Elowen's POV
Month One
"I'll find a way to make this work."
Cassian whispers the promise against my neck while holding me in his bed. It's the third time he's summoned me this week, and I'm stupid enough to believe him.
"Really?" I ask, hope blooming painfully in my chest.
"Give me time," he murmurs, his fingers gentle in my hair. "I just need to figure out how to tell the pack. How to make them accept an omega Luna."
I fall asleep in his arms, dreaming of a future where I'm not his secret.
The next morning, I see him with Seraphine in the pack gardens. He's teaching her self-defense moves, his hands on her waist, both of them laughing like they don't have a care in the world.
When our eyes meet across the garden, Cassian looks right through me like I'm invisible.
That night, he summons me again.
And I go. Because I'm an idiot who believes beautiful lies.
Month Two
The other omegas know.
They don't say anything directly, but I catch their pitying looks. They can smell Cassian on me—his scent embedded in my skin no matter how many times I wash. They know what it means when an omega smells like the Alpha.
It means I'm being used.
"You should stop going to him," Maya whispers one night after I return from Cassian's quarters. "Everyone's talking, Ellie. It's humiliating."
"I can't stop," I admit. "The bond won't let me."
"The bond, or your heart?"
I don't answer because I don't know anymore.
That week, Cassian is gentler than usual. He holds me afterward, traces patterns on my skin, tells me I'm beautiful.
"I do care about you," he says quietly. "You know that, right?"
"Then why won't you claim me publicly?"
His jaw tightens. "It's complicated. The pack, my parents, the traditions—"
"I understand," I lie.
But I'm starting to realize that "complicated" is just another word for "you're not good enough."
Month Three
Cassian announces he's officially courting Seraphine.
The pack celebrates. She's perfect for him—strong, beautiful, beta-ranked. Everything I'm not.
I serve drinks at the courtship announcement party, keeping my head down, pretending my heart isn't shattering with every toast to their future happiness.
Seraphine finds me in the kitchen afterward.
"He'll never choose you," she says sweetly. "You know that, right? Whatever he's doing with you in private, it doesn't mean anything. I'm going to be Luna. You're just... entertainment."
She's not wrong. And that's what hurts most.
That night, Cassian summons me anyway.
"I saw you at the party," he says, pulling me close. "You looked upset."
"You're courting someone else."
"Publicly, yes. But privately..." He kisses me deeply. "Privately, you're still mine."
I should push him away. Should demand better. Should have some self-respect.
Instead, I let him hold me while I cry, because at least in the dark, he pretends I matter.
Month Four
I'm getting sick in the mornings.
At first, I think it's just stress. But when it continues for two weeks, Maya gets worried.
"You need to see the pack doctor," she insists.
"I'm fine. Just exhausted from all the extra work."
"Elowen." Maya's voice is serious. "When was your last cycle?"
My blood runs cold. I try to remember, counting back weeks. Six weeks? Seven? Oh goddess.
"No," I whisper. "No, no, no."
But my body knows the truth even if my mind refuses to accept it.
I'm pregnant with Cassian's child.
I don't tell him. Not yet. Because I'm terrified of what he'll say. What he'll do.
Instead, I keep working, keep surviving, keep going to his bed when he summons me.
And I pray I'm wrong about the pregnancy.
Month Five
I'm not wrong.
My stomach is starting to show—just a little, but enough that I have to wear baggier clothes. The morning sickness is getting worse. And the bond... the bond is screaming at me to tell Cassian about his child.
But I'm paralyzed with fear.
One night, he notices I'm different.
"You've been quiet lately," Cassian says, studying my face. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing. Just tired."
"Elowen." He tilts my chin up, forcing me to meet his eyes. "I can feel your anxiety through the bond. What aren't you telling me?"
I almost confess. Almost tell him everything.
Then I remember: he's courting Seraphine. Planning a future with her. I'm just his secret.
What would he do if he knew? Force me to get rid of the baby? Exile me to hide the evidence?
"I'm fine," I lie. "Just worried about pack politics. It's nothing."
He doesn't believe me, but he doesn't push either.
Month Six
Cassian is different tonight.
Gentler. More patient. Almost... loving.
"I'm trying to figure this out," he says, holding me close after. "The bond, you, Seraphine, everything. Just be patient with me, okay? I promise I'm working on a solution."
"What kind of solution?"
"I don't know yet. But there has to be a way to make everyone happy. To honor the bond without destroying my future." He kisses my forehead. "Trust me?"
I want to. Goddess, I want to so badly.
"Okay," I whisper. "I trust you."
He falls asleep holding me, and for the first time in six months, I let myself hope that maybe—just maybe—this nightmare has an ending where I'm not left broken and alone.
The next morning changes everything.
I'm serving breakfast in the dining hall when Cassian walks in with his father, the current Alpha. Both of them are smiling.
The room goes quiet.
"I have an announcement," Cassian's father says proudly. "My son has made his choice for Luna."
My heart stops. The tray in my hands starts to shake.
This is it. This is when Cassian tells everyone about the bond. About me. About us.
Finally.
"Cassian has asked Seraphine Corvain to be his mate," his father continues. "And she has accepted! The engagement ceremony will be held next month!"
The pack erupts in cheers and celebration.
My world shatters.
I look at Cassian across the crowded hall. Our eyes meet—amber and gray, alpha and omega, fated mates who will never be together.
He looks away first.
The tray slips from my hands. Glass shatters on the marble floor, champagne spreading like blood.
Everyone turns to stare at the clumsy omega who ruined the celebration.
"Clean that up!" someone shouts.
But I can't move. Can't breathe. Can't process what just happened.
Last night, Cassian held me and promised he was working on a solution.
This morning, he's engaged to someone else.
I press my hand to my stomach—to the secret growing there, the child Cassian doesn't know about.
What have I done?
Maya pulls me toward the kitchen, away from the staring wolves. In the hallway, I finally break down completely.
"He's engaged," I sob. "He's actually engaged to her."
"I'm so sorry, Ellie—"
"I'm pregnant, Maya." The words burst out before I can stop them. "I'm pregnant with Cassian's baby, and he just got engaged to someone else."
Maya's face goes pale. "Oh goddess. Does he know?"
"No. And I don't know what to do. If I tell him, he'll make me get rid of it. If I don't tell him..." I slide down the wall, my whole body shaking. "I'm trapped. Completely trapped."
Through the walls, I can hear the pack still celebrating Cassian's engagement.
And in my chest, the mate bond screams with betrayal and pain.
Six months of beautiful lies just ended with one announcement.
Now I have to decide: tell Cassian about the pregnancy and lose everything, or stay silent and figure this out alone.
Either way, my nightmare is just beginning.