Prologue
[Third Person]
Nayla coughed as she threw herself into the scourging hot tiles of the poolside. Her chest still hurt from gasping for air, her head throbbing. The midday sun bore into her drenched skin. She could see the guests were already huddled on the other side of the area, where her husband held Melanie. She strained her ears to pick up words from the murmuring guests.
"Poor Melanie!"
"It wasn't an accident. Everybody knows Melanie can't swim."
It's Luna Nayla. She pushed Melanie."
She closed her eyes and groped for her wolf through the chaos in her thoughts. She found her curling defensively, ready to launch a calculated attack. She pushed us. Her wolf recalled. "I know." Nayla muttered under her breath. "Hold your ground. Let's wait and watch." She looked at the small crowd. Everyone seemed so concerned. Grabbing the marble coping of the pool she pulled herself up, brushing her dripping brown hair off her face. The guests shifted realizing her presence, but most of them looked everywhere but to her. Only a few looked back at her angrily. She saw her husband, Gareth, Alpha of the pack, lift Melanie from the ground steadily; her arms wrapped around his neck, his cheek leaning against his chest. He turned to the direction of the mansion.
Nayla watched. He ignored her completely.
The guests slowly dispersed. Nobody came to help her, nobody cared to ask.
"What a pity for Remu's wife. I never thought Gareth's mate is vicious. They could dress her with fancy clothes alright, but bloodline does not lie."
"Our Alpha should have married Remu's wife instead! I heard Remu entrusted her to him. Too bad he died before they could crown her Luna."
Alpha Gareth should have never allowed a stranger into our pack. And a commoner!"
"I know. We deserve a Luna with royal bloodline."
"I heard he found hanging around the property like a stray."
To the typical wolf, the whispers of these guests would have been indistinguishable, but to Nayla, every single word is clear as spoken in front of her. The throbbing of her head from having almost drowned persisted, but it was nothing like the hurt and indignation she felt from what heard.
Her husband's pack had always looked down at her no matter what she does, or what she says. In her presence they are quiet, but she knows, and hears, senses every bit of their backstabbing. Nobody believed she is fit to be the Luna of such a powerful pack, Canopus. Disguised as a common werewolf, she concealed her identity in hopes of being loved for her true self, and not for her status as the only daughter of Valadir, the alpha of Sirius -- a quiet but even more powerful group. She didn't realize it was next to impossible.
A gust of wind blew in her direction and she rubbed her arms unconsciously. Anger started to well up inside her. Melanie clearly has a well-executed plan. She wished she could say Gareth would believe her no matter what.
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[Third Person]
Gareth stepped out from the porch into the well-kept mansion garden, where a number of guests were already relaxing in the shade of the century old tree. So far, everything looked well. His phone beeped. He looked at it, frowned, and shoved it back in his pocket. A lot of work has to be done for the Canopus estate but that can wait.
He scanned the place for Melanie, his late brother's wife. Melanie is pregnant with his brother's child. The day's celebration is to honor her. A brief but sharp pain cut through Gareth at the thought of his brother. He shrugged it off. His brother had entrusted her to him before taking his last breath, and he vowed to protect her. That matters.
A scream cut through his thoughts. It was Melanie's nurse. Where is Melanie?! A growing panic attempted to rise in his throat but he pushed it back as he raised to where the sound was coming from.
"It's Melanie!" The nurse was crying when he found her by the pool. She was pointing at the water. He looked. It wasn't hard to see Melanie's unconscious form underneath. Gareth dived into the water and grabbed sister-in-law. He got her out in seconds. He carried her to the grass and she coughed. He let out a small breath of relief. Melanie jerked and clutched her abdomen suddenly. Gasps can be heard from among the guest, who have just gotten to the poolside to check the commotion. Her long pale-yellow dress was stained with blood from her thighs. Melanie moaned, "It's Gwyneth! She --pushed--" Melanie fainted again.
Gareth lifted her from the ground. No emotion on his face betrayed his inner dread. "Call Glen." He ordered a Royal guard, holding his brother's wife steadily as he turned away from the wide-eyed guests. "Done sir," one of the guests, among the few he trusted, trailed anxiously behind him. "Doctor coming right away." Gareth held on to the only person that mattered more than anyone -- the only person that still connected him to the brother he failed to defend. He held her protectively.
"Your wife, sir."
He ignored the guard.
He will deal with his wife later.
[Nayla]
I pulled myself out of the garden pool, every inch of me shivering, not of the cold but of the sheer amount of strength it took to control my wolf. How I have to keep her from springing forward and hurting my attacker in defense! I was the one pushed; yet everyone rushed to her rescue. I tried to shake the memory off, but could hardly contain the anger. I had always sensed my sister-in-law was up to no good, but I barely saw it coming this morning. I didn't think she'd go this far, this fast. I made my way to the mansion.
The halls were empty. The guests have left. Bright midday sun poured through the ceiling-high windows into the massive hall, a mocking contrast of the day's events. I walked to the half-open door of Melanie's bedroom where I sense my husband's high ranking pack members. I could not make out Gareth's shape from the small group around my sister-in-law, yet his smell, so faint, greeted my wolf like summer breaking hailstorm open. I ignored it.
I ran a hand over the pale lavender gown the pack maids had carefully chosen for me earlier, now soaked and ruined into a deeper lilac hue, translucent and ripped by the shoulder against my pale skin. I took another deep breath to connect to my wolf. Trust me. I walked in.
"How dare you come!" It was Marla, Gareth's sister; the concerned look in her face betrayed by the mocking in her eyes. I glared at her. I was to open my mouth in disagreement but stopped short of Melanie's hysterical cry.
"No!!!! Take that back Glen!!" She said in between sobs. I found her sitting in her bed, back supported with pillows. "Dear Remu. Dear Remu... Our baby." She started saying over and over. "I 'm sorry I couldn't protect you… I'm sorry..." she hides her face in her hands and continued to sob loudly.
Glen, the pack doctor, shook his head solemnly, gathering his things. "We did our best. I couldn't save the child." the doctor said gently, "You should get some rest. This shot will help. I'm sorry." He beckoned his assistant who handed him a small syringe with a clear liquid in it. Quickly and effortlessly, he inserted it into Melanie's skin. She was looking at him wide eyed, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I called for the ambulance. She need to be brought to the hospital for further treatment." The doctor told the group. He stood up. "Keep her company. She'll be fine." He briefly laid a hand on Gareth's shoulder and left.
My husband, Gareth, sat beside her, an aura of protectiveness all over him. He gently brushed the hair out of her flushed face and helped her to lie down, still sobbing, but calmer. The look on his face shifted from worried to dead cold as he fixed his eyes on me.
"Gareth, it wasn't my fault! She pushed me! Please, you have to believe me!" I hear myself say. Tears are replacing the anger in my eyes. I know how much Melanie's unborn child meant for my husband. He doesn't show it, but I know he loved the child even before it was born; for he valued his brother dearly.
"Everybody knows what you did Gwyneth." He growled. My wolf recoils at the pain of his blunt indifference towards us. My heart sank. We could tell he doesn't believe me.
I could sense Marla smirking. "Apologize." Gareth breathed.
"But I didn't push her! She pushed me! Believe me, Gareth!" I tried again.
"I know how much you cared for this child. Remu wouldn't -- "
"How dare you mention my brother's name!!!" Gareth stormed. He leaped from Melanie's bedside and in a second and was suddenly in front of me, glaring. His breath warm in my face. I could see every vein on his neck.
I was taken aback. It was so unlike him to raise his voice. He stared in anger. His eyes were stone. His hands grasped my arms so tightly I was afraid he'd hurl me towards the wall any minute. It felt like being caught at a dead-end by a mad-wolf, ready to devour. What came next is even more painful. "Kneel." He whispered. "Kneel!!!" louder.
"Kneel down and apologize." Marla echoed; her high-pitched tone full of glee. She doesn't even try to hide it this time. "You don't deserve our Alpha! He doesn't deserve a vicious commoner for a wife!" She chirped.
She was chattering on and on but I didn't hear her. I was clenching my fists so hard I drew blood. I looked straight into my mate. I opened my mind link – searching, inquiring, for whatever left of our bond to thug, "Gareth." I breathed. I thought he softened, but then I felt him push me forcefully away and I staggered and lost my balance on the floor. I sat sprawled on the floor in the pool of my wet dress, ashamed. How could I believe I could connect to my husband like this, when, all he ever was from the day we sealed as bond, was cold and indifferent?
I tried to get up, but I felt the royal guard's hand firmly on my shoulder. I resisted the weight on my shoulder in an attempt to keep my balance, struggling to steady my wolf at the same time. She was ready to lurch forward and defend me any minute.
I am sorry, Luna Nayla," the faintest whisper from the royal guard as I fell to the ground again and was forced to sit back up on my knees. I looked down on the floor. I could feel Gareth's eyes boring into me. I did not look at him. "Apologize." I kept my mouth shut. I can hear his footsteps going back to Melanie's bedside.
"To the sunroom." Gareth ordered. Two more guards appeared. I felt the grip on my shoulder tighten. Everybody was silent. "Keep her kneeling there." He walked towards me again. I can feel his warmth in my ears. "You are stubborn, commoner. Keep that up and I will dissolve our bond and banish you." He whispered. His voice was deep and flat.
