Chapter 4

That night should’ve been a loud, joyful Christmas.

Instead, I didn’t sleep at all.

I lay there numb, thoughts tangled into knots I couldn’t untie.

Andrew lay beside me for a while, but when the damp heaviness of midnight thickened, I heard the sheets rustle, heard his careful footsteps as he got out of bed.

He thought I was asleep.

I wasn’t.

I didn’t move. I listened to his footsteps until the door clicked softly shut.

Then, faint laughter from the room next door—Rory’s—

And his voice too, too low to hear clearly.

But the silence had already been cut open.

I placed a hand over my belly.

A life was growing there—my pup, with my blood and Andrew’s.

But I swore, Andrew would never know this pup existed.

When morning came, Andrew kissed me the way he always did.

“Ashley,” he said. “We need to talk.”

“What now?” I grumbled, half-resentful.

He hesitated, cleared his throat.

“Rory… the guest room she’s in is too small. The lighting isn’t good. She’s pregnant—she needs space and sunlight.”

For one second, I wished for a flash of sight—just long enough to see what his expression looked like right now.

My blind eyes “stared” at nothing, and I forced myself to process his words.

“Sunlight?”

His tone turned solemn. “Yes. The master bedroom is bigger, and it has plenty of sunlight. It’s suitable for her to stay there.”

He added, “It’s not permanent. Just until the pup is born.”

I crushed down the urge to burst out of my skin and shift—crushed down the urge to tear into him and fight until blood soaked the floor.

Rage burned through my ribs. I wanted to scream—

I’m pregnant too.

My pup should have had those things.

He tried to persuade me again, using that self-righteous, condescending tone, like his logic was holy.

“Ashley, you can’t see sunlight. Rory is pregnant—you can’t be so intolerant of a weak Omega, can you? Besides, she’s helped you so much. You used to only stay in the bedroom… maybe it’s time you learned to sacrifice something.”

“Fine.”

If the pain of my nails digging into my palm didn’t keep me anchored, my scream would’ve ripped out of my throat.

His aura loosened, pleased, relieved.

“But I need you to sign something.” I pulled a document from the drawer, the surface marked with raised bumps so I could identify it.

“You really shouldn’t always be demanding things, Ashley,” he complained.

But he was too happy—too eager to get rid of a nuisance—to hesitate.

The pen scratched over the paper, ending with a firm dot.

I tucked the document away at once, and listened to him and Rory’s voices fade down the hallway.

Then I grabbed my phone and called Mason.

“I’ve already finished the divorce with Andrew,” I said coldly. “Withdraw the border Warriors.”

Andrew had no idea.

Half his territory had been taken and held by Mason.

All this time, I’d wanted Andrew to have everything he desired, even if it meant I stayed silent in the shadows, nothing more than a sponsor.

But today, it was over.

“I’ll find a way to cure your eyes. There are always herbs the Moon Goddess left behind in the forest…” Mason’s voice was low.

I listened, paused, then said quietly, “It’s fine.”

I wasn’t born blind.

When Mason was little, he played too far and left me alone deep in the forest—my eyes were infected by the mist.

So he’s always carried guilt. Whatever I asked for, he would do it.

“Did you give the Moon Goddess’s Mark to Andrew?” Mason gathered the courage to ask, careful. “Maybe you should try it.”

Suspicious but desperate, I lifted the Mark close to my eyes.

A fierce power surged into me.

My eyeballs felt like they were swelling, aching—like they might burst—

And at the same time, the mate bond was washed clean.

But I didn’t feel the tearing pain people always described when a mate bond snapped.

Instead, it felt like a gentle touch.

Suddenly, Chloe grew wild inside me.

I knew what that meant.

That woman was here.

Rory appeared at the doorway, her voice still soft.

“Luna, let me help you.”

My vision sharpened, piece by piece.

And this time, I saw her face clearly—

And the fake smile she wore.

I thought of the day she held me and cried after Ethan died.

I realized she’d worn the same smile then too.

Only back then, it had looked more real.