0003.

Lunaria's POV.

I woke up to the smell of sterile substances and the sound of a hospital monitor beeping. I groaned loudly in pain in my semi-conscious state, the pain radiating from my body almost too much to bear at that very minute. I winced, slowly fluttering my eyes open, only to be almost blinded by the brightness of my surroundings.

I closed my eyes again, then slowly reopened them to adjust to the new environment. That's when I realized I was in my room, back in the place I was given right before I was accused of the Alpha's death and thrown into a dungeon. "You're awake," the family doctor, Maya, said as she walked towards me, a smile on her face. I didn’t know if I should return it since there was nothing to smile about.

"You..." I began, but I couldn’t complete my sentence. "What are you?"

"Just relax and don't try to move too much," she said, her concern quickly turning into disgust as she added, "Those animals... How could they have done that to you? Especially with the way things are for you in this fragile stage, what were they thinking treating you like that?” She settled in a chair next to me after checking my vitals. I gently sat up straight, and she immediately assisted me. I looked around, trying to calm my racing heart, as I said, "What am I doing here? Aren't I supposed to be in the dungeon? Aren't I supposed to be dead or something?

"You passed out, and Alpha Nathan called me to check on you. You have been unconscious for two days now, and I am sure you must be weak from all the beatings you have endured." I took a deep breath, not knowing what to say or how to respond.

Tears welled up in my eyes, gently flowing down my cheeks as I said, "They think I killed the king." I looked down at my hands and added, "They found my fingerprints all over the dagger that was used to murder him, and now they think I killed him. They think I am some kind of murderer." I struggled to keep myself from breaking into a sob.

She reached out to me, gently grabbing my hands in hers as she whispered softly, "Please don't dwell on it too much, okay? I know you didn't do it, and I know you are not capable of killing anyone. Whoever committed such heinous crimes will be found. Alpha Nathan will make sure of that, you know he will reinvestigate it. All you have to do is relax and know that your innocence will be proven very soon in front of the council and every single traitor who had testified falsely against you”

I immediately raised my head to look her in the eyes, arching my brow in confusion as I asked, "Nathan?"

"Yes," she replied, nodding while I struggled to find the words.

"I thought he didn’t believe me. Isn’t he the one that passed the death sentence on me?" I was confused because nothing was making sense at that very moment, why would Nathan who seemed like he had drawn a conclusion want to investigate again. She smiled at me as she said.

"I know he doesn’t believe you committed such a crime and made that declaration that the case will be under his control so he can buy time to reinvestigate and save you. If another elder had made the final judgment, he won’t be able to save you or do anything," She explained, squeezing my hands gently in a reassuring way before adding, "You should rest for now and try not to think too much about this. You are going to need a lot of rest, judging by your current condition…"

"How can I rest, Doctor? I will be executed, if he fails to prove my innocence then I will be known as the woman who murdered the Alpha, even after I die." I wiped my tears with the back of my hands as I asked, "Is this going to be how I die, Doctor Maya?”

"You are not going to die, especially not now," she said.

Her eyes drifted down to my stomach as she continued, "Not especially when you’re carrying Nathan, the new Alpha’s child." I froze, unable to say a word. Had I heard her correctly, or had the beatings finally driven me to hear things? I looked up at her, arching my brow as I asked,

"What did you say?" A warm smile graced her lips before she replied, "You’re carrying Nathan’s child. I carried out some tests, and they showed you’re three weeks along. Here are the results," she said, handing them over to me. My body trembled as I slowly reached out and took the paper from her.

My eyes danced over the contents of the paper as I desperately hoped this wasn’t happening. Seriously? I was carrying Nathan’s child. Seriously.

"Who knows about this?" I asked, lifting my head to look at her. She shook her head as she answered,

"Nobody, just you. I got the results minutes ago, so I haven’t told anyone yet. I thought you should be the first to know if you didn’t already." I gulped, looking at the test results, crumpling them slightly in my hands, my mind racing. I looked at her before handing the paper back and saying, "I want to see the Alpha. Please don’t tell anyone about this, nobody."

"Your secret is safe with me. As your doctor, I won’t tell anyone unless you want me to." With that, I felt reassured as I rose to my feet, groaning in serious pain. She quickly helped me as she asked, "Do you need my assistance?"

I shook my head and replied, "No, don’t worry. I will handle this." She nodded immediately, taking a step backward. I had to control the immense pain I was feeling right there and then. I made my way out of the room, gripping objects along the way. I knew just where he would be at this time. Taking a deep breath, I continued walking until I reached his study. I didn't even know what to say to him at that moment. Neither did I know how he would react to having me around but I needed to break the news to him, to be sure that everything was alright between us at that moment.

Thankfully, there were no maids or guards around. It seemed as if he had deliberately cleared them out, but that wasn’t the matter at hand. I needed to talk to him, to make him understand that I wouldn’t have done something like that to his father. I needed to see for myself that he believed I was innocent and to reveal that we were expecting our child.

My heart pounded in my chest as I walked to his study. I took a deep breath as I reached the door and lifted my hand to knock, but I paused, noticing the door was slightly ajar. Then, from inside, I heard uncomfortable sounds I didn’t want to hear. It was the sound of a woman speaking to him, I guessed, but as I strained to listen more closely, it began to sound like moaning. Was I hearing things, or was something going on?

Driven by curiosity or anger—I couldn’t tell which at that moment—I immediately stormed into the room, and to my utmost despair, there Nathan was, seated on a couch with a woman I didn’t recognize on his lap at first. They were entangled warmly in each other as she kissed him like she might as well swallow him any moment.

The moment I entered the room, she broke the kiss, looking at me with confusion that quickly turned into a smile, making me realize that the woman was Sarah, my best friend. My eyes darted to Alpha Nathan, who sat there with her in his embrace. He squinted his eyes as if he couldn’t recognize me, but his expression soon turned to slight shock as I stood there, my heart aching. Still in disbelief, I blurted out without thinking,

"You're cheating on me! With Sarah?" I choked out, my voice trembling. I couldn't process the betrayal, and my eyes welled up with tears. I spun around and rushed out of his study, tears blinding my vision as I raced through the dark streets to nowhere.

Suddenly, tires screeched beside me. A van door slid open, and before I could react, a bag was yanked over my head and that was the last thing I could remember.