I couldn’t believe the moon goddess actually listened to my prayers!
My eyesight was back, and I had been discharged from the hospital.
I had just been placed in a wheelchair by the maids and a white cane was sitting on my lap.
Rowan and Odessa strolled into the room, arm in arm, looking so bright and happy.
I just stared ahead, acting like I couldn’t see them.
"Cora, have you eaten?" Rowan asked, as he reached me. "I could feed you myself."
I had to hold myself from lashing out at him.
"I'm not hungry," I said, my voice flat.
"Very well, then," he said, his eyes never leaving my face. "But Odessa, my friend, came for a visit."
Friend indeed.
Odessa’s belly was really round and swollen like she would give birth any minute now.
As Rowan spoke, his hands snaked around her waist, his touch possessive and intimate.
I felt a stinging hurt at the sight but decided to ignore them, biting my lip.
Odessa smiled smugly. "Hi, Cora. Glad to see you're recuperating."
I nodded curtly, staring at the wall.
One of the maids burst into the room just then.
"I'm so sorry to interrupt, Sir Rowan, but a pack member is outside and needs your attention."
Rowan excused himself, his eyes lingering on me for a moment before he followed the maid out of the room.
As soon as Rowan was out of earshot, Odessa turned to me, her nose scrunched up.
"Ugh, I've been holding my breath ever since I walked in here. What's that terrible stench coming from you? Didn't you bathe very well or something?"
"I wouldn't stop bleeding after losing my pup," I said, striving to sound calm. "It's not my fault."
Odessa snickered, her eyes malicious.
"Oh, just shut up. How can someone like you even be Rowan's bride? You have no eyesight, you're healing slowly like a weak omega, you couldn't produce a heir, and on top of everything else, you're smelling like a corpse?"
Her words really cut me deep, and I had to push back the tears stinging my eyes.
"Why are you so bitter?" I asked, my voice tight.
She huffed and flipped her burgundy hair. "Just because I care about Rowan doesn't mean I should care about you too,"
Rowan came back into the room just then and Odessa immediately spoke softly to him.
"You should send for the maids to bathe Cora again. Maybe my nose is extra sensitive because of my pup, but I'm sorry to say, Cora smells very bad."
I was only bleeding nonstop and had the foul smell because of the incomplete abortion.
The solution was to go back to the hospital but I couldn’t request that. Else they’d know I already found out.
"So, Odessa is with child?" I asked, as if I didn’t already know.
Rowan's face lit up with a smile. "Yeah, she is,"
He had never been this excited about our child.
Rowan continued, his voice soft and gentle. "Cora, honey, your personal maid Eliana would be here to come give you a bath and change you. I need to get ready."
I gave a stiff nod. "You need to get ready for what?"
"There's an important pack meeting in an hour, and I have to be there on your behalf. Since you're not in the position to go."
"No," I shook my head. "If there's a pack meeting, as the next Alpha, I'm supposed to be present."
"That's crazy, Cora," he said in a firm voice. "You're not even close to recovering yet. You need to rest. I'll personally let you know all the details of the meeting."
Oh if only I could reach out and claw at him, punch him, anything.
"I'll see you later," he said finally, before turning to Odessa holding her hand.
I watched as they left the room together, my heart breaking into a million pieces.
A few minutes later, I got up from my wheelchair, abandoning my cane. I had to see what they were up to.
When I reached the living room, Rowan was feeding Odessa tenderly, rubbing her belly and kissing it. He was so affectionate, so loving.
When I had told him about my pregnancy, he hadn't even looked pleased.
For the first trimester, which was my most delicate time, he had never accompanied me to any of the visits to the doctor.
He claimed he was busy with other pack matters.
But here he was, gushing over Odessa's pup, and right under my own roof.
And worse I had just lost a pup of my own.
My heart was hurting so bad, and I held my chest, feeling physical pain.
Rowan kissed Odessa on her lips very tenderly.
"I can't wait to show you to the world,"
She giggled. "You can't have a better Luna than me,"
Rowan was supposed to be my mate, my partner.
I turned around, my eyes blurry with tears. I couldn't watch this anymore.
When I got back to the room, I spotted Rowan's laptop on the desk. Curious, I decided to check it.
I opened it and Odessa's birthday was the passcode.
Of course.
I scrolled through the files, my eyes widening as I saw receipts of transfers made to Odessa. He had gotten her so many expensive things.
There were hospital visits, doctor's appointments, and ultrasounds. And pictures of them together.
They were taken from the very first week of her pregnancy, all the way up to the present day. And now she was eight months.
The last picture was taken just a day before our ceremony. Rowan was grinning so wide.
I saw another folder labeled "Our Special Day"
Inside, I found documents detailing a secret wedding ceremony, planned entirely according to Odessa's taste.
Rowan had never planned to marry me.
The entire mating ceremony was just a big fat joke.
And then, I saw the white dress I had picked out for the ceremony. He had told me that someone else had paid for it, and that we were too late.
But now, I saw he had been the one to pay for it, and he had purchased it for Odessa instead.
Wiping at my eyes, I closed the laptop, my heart heavy like lead.
There was a tap at the door. It was my personal maid, Eliana.
"Alpha Cora?" she called gently. "Sir Rowan asked me to draw you a bath, get you some food, and help you get into bed."
I replied sharply. "I don't want any of that. What I want is for you to accompany me. I'm going to the pack meeting right now."
