Chapter 1

Neoma’s POV

I sat on the bus, a soft smile tugging at my lips as I gently rubbed my flat belly. The tiny bump beneath my hand felt like the most precious thing in the world.

No words could truly describe the joy bubbling within me. After years of trying, of heartbreak, of staring at negative pregnancy tests, it had finally happened.

 I was pregnant.

Two weeks, the doctor had said.

I replayed Dr. Phil's words in my head for what must have been the twentieth time that day. "You're two weeks pregnant." When I first heard him say those words, I thought I had misheard. "Can you repeat that, Dr. Phil? Are you sure?" I had asked, my voice trembling.

He had chuckled warmly and repeated it.

Tears of pure, uncontainable joy had spilled from my eyes. Years of waiting and praying had finally paid off.

Patrick would be so happy.

I smiled wider at the thought of him sweeping me off my feet, twirling me around in excitement. He would kiss me and tell me how much he loved me. My heart swelled as I imagined his reaction. We had waited so long for this moment.

However, my daydreams were interrupted by the news blaring from the television at the front of the bus.

“Another clash between werewolves and humans occurred yesterday, leaving eight humans and one werewolf dead. The authorities are urging both communities to remain calm.”

I turned my gaze to the window, the smile on my face fading. "Bloody werewolves," I muttered under my breath.

It was always something with them. If it wasn’t a bar fight, it was a territorial dispute.

My father had once told me that things weren’t always this way, that werewolves and humans used to coexist peacefully. But that was before the big fallout in the 1990s, a fight that no one really understood but had left both sides bitter and distrustful.

I hated werewolves. Everything about them, disgust me.

They had taken so much from me. My mother had died in childbirth because of them. My father had been left in a vegetative state, unable to distinguish reality from hallucination after a werewolf attack. My life had been marked by their violence and cruelty, and I wanted nothing to do with them.

I sighed, pushing those thoughts aside as the bus approached my stop. Today was not the day to dwell on hatred. Today was about joy.

As I stepped into my small home, a flush of excitement washed over me again. Patrick was going to be thrilled when he comes back. But on approaching the door, I was surprised, his shoes were by the door. He wasn’t supposed to be home yet; he had an important job interview today.

I had prayed so hard that he would get it. After all, I had been the one paying the bills for five years now, and while I didn’t mind supporting him, it was becoming harder to manage on my cashier’s salary.

With a baby on the way, things would need to change, more mouth to feed and my small cashier salary won’t be able to cover for me, Patrick’s, my father hospital bills and our new baby.

"Patrick?" I called out, my voice filled with excitement. "Babe, I didn’t know you were home! How did the interview go? I have the best news—"

My words caught in my throat as I pushed open the bedroom door.

There he was. My Patrick. But he wasn’t alone. A woman was in bed with him, her long, flowing black hair draped over the pillow. They were locked up in a passionate kiss and love making.

Shock rooted me to the spot. My heart pounded so hard it felt like it would burst.

“Patrick?” My voice was barely a whisper.

He jumped up, his face contorting with anger. “What the hell is wrong with you? Can’t you knock? And what are you even doing home? Aren’t you supposed to be at work?”

I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t move.

The woman in the bed sat up, her amber eyes cold as she looked at me. “Patrick, I’m not doing this anymore. It’s me or her. I don’t share or fight for a man with…human.” She spat the word like it was poison.

My mind spun. Did she just say human? Was this actually what I am thinking?

The woman slid out of bed, her movements unnaturally graceful. She moved with an inhuman speed, grabbing her clothes from the chair. The realization hit me like a truck. She wasn’t just any woman.

She was a werewolf.

 Patrick was cheating on me with a werewolf.

“Lucy, please!” Patrick scrambled out of bed, and ran to her, grabbing her arm. “You know I love you. You’re the one my heart yearns for. Don’t leave me, please.”

“What?” I managed to whisper as tears blurred my vision. I couldn’t believe what I heard. Patrick turned to me with a look of pure hatred.

“I can’t keep pretending, Neoma. I don’t love you! I never did. Lucy is the woman I truly love.” His voice was cold and sharp, like a knife slicing through my chest.

I stared at him, I almost slumped to the floor but something still held me standing there. It was as if the world was crumbling around me. The man I had loved, the man I had spent five years building a life with, didn’t love me. Worse, he had been lying to me all along. And for her—a werewolf.

Lucy rolled her eyes, slipping on her dress. “Patrick, I’m leaving. Call me when you’ve sorted out…whatever this is.” She gestured toward me with disdain before walking out the door.

Patrick didn’t chase her this time. He just stood there, glaring at me like I was the problem. His eyes were filled with so much detestation I had never seen before.

I finally found my voice, though it was shaky and weak. “How long?”

“What does it matter?” he snapped. “You’re nothing to me, Neoma. You never were.”

Those words hit me, I stumbled back, clutching my stomach protectively. The joy I had felt on the bus was gone, replaced by a hollow ache.

“Patrick…” I whispered, tears streaming down my face. Whatever that had held me standing was gone and now my knees felt weak, and I clutched the doorframe to steady myself.

 “How could you… after everything I have done for you all this… five years?”

“You mean everything I’ve had to endure?” he shot back. “You’ve been a crutch, Neoma, nothing more. I could have left you since, but you always look so pathetic and pitiful, I had to endure! Moreover, you are talking about what you have done for me for the past five years, those horrible years! You’re lucky I even stayed that long. You were convenient, that’s all! You think I will start a future with you with those peanuts you get from that your cashier job. Well, my new girlfriend, Lucy, is well loaded and you’re noting compare to her!”

I was shaking.

 “You better be gone before I come back here” I whispered, my voice trembling.

I managed to say, as that was the only words that could come out of my mouth after hearing all that.

Patrick was saying things but I couldn’t hear him, I didn’t want to. I turned and walked out with my legs which were now shaking, slamming the door behind me.