Ava’s POV
Morning came slowly, but not kindly.
I got discharged. Alone. As usual.
Good. I was alive. The child inside me was alive. That was enough. For now.
Weakness clung to me like a second skin. Every step hurt, every breath reminded me of yesterday, the hospital, the peanut butter, Xavier, the wolves. My stomach churned, but I forced myself up. Forced myself out.
The hospital smelled like disinfectant and false cheer. I signed the discharge papers, my hand trembling despite my control.
I paused near a private ward. Laughter, too warm, too familiar, drifted out. It was Liezel. And him. Xavier.
I froze.
Of course. Of course, he’d choose to be here with her. Of course, he hadn’t even bothered to check on me. The one he almost killed, the one he humiliated, the one
carrying his child… and he didn’t look back.
I let out a bitter laugh. Silent. Shaking my head, trying not to cry, trying not to scream.
The doctor spoke, sweet and unaware of the venom in my chest. “Miss Liezel, I could say it a hundred times, and I’d still mean it. I envy you… Having a caring man by your side. Alpha Xavier never left you, not once. He made sure everything was fine. He made sure you could recover quickly.”
Liezel smiled. That honeyed, perfect, practiced smile. Her hand glided over Xavier’s shoulder.
“I get the envy, Doctor,” she said, voice soft but loud enough for me. “What can I say?
Xavier and I… we were always in love. We’re inseparable. They say a good alpha can only be a good one if he treats his mate right, yes?”
Their laughter echoed in my ears like knives. Sharp, precise, intentional.
I swallowed hard and walked on. My steps stiff. My chest is hollow. My stomach is twisting.
Near the hospital exit, a nurse caught up to me. She handed me my phone. A lifeline in
the chaos. I took it silently. Nodded. Didn’t speak.
And then, of course, they emerged. Xavier and Liezel. Hand in hand. Perfect.
Untouchable. Their smiles pristine, their poses rehearsed, the image of a life I would
never have.
Caught, I faked a smile. Small, polite, empty.
And for a second, just a flicker, Xavier’s eyes softened. Guilt? A hint, buried under years of control. A pause. But then it was gone.
He snorted. “Liezel and I have to go somewhere first. You should return to the packhouse. Look after Alexander for a while.”
Like a good little lamb. Like I always had.
I nodded again. Forced. Controlled. Smile fixed.
Once, this treatment, his distance, his command, his silent superiority would have broken me. I would have cried. Blamed myself. Believed I was the problem. Always.
But now… now I knew. Now I knew the truth. Now I knew everything he had done, everything he had hidden, everything he had planned.
And all that remained was a hollow space inside me. A vacuum of rage, fear, and something darker: resolve.
I watched them leave. Every detail. Xavier carefully helped Liezel into the car, adjusting her seatbelt like she was fragile porcelain. Watching him look at her… the way he’d never looked at me.
I kept my mouth shut. I didn’t scream. I didn’t run. I only let the observation sink in.
In the packhouse, I threw myself into my duties, playing the obedient servant Xavier wanted me to be, more omega than Luna of this pack.
Still weak, I chopped vegetables, stirred the soup, and later tended to Alexander. I played
with him, cared for him, and acted like a mother to my husband’s son… even though he belonged to another woman.
I assisted where necessary. But my hands stayed steady, my expression neutral. I
didn’t cry. I didn’t complain. I didn’t let anyone see the storm raging behind my eyes.
Night fell. Exhaustion hit. I collapsed on my bed. Phone in hand, fingers trembling slightly from fatigue and lingering fear.
And then, almost immediately, I saw it. His post. Xavier.
Liezel on his lap. Overlooking the city skyline from an expensive restaurant, I had
begged him to take me to. The one he said would “look cheap on me.”
Liezel smiling. Perfect. Untroubled. Safe. In his arms.
I stared. My stomach knotted. My teeth clenched. My heart, hollow, empty, ached in that familiar way.
The caption? Polished, casual, cruel: “A good alpha makes sure his mate is protected.
Every moment counts.”
I scrolled. Liked it. My thumb hovered, then pressing the screen automatically. A hollow
gesture. A lie to myself. A pretend that I belonged to this world, that I had some control.
I knew it was bitter. Poisonous. I knew what it meant, even if no one else did.
Liezel was safe. Xavier was attentive. And I… I was left with ashes of my pride, the
shadow of my anger, and a life that wasn’t mine to hold.
My fingers shook as I put the phone down. Forced myself to sleep.
Even in darkness, even in exhaustion, even in the quiet, I remembered everything.
Maribel. The peanut butter. The humiliation. The lies. Alexander. The child I carried.
Everything was still mine. If I survived.
And I would.
Because cruelty didn’t just erase people.
It created shadows.
And I was learning how to move in the dark.
