Chapter 6
Naira did not scream when the pain started.
She was already tired of screaming in this world.
The first pain came like a sharp fire inside her stomach. She bent forward and held her belly with both hands. The night air was cold, but sweat covered her face. Her feet were dirty. Her dress was torn. She had been walking for hours.
The woods were dark. The trees stood like silent guards. Above her, the moon shone like a pale eye watching her suffer.
"So this is where you want me to give birth," she whispered.
Her legs shook. Another pain came, stronger than the first. She almost fell, but she held onto a tree trunk.
"I can't go back," she said to herself. "I can't let them take you."
Her father's words echoed in her head.
Hide it. Kill it in silence.
Her sister's crying voice followed.
They will kill you if they find out.
The Luna's threat was worse.
Remove that child or your family dies.
Naira pressed her hand against her stomach. The baby kicked inside her, as if saying, I am here.
"No," she whispered. "You will live."
She looked up at the moon.
"Moon Goddess," she said with a weak voice, "if you can hear me... please help me."
The wind moved through the trees.
Her legs gave way, and she sank to her knees. The ground was wet with leaves and dirt. The pain came again, sharp and heavy.
"Not yet," she cried softly. "Not yet, please..."
But her body did not listen.
She pulled out the small cloth she had tied around her waist. It was the only thing she brought. No food. No water. Only this cloth and the child in her belly.
"I will protect you," she whispered to the unborn baby. "They call you cursed. They call you stone. But it was me. It was always me."
Tears fell down her face.
"It was my shame. Not yours."
Another pain hit her, stronger than before. She cried out this time. Her hands clawed at the ground.
The moonlight touched her face.
She closed her eyes.
"Moon Goddess," she whispered again, "you give life... don't let this one die."
Far away, in the pack land, torches moved. Her father and sisters searched the roads. They did not know she had gone into the forbidden woods.
She had left a small note under her sleeping mat.
Do not follow me. If you love me, let me go.
The pain grew heavier.
Her breath came out in broken gasps.
She pushed herself up and leaned against a fallen tree. Her dress was soaked with sweat. Her hair stuck to her face.
"Please," she whispered. "Just let me see the child once."
The wind stopped.
The forest became quiet.
Then a strange light touched the leaves. Not sunlight. Not fire.
Moonlight.
The moon above seemed closer than before.
Naira felt warmth on her skin.
Her tears fell freely now.
"Is this the prophecy?" she asked the night. "Is this where I die?"
Her body bent forward as the final pain came.
She screamed.
Not loud.
Not wild.
Just broken.
Her hands shook as she pushed. Her vision blurred. The pain was fire and stone inside her.
"I can do this," she whispered. "For you... I can do this..."
The sound that followed was small.
A cry.
Thin.
Weak.
But alive.
Her body fell back against the tree. Her chest rose and fell fast.
In her arms lay the child.
A girl.
Small and warm.
Her skin glowed softly under the moonlight.
Naira stared at her.
"You are... beautiful," she whispered.
The child opened her eyes.
Silver eyes.
Like the moon.
Naira gasped.
"No..." she whispered. "So it's true..."
The prophecy.
A child born of shame will shake the thrones of wolves.
Her hands trembled as she held the baby closer.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm sorry they hate you before you even breathe."
The baby made a soft sound and closed her eyes again.
Naira felt something wrong inside her.
Cold.
Heavy.
Her strength faded fast.
She looked up at the moon again.
"Moon Goddess... take care of her."
Her voice shook.
"Give her a pack that won't beat her. Give her hands that won't throw her away."
Her vision darkened at the edges.
"Let her live... even if I don't."
Footsteps sounded far away.
Or maybe it was only her mind.
She pulled the cloth around the baby and laid her gently on the ground, between two tree roots where the wind could not touch her.
She kissed the child's forehead.
"My moon," she whispered. "My sin. My gift."
Her body slid down the tree.
Her eyes closed.
The forest breathed.
The moon shone.
And somewhere, the Moon Goddess watched.
The child cried once.
Then silence followed.
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