Chapter 1
**Sera's POV**
I heard my mate laugh about me to his friends, call me boring, then book a midnight flight to another woman — all while I stood ten feet away, carrying his twins he didn't know existed.
The rooftop terrace of the packhouse buzzed with the low hum of conversation. I'd come up to surprise Kael. Homemade dinner. Ultrasound photo tucked inside my jacket.
Two heartbeats. Our pups.
But before I could step into the light, his voice reached me first.
"Mina's just... different." Kael's deep voice carried over the night air like a knife wrapped in velvet. "She's got this fire in her. Reminds me of how Sera used to be."
His Beta, Ronan, snorted. "Before you tamed her?"
The other wolves laughed.
My fingers tightened around the ultrasound photo.
"Sera's fine," Kael said, and the casualness of it made my stomach lurch. "She's just... settled. Predictable. You know how it is."
"Boring," someone supplied.
Kael didn't correct him.
Ronan leaned forward in his chair. "So, are you flying out to see Mina tonight, or what?"
"My mother's charity gala is this weekend." Kael swirled his drink. "Mina will be there. I'll handle both."
"And Sera?"
"What about her?" Kael shrugged. "She's not the type to cause problems anymore."
My wolf, Nyx, stirred inside me — not with sadness, but with something ancient and cold. A feeling I hadn't allowed myself in three years.
*"He doesn't see us,"* Nyx whispered. *"He never did."*
I stepped back into the shadows.
The ultrasound crinkled in my grip. Two tiny shapes. Two heartbeats that had filled me with joy just hours ago.
Now they filled me with clarity.
I thought about who I used to be before Kael. Before I filed down every sharp edge of myself to fit the mold of his perfect Luna.
*"Be calm, Sera. A Luna doesn't raise her voice."*
*"Don't embarrass me, Sera. My family's watching."*
*"Can't you just... be softer?"*
So I became soft. Quiet. Invisible.
And now he was bored.
Ronan's voice drifted over again. "The 1 a.m. flight work?"
"Book it."
I turned and walked down the stairs, my heels silent on the concrete.
He didn't feel me leave through the mate bond. Or maybe he did, and simply didn't care enough to check.
The ultrasound photo stayed in my pocket.
He'd never see it.
---
I heard my mate laugh about me to his friends, call me boring, then book a midnight flight to another woman — all while I stood ten feet away, carrying his twins he didn't know existed.
The rooftop terrace of the packhouse buzzed with the low hum of conversation. I'd come up to surprise Kael. Homemade dinner. Ultrasound photo tucked inside my jacket.
Two heartbeats. Our pups.
But before I could step into the light, his voice reached me first.
"Mina's just... different." Kael's deep voice carried over the night air like a knife wrapped in velvet. "She's got this fire in her. Reminds me of how Sera used to be."
His Beta, Ronan, snorted. "Before you tamed her?"
The other wolves laughed.
My fingers tightened around the ultrasound photo.
"Sera's fine," Kael said, and the casualness of it made my stomach lurch. "She's just... settled. Predictable. You know how it is."
"Boring," someone supplied.
Kael didn't correct him.
Ronan leaned forward in his chair. "So, are you flying out to see Mina tonight, or what?"
"My mother's charity gala is this weekend." Kael swirled his drink. "Mina will be there. I'll handle both."
"And Sera?"
"What about her?" Kael shrugged. "She's not the type to cause problems anymore."
My wolf, Nyx, stirred inside me — not with sadness, but with something ancient and cold. A feeling I hadn't allowed myself in three years.
*"He doesn't see us,"* Nyx whispered. *"He never did."*
I stepped back into the shadows.
The ultrasound crinkled in my grip. Two tiny shapes. Two heartbeats that had filled me with joy just hours ago.
Now they filled me with clarity.
I thought about who I used to be before Kael. Before I filed down every sharp edge of myself to fit the mold of his perfect Luna.
*"Be calm, Sera. A Luna doesn't raise her voice."*
*"Don't embarrass me, Sera. My family's watching."*
*"Can't you just... be softer?"*
So I became soft. Quiet. Invisible.
And now he was bored.
Ronan's voice drifted over again. "The 1 a.m. flight work?"
"Book it."
I turned and walked down the stairs, my heels silent on the concrete.
He didn't feel me leave through the mate bond. Or maybe he did, and simply didn't care enough to check.
The ultrasound photo stayed in my pocket.
He'd never see it.
---