LYANNA

The anniversary party was in full swing. Classical music blasted through the halls as guests in shimmering gowns and tailored suits clinked their glasses, exchanging pleasantries. The scent of fine wine and rare delicacies lingered in the air, but I couldn't touch any.

My eyes kept darting to the door. And each time the door opened, my heart leapt in anticipation only to sink again when it wasn't Kieran who walked in.

I was starting to get anxious. Two hours into our two-years marriage anniversary and he still hadn't showed up.

Did something happen?

Checking my phone, I saw he still hadn't seen the numerous messages I left him.

“The Alpha still isn't here?”

“It's been two hours and yet he hasn't showed up.”

“I heard he didn't agree to this party and it was all her idea.”

“How shameless! After forcing him to marry her, she's still forcing him to do things like this.”

“I feel so bad for Alpha Kieran.”

The gossips and glares increased, making anger simmer in my chest, but I didn't say anything or react to it. If I did, I'd be tagged the crazy, evil Luna. They knew nothing yet spoke as though they were present.

I was the one who refused to have the anniversary party because I wanted something simple between Kieran and I. But he insisted on it, saying it was a way to make up for missing the first one, yet he wasn't here. My eyes stung, tears pooling in them but I blinked them back.

I wouldn't let them see me break.

Just then, my phone dinged and I hurriedly checked it to see a message from Kieran:

“Lya, come home quickly. Please, I need you here right now. Hurry, something horrible might happen to me.”

I sprang from the chair and ran out of the hall, not caring that it'd only fuel the gossip and conspiracy theories. Kieran needed me.

The driver was nowhere in sight so I hailed a taxi. “Alpha’s mansion.” I told him, my fingers clenched into a fist as different scenarios ran through my head.

Please Kieran, be safe.

Just then, the sky darkened and it started raining heavily, a pungent smell following it. My breath hitched in my throat. Whenever a phenomenon like that occurred in the Bloodhound Pack, something terrible always occurred.

Kieran.

Just then, the car picked up its speed.

“Sir… you're going too fast.” I turned to the driver only to see his eyes shut. My face fell.

I'd been so occupied with my thoughts of Kieran that I hadn't perceived the scent of alcohol on him. It was masked with rose dew, a potion famous among cheats and drunks. But as the Luna, all I had to do was actually look at him to figure it out.

“Stop the car!” I yelled. My eyes darted to the road, and I instinctively wrapped my arms around my stomach just as the car rammed into a concrete barrier at full speed.

My body jerked forward so violently my seatbelt bit into my skin. The car rolled sideways, the tires screeching as we spun out of control.

A deafening crash rang in my ears as the car rolled. Once. Twice. Thrice. Each rotation slammed me against the seat, my head snapping back and my vision blurring.

Then it stopped.

“My baby… Help…” My voice was so low I could barely hear it. I felt a sharp pain in my stomach. Nothing could happen to my baby; I had to get help.

Just then, my phone rang.

The collision had sent it a few distance from the car. Groaning, I unbuckled my seatbelt and dropped onto the collapsed roof of the car, a scream ripping through my throat as pain shot through my back.

Glass sliced into my palms as I crawled forward, warm blood dripping down my face and blurring my vision as I reached for the phone.

“Kieran…” The flame of hope in me reignited when I saw the caller ID and answered the call.

“Where the fuck are you, Lya? I told you to hurry here and you still haven't arrived. What is wrong with you?” He barked.

Tears rolled down my face, mixing with the blood. “Kieran, I-” My voice was so low I doubt he heard me.

“Kieran, my leg hurts. When will she get here?” Everything stopped. All I could hear was the voice of Selen, Kieran’s childhood friend and mate who rejected him only to come back when we got married.

“Hey, hey… It'll be fine. She'll be here soon,” His voice was so soft, his tone filled with concern and care he stopped showing since we got married.

“Lya! Get the fuck here right now!” Before I could speak, he hung up and the phone slipped from my hand.

Then it dawned on me. He called me over for her.

My body went limp as the last of my strength drained away.

Just as my eyes fluttered close, I heard the sound of running footsteps.

And then. Darkness.

I woke to the beeping of a machine. Groaning, I sat up to see I was at a hospital. I looked around the luxurious room, blinking in confusion as I tried to recall how I got there.

Just then, I recalled the accident and the pain in my— My baby.

“Doctor!” I yelled and almost immediately, a nurse ran into the room, her eyes widening in shock when she saw me. “She's awake!” She yelled down the hallway.

“My baby… How is my baby?” I asked, my voice soft and hopeful. I got my answer when the nurse sighed and avoided my eyes. “No… no… my baby can't be gone. Tell me I'm right. Please.”

The doctor rushed into the room. “Calm down, ma'am.”

“My baby. Give me back my baby!” I yelled, thrashing around while they held me down. When I thought the whole world was against me, my baby came along, giving me hope. But now, it is gone.

I failed my child.

When I wouldn't stop thrashing around, the doctor injected me with a sedative and my eyes fluttered close. For two days, that was the pattern till I finally accepted my loss. It didn't make things any easier, but crying and making the doctor's life difficult wouldn't bring back my child either.

They didn't recognize me, which wasn't surprising since my parents and husband had always kept me a secret. Only those in the high echelons of the pack knew what I looked like, yet it didn't stop the hate towards me from spreading to even those who had never seen me.

The doctor told me a man who happened to be at the scene called an ambulance. Any later and I would have ended up like the driver—dead. The reason I was being treated in a VIP room was because the man paid for my stay at the VIP room for a week since that was the timeframe the doctors gave him.

He paid in cash and didn't leave any information so there was no way for them to locate him either.

My heart sank when it dawned on me that Kieran hadn't come for me. There was nothing about the Luna going missing either so he hadn't even looked for me.

I was gone for six days and yet… no one cared.

My fingers clenched into fists at my sides, tears rolling down my cheeks as I recalled the call with Kieran after my crash. To think he missed our anniversary because of Selen and made me rush over because of her leg injury which, knowing Selen, was something minor.

My heart contracted in pain.

I only had myself to blame. If I'd left Kieran earlier, I wouldn't have lost my baby, but I kept believing he'd change and become the man he was before we got married.

That belief was shattered the moment I lost my child.

After confirming I was fine, I was discharged and boarded a taxi to the Alpha's mansion, this time ensuring it wasn't a drunk driver. The moment I got out of the taxi, I saw Kieran's car pull into the driveway.

For a moment, I forgot my anger and hatred towards him till I saw him get out of the car with Selen, their arms linked as they talked and laughed, eyes filled with love for each other.

Instead of pain and hurt, my usual reaction to them, I was filled with a calm anger. Walking past them, I headed into the house.

“Lyanna?” Kieran’s voice was filled with shock and my ears must have been playing a trick on me because I could have sworn I heard concern in them, but it was Kieran. Concern towards me wasn't something he was capable of. “Lyanna. I'm talking to you!”

I felt my resolve crumbling so I bolted for our room.

The instant I locked the door, my legs gave out and I crumbled to the floor, silent tears spilling down my face. A sharp, aching sob tore through my chest, but no sound followed, just the hollow ache of everything I'd lost.

A long time passed and I didn't even hear him knock or come up to check on me. My dry lips spread into a small smile. I thought I meant too little to him, but it turned out I didn't mean anything at all and clearly, our baby didn't either. Else he would have searched for me… for us.

Exhausted from the journey back home and the relentless tears, I fell asleep in front of the door.

A loud, relentless knocking jolted me awake, each knock against the door sending fresh waves of pain through my skull. “Go away!” I yelled but the knocking only intensified.

All I wanted was peace and quiet, yet I couldn't even get that..

Standing to my feet, I exhaled slowly before opening the door, only to find it wasn't Kieran at the door but Selen, with a smug smile on her lips. My eyes darkened as I restrained the urge to rip her apart. “What do you want?”

She blinked in shock before scoffing and pushing past me, entering the room like it was hers. “Kieran is soooo angry right now and it's understandable. You disappeared with a man on your anniversary and only came back six—”

“I disappeared with a man?” I let out a dry chuckle. “Is that what you told him?”

She plopped down on the bed, crossing one leg over the other. Her emerald eyes bore into mine as she said, “Isn’t that the truth? You got into a taxi driven by a man. It's not my fault he assumed the man they talked about was your lover.”

It wasn't even surprising anymore. The pattern was always the same. She twisted the truth, or outright lied and he bought it. Even if the evidence of my innocence is something that could be gotten in a split second, he didn't bother because Selen’s words were always true. “I'm having a headache right now so get out.” My voice was calm, but the threat in it was unmistakable.

Her lips pursed together in annoyance. “I just came here to check on you and you're being this way. No wonder Kieran wants nothing to do with you. He didn't even hesitate to miss your anniversary when I asked him to.”

The last thread of my patience snapped and I stormed over to her, raising my hand high before bringing it down on her cheek. She snapped her head in my direction, eyes filled with fear and shock.

Without giving her a chance to react, I slapped her again. “Just know I'll never forgive you or Kieran for killing my baby.”

She was about to scream for Kieran but immediately went mute at my words. Her gaze fell to my stomach then back to my face. “Your baby… gone?”

At first, I thought she felt remorse till I saw the smile on her face. “Well. Good riddance.” Before I could respond, she skipped out of the room, laughing maniacally before stopping at the door and turning to me with an innocent smile. “Oh right. His family will be here in an hour so fix yourself up… not like it'd change anything.” She eyed me with disgust before slamming the door shut.

I stared at the door, unsure of how to react to her words.

At that moment, all I was filled with was anger and hate. Tears threatened to fall but I'd shed too much tears on them, and they weren't worth it. I had to make them regret what they did to me, but I wasn't sure how.

I couldn't even leave because I had nowhere to go.

My parents hated me and would never take me back. I didn't have friends or anyone I could turn to. If I left him, there was a high chance I'd be kicked out of the pack and I was too weak to survive as a rogue wolf.

I took breaths to calm myself, deciding to focus on the current important thing—the family dinner. Attending it would only cause me pain and make me remember just how much they hated me, but Kieran had locked me up for a week the one time I missed it. He'd do it again and I couldn't risk it.

I got dressed and kept the door locked, only coming down when a maid came to inform me of their arrival. As expected, the laughter quietened down the moment I stepped into the dining hall.

“I’d much rather be anywhere but here. Give the word and I'll leave.” I said, maintaining eye contact with Kieran whose mouth fell open in shock.

“The nerve of this whore!” His mother slammed her cup on the table.

“You’re the Luna yet you're sleeping around with men. Don't you feel ashamed?” My eyes fell on the one who spoke. It was one of Kieran's friends.

It was then I realized their little group of Selen and Kieran shippers were present. I really didn't have time for their nonsense.

“I didn't do anything so why should I feel ashamed?” I arched my brow before taking a seat at the end of the table, away from all of them. The tradition was for Kieran to first eat, but I immediately dug into my steak, ignoring the gasps around me.

“You- What is wrong with you!” Kieran yelled.

“What is wrong with you!” I slammed my hands on the table, eyes watering with tears. “My baby and I went missing for six whole days and you didn't even bother to search for us. Instead, you assume the taxi driver is my lover.”

Guilt flashed across his face and he opened his mouth to speak but one of his friends cut in. “Where’s Selen? She's never late.”

The guilt was replaced with immense worry. I watched as they all ignored me and began panicking over Selen’s absence. The dinner hadn't officially started and it hadn't been up to two hours since I last spoke to her yet they were already talking about sending out a search team.

I burst into laughter making them all turn to me, their faces a mix of anger, concern and confusion. “Do you even know what ha-”

“She's a liar!” Selen's voice cut me off. I turned to see her run past me towards Kieran. She handed him a file.

“What is this?” He asked, confusion written all over his face.

She played with her fingers before glancing at me, her gaze nervous with a hint of fear. Kieran's jaw tightened. “She can't do anything to you. Speak.”

In a low voice that was still loud enough so everyone could hear, she said, “She… she lied about her pregnancy. She faked it.”