Chapter 10 Keep The Mistress Hidden

Aurora's POV

How long has it been since I had a sleep like that? Since I was able to rest like I was a newborn baby?

I could hear the morning chips of the birds and my nostrils picked up the scent of the flowers blooming by my window. As if there was no problems lurking inside this mansion and I am still living my same old life.

I woke to the distant sound of hurried footsteps echoing down the corridor. Before I could even stretch or gather my thoughts, the door burst open.

"Aurora, My Lady!" Mary rushed inside, her cheeks flushed from the climb. "The Alpha's family is here. They've arrived without notice."

I blinked slowly, still groggy. "What?"

Mary wrung her hands nervously. "The servants didn't know. No one prepared anything. They're already inside the sitting parlor."

I sat up, brushing strands of tangled hair from my face. My chest tightened with unease.

"A sudden visit?" I murmured. "They never come unannounced."

Before Mary could answer, Josie darted inside, whispering like the walls had ears. "They're here to confront him. The gossip-it reached them. About the mistress. About Nova Wilder. Master Ruppert and Lady Helena... they want answers."

My heart sank.

Of course it had spread.

Of course the poison had reached the top.

My fingers curled into the blanket, knuckles whitening. "Did Alexander know they were coming?"

"No," Mary replied quickly. "Everyone's in chaos."

Before I could swing my legs off the bed, the door burst open for a second time, only this time, it wasn't a maid.

It was him.

And in his arms-cradled like a broken doll-was her.

Nova.

My room. My bedroom.

Alexander's eyes met mine with urgency, lips parted, breath shallow like he'd just run across the estate.

"Aurora," he began, voice low but strained. "I need you to hide her. Just for now."

My body went cold.

"Hide her?" I repeated, slowly standing. "In my room?"

Nova looked up with her ever-fragile gaze, her face pale with fear. She didn't say a word, only tightened her grip around his neck like a lifeline.

"She can't be seen right now," he said quickly. "Not by them."

My lips parted in disbelief. "Why does she have to be here?"

His voice was almost pleading. "Please. Just for now. We both know the last room my parents would explore is your room."

The room spun around me.

He brought her here. Not just into my home, not just into my meals, my seat, my garden, but now into my bedchamber?

Was there anything left that was still mine?

"She already has my chair," I said, trying to steady my voice. "Now you're giving her my room?"

"She won't touch anything. Just-please. If my father finds out-"

I stared at him.

At the Alpha of this pack. At the man who used to share my bed. The man who now begged me to shelter his mistress.

I could barely breathe.

But I looked at his face.

He looked... desperate. Not for her, but for control. For peace. For something that wouldn't shatter further beneath his feet.

And despite everything, despite the humiliation, the bitterness, I felt my heart stir. A foolish, aching part of me that always gave more than it should.

"Fine," I said through gritted teeth. "But she touches nothing. Mary, Tanya, and Josie, watch her. Every move. And if anything is missing-anything-I'll hold you all accountable."

The maids nodded swiftly, already moving toward Nova as Alexander gently lowered her onto a chaise. She looked so fragile, I half-wondered if it was real or another well-rehearsed act.

I didn't care.

I turned back to Alexander and stormed out of the room, heels clicking loudly against the floor. He followed swiftly.

As we walked toward the receiving room, the tension between us pressed like a vice around my throat.

Then he leaned closer and murmured, "We need to pretend."

I turned my head slightly, my expression blank. "Pretend?"

"That we're fine. That we're happy," he said under his breath. "That we're still sharing the same room."

I stopped in my tracks.

He looked down at me, tense. "Just until they leave."

A hollow chuckle escaped me. "So I'm your Luna again-just for today?"

His jaw clenched. "You always were."

I didn't respond. I just turned back toward the hallway and resumed walking.

As if nothing was breaking inside me. As if the weight of all the lies didn't grind bone against bone.

We would act. We would smile. We would play the doting couple in front of the Alpha King and Queen.

But after that?

He'd have to face the real Luna, the one who had teeth sharper than any smile.

The moment we stepped into the receiving room, I was greeted by arms wrapping tightly around my shoulders, pulling me into a familiar and almost maternal warmth.

"Aurora, my precious girl!" Lady Helena exclaimed, her voice filled with genuine affection as she pressed a kiss on my temple. "Oh, how I missed you, my favorite daughter-in-law!"

I blinked in shock, caught off-guard by the unexpected embrace.

She stepped back and beamed at me, her elegant silver hair pinned neatly, her violet eyes glimmering like always. "I couldn't wait any longer. I had to see you, so I made the journey without telling anyone." Her hands cupped my face. "You've lost weight, haven't you? You poor thing, you look pale."

Before I could answer, I noticed Ruppert.

Alexander's father stood just behind her, his towering frame stiff, his sharp eyes colder than usual. He gave his son a look of pure disdain, then tapped his shoulder, not out of affection, but with the weight of disappointment that only a father can deliver.

Alexander looked away.

Lady Helena didn't seem to notice or perhaps chose not to. She gently tugged me toward the chairs. "Come now, sit. You need to rest. I'll have the palace gardens send you the freshest fruits, all your favorites. You must eat more. I bet he hasn't been taking care of you." She cast her son a pointed glare.

I sat slowly, feeling a strange warmth in my chest. Not because I was touched, but because it had been so long since someone spoke with that kind of concern for me.

"He hasn't," she continued. "Shame on you, Alexander. How dare you neglect our Luna like this?"

Alexander's jaw flexed, his hand twitching slightly as he stood across from us. "Mother, please-"

She raised a brow, cutting him off with nothing more than her voice. "No excuses. She deserves better. And I'll be bringing more dishes from the capital, she needs strength."

I sipped my tea quietly, letting the warmth travel through me, watching him unravel without lifting a finger.

But then, Alexander snapped.

"Just get straight to the point," he barked. "Why are you here?"

The room stilled.

Lady Helena's smile faltered for the first time.

And then Ruppert stepped forward.

His voice was like a blade. "I heard something."

Alexander's entire frame stiffened.

"I heard," Ruppert continued, "that my son-the Alpha of this house-brought a mistress into his home. Under the same roof as the Luna. My Luna."

I sipped my tea again, the porcelain cup silent against my lips, eyes unmoving from the scene.

Ruppert's fists clenched. "If I find out you've been dishonoring your title, Alexander, I will not hesitate to beat you to the ground. I don't care if you're my son. The throne is built on respect, and if you've broken it-"

"I don't have a mistress!" Alexander roared. "There's no one! It's just a rumor! I swear on my title, I would never dishonor Aurora like that!"

A lie.

A bold, shameless, cruel lie.

And still, I said nothing. I merely lowered my cup back to the saucer with a soft clink, tilting my head ever so slightly to the side.

Let him lie.

Let him bury himself in it.

Ruppert took a step forward, eyes blazing. But Helena raised her hand between them.

"Enough!" she snapped. "Both of you, enough! This is not how a family solves things."

The tension in the air was thick, barely contained.

"I don't care about rumors anymore," Lady Helena continued, standing tall between father and son. "I just want peace. And I want to hear the good news."

Alexander looked confused.

She turned to me with a hopeful smile. "I want to know when I'll be a grandmother. When the throne will finally have an heir."

The air left my lungs.

She looked between us, expectant. "You two are still sleeping together, right? I mean... surely, a child must come soon."

I froze.

The words had barely settled before a shrill voice cut through the room.

"No!"

The door burst open. Every head turned.

Nova stood at the threshold, her chest heaving, eyes wide with panic. She was still in her nightgown-my nightgown-and she looked like a woman about to break apart.

The room went dead silent.

Ruppert stared at her, then slowly turned to his son with burning eyes.

Lady Helena's jaw dropped in horror.

My fingers curled around the edge of my chair.

And Alexander?

He looked like the floor had been yanked out from under him.

Nova covered her mouth too late.

She had exposed herself.

The secret was no longer a secret.

And I...

I just sat there.

Still.

Watching.

Nova looked like she had seen a ghost.

"Who is this disrespectful girl?!" Ruppert's voice roared around the room which echoed in my ears.