Chapter 0001

Fiona’s POV

Sometimes, your whole world turns upside down when you least expect it.

A few hours ago, I thought my life was finally taking a turn for the better. I was happily married to the formidable Lycan Prince of one of the deadliest werewolf kingdoms. I felt loved and respected, starting to believe that things would continue to be fine.

Until they weren't.

Now, I nervously sit in a sterile hospital room, waiting for the doctor to return with test results as waves of pain assault my stomach. I jump to my feet as soon as she enters, making the room spin around me.

"Was there a child?" I ask immediately, my hand going to touch my stomach as tears well up in my eyes.

She shakes her head.

"No, there was not a child, but there is a problem. You have a rare condition we see in Were-females. It is called Senese Uteri. It means you might never have children in your life."

"W-what? How?" I squeeze the words out as my throat constricts around them, trying to hold them in.

Micah is the Prince of Alastair Kingdom and the most powerful Lycan in our kingdom. He needs to have an heir, better than that, a whole passel of them. The doctor may not know that I'm married to the prince, as our marriage isn't public, but I know that I need to conceive an heir.

Her lips purse, and I feel my heart shatter in my chest.

"This disease causes your uterus to age rapidly, much faster than the rest of your body, which makes the chances of you conceiving really low."

"What are my chances?" I ask, tears now freely running down my cheeks.

"I would say less than ten percent. Even if you get pregnant, it will be a miracle if you can carry the child to term. I will give you medication for the pain and to slow the progression, but there is little chance you can conceive. I'm sorry, Miss Richards." Her eyes are sorrowful as she pats my leg and leaves the room.

Another wave of agony washes over me, and I feel the absence of my wolf more acutely than ever. She stays silently inside of me, not even reacting to the pain we are in.

She has been lying dormant most of my life, causing me to be teased and harassed by others in my pack due to my lack of smell, my lack of a wolf. After my marriage with Micah, I thought my life would be a bit easier, but now, I feel lost and hopeless.

With shaking fingers, I grab my phone from my purse and dial Micah's number, hoping against hope that he will pick up. However, the phone rings and rings, but there is no answer.

Tears blur my vision, staining the screen with their salty tracks. The anguish surging within me is uncontrollable as I watch Micah's name flash on the screen, yet he remains unresponsive.

I muster the strength to leave a message, praying that he'll respond and offer me the support I so desperately need.

"Micah, it's me," I whisper, my voice barely audible through the tears. "I just got some news from the doctor, and it's... it's not good. I really need you right now. Please, please call me back as soon as you can." I'm barely able to finish my sentence before the line goes dead. Or perhaps it's been dead for a while.

Frustration boils up within me, and for a moment, I contemplate flinging my phone against the nearest wall. My voicemail never went through; Micah's phone is powered off now.

A low keening sound erupts from my throat. If I can't conceive… I push those thoughts out of my head. The doctor said the chances were slim, but there is a chance. It is the only way I can keep my husband.

Micah has been gruff but kind throughout our marriage. However, even though he seems to care for me, he must have an heir; he can't stay married to a barren woman.

A nurse walks in and interrupts my depressing thoughts. I try to shake away the dread and cling to the hope that I can conceive, going through the motions with the nurse as she talks about taking medication while stuffing papers and a prescription into my hand.

As I go out into the hallway, a squeak of a shoe has me looking up.

The scene has me frozen in my tracks. I blink twice to ensure that what I am seeing is real.

Micah, my husband, and a woman with long dark hair and swaying hips walk towards the obstetrics wing. I watch as he wraps his arm around her waist.

She puts her head on his shoulder as they slowly walk towards the double doors, disappearing into the hospital wing.

Pain lances through my heart, and I feel my entire body go cold. I know she is Rowena Archer, Micah's ex-girlfriend.

Tears flood my face. She is the reason he isn't answering my calls.

"Miss, are you alright?" A kind nurse comes towards me. I give her a weak smile and try not to look towards the doors they disappeared behind.

“Just a bit dizzy.” She smiles sympathetically, before taking my prescription and escorting me to the nurse's station.

"You stay right here. I just need to go into the back and grab your medication.”

I nod and stand there staring as another nurse swings around the corner, putting a chart on the counter.

Someone calls out to her, and she turns, leaving the chart.

Unconsciously, my gaze falls on the sheet clipped to the chart.

It reads: Rowena Archer, pregnancy test positive. Ultrasound results confirmed.

I stare at the paper until it blurs. The words pound my mind.

Pregnant, Pregnant, Pregnant.

Is it Micah's? Has he been seeing her behind my back?

Has she been back in Alastair for some time, and I was protected from it? Or more like was it hidden from me so that Micah could be with his ex-girlfriend, his true love?

He once left at our wedding to go to her.

I waited for hours for him to show up, finding out that he was hours late for our wedding due to Rowena being in trouble. She has been a constant black cloud over our marriage.

I'd spent the initial months of our marriage fraught with paranoia that she'd return to steal him away. It was only when she disappeared from our lives that I'd begun to feel secure in our marriage. Three years - that’s how long she had been gone. Three years of having Micah all to myself.

Now, she is back in Alastair - pregnant and being escorted to the hospital by my husband. While I stand here, broken and alone.

"I’m sorry dear; I had a frightful time finding one of the medications," the nurse says as she comes back, bustling around the corner.

As she hands me the medication, I can't help but feel my spirits sink.

It no longer matters if I can bear children; Micah has made his choice. For the second time that day, my heart shatters into a million pieces beyond repair.

He will cast me aside and marry her instead. My time as his wife will soon be over, and I will have to pick up the shattered pieces of my heart and my pride to start a new life.

One far away from Alastair.

But first, I must divorce my husband, and that might be easier said than done.