The pain followed Lyla all the way back to the
servant quarters.It was no longer just a wound in her heart, iit was a physical weight pressing against her chest, twisting with every breath she took.
She stumbled through the narrow corridor, as she put her hand against the wall for support.
Her vision blurred repeatedly, she had to
blink away tears just to see where she was
going to.
When she finally reached her room, her hands
were shaking so badly that she could barely turn
the rusted key. The door to her room creaked open revealing the familiar smell of old lavender and cheap soap. The tiny room had been her entire world for many years but now it felt like a prison.
Lyla looked around. At her worn out bed, the
cracked wooden table, and the little mirror above the washbasin.
Everything she owned could fit into one bag,
And somehow, that hurt almost as much as
Kieran's rejection.
She had spent her entire life serving the Silver
Moon Pack.yet they decided she was no longer
wanted.
She could take everything she owned in
less than five minutes.
"I have to go," she whispered to herself
Her voice sounded strange, small.and broken.
She remembered Kieran's cold eyes.
If I see your face again, I'll kill you.
Lyla swallowed hard.
He'll kill me if I stay"
She had no reason to believe he was bluffing.
She grabbed an old canvas bag from beneath
her bed and began stuffing her belongings
inside.A worn sweater, two changes of clothes, her mother's photograph and the few coins she had managed to save over the years. The money wasnt much but it was enough to start somewhere. Anywhere.
Suddenly nausea hit her.
Her stomach twisted violently. She barely made it to the washbasin before she fell to her knees.
When the sickness finally passed, she remained
there, trembling.this wasn't normal.
She pressed a hand against her lower abdomen, and her wolf stirred but not with the familiar ache of the broken mate bond.it was something
else, something protective.
Lyla froze with her eyes widening
"No!!"
Her mind immediately returned to three weeks
earlier, The Summer Solstice. That night Kieran had returned victorious from a border war.
He had been celebrating with his warriors, and
the entire manor had been filled with the scent
of alcohol, sandalwood, and lightning.
Lyla had been working late that night.
She remembered the strange pull she'd felt
whenever he came near her.
She hadn't understood it then.
Neither had he.
But there had been something between them.
Something neither of them had been able to
ignore.One night.One mistake.One secret she had buried deep inside herself.
Her hand remained over her stomach.
Could it be?
Her heart began pounding. She counted the days and then counted them again.
Her breath caught in her throat
"No..." as her eyes filled with tears.The possibility was terrifying but beneath the fear was hope, a tiny life.A child, Kieran's child.
The heir of the Silver Moon Pack.
The child of the Alpha who had just declared its
mother unworthy.
Lyla covered her mouth to stop herself from
sobbing. If Kieran discovered the truth, everything would change.He would come after her not because he loved her but because of the child. Because of his bloodline.
Because an Alpha like Kieran would never allow
his heir to disappear into the wilderness.
Lyla's expression hardened defiantly
"He can never know."
She pressed both hands against her stomach.
"He rejected me."
"He rejected us".
A tear slipped down her cheek.
The sound of boots struck the gravel outside her room.Lyla's head snapped toward the window.
She heard the voices of Men, several of them. They are the Enforcers.
Kieran had sent his men to make sure she left
before dawn.She couldn't let them find her,
Not now, not with the possibility of a child growing inside her.
Lyla grabbed her bag.
There was no time to think.
She pushed open the narrow window and
climbed through.The cold night air struck her face, she dropped into the mud below, landing hard on her knees.
Pain shot through her body, but she forced
herself up and ran.Not toward the main road,
not toward the gates because she knew the village better than any of Kieran's warriors.
She slipped through narrow alleys, crossed
behind abandoned cottages, and moved through
the shadows.Her lungs burned as she ran.
Her broken bond screamed with every step, but she kept going.
She had spent twenty-one years being told she
was weak and tonight, she would prove them wrong.
Ahead of her, the trees became thicker near the white cliffs as she approached the Northern Border. Beyond them lay the Forbidden Forest.
No pack had claimed it.
No Alpha ruled it.
Rogues were said to roam beneath its ancient
trees, and countless wolves had disappeared
within its depths.
But it was still better than returning to Kieran.
Lyla reached the edge of the cliffs.
She stopped for only a second.
The river below thundered through the gorge.
She could cross it.She had to.
"Stop right there!"
Lyla froze.
A familiar voice came from behind her.
She slowly turned and saw Jax
Jax was one of Kieran's lead warriors.
He stood several yards away, his arms were crossed over his chest, a cruel smile spreading across his face.
"You really thought you could sneak away?"
Lyla tightened her grip on her bag.
"Move and don't come any closer" she said through gritted teeth trying to sound brave
Jax laughed.
"Alpha said you had until dawn."
He stepped closer.
"But I thought I'd make sure you understood
exactly what happens to Omegas who defy
him."
Lyla backed away.
"Don't come any closer."
His smile widened.
"What are you going to do?"
Immediately Jax shifted. Bones cracked, his body twisted and expanded until a massive
gray wolf stood before her.
Lyla's wolf whimpered inside her.
She couldn't shift.
Not after the rejection.
Not now.
The wolf lunged at her.
There was nowhere to run so she did the only thing she could.
She turned and jumped. The cliff disappeared beneath her feet.
For one terrifying second, there was nothing
beneath her. Only air.
The wind tore through her hair as she plunged
toward the raging river.
"Lyla!"
Jax's howl faded above her.
She hit the water as cold swallowed her whole.
Her bag was ripped from her grasp.
Her body spun violently beneath the current.
She fought to reach the surface, but the river
dragged her deeper.
Her lungs screamed.
Her strength faded.
And then her hand instinctively moved to her
stomach.
Protect the baby.
The thought came like a final prayer.
Her eyes closed, I will survive, I promise as darkness closed around her.
And somewhere far behind her, beneath the
crimson Blood Moon, the Silver Moon Pack
continued celebrating the rejection of an
insignificant Omega.
They didn't know she was still alive.
They didn't know about the secret growing
inside her.
And they certainly didn't know that the woman
they had thrown away would one day return.
Not as Lyla the Omega.
But as a Luna powerful enough to make an
Alpha regret ever rejecting his mate.
