1-Negative

Chapter One 

Ariana’s POV

“I’m sorry to inform you that you’ve tested negative for pregnancy, Ariana” 

James, the pack doctor, said and my whole world crumbled all over again. I dropped my head to the ground as a single tear rolled down my cheek. 

James squeezed my shoulder gently, “Don't worry, everything is going to be okay,” he added reassuringly. 

Slowly, I raised my head and plastered a fake smile. “Sure. Thank you, James”

“No, thank you. You’ve been so wonderful to our pack and a big blessing to the hospital, especially. I wonder what our lives would have become if you weren't in it. You are a true Luna” 

My fake smile widened. 

“Don't mention it, James. That's what a Luna is for, isn't it” 

James grinned and squeezed my shoulder and I stifled a whimper, grounding my teeth as pain rippled through my nerves. Although the wounds on my shoulder and back were healed, my skin felt tender and raw with pain. 

“Yes, but you are exceptional” he added with a wry smile after noting my flinch but choosing not to ask about it, “And just in case you want to talk about something –anything at all, I'm here, okay?” he added, whelming me with gratitude for him.

My smile flattered and I struggled to keep it up. 

“Okay. Thank you, James” I croaked,  hobbling away before my tears started to fall. Once I was inside my car, I buried my face in my palm and broke into a quiet sob, my heart aching with the pain of the information I just received.

Members of the Snow Valley pack knew nothing of what I was going through. How could they know that beneath my smiles and hard work, I was dying inside? How could they know that my inability to give my mate a child affected me more than I let on?

They all knew that my father sold me to Alex to breed and bear him pups but what they didn't know is what happens if I don't start popping out children. Only my mate’s father, Alpha Shadowfang, whom I live in the packhouse with knew, yet he thought of me as perfection and adored me. He even made me Luna even though Alex, his son, and my mate, wasn't Alpha yet. 

If it wasn't for him, I'd have long committed suicide. Because my union with Alex was anything but a typical family. My marriage was filled with disrespect and one-sided commitment. My marriage to Alex was arranged by him and my father but I accepted it. Not because I wanted to or because he was the son of an Alpha or the future Alpha himself but because I had to…

If you don't marry him, your mother will die. That was what my father said that night. 

Growing up, the Soon Valley pack was a harmonious home for both werewolves and Lycans. We co-existed and intermarried without any issues. However, two years ago, something happened between both clans, and werewolves started catching Lycan and killing them. 

My mother, who was of Lycan bloodline, was also caught. She was brutally abused, beaten, and drugged, and by the time I got there, she’d slipped into a coma and was declared brain-dead shortly afterward. 

The pack's insurance informed me they wouldn't pay her medical bills because she was Lycan and my father, a high-ranking werewolf whom I thought would support me, sided with the pack elders who insisted they let my mother die. I was all on my own, helpless and heartbroken until my father arranged for me to get married to Alex. 

The deal was simple. Alex would pay all my mother's medical expenses, and in return, he’d breed me, and I'd bear him armies of extremely strong pups. 

My father knew I had no other choice. He knew I would do anything for my mother. He had me where he wanted and I hated him for that. I hated them all but I had no other choice but to marry Alex. 

Throughout our wedding preparation, Alex was emotionally and mentally absent, but he marked me and fulfilled his other duties, and sooner than later, I got pregnant. Breeders were known to have the most healthy and strong babies but when I put to bed, my baby was delivered dead, and that was when I knew the monster of a man I got married to. 

Whatever tolerance I thought he had for me vanished. Alex began to call me names, accusing me of being a bad omen. He beat and fucked me every day just so I'll conceive. He made it obvious there was nothing he wanted from me more than a child, but I couldn't give him that. 

So I gave up. I stopped believing that I could conceive. I started to believe that I was cursed, stopped praying for a miracle, and accepted there was nothing like happiness for me, only pain and suffering. 

But these past few weeks have been different. My flow was late and I’d been having splitting headaches and nausea. I started to believe that the impossible had happened, that I was pregnant, but James had said all those were a result of my imbalanced hormones and poor diet, dashing my hopes against the wall. 

“We are here,” Ryker, my driver, stated, pulling me away from my mind. He’d pulled into the driveway of our mansion and I didn't notice. I exited the car robotically, my mind raw with fear and anxiety as I wondered how to break the news to Alex. 

“You don't look good, Luna Ariana,” Selene, my maidservant, said as I climbed up the stairs in a haze. “Please have this.” She passed me a glass of warm almond milk, which I sipped. 

Refreshed yet scared, I proceeded to my bedroom, which I shared with Alex, to explain the result, craving for his understanding, but as I approached our bedroom, I began to voices. Intimate breathy sounds that made my stomach twist. 

“Don't worry about Ariana. She is nothing compared to you, even as Luna”  I heard my mate’s voice. 

“Never has and never will be ” I heard a woman’s voice. It sounded familiar. Too familiar. 

Alex and I’s marriage was devoid of respect, love, and understanding. I’d endured the worst in this union but nothing could have prepared me for what I was hearing now. 

“She already has your mark, and you are going to be touching her in the future,” the feminine voice said again, and this time, I recognized it to be my best friend’s voice. 

“Yes, I know, but I don't love her. I only married her because she's a breeder. I require her alleles to produce multiple, powerful offspring or hybrids with desirable traits” Alex’s voice replied, husky with desire. 

“It's you, Natalie. It has always been you. You are the one I love and desire, not that filthy piece of thrash. I love you so much and I know you love me too. Right?”

“Mmmh, you bet I do” Natalie’s voice wafted through the door before the sound of smacking lips took over. 

“You love that, don't you my love?” Alex growled. 

“Of course….arrgh yes!” 

The sound of hips thrusting into each other in perfect sync and sounds of lovemaking filled the air. 

With my heart in my stomach, I twisted the doorknob and opened the door. My heart sank to the ground and tears brimmed my eyes as I took in the view before me. 

On the dresser table was Natalie. She had her legs on my mate’s shoulders as he drove in and out of her in ecstasy. I could not believe what I was seeing…I couldn't believe that my mate was pounding my best friend senselessly in our bedroom. 

“What on earth is going on here?” I asked, my voice steady, careful not to let the cracks in my facade spread and shatter. 

Alex paused in his thrust, noticing my presence but neither of them jumped in remorse or showed a trace of guilt. 

The never of them both! 

They didn't even have the decency to appear remotely ashamed, especially my mate, but why should he be? This was just an arrangement to him anyway, one that he could easily violate. 

But my best friend…the person I trusted most in this world. The person I went to when I was depressed or happy. What has happened between us?

“N-Natalie, how could you do this to me?” I asked, quivering with anger and dismay. 

Natalie moved from their entangled position but just enough so that I could see where Alex marked her neck. It felt like a rude slap to my face. A harsh reminder of how valued I was to him.

“I didn't do anything to you, bestie. I'm only taking what is rightfully mine” she snickered 

“Nat…” I trailed in hurt, seeing the hatred in her eyes. Raw and deep-seated. At that moment I realized that all the sweet words and pleasant behavior she had shown me were nothing but kisses from Judas. 

I turned to look at Alex who was already looking at me with annoyance and irritation. 

“Ariana, I was meaning to speak to you about this, but lucky you’ve arrived on time” Alex spoke casually as he fixed his zipper, his shaft still erect, yearning for Natalie. “I’ll be spending the night here with Natalie and for this reason, you’ll spend the night in the guest house”

Everything felt like a nightmare. For a moment, I thought that I had misheard him, that those words were a figment of my imagination but it echoed loud and clear in the air. 

“Guest house?” I asked dumbfounded and caught entirely off guard. “Alex, I’m your mate and your legally wedded wife.” I reminded him to which he scoffed.

“Why should I be the one to go to the guest house instead of your mistress?” my words had barely found resonance in the air when a sharp slap cut across my face. 

“How dare you call her names?” He snapped coldly? “Natalie is a Beta blood. She is of higher rank and you are just an ordinary Breeder. I do not care whether you are my legally married wife or not, but you better get used to sleeping in the guest house because henceforth, Natalie and I will be sharing this bedroom,” he said in one breath, and I hugged myself, feeling more alone than ever. 

“But…” I tried to argue but he grabbed my hair and pulled me against his chest, making me wince in pain. 

“You are going to listen to my words very closely, and I'm going to give you this warning once,” he said as he tightened his grip around my hair, causing me to thrash out. 

“You are going to do as I say whether you like it or not, otherwise, you are going to be suffering consequences you do not want to deal with, and If anyone hears of what happened here, I'm going to fucking  pull your mother's life support plugs. Am I making myself clear?”

My stomach dropped. 

The threat was clear in his eyes and I trembled, nodding eagerly, unable to find my voice because of fear. 

“Use your goddamn voice, bitch!” He huffed, tightening his grip around my hair until I cried out. 

“Yes. Yes. Yes” I managed to say, my voice steady despite the tears threatening to fall.

“Good, now get out!” He yelled, roughly grabbing and throwing me out of the room along with a key card before slamming the door in my face. 

The tears I struggled to hold came pouring down my cheeks, hot and unrelentless. I crouched on the door outside my door sobbing. 

I don't know how long I embraced the floor like an old friend but once my tears dried out, my numb mind led me to a bar close to the guest house where I'd be staying for the night.

I ordered a bottle of vodka and poured myself the first shot. Second. Third, Fourth. Fifth and then lost count until the bottle was completely empty. Just when I was about to order my second bottle, I heard a group of giggling she-wolves, whispering and taking pictures of me. 

Hating the attention I was drawing, I decided to head to the guest house, my head spinning and my vision blurred…room 204 is what was written on the keycard. Alex had handed me the key to the room, so I assumed the door would be locked, but when I got to the door, it was surprisingly open. 

The scent of steam and aftershave wafting through the door confirmed my suspicion. Someone was inside the room…