Nyma stirred as the first rays of dawn spilled through the high windows like liquid gold.It was the kind of light that didn't just touch the earth—it blessed it. Gentle, warm, sacred. A far cry from the cold moonlight that had lit so much of her pain.For a moment, she simply lay there—still, suspended between sleep and something deeper. Her fever had broken. The storm in her body, in her soul, had stilled.The air was thick with the scent of healing herbs, bitter and heady, almost enough to turn her stomach. Ice packs lay piled up beside the bed, slowly melting, their chill fading with the passing night.To her left, she felt the steady presence of her mother—Luna Elara, her silver hair spilled like moonlight across the pillow, her brows furrowed even in sleep. She looked older than Nyma remembered. Or maybe Nyma was finally seeing her clearly—for who she was, not just the role she played.To her right, Raina, her sister-i
Raina waited until Nyma looked at her.Then she slid closer, her voice a whisper."I saw the way you flinched when we said his name." A pause. "This wasn’t just a fight, was it?"The teacup rattled in its saucer as Nyma's hands trembled. The floral pattern blurred before her eyes as her vision swam with unshed tears. The words she'd swallowed now sat like broken glass in her throat.Nyma's fingers curled into the fabric threatening to tear beneath her whitened knuckles.The words lodged in her throat, thick as tar. He lied. He used me. He took everything.But what came out was a whisper, broken and raw: "It was never a fight."Raina's sharp inhale was the only sound in the garden. Even the birds had stilled their singing, as if sensing the storm brewing beneath Nyma's carefully composed exterior."You're shaking," Raina murmured, reaching out.Nyma jerked back as if burned. "Please, don't. Don't touch me."
Eventually, Raina spoke again, quieter this time. "I heard you pacing in the hall around midnight."Nyma looked up."And I saw your window still lit at three," Raina continued gently. "So I thought… maybe you weren't sleeping either."There was no accusation in her tone. Just a quiet offering.Nyma set down her mug and wrapped her arms around her belly. The child shifted, sensing her wakefulness. Her voice, when it came, was tired and brittle."I didn't want to wake anyone. I just needed… peace and quiet.""I get it," Raina said simply. "Sometimes the only time we feel like we can breathe is when the world isn't watching."A silence fell again, this one heavier—loaded with understanding. They both carried their own weights: the ache of too much love and not enough truth.Finally, Raina broke the quiet, her voice lower than before. "Do you want to talk about it?"Nyma considered it. The fire crackled b
In this in-between hour, time itself seemed to pause—long enough to let hearts ache in quiet.Nyma sat curled in her chair, a throw wrapped loosely around her shoulders, her half-drunk mug of chocolate gone cold in her hands. She watched as Raina poured herself tea with practiced ease, then settled opposite her with a grace that could only come from habit—habit born of holding yourself together when the world kept asking you to fall apart.Neither spoke for a time.It was Raina who finally broke the silence with a soft, familiar smile. "I didn't mean to intrude.""You're not," Nyma said, and her voice was hoarse but sure. "I think… maybe I needed someone who understood."Raina looked up, eyes shining faintly in the firelight. "Understood what?"Nyma hesitated, then let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "That sometimes, even when everything is technically okay and sorted, you still feel like you're drowni
The Silvermoon pack-house was alive with celebration—golden lanterns swayed gently from the ceiling, casting a soft glow over the crowd. The scent of honeyed pastries and fresh blooms mixed with the ever-present musk of wolves and the Lycan family that host them.Nyma sat on her throne-like chair, one hand protectively resting on her swollen belly, a forced smile on her lips as she accepted gifts from her pack.She should have felt joy. Excitement. Something other than this choking sense of unease.Because among the laughter and well-wishes, her husband—Alpha Prince Adrain—hadn't even properly looked at her or given a compliment, when she had spend days to select perfect dress and arrangements just to make him more happier other than being a father.Adrain had returned just yesterday after five long months of 'special training,' yet he had barely spared Nyma a glance since stepping foot back into their home. Instead, Adrain was swallowed whole by his entourage—four women, three men—w
As the night stretched on and celebration came to a nearing end, Royal family took their leave first, then Nyma's family prepared to take their leave. She embraced her parents, her mother lingering for a moment longer, pressing a gentle kiss to her temple as if she sensed the storm brewing beneath Nyma's skin. Only Kael, Nyma's elder brother and his mate, Raina, Nyma's sister-in-law remained. They would be escorting Nyma to their family's territory, Raven Flack Pack in the morning, as per her request. Nyma wanted to give birth surrounded by those she trusted, rather than the den of Lycan she did not. The weight of the night pressed against her ribs. The veiled insults, the mocking gifts, Lucian's audacity—she had endured them all with her head high. But as her gaze flickered across the room, she found herself locked onto Adrain. Her mate. Her absent, distant, suspiciously preoccupied husband. For eight months, she had carried his child. For five, she had led their pack alone, endu
The morning light filtered through the heavy drapes, spilling golden streaks across the plush velvet of Nyma's chambers. Dust motes swirled in the air, dancing in the soft glow, as a faint rustling broke the silence. A familiar voice, gentle yet insistent, called her back from the restless void of sleep."Luna, it's time to rise."Nyma inhaled deeply, the scent of lavender and embers lingering from the night before. She blinked away the remnants of broken dreams, her hand instinctively settling over the curve of her unborn child. A tether to the present. A reminder of all that lay ahead.But beside her, the sheets remained undisturbed. Cold. As empty as they had been all night.The warmth from last evening... had been nothing but a cruel mirage.She said nothing as her omega moved efficiently through the room, drawing out layers of gossamer fabric, silks soft as moonlight. The quiet routine should have been comforting. Instead, it made the silence between her ribs ache all the more.T
"Lira, enough." She crept closer, her heart pounding as she peered through the dense trees. The clearing came into view, dimly lit by the last remnants of dawn's glow, and there—standing too close, much too close—were Adrain and Lira.His hands were on her arms, holding her steady. Lira, unsteady on her feet, swayed slightly, her usually sharp gaze hazy."Let me go, please," Lira muttered, pushing at his chest weakly. "I don't need your help.""You drank too much last night," Adrain's voice was taut, concerned. "You're barely standing, and you're in no condition to leave by yourself."Lira let out a breathy, exasperated laugh. "I'm fine, Alpha.""You're not," he countered, firm but not harsh. "You need rest, and I'm making sure you get back safely."Nyma's hands curled into fists. A dark, possessive growl rumbled deep in her chest, the presence of her she-wolf thrashing against the confines of her control. Why was he acting like this? Like she mattered? But still a tiny part of her r
In this in-between hour, time itself seemed to pause—long enough to let hearts ache in quiet.Nyma sat curled in her chair, a throw wrapped loosely around her shoulders, her half-drunk mug of chocolate gone cold in her hands. She watched as Raina poured herself tea with practiced ease, then settled opposite her with a grace that could only come from habit—habit born of holding yourself together when the world kept asking you to fall apart.Neither spoke for a time.It was Raina who finally broke the silence with a soft, familiar smile. "I didn't mean to intrude.""You're not," Nyma said, and her voice was hoarse but sure. "I think… maybe I needed someone who understood."Raina looked up, eyes shining faintly in the firelight. "Understood what?"Nyma hesitated, then let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "That sometimes, even when everything is technically okay and sorted, you still feel like you're drowni
Eventually, Raina spoke again, quieter this time. "I heard you pacing in the hall around midnight."Nyma looked up."And I saw your window still lit at three," Raina continued gently. "So I thought… maybe you weren't sleeping either."There was no accusation in her tone. Just a quiet offering.Nyma set down her mug and wrapped her arms around her belly. The child shifted, sensing her wakefulness. Her voice, when it came, was tired and brittle."I didn't want to wake anyone. I just needed… peace and quiet.""I get it," Raina said simply. "Sometimes the only time we feel like we can breathe is when the world isn't watching."A silence fell again, this one heavier—loaded with understanding. They both carried their own weights: the ache of too much love and not enough truth.Finally, Raina broke the quiet, her voice lower than before. "Do you want to talk about it?"Nyma considered it. The fire crackled b
Raina waited until Nyma looked at her.Then she slid closer, her voice a whisper."I saw the way you flinched when we said his name." A pause. "This wasn’t just a fight, was it?"The teacup rattled in its saucer as Nyma's hands trembled. The floral pattern blurred before her eyes as her vision swam with unshed tears. The words she'd swallowed now sat like broken glass in her throat.Nyma's fingers curled into the fabric threatening to tear beneath her whitened knuckles.The words lodged in her throat, thick as tar. He lied. He used me. He took everything.But what came out was a whisper, broken and raw: "It was never a fight."Raina's sharp inhale was the only sound in the garden. Even the birds had stilled their singing, as if sensing the storm brewing beneath Nyma's carefully composed exterior."You're shaking," Raina murmured, reaching out.Nyma jerked back as if burned. "Please, don't. Don't touch me."
Nyma stirred as the first rays of dawn spilled through the high windows like liquid gold.It was the kind of light that didn't just touch the earth—it blessed it. Gentle, warm, sacred. A far cry from the cold moonlight that had lit so much of her pain.For a moment, she simply lay there—still, suspended between sleep and something deeper. Her fever had broken. The storm in her body, in her soul, had stilled.The air was thick with the scent of healing herbs, bitter and heady, almost enough to turn her stomach. Ice packs lay piled up beside the bed, slowly melting, their chill fading with the passing night.To her left, she felt the steady presence of her mother—Luna Elara, her silver hair spilled like moonlight across the pillow, her brows furrowed even in sleep. She looked older than Nyma remembered. Or maybe Nyma was finally seeing her clearly—for who she was, not just the role she played.To her right, Raina, her sister-i
Nyma's pulse roared in her ears like a second heartbeat.Second Moon? Second Chance?Nyma stared at his frame, slowly familiarity and longing creeping into her bones. "You see yourself as ordinary?" Cynthia's fingers traced the scars Adrain's lies had left on Nyma's soul-body. Her bond with Adrain now looked like a chain around her wrist, painfully and hurtful "A privileged Alpha's daughter? A Lycan's temporary obsession?" Her celestial nails drew blood as they reached Nyma's swollen abdomen. "This child is no accident. This pain is no coincidence. You are the Waxing Crescent—the sliver of light that grows to devour the dark."The goddess's final words were a whisper against Nyma's soul before she vanished leaving Nyma with the choice to make second bond: "Now wake up. And show them what happens when the moon chooses sides." The words slithered through her mind, serpentine and heavy with meaning she couldn't grasp. Her fingers twitched at her sides, nails biting into her palms as sh
"Him?" Nyma gasped as fresh fire raced through her veins. "Who is he?""Shh… calm down, my crescen." the goddess voice said familiar, as if it had been whispered to her in dreams she never remembered upon waking.Crescen?Her lips parted, the question forming, but before she could speak, the silver light blinded her as it continued to speak."Luna Nyma, you dare put an infidelity mark on your mate, Lycan Alpha? Something rare and unexpected… done in centuries." the goddess walked out of the light in clear.The space charged with something that sent ice crawling down Nyma's spine. A pit yawned open in her stomach, a nameless, shapeless dread rising with it to see that light take shape.An infidelity mark?"Lunara, answer me... what is all this? Who is he and..." Nyma growl at her wolf. Having more than Lunara's presence in her consciousness felt overwhelming. With all her might, Nyma was resisting the stranger's
The next morning, the Alpha Cedric's packhouse awoke to chaos.Nyma burned. Not with rage, not with heartbreak—but with fever.Luna Elara was the first to notice. Before dawn, she had slipped into Nyma's room, a habit she had only recently broken after years of checking on her children as they slept. And Nyma's muffled sobs the earlier night had shattered that resolve, rekindling the instinct to protect not just her daughter, but the life growing inside her, gnawing at her like an old, familiar ache. Her daughter's pain was one thing, but the thought of her grandchild suffering too? That she couldn't bear.So Elara came only to find, her face ashen, Nyma lay drenched in sweat, her skin sickly pale, her body wracked with tremors as if caught in some unseen storm."Kael!" Elara's voice pierced through the halls, sharp and urgent. "Call Amelia, now! Nyma got fever. "Kael was in the room before the words had fully left their mother's mouth, his
As they crossed into Raven's Flock territory, the tension in the car shifted. The dense, familiar forest wrapped around them like a protective shroud, the towering evergreens whispering in the wind. And when they finally pulled up to the grand pack house, the sight of it—warmly lit, bustling with anticipation—made something tighten in Nyma's chest.They were waiting for her.The gates of Raven's Flock loomed ahead, wrought iron twisted into the shape of outstretched wings. As the car rolled to a stop, Nyma's breath caught—the scent of pine and hearth smoke wrapped around her like a forgotten embrace.Six months.Six months since she'd stood here as Adrain had come after her with a proposal of marriage for her. Sealing her fate with him from mates to soulmates for all life.Six months since she had left this place as a Luna-to-be, glowing with hope, believing in the promises whispered against her skin. Six months sin
As Nyma emerged from the training grounds, the coldness clung to her like air bitten into her skin, and she barely flinched. The ignition in her veins had yet to cool. Behind her, the scent of blood and betrayal lingered, and she refused to look back.A sleek black car idled at the edge of the clearing, came into view, its sight cutting through the her misty darkness. Leaning against the hood, arms crossed, stood Kael—her brother, ever watchful. His hazel eyes locked onto Nyma immediately, scanning her with the precision of a protector.Beside him, Raina, his mate, sat in the open passenger seat, her usually warm expression twisted with concern. The moment Nyma stepped closer, Raina's brows furrowed."You reek of blood," she said, voice careful. Just knowing.Kael pushed off the car, his nostrils flaring as he took in her scent. His stance stiffened. "Nyma… what happened?" Kael's voice was measured, but his wolf was on high alert.