Chapter 5 Good News

“Congratulations, you are two weeks pregnant.” This word echoed in my head endlessly, tears of joy forming in my eyes and cascading down my cheeks. I held the result in my hand, my heart racing in overwhelming excitement. Words can't explain my feelings as the gate opened and the driver drove me in. I could picture in my head how Zander would leap in joy, hug me tight, and kiss me. He would dance and finally apologize for everything he had done. His love would be back, and I would be treated as a Luna once again. Even the driver couldn't hold back his smile seeing me giddy. I guess he could already figure everything out. Jumping out of the car, I ran like one being chased, my shoe heels hitting the floor with a loud thump as I made my way into our bedroom. My alpha husband wasn't there, so I rushed up the stairs, heading to his study, where I was sure he would be. But as I got close to his study, I heard a female voice, one I couldn't recognize. Last night, I slept alone because he left the house in the middle of the night after that phone call. Did he bring her back home and spend the night with her in our matrimonial bed? Who is she? I bombarded myself with questions as I drew closer to the door. “It is well deserved and would be a lesson to everyone else who tries to lie to you. What did he take you for? A fool?” The female voice rang out. “Selena would be devastated to hear this; that is why I want it to be kept a secret. She shouldn't know what killed her entire family and rendered her pack in ruins.” My heart skipped a beat, brows knitting together as I tried to understand what he was saying. “Why are you hiding it from her? Do you feel guilty? Your wolf did what it felt was right so you don't have to feel any bad. After all, Alpha Albert deserves it for trying to fool you.” The mention of my father's name made my blood run cold as I stared at the door with wide eyes, tilting my head in disbelief. “Keep your voice down, Avery,” he snapped in his annoyed tone. “Reject her, Zander, and marry me. Make me your mate and Luna, and I will give you the heir— as many as you want,” Avery’s sweet voice tore my heart apart. My hands instinctively hugged around my stomach, tears dropping down my eyes as I thought of the child in there. It was obvious he hated me, and his new girlfriend seemed to be pregnant already, so of what use am I? Without any more hesitation, I barged into the room, and they both flinched in shock, turning to me bewilderedly. “No need to wait. Do it here and now. Reject me, you murderer!” I screamed at the top of my lungs, feeling the aching pain in my chest. It felt like I would collapse. All this while I had been trying to reach my father without being able to because he had been killed. The man I called my husband killed him and every one of my family members. What did I do to deserve this? I knew he was cruel, but my family didn't do anything so bad to get wiped away. “Were you eavesdropping?” He asked with a frown on his face. “Obviously. So I think she knows it all. No need to hide!” Avery said and turned to me. “Selena, your father brought it on himself when he lied to the king that you are fertile enough to give him twins.” I squeezed tight the envelope in my hand, which had the hospital pregnancy results. “Zander, why?” My lips trembled, and words were hard to speak. It hurts so bad that he could do this to me. He was really a monster, someone I should run away from. And his child in my womb? He will never get to know. My child can't have such a devil as their father. Zander drew closer, maintaining a stern look. “You and your family deceived me. You are no different from them—a gold digger. Money is all you want, huh?!” He tried to touch my chin, but I backed away. He smirked darkly. “Do you really want me to reject you? I can still keep you as a concubine so you'd have a place to stay. Your father paid for his crime.” I saw the mocking smile on the so-called Avery's face, and I felt like I was being slapped. My blood was burning, and I wished at that moment that I could kill Zander. The pain was unbearable, and my alpha instinct was making me restless. “May the moon goddess strike me dead if I spend another night in this pack. You will pay dearly for what you did to me, and I will never forgive you!” Zander chuckled darkly. “I am the god here, and I decide fates—just like I did for you and your family.” Hearing him confess his sin made my blood boil, my body trembling with uncontrollable anger—and before I even realized it, the words came spilling out of me: “I, Selena Ardolf, reject you, Alpha Zander Blake, as my mate and sever all bonds between us forever.” Shock and disbelief were written all over Zander's face as the sharp pain of detachment hit the both of us. I gritted my teeth, tears blinding my eyes and my chest heavy. “Why did you do it?” He murmured, but I wasn't listening. I placed the blood on my wrist on his mark on my neck, a ritual that would clear away his mark. His eyes widened seeing me do this, as it was something he never believed I would do. Never in his life would he ever have thought a girl would reject him. “How dare you, you weak, wolfless girl, reject me—the great Alpha!” he roared, his voice thunderous with fury and laced with humiliation. His eyes blazed with rage, and his voice dripped with venom as he continued, “I accept your rejection, Selena Ardolf. I, Alpha King Zander Blake, reject you as my mate and my queen.” The bond shattered in an instant. The air was knocked from my lungs, and I gasped as an unbearable ache tore through my chest. My knees gave out, and I collapsed to the cold marble floor, my hands instinctively flying to cradle my swollen belly. Panic rose in me—not for myself, but for the fragile life growing inside me. The world spun. My vision blurred. I squeezed my eyes shut, silently praying for the pain to pass—for the sharp grief and soul-rending loss to quiet. With every ounce of strength left in my battered body, I pushed myself up and staggered toward the exit—step by agonizing step. I didn’t look back. I didn’t pack a single thing. I needed nothing from him. I walked out of the castle, out of that cursed life, and toward the borders of the pack where my uncle waited in the shadows. I had to leave. Before he found out the secret I still carried within me.