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.”

I hadn't even processed her words before feeling a sharp sting across my face as his mother slapped me, sending me crashing to the floor. “I should have known it!” She yelled, while I sat there in a daze, my vision blurred with tears as my brain finally processed what was happening. The slap must have jolted it awake.

“Is this true?” I could hear the rage and disbelief in Kieran's voice, but what made my heart contract with pain was the relief in his voice. It was subtle, but it was there.

Then, I realized it. The only reason he kept me was because of my baby. The only thing keeping him and Selen apart was my baby, and now that there's a chance that barrier never even existed, he could finally be with the woman he truly cared about.

I didn't speak. I couldn't.

The moment I opened my mouth, I knew for certain hot tears would follow after. There was no point defending myself because they wouldn't believe me, and Selen even brought a document along with her.

I could get one from the hospital where I was treated, but they'd say I forged it. Even if I showed undeniable proof, they'd find a way to make sure I was painted the villain.

Someone grabbed my hair, yanking my head up. Kieran. His eyes were burning with hot fury, and my brain must have been messing with me because I could have sworn I saw a glimpse of hurt in his eyes.

“I'm talking to you, Lyanna, and I expect a fucking answer!” He said, and for a moment, I wondered if he'd believe me if I denied it till I heard his next words, “Why did you lie about your pregnancy?”

I let out a sigh, and I could hear exhaustion in my own voice. He wasn't asking if it was true or not, and why would I expect otherwise? Selene was the saint, and I was the devil trying to seperate them.

“I'm sorry for keeping it from you, Kieran,” Selene sniffed, and I would have rolled my eyes if not for how exhausted I was.

He released his hold on my head, shoving me aside roughly before rushing to Selene's side. I glanced at her to see tears streaming down her eyes. “When I found out, s-she threatened me using her position as Luna. I know I'm weak, but I told her I'd still tell you because I can't betray you. Even if it cost me my life, I'd never betray you.” The tears fell faster, her voice breaking.

“She promised she'd tell you, but I found out she was going to lie about losing her baby. To make you feel guilty, she was going to claim she lost the baby the night of the anniversary. So I found the doctor who diagnosed her and he confessed she paid him.”

“How could you be such a demon?” One of his friends asked.

Another scoffed, “I always knew you were evil, but to think you'd lie about being pregnant and try to make Kieran guilty over something that didn't exist.”

“She's not even saying anything. The nerve.”

“The truth is out. What can she say? What lies will she tell?”

Rage bubbled within me, blocking out their words. I hated them all—Kieran, Selene, His family, his friends, the doctor, and the world itself. But most of all, myself.

Of all the people I could have told about my child, I told Selene. I should have told Kieran immediately.

But what difference would that make?

It was my fault. I should have left when I had the chance but I didn't. And now… my baby wasn't just gone, but they're saying it never existed. I could feel the tears threatening to spill, but they couldn't see me break. I wouldn't let them.

Kieran's eyes locked with mine, and my body stiffened under the intensity of the murder in his eyes. Those eyes… my body trembled with fear.

What would he do to me?

Luckily, Selene kept being dramatic and when I was certain they were all occupied with her, I summoned all the strength I had as a Luna, and in a split second, I was outside the house.

The heavens must have been on my side because, at that exact moment, a taxi rolled down the street. I didn't think, I just ran, yanking the door open and throwing myself inside. “Hurry! To Ravenhollow Lane!” My words came fast, my heart beating wildly against my ribs. Fear coiled tight around my heart, squeezing, suffocating. I didn't dare look back.

Kieran had never laid his hands on me, but I'd seen what he did to enemies and rouges. And he always had that look in his eyes… the exact same one he had when he looked at me.

I was almost certain he'd torture me to death.

The taxi rolled to a stop at the mouth of Ravenhollow Lane, its engine humming softly in the silence. I paid the fare, hesitating for a moment before stepping out. Only then did I realize it was raining.

Just great!

My feet felt heavy, but I forced them forward towards my parents house, freezing when I saw them. Kieran's guards.

Shit! I immediately ducked behind the small fence. I expected they'd come looking for me, but not that fast. “Don’t worry,” I heard my mother say smoothly. "She’ll come back. And when she does, I’ll hand her over myself.”