CATHY’S POV
Valentine’s Day was the day that changed my life forever.
I drove toward the pack supermarket, gripping the wheel tightly. My fingers were numb, not from the cold, but from exhaustion. Luna Helen had once again assigned me to buy ingredients for the grand feast tonight—a celebration I wasn’t even allowed to attend as Kane’s Luna. No, not his Luna. His maid.
Luna Helen told me she would never see me as his Luna. Rather, I was just a servant to her. His disgrace. The woman his mother sneered at and the pack rejected.
I should have been used to it by now, but today felt different. My body was heavier. My heart felt more fragile. Maybe it was because I was tired, or maybe it was because, for the first time in years, I wondered what it would feel like to just leave.
I never got the chance to finish that thought.
A blaring horn echoed on the road. Screeching tires. The world spinning. My chest slammed against the seatbelt as a crash erupted around me. Metal twisted, glass shattered, and my vision exploded into darkness.
•
When I opened my eyes, the ceiling above me was a blinding white. I blinked repeatedly. My limbs ached as if they had been crushed under a mountain of bricks.
Where am I?
The faint beeping of a heart monitor echoed in the silence. I struggled to turn my head, only to wince as I felt a sharp pain in my skull. I started to panic. Then, the door opened.
“Cathy?”
The familiar voice was gentle, filled with concern. James. I was relieved as my adopted brother stepped inside. His dark eyes were filled with worry, and his doctor’s coat was slightly wrinkled as if he had been here for hours.
“You’re awake,” he breathed, rushing to my side. “How do you feel?”
“Like I was trampled by a rogue stampede,” I rasped. “What happened?”
James sighed, running a hand through his hair. “A truck lost control and hit you head-on. You were lucky, Cathy. No broken bones, just some bruising and a mild concussion.”
Lucky. I nearly laughed at the irony.
His fingers curled around my wrist, checking my pulse. “There’s… something else. Something important.”
My stomach twisted at his expression. “What is it?”
James hesitated, then sighed. “You’re pregnant.”
For a moment, the world stopped. My breath caught in my throat as I stared at him, waiting for the punchline.
Pregnant.
“No,” I whispered, shaking my head. “That’s not possible. I—Kane said I couldn’t…”
“Kane was wrong.” James’ voice was firm. “The tests confirmed it. You’re about six weeks along.”
Six weeks. A tiny life growing inside me. A child. My child.
Tears burned at the corners of my eyes as I pressed a trembling hand to my abdomen. Against all odds, the Moon Goddess had given me a miracle. Maybe this was a sign. Maybe this was how Kane and I could finally—
A sharp laugh outside my door shattered my thoughts.
“Can you believe she’s still here?” a female voice sneered. “After everything, she still clings to that position.”
“I heard she bribed Elder Alyosha to forge the prophecy,” another person said. “She’s a fraud.”
“Who cares about the prophecy? She was never good enough to be Luna. Everyone knows Kane only tolerated her out of duty.”
My heart clenched as the words sliced into me. They were talking about me again, just like they always did.
I clenched my fists beneath the thin hospital blanket, forcing myself not to cry.
James’ jaw tightened. “Ignore them,” he said softly. “They don’t know the truth.”
The truth? No one ever cared about the truth.
I swallowed hard, forcing myself to breathe. Five years ago, the Phoenix mark had chosen me. The elders had bowed to the prophecy, declaring me the destined Luna. I had believed it meant something—that I meant something. But it had been nothing more than a cruel joke. Kane had never wanted me. His heart had belonged to Violet, the woman he believed had died saving me. And when she was gone, all he saw in me was a mistake.
For five years, I had tried. I had swallowed my pride, endured the ridicule, hoping that one day, he would look at me with something other than resentment. That he would see me, not as a burden, but as the woman who had always loved him. But the walls between us had only grown taller.
And now? Now, I carried his child.
Was this fate’s way of giving us another chance? Of telling us that, despite everything, we were meant to be?
“I have a patient,” James said. “I’ll see you soon.”
I forced a smile. “Thank you.”
With that, he left the room.
I clutched my stomach, trying to wrap my head around the idea. After years of being told I could never conceive, after years of suffering through Kane’s coldness, the Moon Goddess had given me this miracle. Maybe—just maybe—this was the turning point I had prayed for.
But even as I felt hopeful, I had my doubts too.
Would Kane be happy? Would he finally look at me as something more than just the woman fate had forced him to marry?
I pushed those thoughts away and reached for my phone. My fingers trembled as I dialed Kane’s number. The call rang. Once. Twice.
No answer.
I tried again. And again. Each unanswered call felt like another rejection, another slap in the face.
Come on, Kane… Just pick up.
I hesitated before pressing the call button one more time when a sudden commotion in the corridor caught my attention. My head snapped toward the door as the urgent voices sounded through the thin walls. Something was wrong.
For some odd reason, I was curious.
What was going on?
Ignoring the sharp ache in my body, I struggled to get out of bed. My legs wobbled as I forced myself toward the door. Every step sent waves of pain through me. I reached the doorway just in time to witness a scene that shattered my heart into a thousand pieces.
Kane was rushing into the emergency room. He was carrying a woman close to his chest. His face, usually composed and unreadable, was twisted in desperation and fear. His lips were moving, shouting for a doctor, but I barely heard the words over the roaring in my ears.
The woman in his arms…
Violet.
The woman who had disappeared for five years.
The woman he had never stopped loving.
My breath hitched. My fingers clutched the doorframe as I started to feel dizzy.
No… it couldn’t be.
She was back.
The pack had whispered about her for years. Everyone speculated if she was dead or had abandoned Kane. But in all that time, he had never let her go. Not in his heart. And now, seeing him hold her like she was his entire world—it hurt. More than the accident, more than the cruel words of the pack, more than all the nights I spent alone in our cold bed.
I bit down on my lip so hard I tasted blood. I wanted to move, to turn away, but my feet were frozen to the floor.
Just then, my phone rang. I flinched and glanced at the screen.
Helen
My mother-in-law.
I hesitated before answering. The moment I did, her sharp voice came through the phone.
“Cathy, where are you?” she snapped.
My throat tightened. “I—I’m at the hospital. There was an accident, I—”
“Accident?” she scoffed. “You can’t even do something as simple as grocery shopping without causing trouble?”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I—”
“I don’t want to hear excuses,” she interrupted coldly. “You were supposed to be back by now. There are things to be done, and you’re lazing around? Get back to the palace now.”
I opened my mouth, wanting to tell her about the accident, about my pregnancy. But the words wouldn’t come. Because deep down, I already knew she wouldn’t care. She never had.
My grip tightened around my phone. “Yes, Luna Helen.”
The line went dead.
I looked up just in time to see Kane disappearing into Violet’s hospital room. His attention was solely on her. Not once had he looked around, not once had he noticed me standing there, broken and alone.
A deep ache spread through my chest as I turned away, going back into my room. The moment I shut the door behind me, the reality sunk in.
Violet was back.
And I was still invisible
