Blood of the Broken Luna

Betrayed. Exiled. Left for dead.

I was once Luna Tatiena of the Nightshade Pack, the beloved mate of Alpha Xaden Nightshade. I carried his heir—the child destined to inherit the strongest bloodline of our kind. But on a random night, someone decided to kidnap me and then left me in a stranded ice land where I had no one, and they even shut off my wolf.

I should have died. My pup should have died.

But the Goddess had other plans.

When I awoke, I was no longer the woman I once was. My bond to Xadem—severed. And when I returned to my pack, desperate to find my mate and child, I was met with a truth more devastating than death itself.

He had taken another Luna.

Liora, my best friend. My betrayer. The woman now carrying his new heir. And my child? Gone.

The healers whispered that my pup had been stillborn, but I knew better. I felt my son’s heartbeat in my womb that night. Someone had taken him. And someone said, the Alpha decided to save the child over his own Luna.

That night, my soul shattered, and my wolf did something forbidden. I was saved, and everything about my life changed.

The price? My mortality. My soul. My light.

The result? Power beyond any Luna before me.

And that’s not all—I was revealed to be the last descendant of the Ironhart Pack, the very pack everyone is desperate to form an alliance with.”

Now, after five years in the shadows, I return—not as the broken mate they left behind, but as something else entirely. Something darker.

They called me dead. A ghost. A whisper of the past.

They were wrong.

I am alive.

I am stronger.

And I have come to reclaim my throne, my child, and my vengeance.

The kitchen was warm, the scent of sizzling bacon filling the air as I moved around the counters. Nine months pregnant, I should’ve been taking it easy, but I couldn’t.

Every day was a reminder of how far I’d come since becoming Luna of the Nightshade Pack. I had once been nothing—a girl with no family, no name. But then I met him.

Alpha Xaden Nightshade.

He had claimed me, chosen me. And because of that, the entire werewolf world respected me. The weight of that position hadn’t settled in until now, but every day, I felt it—the power, the eyes, the expectations.

This morning was just like any other. I stood in front of the stove, flipping the eggs the way Xaden liked them—perfectly cooked, not too soft, not too firm. I moved with a careful grace, my growing belly pressing against the counter as I worked. I wasn’t one to sit idly by.

“You really should rest more,” the pack healer had warned me just last week. “You’re too far along to be cooking for anyone, let alone the Alpha.”

But I couldn’t help it. I had to do this.

I was Luna, after all.

As I finished plating the breakfast, I heard his footsteps. I turned with a smile, eager to see him. But when I looked up, I realized something strange. He wasn’t alone.

Xaden stood in the doorway, his eyes already scanning his phone, his face unreadable. No greeting. No smile. Just cold indifference. I forced myself not to falter as I walked toward him.

“Good morning, baby!” I said brightly, my voice a little louder than usual to capture his attention. “I made your favorite!”

He glanced up, barely acknowledging me. “I told you to stay in your room.”

His tone was flat, dismissive, like I’d inconvenienced him by being here.

I laughed it off, pretending his words didn’t sting. “Oh, don’t worry. I’m fine,” I said, rubbing my belly, which was noticeably large now, nearly at full term. “I made all your favorites.”

I placed the plate in front of him, hoping that would earn me a smile, something to reassure me that he still cared.

Xaden didn’t react. He didn’t even look at the food. Instead, his eyes stayed glued to his phone screen. His fingers swiped, scrolling through something I couldn’t see.

I tried again, feeling a little more hurt than I’d care to admit. “Eggs, bacon, toast, and your special tea. You love this, right?”

Still nothing.

That’s when the door to the kitchen swung open.

Liora.

I hadn’t even heard her approach. She walked in like she owned the place, her golden hair falling around her face in perfect waves, her posture regal, like she had stepped right out of a dream.

I blinked, trying to shake off the sudden wave of unease. There was nothing odd about Liora walking in. Nothing at all.

“Oh my God!” she exclaimed, her eyes widening at the food on the table. “That’s my favorite! Did you make that, Tate? And I’m kind of hungry…”

“Yeah, I did.”

Liora looked at me, her face lighting up with excitement. But her eyes quickly flicked over to Xaden, who still hadn’t put down his phone.

“Xaden, this looks amazing!” she said, her voice laced with that familiar sweetness I’d grown accustomed to hearing around him.

Xaden looked up then, and for a split second, I saw the flicker of something—was it warmth? Or was it just familiarity? But whatever it was, it disappeared before I could fully process it.

He smiled at Liora.

“Liora, you’re too kind.” He finally set his phone down, his attention now fully on her. “Tate’s always been a good cook. She knows what I like.”

Liora grinned. “Well, I’m not complaining. I can’t wait to dig in.”

I stood there for a moment, suddenly feeling like an outsider in my own home. The conversation, the ease with which they spoke to each other—it all felt too familiar. Too… close.

“Well,” I said, forcing my voice to sound light, “It’s all yours. I’m sure it’ll taste even better with your company, right?”

I gave a little laugh, but it didn’t reach my eyes.

“Oh, Tate, you’re so sweet.” She sat down beside Xaden, scooting closer to him than I was comfortable with.

I watched as they chatted easily, laughing about something I couldn’t even hear.

Xaden never treated me like that. Not anymore. Not with such warmth, not with that look in his eyes. I knew something had changed—something I couldn’t ignore.

But I didn’t want to believe it. I refused to. I have a feeling he’s being like this because I’m too clingy for his attention and he cares too much about our baby that he does not want me to wander around.

“Xaden,” I called out softly, unable to hold it in any longer. “Do you—do you need anything else? I can get you anything.”

His eyes flicked toward me, his expression unreadable, and I immediately regretted speaking up.

“No,” he said, his voice curt, but his gaze quickly shifted back to Liora. He smiled at her again, and I felt the ache in my chest deepen.

Liora giggled at something Xaden said, her hand brushing against his. I felt a cold shiver run down my spine. They were touching. And Xaden didn’t even notice it.

“Babe, could you please leave us? We still have meetings about the pack affairs, and I don’t want you to feel pressured, especially with the baby so near,” Xaden said, while he was giggling with Liora. I didn’t even know what was going on but just smiled, watching my icy best friend and mate getting along.

Well, they do because she’s one of the most skilled investigators in this pack.

And I did what he said.

But I didn’t know it would change everything.