Everett’s POV

The house felt colder than usual as I stepped inside, my fingers wrapped tightly around the thin plastic stick still faintly warm from my grasp. Two pink lines. Life. Hope. A second chance. My heart swelled at the thought, and for the first time in what felt like forever, I smiled with real joy.

I had to tell Chester.

Even if he wasn’t mine. Even if the Moon Goddess hadn’t fated us as mates, I still loved him. Deeply. Desperately. I believed—maybe foolishly—that what we had was enough. That love, even without a bond, could still be real.

I rushed to find him, the thrum of anticipation alive in every step. But as I reached the edge of his office, the sound of voices drifted out through the slightly ajar door. I paused, uncertain. Then I heard his voice—steady, sure.

“I’m marrying Princess Stella.”

My breath caught. A chill spread through my body.

“She’s everything I need. A real Luna. Not like… her.”

"Her?" Julian asked cautiously.

Chester’s laugh was sharp, merciless. “Everett? Please. She was useful. That’s all.”

My knees weakened.

“An omega with no status? Do you think I ever really saw her as my mate? I needed someone back then, and she was convenient.”

The pregnancy test nearly slipped from my hand. I clutched it tighter, my whole body trembling. Tears blurred my vision.

“I’ll discard her, and she’ll thank me for it,” he went on. “After I wed Stella, I’ll spin her a tale—tell her it’s all for the good of the pack. She’ll believe it. She always does.”

Julian hesitated. “What if she hears this?”

Chester scoffed. “She can’t. She’s deaf, remember?”

My heart stopped.

“She lost her hearing after the miscarriage,” Julian said.

“That’s what she thinks,” Chester said coldly. “But it was never just a tragic accident.”

He leaned back, his words cutting deeper than any blade. “I made sure she lost that baby.”

“What?” Julian whispered.

“I poisoned her,” Chester admitted, casual, cruel. “I told her it was medicine. She drank it so easily. Of course, I didn’t anticipate the side effect. She bled out badly. Damaged her hearing. But it worked, didn’t it? That mongrel child would’ve ruined everything.”

The air around me vanished.

I remembered the pain. The way I screamed. The way the healers tried everything to stop the bleeding. The moment I woke up and realized I couldn’t hear anything anymore.

For three years, I had lived in silence.

Three years without sound. Without music. Without a single voice. The healers called it trauma. Said the grief stole my hearing. I believed them. I accepted it.

But it was him. All along, it had been him.

Chester, the man I trusted, the man I thought loved me. He took everything from me. My child. My body. My hearing.

And now—now he was casting me aside as if I were nothing.

I felt something snap inside me. Something deep and silent and permanent.

At that moment, Chester stood and opened the door. His face was calm, composed. “Everett,” he signed, with a fake softness in his eyes. “Come in.”

So I did.

Like a fool.

I walked into the lion’s den, heart pounding, mind reeling. Sat on the couch like everything was fine, my hands hidden in my coat pockets, still clutching the broken pregnancy test.

They kept talking. Right in front of me. Like I was furniture. Like I didn’t matter.

“She won’t do anything,” Chester said with a smirk. “Even if she knows. She's too weak.”

Julian glanced at me, uncomfortable. “You sure?”

“I broke her once,” Chester said, eyes gleaming with arrogance. “I can do it again.”

He looked at me then, and for the first time, I didn’t see the man I loved.

I saw a monster.

A monster who wore kindness like a mask. A killer who smiled while he destroyed me.

I wanted to scream. To fight. To tear him apart with my bare hands.

Instead, I stayed still. Silent. Cold.

But inside me, something had awakened—something fierce and burning.

I may have been deaf. I may have been broken.

But I wasn’t weak.

Not anymore.

And then the very thing I had always dreaded came true—just as I had once overheard in a hushed conversation between Alpha Chester and Beta Julian.

The cool night air carried the mingled aromas of pine and sweetened wine, while the grand banquet hall buzzed with laughter, music, and the gentle clinks of goblets. Wolves from every corner of the kingdom had assembled for a festive gathering. The Alpha King, in a gesture of goodwill, had extended the invitation to all the packs—including mine, the Nightingale Pack. It should have been a night of joy and unity. Instead, it became the evening that shattered everything I believed in.

I had barely taken a sip from my glass when I heard a spoon tapping gently against crystal. The sound silenced the room. At the center stood Alpha Chester Crosby—the man I had known since childhood, the one who had pulled me out of my darkest days. His piercing blue eyes scanned the hall with calm confidence.

“I would like to make an announcement,” Chester said, his voice deep, commanding, and familiar to me in ways I could never forget.

That voice had once soothed my anxieties, a constant presence during the nights we spent at the shelter that raised us. My fingers clenched the goblet tighter as anxiety twisted in my chest. I couldn't tear my eyes away.

Chester shifted his gaze to Princess Stella. Her golden locks shimmered under the chandelier, her lilac dress making her look like a vision from a dream. She was my stepsister. The Alpha King’s daughter.

Then Chester dropped to one knee.

It was as if all the air had been sucked from the room.

“Princess Stella,” he said, his voice unwavering, “Will you do me the honor of becoming my mate, my Luna, and ruling beside me over the Nightingale Pack?”

Thunderous applause erupted. Gasps of surprise and delight filled the room as Stella covered her mouth in shock before breathlessly replying, “Yes! Yes, I will!”

I was paralyzed. My grip loosened, and red wine spilled over the rim of my goblet. My heart pounded so violently it drowned out the roar of celebration around me.

It happened. The thing I prayed would never come to pass—was now real.

And then, eyes turned to me. I could feel them, the stares full of sympathy—or was it pity?—and I knew they believed I couldn’t hear. So they whispered freely.

“Poor thing,” someone murmured.

“She’s been in love with him since they were kids.”

“Did she really think an Alpha would choose a deaf Omega as his Luna?”

“Of course, he’d pick Princess Stella. Everett’s just a nobody. A powerless Omega. Not fit to be anyone’s Luna.”

Every word stabbed like a dagger. I wanted to cry out, to scream that they were wrong, that their words were cruel lies. I wanted to shout at Chester, at all of them. But I was frozen. My body wouldn’t move, and my throat couldn’t form a sound.

My wolf stirred within me, tense and furious. We don’t belong here anymore, Everett. Leave.

Without meaning to, my legs moved, carrying me toward the tall doors of the hall. As I passed through the crowd, I caught a glimpse of my mother—my real mother—now Queen Luna Vanessa. She was crying tears of joy, clapping with pride for Stella.

Her joy wasn’t for me.

She saw me and tried to say something, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t. The pain in my chest was too much. It felt like my entire soul had splintered.

When I turned eighteen, she had appeared and told me the truth—that I was her daughter. At first, I didn’t believe her.

She was the Queen Luna of the Western Wolf Territory. And that meant Stella was my stepsister.

But Stella had no idea. The only ones who knew were my mother and her current mate, Alpha King Nathaniel.

Why wait so long to tell me? Why only after I had spent years in that awful facility? Why not save me sooner?

She never gave a clear answer. Just said she hadn’t been ready. The only thing she revealed was that she and my birth father had separated a long time ago.

As for why I ended up in the organization? She claimed my biological father had hidden me there and that she hadn’t known. I had endless questions, but asking them made her look at me like I was being difficult.

“You can’t come live with me in the palace, Everett,” she told me once. “My husband is the reigning Alpha King. Can you imagine the scandal if people, or Stella, found out the truth? Just stay in the background. Let them believe you're an Omega—for everyone’s peace of mind.”

From that day forward, I kept my secret. Even Chester, the one person I truly trusted, didn’t know who I really was.

What my mother did make clear—repeatedly—was that my father was a dangerous man. A tyrant. Wicked beyond redemption. If he ever reached out to me, I was not to believe anything he said.

And then, about a month later, he did.

He began calling, messaging, claiming to be my father.

The Alpha King of the Eastern Territory. The man known far and wide as a ruthless tyrant. A villain. A monster.

And when the terrible accident happened three years ago that took my hearing, my mother’s coldness deepened. She didn’t even try to hide her indifference. I told myself she was just busy, that being Queen Luna came with its own burdens. I kept making excuses for her.

But after Chester’s betrayal… it felt like every part of my life had been built on lies. Lies from my mother. From Chester. From everyone.

Everett’s POV

I kept my gaze fixed on the floor as I made my way through the shadowed hallways of the packhouse, my hands tightly gripping the fabric of my dress. I had trained myself long ago to tread quietly, to remain invisible. It was less painful to let them believe I was unaware, to let them think their insults bounced off deaf ears.

Walking beside me was Princess Stella, her steps smooth and elegant, yet her aura oppressive. Ever since Alpha Chester had publicly declared his intention to make her his mate, she had taken up residence here. Her mere presence made the air feel heavier.

Suddenly, something struck my foot. I stumbled forward, losing my balance for a split second. I managed to catch myself before I could fall, but a sharp pain pulsed through my lower abdomen from the jolt. My heart started to race.

Stella let out an exaggerated gasp and quickly moved her fingers to sign, "Oops! My bad!" But while her hands feigned concern, her lips told a different story.

"Serves you right, you worthless deaf girl. Honestly, why are you still hanging around when you clearly don’t belong? You're nothing—just a useless omega," she muttered venomously under her breath.

I bit down hard, my teeth grinding together as my fists clenched at my sides, fingernails digging into my skin.

"Everyone knows you want to take Chester from me," she hissed, her tone mocking. "You actually think you could steal the Alpha’s heart? Keep dreaming. There’s no world where he would choose a broken, deaf excuse for a Luna."

I lifted my head and met her eyes without flinching. I said nothing, just stared.

Her grin widened, and she gave a low chuckle before signing again, "It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it."

But her voice, dripping with disdain, continued: "You’re such a joke. Can’t even hear how people insult you right to your face. The maids snicker at you all the time."

I felt a tightness in my throat but forced my face to stay neutral. No emotion. No response.

Her soft giggles echoed behind me as we stepped into the dining room. I took my usual seat quietly, my hands trembling as I reached for my cup, trying to steady myself.

Then came the sugary voice. "Everett, would you mind handing me the soup?" she signed sweetly, her expression angelic.

I hesitated but nodded, reaching for the hot bowl in front of me. As soon as her hand touched the edge of it, she gave a sudden push, tipping the bowl straight into her own lap. The thick liquid splashed all over her elegant, pale gown.

"Aah!" she cried out theatrically, leaping back from the table in an overdone display of shock and distress.

I froze in place, stunned. I hadn’t even touched her. The confusion hadn’t even left my face when the doors to the hall were flung open. A cold chill ran down my spine.

Chester.

He strode in with his usual commanding presence, his sharp gaze sweeping across the room. It stopped on Stella first, then darted to me—his expression immediately darkened.

"What happened here?" he demanded, his voice like a blade slicing through the air. His hands moved rapidly as he signed at me, “What did you do?” He didn’t wait to hear an explanation. He had already decided I was guilty.

Stella clutched her stained dress and gave a trembling sniff. She looked up at him, the image of a wronged and delicate princess.

"Oh Chester," she said in a soft, trembling voice, "please don’t be mad at her. She probably didn’t mean it. Maybe it’s just... envy. I mean, I can’t really blame her. You’re about to be mine, and she’s just... well, still an omega. Maybe her emotions got the best of her."

I choked back a gasp. She had rehearsed this role to perfection, and Chester, blind to her games, looked at me with disappointment etched in every line of his face. His signing grew harsher.

"How dare you harm someone of royal blood? Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

Each gesture landed like a physical blow. I felt my chest cave under the weight of his disbelief. I wanted to scream the truth, to tell him everything about who she really was behind the sweet smiles. But I knew—it wouldn’t change anything.

It never had.

My arms dropped slowly, the fire inside me burning low. I gave a small nod, and without defending myself, I turned and walked out. Each step felt like I was dragging my soul behind me, but I refused to look back, even as tears blurred my sight.

Then I heard him. His voice, now low and comforting.

"I’ll discipline Everett for this," he murmured. "Don’t worry, Stella. She won’t go unpunished."

A bitter sound bubbled in my chest, but I forced it down. Instead, I placed a trembling hand over my belly, pressing gently over the small life growing inside me.

"Why would your father betray us like this?" I thought, my heart heavy with sorrow and disbelief.