Chapter 002

Nia POV :

Rachel, with a fake gentle smile, said, "Nia, Lyord is very kind to you and has always respected you. Do you know, because of the matter of Eastwood attacking our mines in the west, Lyord has been under pressure from the elders to avenge Eastwood. Don't make trouble for Lyord."

"No need to bother telling her." Lyord interrupted Rachel's words gently, then glanced at me sharply. "Get out of my office now, Nia. I don't like repeating myself."

But Rachel's words caught my attention; I demanded answers from both of them. "What do you mean the Eastwood  attacked-"

Lyord's expression darkened, and he hissed in the coldest voice, "I told you, get out of my office! You don't deserve to hear the business of the Pack."

Holding back my tears, I turned to leave, feeling full of disappointment.

My hands gripped my pregnancy test results tightly as I returned to the room. The room was very spacious and grand, but I felt very lonely. I was very uneasy thinking about Rachel's words that Eastwood was attacking the Northwind Pack. This would reignite the conflict between the two reconciled parties.

That night, Lyord didn't show up at the dinner table. I sat there alone, under the strange gazes of the omega servants.

The delicious food on the table did not whet my appetite.

"Where's Lyord?" 

"Alpha accompanied Miss Rachel to the flock hospital. This afternoon, Miss Rachel was not feeling well and suddenly became nauseous at the pack elder council meeting."

My hand movements stopped, and suddenly, the nausea in my stomach disappeared. 

"She's nauseous?" I asked for confirmation while looking at the servant next to me.

The servant nodded indifferently with a dismissive smile on her lips as she looked at me. 

"Yes, Ms. Rachel suddenly became nauseous. She surprised everyone at the board meeting. Now everyone is worried about Miss Rachel. The herd doctor told us that she's pregnant."

The servants around me looked at me with pity and dismissive smiles.

I knew what they were thinking. 

Everyone in this Pack and mansion disliked me and also because in three years of marriage, I hadn't gotten pregnant.

If Rachel is really pregnant, everyone can find out who the child's father is. Rachel is the one who always accompanies Lyord everywhere as a secretary, more than me as his wife. She was Lyord's true mate. 

I took a deep breath, holding back the emotional turmoil in my chest so as not to affect the baby in my stomach. 

"Ah, I see," I said with feigned indifference and took back the fork, eating like a starving person even though I lost my appetite and was nauseous, but kept my pride from crying in front of the servants.

The servants looked at each other with furrowed brows and annoyed expressions but didn't say anything more in front of me.

After finishing my dinner quickly without leaving anything behind, I told them to clear the table. 

When I turned to leave, I heard their voices deliberately behind my back.

"She was married for three years but never got pregnant. That means she's barren. Miss Rachel is very lucky, she is now pregnant. Everyone in the Packhouse is happy because we will finally have a successor for Alpha."

"I wonder when Alpha will dispose of that barren hybrid. Goodness, she's of no use to our Pack."

My chest heated up with anger at their comments. I could not contain my anger, so I turned to face the Omega servants.

I, the daughter of the Lycan King, had been patient and humbled while the Northwind pack scorned and belittled me.

 If I do not teach the servants a lesson, who will honor me in my own home?!

"You're so eager to talk about your masters. Do you want to be sent as slaves to the West camp?!"

The servants didn't look scared and lifted their chins haughtily in front of me.

"Sorry, Luna, you'll have to ask Miss Rachel's permission if you want to send us to be slaves in the West Camp."

"Why should I ask her permission if I'm Luna here?! You all show no respect and carelessly talk about the master behind his back. If I don't punish you today, you'll be even more insolent."

"Luna, you are from Eastwood, an enemy of the Northwind Pack. Your Pack has killed several of our family members. Even though you married our Alpha and became Luna, that doesn't mean we have to bow to you! Even if Alpha Lyord accepts you for the sake of a peaceful alliance, we will forever not accept you as Luna!" The servant showed her hatred on her face, just like the other servants.

They were more and more blatantly showing their hatred and dislike for me. Is it because Rachel is pregnant, and they think I'll be eliminated? No, as long as the peaceful alliance of Eastwood and Northwind Pack remained, I couldn't be eliminated, especially since there was Lyord's child in my stomach.

"Your Pack also killed some of my family members. Do you think only you can show hatred?" I replied coldly.

The servants scowled.

"I will forgive your insolence today. If you dare to still be insolent to me, believe me, I'll have Lyord banish you to slavery in the Northwind Pack's Western region camp."

After saying that sentence, I left them and took the car keys. I stepped out of the packhouse that was suffocating me. The pack members who passed by me stared sarcastically and smirked. Their whispers sounded seemingly intentional for me to hear.

"Rachel is finally pregnant. Our Pack will have an heir. Everyone in the Pack is very happy to hear the news of Miss Rachel's pregnancy."

"Really, what good does it do us to have that barren Luna? She's not doing Luna's job. She lays around all day and wastes our Pack's money. Even the task of conceiving the heir is done by Miss Rachel."

"She's completely useless and barren. A wolfless hybrid who took advantage of her status as the Lycan King's daughter to force our Alpha to marry her."

"I wish Alpha would kick that barren hybrid out of the pack immediately."

My ears were burning from all those words, but I couldn't scold and punish them. Lyord would protect his pack members over me.

With my emotions churning, I drove the car away from the packhouse and headed to Reed Town. I didn't know where to go and circled around Reed Town to calm my emotions due to the news of Rachel's pregnancy. 

I didn't have any friends or people close to me here. I missed my father, the Lycan King Cassius who didn't look down on me despite being a hybrid and lacking wolf abilities.

I was always looked down upon despite my status as the princess of the Eastwood kingdom. My father was the only one who respected me. But I didn't dare contact him, afraid that my father would find out about Lyord's treatment of me and would try to break our relationship.

I still loved Lyord. Fell in love with him at first sight when I was ten years old and waited eight years to marry him. However, this marriage was far from the dream I had envisioned. 

 Lyord had his true partner and hated me for forcing the marriage on him.

After driving aimlessly and the night was getting late, I was forced to return to the packhouse.

The moment I stepped into the living room, my gaze immediately fell on Lyord who was sitting on the living room sofa. His gaze was sharp as if piercing, making my heart beat fast.

"Lyord, are you waiting for me ...." my voice was a little hopeful; not having finished speaking, he had already swung his hand quickly.

One strong slap landed on my cheek, making me fall to the floor. In shock, my hand reflexively grazed my sore cheek, and tears flowed from my eyes.

"Lyord, why ...."

With bubbling anger, he pointed at my face and stared with his coldest blue eyes. "Nia Schafer, how dare you try to hurt Rachel and our baby!"

My heart choked, almost in disbelief at what he had just said. "Wh-what? What do you mean?" 

"Don't pretend in front of me! You tried to poison Rachel and almost killed our baby! Nia, you're so cruel, how dare you hurt my unborn child!"

Shock coursed through my body. My eyes widened as if the world around me had stopped spinning. Did I try to poison Rachel? That's impossible! I didn't even meet her tonight! 

"When did I do that? I didn't even see her this whole night!" I exclaimed painfully at Lyord's accusation against me.

Lyord squatted in front of me and grabbed my jaw angrily.

"The servants already admitted that you asked them to send milk for Rachel after hearing the news of her pregnancy. You tried to poison her and wanted to eliminate our baby! Nia, I respect you for your father, but that doesn't mean you can hurt Rachel! I told you before, don't ever hurt Rachel!"