Chapter 1 Any Day Now

• [XENA]
• “I saw the Alpha with healer Astrid at the maternity ward,” Kasumi, my omega handmaid, blurts out, breaking the silence in the chamber. “They behaved very intimately, Luna.”
• The maternity ward… of all places? But Astrid is a healer. And Cassian is Alpha. There are dozens of reasons they could have been there together.
• “Kasumi,” I say softly, touching her arm, “you don’t need to worry. Cassian isn’t… like that. They were probably discussing patients, or newborn pups.”
• I know she doesn't lie to me, but I still choose to trust Cassian. Because in my darkest hour, it was he who reached out to me.
• “Five years ago, it was Cassian who carried me home from that… field,” I murmur, my throat tightening as the memory flashes before my eyes. Blood. Cold earth. My body broken, and my wolf gone. “He saved me. He faced every Elder who said I wasn’t fit to stand beside him. He married me when the whole pack whispered I was damaged. He wouldn’t betray me.”
• Yet my heart doesn’t settle as my mind imagines them standing together in the maternity ward—acting close certainly, because otherwise Kasumi wouldn’t feel concerned enough to tell me.
• Barren.
• The number of times I’ve had that word hurled at me like a curse… from pack women, from Cassian’s mother, even from his sister.
• “Five years and she still hasn’t given the Alpha a child!”
• Many times I wanted to shout out the truth—how would I get pregnant if I were still a virgin?
• Yes, we haven’t consummated our marriage. I’m still a virgin. Cassian undresses me sometimes, kisses me, touches me, but he always stops. He waits. He’s been waiting for my lunar energy to stabilize so I can safely bear his children.
• Sometimes I wonder if he believes I’m tainted—if he shares the disgust others feel. I asked him once.
• “I just want you to be alright,” he told me, cupping my cheek as I cried in his lap. Rain tapped against the stained-glass windows behind us. “I can’t bear the thought of hurting you, sweetheart. Please don’t cry.”
• I told him I loved him. He said it back with such conviction that I believed him.
• Cassian has waited so long. I don’t want to make him wait anymore.
• So I had the chief healer treat me secretly.
• I didn't tell Cassian,because I didn't want to disappoint him again. We had tried various treatments together, but they all failed. I didn't want to see disappointment in his eyes again, so I chose to bear it all alone.
• Fortunately, this time the Moon Goddess finally smiled upon me. My condition is getting better and better.
• Any day now, the chief healer will tell me my lunar energy is stable enough. Any day now, everything will be okay.
• By then, I will be able to give Cassian a surprise. Thinking about this, I can't help but feel excited.
• As if summoned by the thought, a knock echoes at the door.
• Speak of the moonless.
• Astrid stands there with a scroll in her hand.
• I’ve always avoided meeting her, one reason being her appearance.
• Sometimes she looks like the spitting image of Davina, my step-sister and Cassian’s former mate. They have the same rounded nose, the same brown doe eyes, and wavy brown hair. And the distinct mole above their lips. Even her mannerisms sometimes resemble Davina’s.
• Davina is my nightmare. She’s used to pretending to be innocent and kind in front of others. But once it's just the two of us, she will insult me with the most vicious words. Worst of all, I’ve always believed that the attack I suffered was also her doing. She almost ruined my life!
• “Luna Xena, I have a scroll from the chief healer Morrin.”
• Astrid's sweet voice breaks my train of thought.
• It takes everything in me not to run to her. I cross the room in three quick strides and snatch the scroll from her hands. “Thank you,” I blurt, breathless.
• Astrid’s lips part, but she stays silent, lowering her gaze. Suddenly, I smell it.
• Cassian—his scent clings to Astrid like a perfume. Only prolonged skin-to-skin contact leaves a scent that strong…
• My fingers freeze on the half-unfurled scroll.
• Astrid stands there, serene and beautiful, the candlelight catching the angles of her face. On her neck… is an unmistakable bruise from a kiss.
• The sight cracks something in my chest.
• Did Cassian run out of patience?
• “Leave. Now!”
• Astrid flinches and nearly stumbles as she retreats.
• My throat tightens, heart thudding painfully against my ribs as I sit down on the edge of my bed.
• Please, Moon Goddess… let it be good news. Just this once, turn the tide in my favor. I can’t keep Cassian waiting anymore.
• I unfurl the scroll. Written in neat, elegant strokes are Morrin’s words:
• Lunar essence stable. Conception viable.
• I scream in delight.
• “Luna!” Kasumi gasps. “Are you alright?”
• “Yes, yes, yes! Yes. Yes. Yes!” I cry. “I’ve never been better!”
• When I finally compose myself, I touch my cheeks—they’re wet with tears of joy.
• “I should tell the Alpha at once!” As I’m walking out, I tell her, “Kasumi, prepare the bed with rose petals, and draw me a fragrant bath!”
• I feel restless—giddy, even—as I run to Cassian’s chambers with the scroll clutched in my hand.
• When I reach them, the doors are already open. I step inside carefully, grinning like an idiot—until I hear my brother, Axel’s voice drift from the internal study.
• “You still have two more years until Davina is freed from the Guild’s oath. You’ve run out of patience? If Davina finds out you’re fucking a woman who’s her lookalike, she will shower the Goddess’s wrath upon you.”
• The breath leaves my body. I flatten myself against the folding screen which hides me from their view.
• Cassian chuckles. “You won’t be the one telling her that, will you, Axel? The healer is interesting. What can I say—I’m tired of the omega whores. They’re too obedient and submissive. Astrid has a little defiance in her. A bitchy attitude.”
• “So, she’s Davina,” Axel concludes, “just not in name. And Xena? What happens to Xena then?”
• Cassian exhales. “I haven’t decided. Maybe I’ll leave it to Davina. But I could always claim she failed to provide me with an heir. I’ve made sure she’s given the Knotgrass tea every morning to maintain the instability in her lunar energy.”
• My knees weaken.
• Knotgrass tea? Knotgrass tea that can make she-wolf's lunar energy unstable, and may even lead to infertility?!
• He’s been giving me… poison?