CATHY’S POV
Valentine’s Day was the day that changed my life forever.
I drove toward the pack supermarket, gripping the wheel tightly. My fingers were numb, not from the cold, but from exhaustion. Luna Helen had once again assigned me to buy ingredients for the grand feast tonight—a celebration I wasn’t even allowed to attend as Kane’s Luna. No, not his Luna. His maid.
Luna Helen told me she would never see me as his Luna. Rather, I was just a servant to her. His disgrace. The woman his mother sneered at and the pack rejected.
I should have been used to it by now, but today felt different. My body was heavier. My heart felt more fragile. Maybe it was because I was tired, or maybe it was because, for the first time in years, I wondered what it would feel like to just leave.
I never got the chance to finish that thought.
A blaring horn echoed on the road. Screeching tires. The world spinning. My chest slammed against the seatbelt as a crash erupted around me. Metal twisted, glass shattered, and my vision exploded into darkness.
•
When I opened my eyes, the ceiling above me was a blinding white. I blinked repeatedly. My limbs ached as if they had been crushed under a mountain of bricks.
Where am I?
The faint beeping of a heart monitor echoed in the silence. I struggled to turn my head, only to wince as I felt a sharp pain in my skull. I started to panic. Then, the door opened.
“Cathy?”
The familiar voice was gentle, filled with concern. James. I was relieved as my adopted brother stepped inside. His dark eyes were filled with worry, and his doctor’s coat was slightly wrinkled as if he had been here for hours.
“You’re awake,” he breathed, rushing to my side. “How do you feel?”
“Like I was trampled by a rogue stampede,” I rasped. “What happened?”
James sighed, running a hand through his hair. “A truck lost control and hit you head-on. You were lucky, Cathy. No broken bones, just some bruising and a mild concussion.”
Lucky. I nearly laughed at the irony.
His fingers curled around my wrist, checking my pulse. “There’s… something else. Something important.”
My stomach twisted at his expression. “What is it?”
James hesitated, then sighed. “You’re pregnant.”
For a moment, the world stopped. My breath caught in my throat as I stared at him, waiting for the punchline.
Pregnant.
“No,” I whispered, shaking my head. “That’s not possible. I—Kane said I couldn’t…”
“Kane was wrong.” James’ voice was firm. “The tests confirmed it. You’re about six weeks along.”
Six weeks. A tiny life growing inside me. A child. My child.
Tears burned at the corners of my eyes as I pressed a trembling hand to my abdomen. Against all odds, the Moon Goddess had given me a miracle. Maybe this was a sign. Maybe this was how Kane and I could finally—
A sharp laugh outside my door shattered my thoughts.
“Can you believe she’s still here?” a female voice sneered. “After everything, she still clings to that position.”
“I heard she bribed Elder Alyosha to forge the prophecy,” another person said. “She’s a fraud.”
“Who cares about the prophecy? She was never good enough to be Luna. Everyone knows Kane only tolerated her out of duty.”
My heart clenched as the words sliced into me. They were talking about me again, just like they always did.
I clenched my fists beneath the thin hospital blanket, forcing myself not to cry.
James’ jaw tightened. “Ignore them,” he said softly. “They don’t know the truth.”
The truth? No one ever cared about the truth.
I swallowed hard, forcing myself to breathe. Five years ago, the Phoenix mark had chosen me. The elders had bowed to the prophecy, declaring me the destined Luna. I had believed it meant something—that I meant something. But it had been nothing more than a cruel joke. Kane had never wanted me. His heart had belonged to Violet, the woman he believed had died saving me. And when she was gone, all he saw in me was a mistake.
For five years, I had tried. I had swallowed my pride, endured the ridicule, hoping that one day, he would look at me with something other than resentment. That he would see me, not as a burden, but as the woman who had always loved him. But the walls between us had only grown taller.
And now? Now, I carried his child.
Was this fate’s way of giving us another chance? Of telling us that, despite everything, we were meant to be?
“I have a patient,” James said. “I’ll see you soon.”