at it, it didn't.

By the time I left the beach, the sun had fully settled. I headed home and when I arrived, darkness had taken over the sky.

I stepped into the mansion and all I could feel was tension. The maids were lined up, fidgeting.

"Welcome home, Luna," the head maid greeted me.

"Thank you, Ann. Is anything the problem? Why are you all here?"

Ann hesitated, her hand tightened around the hem of her apron.

"The thing is..." she trailed off, swallowing hard. "Dowager Luna instructed that we await your return."

Kael's mom?

"And why is that?" I asked, my brows furrowed.

"That's because dinner has not been prepared yet," Ann lowered her gaze.

Oh!

That actually skipped my mind.

For three years, I had been their maid in this house. 

Kael's mom and his siblings lived with us. 

They wouldn't eat the food the maids prepared. So, I was saddled with the responsibility of cooking for them, taking care of their laundry, cleaning after them and many more.

I was more of a maid in my own home than a Luna.

Sick or not, I woke up early to prepare breakfast, and I wasn't even allowed to eat with them on the same table.

I thought doing all this would earn me their love, but I was wrong. Even if I died for them, those people would never love me.

I left out a soft chuckle.

How stupid of me to have reduced myself to that and endured their humiliation for years.

That night was the night-the night to draw the line.

"I see," I calmly said.

"Ann."

"Yes, Luna."

"Prepare dinner."

Her head snapped up slightly, confusion flashing across her face.

"But Luna..."

"I said to prepare dinner. Do you want to defy my orders?"

"No, Luna. That's not it. It's just that Dowager Luna said..."

"That I must be the one to prepare it?" I cut in and she nodded her head.

"Then, she's not ready to eat. You know what? Tell her I said I am not cooking tonight. If she won't eat your food, let her go to bed on an empty stomach."

"Luna..." Ann's mouth fell open, her breath hitched.

"You can't tell her? Don't worry, I will do you the honor," I said, walking toward the dining room.

"Tonight," I whispered to myself, a small, cold smile tugging at my lips. "They will learn that I am the Luna, and not anyone's puppet."

The dining room was already filled when I walked in. Their eyes drifted toward me the moment I appeared.

"I heard you were looking for me, Dowager Luna," I said calmly, feigning ignorance.

"Where is dinner?" my mother-in-law demanded, her eyes burning with irritation. "Or have you suddenly forgotten your duties in this house?"

"Dinner?" I furrowed my brows. "Oh, my bad," I held my forehead, faking forgetfulness.

"I didn't cook."

The words fell softly, but they hit like thunder.

Her lips parted slightly, shock flickering across her face before it twisted into fury.

"You didn't cook?" she repeated, her voice rising.

"Yes, I didn't. I just came back from an outing, and I am too tired to cook. But I have already instructed Ann to prepare something for you guys," I said nonchalantly.

"Guys? Did you just call us guys?" Cassandra, Kael's little sister, asked, taken aback.

"Little child, learn to shut your mouth when elders are talking," I said, my eyes sharp, icy, and unwavering.

Cassandra froze. Her gaze faltered. She opened her mouth to talk back but closed it when she realized I meant business.

"You good for nothing whore!" my mother-in-law rose to her feet in rage, pointing her finger at me. "How dare you talk to my daughter like that?"

"How dare you, Aria? How dare you speak down on your sister-in-law?" my stupid brother-in-law, Jack, who had achieved nothing but failed businesses over the years said, also jerking to his feet.

"You dare call me a little child? It's time someone put you in your place!" Cassandra, who seemed to have regained her confidence, said, walking toward me.

She raised her hand to hit me. My fingers closed around her wrist. Time seemed to freeze... and then my palm met her cheek

Gasps filled the room. Cassandra staggered, losing her balance. But before she could collapse on the floor, Jack grabbed her.

Then his voice came.

"What the hell is going on here?" his voice roared from behind me.

I turned around, and there he was.

The almighty Alpha Kael.

Aria's POV

His presence filled the room, heavy and commanding. He stood firm and I could feel his fierce eyes burning into my skin.

Before, I would have shivered the moment I heard his voice, and my pulse would have hammered loudly in my ears. But not that night.

My shoulders were squared confidently, my spine was straight, and my gaze locked on him without a flicker of fear. Kael's presence pressed against the room, heavy and suffocating, but the tremor I once felt in his presence had vanished.

His eyes scanned the room, lingering on me longer than necessary.

"What the hell is going on?" His voice was low, controlled, and carried weight. His eyes were fixed on me, and it took me a moment to realize the question was directed at me.

"I don't know," I shrugged, my tone deliberately casual, my arms crossed over my chest.

His gaze faltered for a split second, surprise flashing across those sharp eyes of his before he covered it with the familiar mask of cold authority. Kael wasn't used to being answered so dismissively-especially not by me.

He took a step forward, his gaze not leaving mine. The tension in the room grew thicker, but I stood on my ground, refusing to lower my gaze.

"Kael..." Cassandra's cries broke through, making him halt in his steps.

Kael's eyes softened, concern washing over him.

"Cassy, what's wrong? What happened to your cheek?" He asked, observing her slightly bruised cheek.

"It's her. She slapped me," she muttered amid her fake sobs.

"She slapped you?" He uttered in disbelief, doubt clawing at him.

Anyone who heard I slapped Cassandra would have had the same expression on their face. I was the obedient dog who wagged its tail at its owner despite being hurt.

But not anymore.

"Is it true you slapped her?" Kael asked, his voice dangerously low as he turned to face me.

"Yes," I simply said, my tone flat and unapologetic. "I slapped her."

The words hit him like a punch to the face. His face hardened and his jaw tightened. Cassandra noticed that, and she increased the volume of her sobs dramatically.

I caught a faint flash of triumph in her teary eyes before she buried her face against Kael's shoulder.

"She not only slapped Cassandra, Kael, she even went as far as disrespecting me!" my mother-in-law added.

"What?"

"Yes, Kael. She refused to make dinner and when Mum tried to correct her, she rebelled by slapping Cassandra," Jack chipped in.

I smirked at how neatly they had interwoven their lies to make me look like the sinner.

"Is that what happened?" Kael asked, his voice low and controlled. He held my gaze, waiting.

"Will my explanation change anything?" I asked flatly. "You will believe them over me after all. So whatever they said is true. I did everything."

The words rolled out of my tongue like poison.

Kael's eyes narrowed, a flicker of irritation crossed his face.

"You..." he tried speaking, but for the first time, I cut him short.

"So, since we are all agreeing on the story tonight, let's make it complete," I tilted my head, locking eyes with them.

"I, Aria, the Luna of the Silverfang Pack, henceforth refuses to cook for this family. All household chores will be done by the maids," I coldly declared.

Silence enveloped the room.

Not the ordinary one, but the one that made everyone aware that something had shifted.

"What did you just say?" Kael's expression darkened, his chest heaved as he stared at me like he was seeing a stranger.

"You heard me," I met his gaze without hesitation.

"Says who?" His mum butted in.

"Says me, the Luna of the Silverfang Pack!" I blurted, my fist clenched by my side.

Cassandra's sobs quieted slightly, the Dowager Luna's body stiffened.

"You don't get to make decisions like that," Kael said, his tone sharpened.

I let out a soft chuckle.

"Really? And why is that?"

"Because I am the Alpha," his eyes narrowed, and the room held its breath for a moment.

"True," I nodded slowly. "You're the Alpha. But you seem to be forgetting something important."

I took a step closer to him, leaning in.

"That I am your wife, the Luna," I whispered, but my voice was audible enough for them to hear.

A flicker flashed through his eyes.

"And according to the Sovereign Codex, chapter seven, clause twelve," my voice steadied as I walked away from them.

"A Luna is not subjected to servitude within her own pack. She has equal authority to the Alpha within the pack domain," I paused, allowing my words to sink into their brains.

"Her duties are to the pack and not to the personal comfort of the Alpha's family. Any attempt to reduce her to a maid will be considered a direct violation of the pack law."

Silence.

The air became stiff.

No one dared to utter a word.

For the first time since I had known Kael, he looked shaken. His eyes searched mine-sharp, suspicious, and dangerous.

"You're overstepping your boundaries, Aria," he warned.

Aria?

For the first time in three years, he called me by my name.

Not 'hey' but 'Aria'.

A devilish smile curved up my lips.

"Am I? Or maybe I am stepping into something I should have all along."

Silence stretched between us, and then I turned away, dismissing them like they meant nothing.

"I've said all that needed to be discussed, and if any of you have an objection to my new rule, you can take it up with the Sovereign Codex."

"I think it's high time I called it a night," I said, grabbing my handbag and walking out of the dining room.

I paused briefly, turning around.

"Since you have all insisted on not eating the food prepared by the staff, I have done you a favor by ordering for you. Your orders should be here anytime soon. Do enjoy yourself."

I walked away. My steps slow and steady.

Behind me, I could feel it-a shift in power.

The beginning of something far more dangerous than they were prepared for.

I was no longer the Luna who used to cook for the family.

I was the Luna who would destroy them for killing my child.