CHAPTER 3
CLARA POV
The words struck me like a physical blow. Our baby. Darius child.
“What did you just say?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
I stared at Tyla, hoping I had misunderstood her. Perhaps she had said something else.
I turned to Darius, searching his face for an answer. But he said nothing. And in that terrible silence, something inside me began to crumble.
“You must be joking, Tyla.” I forced a smile, though my lips trembled. “You're only trying to make me jealous and angry, aren't you?”
I turned back to Darius.
“Tell me she's lying,” I pleaded, my eyes fixed on his face. “Tell me she's not carrying your child.”
For a moment, I waited. Then Darius looked straight into my eyes.
“No, she isn't.”
His next words crushed it completely.
“Tyla is carrying my child, Clara.” His voice remained calm, almost gentle, as though he were explaining something simple. “You've been unable to conceive for three years. The pack needs an heir. So she insisted on helping you this way. The child would be yours after it's born.”
My smile disappeared.
"No..." Maya, my wolf, who had stayed silent until now, whispered in my head. Her voice carried so much pain that my chest ached. She stared at Darius through my eyes as though she couldn't believe what he had just confessed.
"You really cheated on me with the woman you claimed you had nothing with?" My voice trembled despite my effort to stay calm. "The helpless girl you said you were only helping? The girl you called your little sister because you grew up together?"
Darius's jaw tightened.
My tears spilled over before I could stop them. I hated that he could see how deeply he had hurt me, yet he stood there as if I were the one making things difficult.
"Clara it for your own good." His expression softened, but his next words only made it worse. "I wasn't even in my right senses that day. I was in heat, and things happened. It was a mistake."
A mistake?
"And what about Tyla? Was she also not in her right senses?"
His gaze shifted briefly toward her.
"Clara, I have already explained what happened. What else do you want me to do? It happened during my heat. It doesn't mean I have feelings for her, she is just helping." He said. “You should be grateful to her instead.”
Tyla lowered her head, tears sliding down her cheeks.
"I'm sorry, Luna. I should have terminated the pregnancy the moment I realized I was carrying the Alpha's child but I just want to help you, the baby is yours." She covered her mouth as a sob escaped her. "I never wanted to come between you and the Alpha. I know my place, and I know you deserve better than this."
She looked so pitiful that anyone who didn't know her would have thought she was the victim.
"No, you can't terminate the pregnancy," Darius said firmly, pulling her closer when she seemed to sway. "I've waited for years to have an heir. You conceived after one time. You're keeping this child, Tyla. You will give birth to it."
He spoke as though the matter had already been decided. Then he turned to me.
"Clara, you can do whatever you want, but this child is staying."
I wiped my cheeks with trembling fingers.
"I haven't even said anything, yet you're already assuming the worst of me."
"I know what you're thinking. You've always been jealous of Tyla and unhappy with her. I'm sure you don't want her to keep the baby."
"Since you know I don't like her, why did you sleep with her in the first place?" I demanded. "Should I be happy that my mate cheated on me with the very woman I've always suspected him of having feelings for?"
"Don't twist my words, Clara."
"Twist your words?" I stared at him. "Wow, Darius. What a wonderful thing you've done to me! First you take away my admission and make us miss the auspicious time, then you tell me your mistress is carrying your child. I should have accepted it happily, shouldn't I?”
My voice grew louder as everything I had endured came rushing back.
A few pack members shifted uncomfortably, but nobody stepped forward.
Elder Onyx cleared his throat.
"Luna, we know the Alpha was wrong to handle things this way, but you should also consider the good news. The pack is finally going to have its heir. You've been unable to give the Alpha a child, so surely you can understand why everyone is relieved."
I stared at him. Was that supposed to make me feel better?
"Yes," another voice added. "Congratulations, Alpha. Congratulations, Beta Tyla."
I took a step back, my heart pounding against my ribs. Not one of them thought about how humiliating it was to be betrayed by the man I had spent years supporting.
"Are you all insane?" I asked, looking from face to face. "My mate has gotten another woman pregnant, and you expect me to bless them? What about my feelings? Does anyone here care about what I feel?"
For a moment, nobody answered. Then a familiar voice cut through the silence.
"No one asked you to be barren and fail to give Darius a child."
I froze, and slowly I turned toward the entrance. My father stood there, his face as cold as ever.
He had called me barren. The man whose blood ran through my veins had just used the very thing I had secretly cried over for years to shame me in front of everyone.
"Dad..." I whispered.
He did not even look ashamed.
"A good Luna gives the pack an heir, whether naturally or through an arranged solution. There is nothing wrong with Tyla carrying Darius's child since she is capable of doing what you couldn't." His eyes hardened. "Instead of throwing tantrums, you should be taking care of her."
An arranged solution. As though a wife should deliver her husband's mistress to him. The floor seemed to vanish beneath my feet.
"You know about them?" I asked, my voice barely audible.
"Yes."
One word. That was all he gave me.
He had known. He had watched me stand beside Darius, believing I was building a future with him, and he had said nothing. He did not wait for me to speak again before turning and walking away.
My knees gave out, and I sank onto the nearest seat, staring at the space where he had stood.
"Luna, please don't worry," Tyla said softly. "You will always be the mother of the child. You're the Luna, and Darius's mate. I'm not here to take your place."
She looked at me with tear-filled eyes, as though she were offering me a precious gift.
"Yes, Clara. She's only carrying the child," Darius said. "There's nothing between us. Stop making a big deal out of it. All this is for you."
I looked at the ink on my thumb. It had dried tight against my skin like a stain I could never wash off.
Then I stood up.
"Okay," I said quietly. "I've heard you."
Darius looked satisfied, as though I had finally accepted it. I did not correct him. I turned and walked away, and the applause faltered as the crowd parted for me.
"Luna!" Tyla called, stepping forward, but Darius caught her wrist.
"Leave her alone. Let her clear her head. She's too stubborn. It's her stubbornness that made us lose the auspicious time. We'll have to find a way to make up for her mistake," he said, and he sighed as if the burden were all his.
In my head, Maya was howling.
My father, my pack and my mate had stripped away every last piece of dignity I had tried so hard to keep, and they had done it with smiles. But I would not give them the satisfaction of watching me break.
As I reached my room, the one I had lived in before our mating.
I picked up my phone and searched for a number I had saved and blacklisted three years ago. My fingers paused over the screen.
For three years I had told myself that turning down that offer was right. I had chosen my responsibilities, my mate and my life in the pack over a chance I might never receive again. Now I finally understood what that choice had cost me.
I removed the number from the blacklist and pressed the call button.
The phone rang once. Twice. Then someone answered.
"Principal, it's Clara Hayes."
There was a brief silence on the other end.
"I know," the person said.
"Principal George, three years ago you invited me to join the Supernatural Academy. Is the offer still valid?"