Kaia’s POV
I should have felt joy. Nine moons carrying a life inside me, I should’ve been glowing—celebrated, cherished.
Instead, every step through the pack infirmary felt like I was trudging through ice.
The healer’s voice still clung to me, soft but laced with gravity.
“We need to prepare for all possibilities,” she had said. “These signs… they’re not common for expecting mothers. Let’s hope for the best, but we must be ready for the truth when the results return.”
Her words haunted me more than the sterile walls or the faint scent of herbs meant to soothe.
Something was terribly wrong in my body—and in my life.
I wasn’t trembling because of fear alone.
I was trembling because the one who vowed to stand beside me was nowhere to be found.
Alden should’ve been holding my hand.
My Alpha. My fated mate. My husband.
But duty, he always said, came first.
Pack duties. Reports. Patrols. Meetings.
Excuses layered like armor shielding a lie.
I rounded a corner—and the illusion shattered completely.
“…you don’t have to carry this guilt,” his voice murmured, gentle in a way I hadn’t heard in months.
A woman answered, her tone silky with practiced sorrow.
“I never meant to intrude on your life, Alden. If the Moon Goddess hadn’t taken my mate from me, I wouldn’t be leaning on you like this.”
Marinal. The ghost from his past who suddenly walked back into his future.
And his voice—soft, reverent, a vow that wasn’t meant for me—
“You’re not a burden. I told you I’d look after you—and I stand by that.”
My wolf growled inside me—betrayal echoing in my bones before my mind even caught up.
Two pregnant she-wolves.
One adored. One abandoned.
Funny how destiny was supposed to be sacred… but it felt like a cruel joke instead.
I tried to move—just escape before my heart ripped completely—but a healer stepped into the room, bright-voiced and unsuspecting.
“Alpha, what a surprise! And Luna, you and the baby look wonderfully healthy!”
Marinal flushed, lowering her lashes.
“Oh—I’m not the Luna.”
The stunned look on the healer’s face twisted a blade straight through me.
“He attends all your check-ups,” she murmured. “I simply assumed…”
I didn’t stay. I couldn’t.
I walked away before I broke in front of them, hand gripping my belly like it was the only thing anchoring me to this world.
A memory hit—sharp as claws.
Me, collapsing on the cold tiles one night, coughing blood.
Begging him to come.
And him saying, “Marinal strained her leg. She needs me more.”
That was the night something inside me died.
Whispers followed me through the pack grounds—some pitying, most cruel.
When I reached our den and smelled her scent mixed with his, my knees nearly gave.
I sat on the bed that used to feel like sanctuary and dialed the one Alpha who never failed me.
“Dad…” My voice cracked open.
“Kaia?” Alarm instantly flooded his tone. “Tell me what happened.”
And so I did. Every wound, every humiliation, every moment I felt myself disappearing in a place I once called home.
“I want to come back,” I breathed. “I want my child born someplace safe. I’m cutting the bond. I can’t stay here anymore.”
Silence—steady, strong—then his voice wrapped around me like armor.
“Leave them. You belong to us. Neither that pack nor that Alpha deserves you.”
Tears slid down my face, warm and freeing.
“I’ll make arrangements. One week.”
“You and your pup will always have a place here,” he promised. “Never doubt that.”
When the call ended, I pressed a hand to my belly. A small kick answered—a promise, a plea, a blessing.
“We’re leaving,” I whispered, tears trembling with determination. “I’ll protect you. I won’t fail you.”
And this time, the vow belonged to me alone.
