Maya's POV
I dropped the entire tray of dirty dishes when I saw the small silk box sitting on my cabin steps.
The crash echoed through the morning air, and several pack members turned to stare. But I barely noticed. All I could see was that little blue box with a silver ribbon tied around it.
Another gift from Drake.
My hands shook as I picked it up, ignoring the broken plates spread around my feet. In the three weeks since our first night together, Drake had been leaving me presents almost daily. A book of poems. Wildflowers picked from the bush. Chocolate from the human town.
But this felt different. More serious.
"What's that, Maya?" Sarah's voice made me jump. She was another omega who worked in the kitchens, and lately she'd been watching me with narrow, jealous eyes.
"Nothing," I said quickly, hiding the box behind my back.
"Doesn't look like nothing." Sarah stepped closer, and I could smell the anger rolling off her. "Let me guess. Another gift from the Alpha?"
Heat rushed to my cheeks. I tried to push past her, but she blocked my way.
"You think you're so special now, don't you?" Sarah's voice was loud enough for everyone to hear. "Maya Stone, the luckiest omega living. The girl who caught the Alpha's attention."
"It's not like that," I whispered, but even I didn't believe it anymore.
Because maybe it was like that. Maybe Drake really did see something special in me.
"Oh please." Sarah laughed harshly. "We all know what you've been doing. Sneaking around at night. Coming to work with marks on your neck. You think you're going to be Luna?"
The word sent a thrill through me even as I tried to deny it. Luna. Drake's mate. The most important woman in the pack.
"That's crazy," I said, but my voice came out weak.
"Is it? Because that's what everyone's talking about. Poor little Maya Stone who thinks she can steal the Alpha from his real fiancée."
The memory of Lila Cross hit me like a slap. Drake was getting married. To someone else. Someone strong and beautiful and everything I wasn't.
But then why did he keep coming to me? Why did he look at me like I was the most valuable thing in the world?
"You're going to get hurt," Sarah said, but now her voice sounded almost sad. "Alphas don't marry omegas, Maya. They use them and throw them away."
"Drake isn't like that," I said furiously.
Sarah shook her head. "They're all like that. And the sooner you figure it out, the better."
She walked away, leaving me standing there with my heart beating and the velvet box burning in my hands.
I ran back to my cell and locked the door behind me. With shaking fingers, I untied the silver ribbon and opened the box.
Inside was a delicate silver chain with a small moon pendant. It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.
A note was tucked beneath it: "For my moonlight. -D"
My moonlight. Drake called me his moonlight because he said I glowed in the darkness. The nickname made me feel special, picked, loved.
I put the necklace on and looked at myself in my small mirror. The silver moon sat right over my heart, catching the light. For a moment, I let myself think what it would be like to wear it as Luna. To stand beside Drake as his equal, his partner, his mate.
A knock on my door stopped my daydream.
"Maya?" It was Marcus, and he sounded worried. "Are you okay? I heard there was some kind of scene at the main hall."
I opened the door, and Marcus's eyes instantly went to the necklace.
"He gave you that?" Marcus asked quietly.
"Yes." I touched the pendant protectively. "Isn't it beautiful?"
Marcus looked like he wanted to say something, but he just nodded. "It's lovely."
"Marcus, do you think..." I paused, afraid to voice the hope that had been growing in my heart. "Do you think it's possible that Drake might call off his wedding?"
The pain that flashed across Marcus's face was so quick I almost missed it.
"Maya, you need to be careful," he said softly. "Drake has responsibilities. The pack expects him to marry Lila Cross."
"But what if he doesn't want to? What if he loves someone else?"
"Even if he did, pack politics are difficult. Marriage bonds aren't just about love."
"But they should be," I said firmly. "If two people love each other, nothing else should matter."
Marcus was quiet for a long moment. Then he said, "I hope you're right. I really do."
That evening, I was walking back from dinner service when I heard people coming from behind the storage shed. Mean, ugly sounds that made my skin crawl.
"Someone needs to put that little nobody in her place," one of them was saying.
"I heard she's been bragging about becoming Luna," another person added.
"Luna? Her? She's nothing but a kitchen omega who got lucky."
I pressed myself against the wall, trying to stay hidden. Three pack members were standing in the darkness - two betas and one gamma. All of them bigger and stronger than me.
"Alpha Drake will get tired of her soon enough," the first person said. "But until then, maybe we should remind her where she belongs."
"Yeah. Teach her some respect."
My heart started racing. They were talking about hurting me. Because I was with Drake. Because they were jealous.
I tried to back away quietly, but my foot hit a loose stone. The small sound echoed like a gunshot in the quiet evening.
"What was that?"
"Someone's there."
I turned and ran, my feet pounding against the dirt road. Behind me, I could hear them giving chase.
"Get her!"
"Don't let her reach the main area!"
I ran faster than I'd ever run in my life, my lungs burning and my heart beating against my ribs. The silver necklace bounced against my chest with each step.
Just as I thought they were going to catch me, a person stepped out of the shadows ahead.
Drake.
"What's going on here?" His Alpha voice boomed through the darkness.
The footsteps behind me stopped instantly. I crashed into Drake's chest, and his strong arms wrapped around me protectively.
"Alpha," one of the men stuttered. "We were just... we didn't mean..."
"You didn't mean what?" Drake's voice was deadly quiet. "You didn't mean to chase a member of my pack through the woods like hunting prey?"
"She's just an omega," another voice complained weakly.
The temperature seemed to drop ten degrees. Drake's power rolled off him in waves, making everyone within fifty feet drop their heads in submission.
"She is under my protection," Drake said, each word sharp as a blade. "Anyone who touches her answers to me personally. Is that understood?"
"Yes, Alpha," came the mumbled replies.
"Get out of my sight."
The men spread like leaves in the wind.
Drake held me close, one hand rubbing my hair while I tried to stop shaking.
"Are you hurt?" he asked softly.
"No. Just scared."
"They won't bother you again. I promise."
I looked up at him, seeing the fierce protectiveness in his silver eyes. In that moment, I knew Sarah was wrong. Marcus was wrong. Everyone who said Drake didn't really care about me was wrong.
You didn't protect someone like that unless you loved them.
"Drake," I mumbled. "I need to tell you something."
"What is it?"
I took a deep breath, gathering my confidence. After what had just happened, after the way he'd protected me, I had to believe he would want to know.
"I'm pregnant."
Drake went completely still. For a moment, he didn't even seem to breathe.
"What did you say?"
"I'm pregnant. With your baby."
The look that crossed his face then was one I'd never seen before. Shock, fear, and something else I couldn't name.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. I found out this morning."
Drake pulled away from me, running his hands through his hair. In the moonlight, he looked almost wild.
"This changes everything," he mumbled.
"Drake?" I reached for him, confused by his response. "Aren't you happy?"
He looked at me then, and I saw something in his eyes that made my blood run cold.
Panic.
"I... I need time to think," he said.
"Time to think about what?"
But he was already backing away from me.
"I'll talk to you tomorrow, Maya. I promise."
"Drake, wait!"
But he was gone, fleeing into the darkness and leaving me alone with my hand pressed to my still-flat stomach and my heart breaking into a million pieces.
Because in that moment, I realized the truth that everyone had been trying to tell me.
I wasn't special.
I was just another mistake he needed to fix.