(Moira’s POV)
Daciana’s face instantly brightened with happiness as she gently placed a hand over her stomach.
“The pack healer confirmed it,” she said softly. “I’m carrying your pup. I was so excited that I rushed here to tell you myself.”
Then she lowered her head pitifully.
“Please don’t be angry, my Alpha. You’re frightening me.”
Axton froze completely.
A long silence passed before his voice finally softened.
“You’re pregnant?”
His eyes immediately fell to her stomach.
“Then why did you leave the manor instead of resting properly?” he scolded in a gentler tone. “What if something happens to you or the pup?”
Daciana lifted her watery eyes toward him while pouting sweetly.
“I only wanted to share the news with you first.” Her voice turned softer. “Will you stay with me today, darling? Please?”
Axton frowned slightly before shaking his head.
“I already promised Moira I would spend today with her.”
But Daciana clearly had no intention of giving up.
Her cheeks slowly flushed red as she stepped closer and whispered softly beside his ear.
“Don’t you miss me at all?”
The restraint inside Axton finally shattered.
He suddenly pulled her into his arms and pressed her body tightly against his chest, letting out a low laugh filled with desire.
“You little troublemaker.”
Then he lowered his voice near her ear.
“Same as before. Don’t leave marks on me.”
I watched everything clearly.
Every shameless moment felt like claws tearing deeper into my chest.
During all our years together, Axton had always appeared calm and noble before me.
The powerful Alpha everyone feared was always controlled and restrained, even during our most intimate moments.
I had never seen him lose control like this before.
Axton carefully helped Daciana into the back seat of the black carriage as though she were the most precious thing in the world.
The carriage moved away from the castle.
But before it traveled far, it suddenly stopped at the end of the street.
The windows slowly fogged over from the inside.
They could not even wait.
I did not know how much time passed before the carriage finally started moving again and blended into the crowded roads of the capital.
I followed them silently the entire way.
I watched Axton gently slide a golden moonstone pin into Daciana’s messy hair before fixing it carefully in place.
I watched them walk together through the old district of the kingdom, passing taverns, bakeries, and gathering halls while pack members lowered their heads and pretended not to notice them.
I watched them sit together inside a small restaurant beneath glowing moon lanterns, sharing food from the same plate while his large hand covered hers atop the table.
Finally, they returned to the carriage while laughing softly together.
Soon, the road began leading toward the outer borders of the capital.
Toward the hidden manor.
So Axton was capable of being this gentle and caring toward another woman after all.
I stared until my eyes burned painfully before finally looking away.
“Take me back to the castle. And no one speaks about today. Not a single word,” I ordered quietly.
During the ride home, my mind remained trapped on one image.
Daciana’s hand resting protectively over her stomach.
That glowing smile on her face.
Then I remembered the moonroot poison Axton had secretly fed me for three entire years while pretending it was medicine meant to protect me.
The grief inside me became so overwhelming I could barely breathe.
Until today, part of me had still been deceiving itself.
Even if Axton lied about the tonic, maybe he still loved me in some way.
Maybe he simply did not want pups.
But the way he looked at Daciana’s stomach just now…
The warmth in his voice…
He cared deeply about that pup.
Suddenly, I remembered something he once told me before our mating ceremony.
“Only mates who truly love each other should bring a pup into this world.”
So that was the truth.
He never loved me from the very beginning.
That was why he had done everything possible to stop me from carrying his heir.
But if he truly felt nothing for me, why continue this lie for so many years?
I returned to our chambers like a wandering spirit.
Without hesitation, I threw every object connected to him into the fireplace.
The moonbird folding screen he once gifted me.
The rare ancient books he searched for across every Alpha territory because he knew I loved reading them.
The countless letters we exchanged during the early years when I still believed every word he said.
I watched the flames slowly consume everything until nothing remained except ashes.
Only then did the suffocating pressure inside my chest lessen slightly.
But then I suddenly remembered something else.
Not enough. Still not enough.
Like a madwoman, I rushed toward Axton’s private study and found it resting exactly where it always had been.
The journal.
He began writing in it the day we first met.
Every little thing I liked. Every habit. Every preference.
Year after year, page after page, until the journal had grown thick.
My trembling fingers opened the worn pages.
Every sentence made my eyes sting painfully.
“Moira loves sweet desserts and dislikes sour flavors. Every meal must include something sweet for her.”
“Moira fears the cold. The fireplaces inside her chambers must be lit before autumn arrives.”
“Moira dislikes sleeping alone in darkness. She falls asleep easier in my arms.”
Then the final line appeared before my eyes.
“I love Moira more than my own life.”
“Never make her cry.”
