Chapter 2

~ Nyra ~

A chuckle escaped my lips, followed by hysterical laughter. I cackled so hard the people in the room stared as if I had lost my senses.

It took a while before I could calm myself. I raised my hand while the other rested on my stomach. "Wait, what did I hear you say?" I said, sniffing back the threat of tears disguised as amusement.

My gaze roamed around the room. Alessia had the most outrageous look on her face. Her scowl was so severe, I had to bite back my anger because if looks could kill, I would have been six feet under the ground at the intensity of her glare.

"Do you think this is a joke?" she uttered, still glaring.

I placed my hands on my waist. "Of course. I know how far Eric takes his jokes, and I do not like this one, to be honest. It makes me wonder how he was able to pull the elders into court for this." I tsked, shaking my head.

The last prank he pulled almost made me lose my mind, and today was our anniversary. If he thought I was going to believe this, then the joke was on him.

"Nyra." Eric's voice cut through the room, laced with anger.

"What?" I fired back, matching his tone.

I would forgive him for letting the elders say terrible things to me, all because of a prank, but he shouldn't shout at me that way. This was way out of line, though I would keep my cool until we got to our private quarters.

He needed to know when not to cross the line.

"Come to your senses, Nyra! Alessia is carrying my child, and this is no prank." He stepped down from his throne and strode toward where I stood.

A bitter smile found its way to my lips. "Are you still going to act like it isn't a prank, just to make me believe?" I retorted.

My ego bruised a little. I didn't believe his words—I knew it was a prank—but didn't he know how much this hurt? Eric's eyes flickered, a sign of hurt flashing across his face before he masked it.

He didn't stop beside me. Instead, he walked past me toward where Alessia was standing. Eric held her waist and placed a kiss on her lips.

The way he stared at her made adrenaline rush through me with full force. My whole body screamed at me to wipe that haughty smirk off her face. My lips trembled, and at last, the volcano rumbling inside me burst out. Before I knew it, I pushed Alessia out of his embrace, which led her to stumble.

Alessia clutched her stomach as if protecting something. The force I used wasn't strong, but she fell to the ground. A groan slipped from her lips. I panicked a little, hoping I hadn't injured her, but when I saw the sly smile on her face, I knew she was acting.

"Nyra!" Eric bellowed.

I jumped. My whole body froze because I had never seen Eric this angry.

Veins popped out from his neck and forehead. He rushed over to Alessia and helped her up. Underneath his anger was something like fear. He carried her as if she were made of porcelain.

"Eric." My voice was barely above a whisper.

He shot his head toward me. "Don't call my name!" he declared, still seething with anger.

"My back—it hurts, babe," Alessia whimpered.

If I hadn't seen her smirk earlier, I would have believed it.

I balled my hands into tight fists. Watching my mate tend to another woman right in front of me was cruel torture.

"Eric, what are you doing? There is nothing wrong with her, and even if there is, let the guards do the job. I am your mate, and you have no right treating another female like that in front of me. That is disrespectful," I stated. My tone betrayed me because I wanted to sound firm, but I spoke like I was broken.

"Guards? Were you deaf when she said she was carrying my child? Nyra, I tried to be calm." He tilted his head to the side, but the burning rage fueling his eyes was disturbing.

"Calm?" My voice broke around the edges.

I darted my gaze from side to side. "You cheated on me. You betrayed our bond." My lips quivered. The way my heart hammered in my chest as I tried to bite back the tears threatening to slip.

"Take her back to the chambers," Eric ordered a guard, who took Alessia from his arms.

Once she was gone, he turned to face me.

"What bond is there to betray? I gave you a chance to produce an heir, and what did you do? You played Luna around, clutching to your crown, bringing in a rogue child to my pack without my permission." He paused and sucked in a deep breath.

"You humiliated me and brought dishonor to me. You think I haven't tried enough?" He accused me, taking a step toward where I stood.

A scoff escaped my lips at the irony of his words. "I didn't cheat on you. You humiliated yourself by cheating. You broke our bond!" I paused. "How long? How long has it been going on?"

He licked his lower lip."You don't need to know when it began. Just know that I have proven you wrong.”

My eyes widened. He had been cheating while I was busy looking for a solution to our situation.

Tears stung my eyes. I raked my hands through my hair in an exhausted way, turned my head to the other side, and tried to control my breathing.

"Nyra," he called, but I stopped him.

I pressed my palm against my face. "So what are you going to do?" I asked.

The elders in the room were silent. I knew some wanted to speak, but the tension in the room was far thicker than the air itself.

In the Nightshade pack, only one Luna would be acknowledged. Seeing the look on Eric's face, I knew what was going on in his mind. That explained why he had been avoiding my gaze earlier.

He was ashamed of what he did. "I suggest you have thought deeply about your decision. So tell me, Eric, what do you want?"