LUCY
I sprint past the gates of the beta's house, my heart hammering so fast I think it might burst out of my ribcage. Every step echoes like a drumbeat in my chest.
Doyle's going to be there. He has to be. He has to know.
I clutch the small slip of parchment in my hand, fingers trembling around it as if it might dissolve. The implication alone makes my hands shake.
I'm pregnant.
Even thinking it sends a sharp ache through my chest… hope and relief crowding my lungs until it's hard to breathe.
Finally—finally!—a reason to be proud. To be wanted. To be more than the Alpha's cursed daughter, the wolfless mistake, the pack's disappointment.
Yes… there will be no more of those shenanigans.
With this news, I will be Doyle's true mate. One carrying the future heir of Virelan.
With this news, I can now tell my father to go ahead with the final stage of the ritual—the sacred rite that will complete the mateship bond between Doyle and me, the rite that will make us officially married, the rite that will crown us the next rulers of Virelan.
With this news, I can finally stop being looked down upon, stop being hated, whispered about, pitied. Stop being bullied when my parents aren't watching.
I will be respected again. I will be admired again. I will become the delight of the entire West of the Dominion of Lykara. My wolflessness will be ignored—no, discredited, forgotten, hopefully.
And hopefully, my child will carry the blood the Moon Goddess denied me. My child will become the Alpha I cannot be.
It has to be that way. Surely the Moon Goddess wouldn't be that cruel.
No. She cannot be.
A laugh bursts from me, my teeth fully exposed as a guard mutters a greeting while I race past him.
I don't care about the disrespect. I don't care that he didn't use my title. I don't care about the taint of disgust in his eyes as he watches me run, or the loathful glances the maids—mere omegas—throw in my direction.
I am too full of good news. Too consumed by the knowledge that my fate is finally shifting. Too focused on the fact that Doyle and I are about to become officially wedded.
"Yes!" I yell, punching the air, laughing some more, as I reach the corridors.
My steps slow here. I don't want Doyle's mother finding another excuse to sneer at me, to criticize my lack of grace.
But a moment later, I'm bouncing again, humming under my breath as I turn the bend that leads to the quarters of the only child of the beta family.
Doyle Thornille.
My fiancé.
My lover.
The father of my child.
My everything.
The strongest werewolf in Virelan, rumored to rank among the top five in the entire realm of Lykara.
I've loved Doyle since I knew he was a boy. Truly. Even as children, I followed him around like a lost puppy, and he always protected me, always kept me safe.
When I was declared wolfless at eighteen, it was Doyle I ran to—Doyle who comforted me, Doyle who convinced me not to end my life, who told me the world hadn't ended, that the Goddess must have a plan.
It was Doyle who shielded me from the bullies who started targeting me. Doyle who stayed beside me during travels across the West, and even into other regions for quarterly assessments. Doyle who stood between me and their taunts.
And when my father took me to the priest at nineteen to test my mating compatibility—hoping that even if I was wolfless, I could still birth Alpha blood—it was Doyle whose blood matched mine perfectly after countless trials with other strong males.
It felt destined.
He was the one my heart had chosen. The one who had my first kiss. The one who had my future.
We were overjoyed. Over the moon. We spent as much time together as we could. My parents were happy—Doyle was practically their son. Only his mother sneered, convinced her son had drawn the short end of the stick.
As if becoming the husband of an Alpha's daughter—future ruler of an entire region—wasn't a blessing.
I scoff lightly as I slow, then wonder why I've stopped walking entirely.
Then I hear the sounds.
Moans.
At first, I chuckle, amused, assuming some maid is enjoying a stolen moment. Happy for them, even. After all, I'll be getting mine soon—it's our second-year anniversary today.
But then it hits me.
I'm standing only feet away from Doyle's quarters. The quarters I've practically turned into my own over the past two years.
I am suddenly disoriented. My head seems very light, even as confusion and disbelief become a potent mix in my chest. My stomach twists further, threatening to heave up everything I ate at dinner.
Scrambling for excuses, I try to explain it away… maybe a friend is staying over. Maybe someone borrowed his room.
But the thought collapses immediately. This place is private. Ours.
And what friend will be here when it is known that today is our second anniversary?
My grip tightens on the parchment as I push open the door. It isn't locked—as though it was shut in a hurry. I step into the common room, the familiar warmth greeting me like a ghost. The room still feels like mine.
My feet halt when I spot the wine I bought yesterday for our anniversary sitting on the table—two glasses beside it, both half-empty.
My vision blurs.
I stagger, then force myself upright.
Maybe… maybe…
But even I know my maybes are foolish.
I move slowly toward the bedroom, where the sounds grow clearer.
By the gods, my hands tremble, and my legs feel like wilted flowers. I stop at the door, shaking literally, pressing my ear against the wood without even realizing it.
"Oh Doyle, I love you so much, you are the best. You are ahhh…!"
I struggle with what I am hearing. Am I dreaming? Did I get teleported to another reality?
"Oh Doyle!!! Yes, right there!"
The shrill moan punch me away from the door, even as my mouth falls agape and tears fill my eyes.
My Doyle?
My Doyle????!
With Mina? My best friend??
"I love you too, Mina…!! Oh…"
And then he cries out, and I know he just found his release.
I hear wet kisses. Moans. The sounds of movement, breath, closeness.
"Gods Doyle, I can't wait to have you to myself alone… seeing you with Lucy breaks my heart. Why is she even holding back from marrying you?"
"Oh my love, just a year or two, I promise. Just be patient with me. I need that throne. And I'm almost there."
A slight pause. "Don't mind the idiot… I don't know what is holding her back, but I can feel myself getting closer to our goal. Once the rituals are complete, and I'm given the scepter, I will bring you in. She will have no choice but to accept. Her parents too… you know the ritual is irrevocable.
"I will forever be Alpha. And you, my love, will be my Luna. If she doesn't agree to stay as a maid or mistress, I will banish her."
"I will like that, Doyle. I will like that very much, but first she will slave around…"
A cackle. "Oh, I can't wait for the proud princess to eat dust."
"And dust she will eat, my Mina. I don't know how they ever believed I would stay mated to a wolfless curse. Now give me a kiss…"
My heart shatters so violently I can almost hear it. What? What???!
More tears stream down my face as I stagger back, fingers crushing the parchment in my grip, while I fight to breathe evenly.
How can they do this to me?
Then, I hear them… again.
And I turn and run for my sanity.