LOGINIvonne's povJust like that, whatever pieces of hope my heart was desperately clutching slipped right out of my hands.There was no future where that vision I once saw could exist. No family. No softness. No small miracle we could pretend belonged to us.We had Nothing.I shut it all down. I forced the door closed in my mind. I pushed every emotion back until my chest felt empty enough to stop hurting.“Understood. Goodnight,” I said quietly. And I turned away from him, laying as far from him as the bed allowed.He hesitated. I could feel it in the way the mattress dipped slightly, in the pause of his breathing, in the faint rustle of movement behind me.But eventually… he lay down too.And sleep—real sleep—never came for either of us....When the faint early sun filtered through the curtains, my head was pounding and my heart felt bruised.Hector sat at the little table near the window, already dressed, already up. He looked… tired. His eyes lifted the second I pushed myself to sit
Ivonne's POVHe whispers, “Ivonne… who told you that?”His tone is almost sad, but I notice that he does'nt deny my words.I don’t know how long I just lay there staring at nothing after Hector froze at my question. Maybe seconds. Maybe minutes. But whatever softness I’d felt for him, that stupid tiny spark that somehow managed to grow when I wasn’t paying attention, it felt like it was flickering out, one painful crack at a time.And maybe that was a good thing. Maybe my heart needed it.He was still lying beside me, silent and tense, but the moment stretched too thin, and I knew if I stayed on that topic any longer, I might fall apart again.So I cleared my throat and forced myself to continue. “It doesn’t matter who told me,” I said quietly.He shifted a little, but he didn’t interrupt. Good.I kept going. “It really doesn’t. I’m not a kid. I didn’t come here to complain about gossip. What matters is that you should have been the one to tell me.”His silence felt heavier than his w
Ivonne’s POVIn the bathroom, theres only blessed Silence, warm steam And my reflection in the mirror, staring back at me with haunted eyes.I glance down at the ring Hector gave me.It gleams softly. Real. Solid. Heavy and oh so very beautiful.This is happening.I’m really going to marry him.It should feel simple. Logical. Expected.So why does my chest hurt? Why do I feel scared? Why do i feel saad and worried for the future?“It’s fine,” I whisper to myself. “It’s a temporary marriage. That was always the plan anyway so there's nothing to worry about. There's notgoing to be a child to worry about."My throat tightens.“Hector’s fate isn’t tied with mine. And mine isn’t tied with his.”I press my fingertips to the cold marble counter.“Fate obviously doesn’t intend for us to stay together forever.”My voice cracks on the last word.I take a shaky breath.“Stop. Stop being stupid, Ivonne. Stop letting yourself fall into fantasies that don’t belong to you.”My reflection blurs with
Ivonne’s POV The world tilts so violently that for a second I’m sure I’m going to faint.Larry grabs my arms immediately. “Ivonne—sit, sit—”“I’m fine,” I whisper, even though my voice sounds like it belongs to a ghost. “I’m just… I’m just shocked that The Lycans would expect Hector to… to kill an innocent child?”Larry winces. “Look, I—I don’t believe Alpha Hector would actually do it. He’s a lot of things, but he isn’t cold-hearted enough to ever hurt his own child.”A memory flashes so vividly I almost choke on it, memories of Hector laughing with the kids in the poor district, tossing them up in the air and catching them, letting them braid his hair, letting them drag him around like some giant jungle gym. He didn’t even flinch when a tiny boy smacked him in the face with a muddy hand.“He… loves children,” I whisper. “He really does.”Larry nods. “That’s one of the reasons why I don’t think he could do something like that.”The thought brings me a tiny sliver of relief… until hi
Ivonne's POV I froze at his words “What?!” My voice cracked. “Why would he make such a ridiculous vow?” Larry winced, as if saying it again would physically hurt. “Hector at first had vowed that he would never marry and bring a weak woman as his Luna, but since mates, whether fated or chosen could be an unpredictable matter, the court insisted that his heir—the future ruler after him—must be Lycan. Not a weak common werewolf.” I stared at him, stunned. “But that's crazy? How could they force such a rule on him? And Why would he even agree to that?” I was asking because I had seen how tough Hector had been with the court, he wasn't one to be pushed over so easily, which means that he had allowed them to put such a bind on him.But why?Larry sighed and shook his head. “He didn't have much of a choice at that time, I believe he thought it was the only or easiest way To secure his position as Alpha,” Larry answered, his tone gentle but firm. “Ivonne, you don’t understand how mu
IVONNE'S POV I stared at Larry for a long second, still frozen from the warning he had just given me. Make sure you never get pregnant for Hector. Those strange words suddenly began echoing inside my skull like a gong, forcing me to pay attention to the older man in front of Me. I swallowed, my throat suddenly dry. “Larry… what do you mean by that? I know this arrangement is temporary, but why would you give me such an odd warning out of the blue like that?" I asked feeling perplexed. Larry blinked at me once, then twice before looking genuinely confused, as if he couldn’t understand why I was asking. “What do I mean by what do I mean? Ivonne, Don't you understand the consequences of--- Wait." He paused suddenly. "Ivonne? —you really don’t know?” "Know what?" I frowned. I was really beginning to get annoyed with all these things everyone expected me to know but I somehow didn't Larry's eyes grew round as saucers. "You don't know about the consequences of breaking the vow?"







