Chapter Two

The light is too bright. It penetrates my closed eyelids, beaming into my retinas, searing the back of my skull.

"Aurora?"

A man's voice. "Evander?" Why does his name stick in my throat? "Turn off the light."

"Aurora, listen to me. This is Dr. Oliver. You're in the hospital. I need you to open your eyes if you can."

"Hospital?" I open my eyes as the doctor asked, blinking under the harsh glare. As the world comes into focus, my memories return. Our anniversary. Evander. Nalani.

The rejection.

The doctor's low baritone fades into the background as I recall the shambles of my marriage. I'm about to become a former Luna, and not because I'm passing the crown down to my heirs like I always dreamed, but rather because my mate and Alpha no longer have any need of me. 

I've loved Evander since the moment we met. I always know my love for him is greater than his for me.

But I am proved ridiculously wrong. I am nothing more than a tool, one that can be easily discarded when useless.

How... how could he be so heartless?

Tears are welling up in my eyes again. As I unconsciously grip the sheets, my hands shake. My chest twitches as if it has been stabbed with a blade.

"…that you're pregnant," Dr. Oliver notes, his voice piercing the abyss I've fallen into, forcing me back to reality.

"What?" There's no way I heard him right.

"You're pregnant," Dr. Oliver repeats matter-of-factly. He flashes me a tight smile. "Congratulations."

The revelation stuns me into silence. Pregnant. I'm pregnant! Instinctively, I wrap my arms around my still flat belly. A baby. I'm going to have a baby! And not just any baby. Evander's baby.

"How?" I wonder. Without a wolf Evander can mind link with, I shouldn't be able to bear him an Alpha child. And yet, that is what this pup is. I can feel it in my soul.

"My best guess would be the traditional way," the doctor replies with dry humor. "I trust I don't need to explain the finer mechanisms to you?"

I laugh. I can't help it. "Are you sure?" Inside, I'm mentally crossing every finger and toe. "There's no way this can be some kind of false alarm?"

"No way I can see. Every test we did was 100% conclusive."

100% conclusive. A fierce longing surges within me and the beginning of a snarl tugs at my top lip. 

Maybe I don't have to scurry off with my proverbial tail between my legs. Maybe I can fight. A baby changes everything. 

"Does Evander know?"

Dr. Oliver's face clouds momentarily. "I don't think so. He dropped you off, but left before we began our examination."

"Oh." My voice is small because the sudden weight on my chest is tremendous. It hurts that he didn't care enough to stay, but then, he didn't know what I now know. Maybe if he did, things would be different.

"Would you like me to arrange transportation back to the pack house for you?"

"No, doctor, thank you. I'd rather walk." I need to feel the fresh air on my face. And even more importantly, I need to think. I'll only have one chance to convince Evander to reconsider. I need to get it absolutely right.

Dr. Oliver nods, then leaves the room, softly closing the door behind him.

"I'm pregnant." Saying the words out loud makes me giggle. There's so much joy in my heart right now, it outweighs the devastating pain.

Well, almost anyway.

I leave the hospital behind, my mind awhirl with too many thoughts. I'm bursting with good news – I'm going to be a mom! – but when I really think about it, Evander is the only person I have to share the news with.

I could also possibly tell Liselle, Evander's mother, and the last generation's Luna. She's about as close to a relation as I have here. Since marrying into the pack, my entire life has revolved around Evander. I have no family anywhere around me, and not one, single friend.

But! I tell myself resolutely, willfully turning my thoughts around. Soon, I won't be as alone. I touch my hand to my tummy to gently stroke the baby growing within. Soon, I'll have a family.

That is if I can convince Evander to take me back. He chose Nalani, but this pregnancy could change everything.

I try not to listen to the treacherous little part of my heart that wonders if, after his callous display on the night of our anniversary, I even want him to.

"Good day, Aurora," Ralfi calls out to me as we meet on the road, him heading in the opposite direction. Ralfi has been Evander's Beta since long before we mated, and practically the only member of the pack who has been the least bit kind to me through it all.

"Hello, Ralfi," I reply warmly, trying hard to mask my gloom. The gossips have eyes and ears everywhere. I'd rather not add any fuel to their fires. "What brings you along this path today?"

"I'm just running some messages to our outposts. With Evander at the border meeting with the Lycan Prince, we just want to be sure everyone stays on point."

"The Lycan Prince?" I ask, unable to hide my astonishment. The Lycans are our enemies, and they rarely leave their cities. I can't imagine what business Evander, an Alpha werewolf, would have with them.

"Yes," Ralfi confirms with a troubled frown. "I don't know many details, you know how Evander is with his plans, but I do know they're meeting to negotiate some sort of trade." The Beta pauses. "A diplomatic task assigned to Evander by the Alpha king."

Although a decree from Alpha King is a great honor to be singled out, I can only hope he does not send my mate –the soon-to-be father of my child – into too much danger. I'm on the verge of getting him back. I can't lose him now. Again.

"I'd better get going," I say with a polite smile. My mind is already racing ahead, cataloging all the things I'd like to do in preparation for Evander's return. My entire future hangs in the joyous announcement. I have to get it right.

I push open the front door of the pack house, trying to focus on my own mission. I can't worry about diplomatic relations that have nothing to do with me. I've got a mate to win back – for the sake of our child.

I mount the stairs to my room, but the distinctive sound of breaking glass halts my progress. A hard thump soon follows, accompanied by some rattling. I look toward the sound – it is exactly in the direction I was going.

Something else shatters and my feet finally become unglued. I rush forward, dreading what I'll find. When I arrive at my room, it's even worse than I imagined. 

My precious keepsakes and mementos have been strewn across the hallway floor, flung into haphazard piles right along with my shoes and clothes.

One of the younger maids comes into the hallway, carrying my jewelry box. She doesn’t even glance at me when she dumps it at my feet. She spins on her heel to return to my room.

Another servant exits with one of my dresser drawers in his hands. He upends the piece, spilling my nightclothes out onto the ground. Satisfied with his work, he hoists the empty drawer onto his shoulder, then spins around to rejoin the others.

"What is going on here?" I'm beyond angry. But no matter how much I glower, no one answers me. I suppose they don't need to. The answer is self-evident.

The servants are emptying out my room, cruelly and expeditiously removing every trace of my belongings.