SAMANTHA'S POV

I stood there, trembling, the small plastic stick in my hands, the two pink lines glowing back at me. Tears welled in my eyes, and I couldn’t help but let them fall freely down my cheeks. My wolf howled in joy, the sound echoing through my mind like a victorious war cry. It was finally happening.

Six years. Six long years of trying, of waiting, of being told by pack members—some out of pity, others with quiet disdain—that a Luna who couldn’t give the Alpha an heir was a liability to the pack. I’d heard the whispers behind my back, the muttered words. How could I blame them? Every Alpha needs an heir, someone to carry on the legacy, the strength of their pack. Without that, what was I? Nothing more than a shadow of the woman they expected me to be.

But now... now, it was different. The pregnancy test in my hands told me what I had longed to hear. I was pregnant. My heart swelled with emotion. My wolf danced in circles, and I whispered to the tiny life growing inside me. "Mommy’s been waiting for you. You’ll be a blessed child, little one."

It had taken so long for this moment, and now that it was finally here, I could barely believe it. I could hardly contain my excitement. Three months. That night three months ago, the night I felt that spark, the bond between Brian and me had been reignited, and now... this little miracle was growing inside me. The thought of Brian finally having his alpha heir, finally having his son or daughter, filled me with an overwhelming sense of pride.

I ran my hand over my belly, my heart heavy with hope and joy. But there was a part of me that remained unsettled, a quiet whisper in my mind. Brian had been distant these last few months, never home, never the man I used to know. Something had changed in him, but I had no idea what. He had barely looked at me since that night, leaving the pack house as soon as dawn broke. But none of that mattered now. The baby. Our baby. It was all that mattered.

With a smile on my lips, I placed the pregnancy test on the table by the door, hoping he would see it when he walked in. I wanted to surprise him. I wanted to watch the joy light up his eyes when he saw that we were finally going to have a child.

I paced nervously, my heart hammering in my chest as I waited for him to come home.

Minutes felt like hours, but finally, I heard the sound of the door opening. My heart skipped a beat.

I couldn't see what he was doing until he walked towards our bed and faced me.

“Hey,” he said, his voice warmer than I’d heard in weeks. He walked over and kissed me lightly on the cheek, a brief touch, but enough to send a thrill through me. “I’ve got some good news.”

I couldn’t help the grin that spread across my face. “What is it?” I asked, my voice bubbling with excitement. "Tell me."

Brian’s lips curled into a smile, though it was faint, as if something weighed on him. He seemed happier than I had seen him in a while. “Tonight, I’m calling a pack meeting. We have an important announcement. Something I’ve been waiting for.”

My heart fluttered. He was excited. For sure he already saw my positive pregnancy kit! He was happy about the baby. It must be the news of the heir, of our child. I could barely hold back my excitement as I nodded eagerly. “I can’t wait to hear.”

We walked to the pack hall together, and my nerves were on edge. As the Alpha, Brian was supposed to make grand announcements like this. He was supposed to show the pack that everything was as it should be. That the pack would thrive. That we would thrive.

The pack hall was filled with pack members, all murmuring amongst themselves as they took their seats. I stood by the Alpha's side, watching as he made his way to the center of the room. The murmurs died down as he lifted his hand to silence the room.

“Everyone,” Brian’s voice boomed through the hall, “I have some good news for our pack. After much waiting and uncertainty, I am pleased to announce that we have an heir.”

I felt a swell of pride in my chest, a smile threatening to break free. I looked at him with shining eyes. He cared about me. He wanted the pack to know that we were finally going to have a child. I was the Luna. I had given him the heir. He was going to announce it proudly.

I waited, breathless, but my stomach twisted when Brian looked away from me. He pointed toward the far side of the room, his hand gesturing for someone to come forward.

“Bianca, please come here,” Brian said, his voice flat, detached.

Bianca. My blood ran cold. She was a breeder who had recently joined the pack. Beautiful, obedient, and everything I the pack members hoped their Luna would be. My hands clenched into fists at my sides as I stared at her, a thin smile on her lips as she made her way to the front of the room.

“She is now carrying my child,” Brian continued, his voice carrying throughout the hall. “Our pack’s lineage will be secured with her.”

I froze. My heart seemed to stop in my chest. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. I stood there, rooted to the spot, my eyes locked on Brian. He couldn’t... he couldn’t be serious. This couldn’t be happening.

The murmurs of the pack echoed around me, but all I could hear was the blood rushing in my ears. My world crashed down around me.

I thought I was dreaming. I thought this was a nightmare that would end the moment I woke up. But no. It wasn’t. This was real.

Bianca. The Alpha's heir was with her.

“Cheers to the future of our pack!” Brian called out, and the room erupted in applause, but I stood there, motionless, as if the floor had swallowed me whole.

SAMANTHA'S POV

I could feel the fury burning in my chest, my wolf snarling inside me, pacing and howling to tear through the walls of this suffocating room. Every breath I took was like inhaling fire. My heart felt like it was being ripped out of my chest as I stood there, looking at my mate and Bianca, my vision clouded with anger. My body trembled, but I forced myself to stay composed, though every part of me screamed for release.

Under the mocking and sympathetic gazes of the pack members, I stepped forward. My voice, thick with venom, barely escaped my clenched teeth. “What do you mean by this?”

Brian’s eyes barely met mine, his gaze cold and hard. “It’s exactly what you see, Samantha. You haven’t been able to get pregnant, and the status of our pack is in jeopardy. I need a breeder to bear an heir. I’m sorry, but I have no other choice.”

His words were like a slap to my face, but the rage that roared within me drowned the hurt. No. I wouldn’t let him see how deeply his betrayal cut. I could feel my teeth grinding, the anger welling up inside me so violently I thought my bones might shatter.

“So, that’s it? You’ve been playing me all this time? You and her—” I gestured toward Bianca, who was standing there with that smug look on her face. “Behind my back? For how long? How many times did you have to try before she finally conceived? And I—I, like a fool, have been kept in the dark. While I... I was trying to hard, you’ve been screwing her in secret!"

Brian’s lips curled into a sneer. “You’re overreacting, Sam. You know how important this is. Our pack’s future depends on this heir.”

I barely heard him over the pounding in my ears, the roaring of my wolf. This was it. This was the moment I had been dreading for so long. The betrayal was so deep, I couldn’t breathe. My wolf scratched at the surface of my mind, desperate to claw its way out, to destroy everything in its path.

"I am pregnant—" Just as I was about to speak, to tell him about my own pregnancy—our baby—a voice interrupted. It was Bianca, her voice dripping with feigned sympathy, her hands clasped dramatically over her mouth.

“Oh my God, Luna,” she gasped, her eyes wide as if she was truly concerned. “You aren’t going to say that you’re pregnant too, are you? I understand it’s hard to accept, hearing about me carrying the Alpha’s child, but come on, you can’t lie to everyone! Everyone knows you haven’t been able to conceive in years. What a coincidence that now, just as I’m pregnant, you suddenly claim to be too? Lying is really not good, you know.”

My fists clenched at my sides, and the air felt thick and suffocating. The heat rising inside me was no longer just rage; it was pure, unfiltered fury.

“You—” I couldn’t take it anymore. With one swift movement, I stepped forward, and my hand collided with her cheek, the force of the slap sending her stumbling back.

The sound of skin against skin echoed in the room, and for a moment, I felt an ounce of satisfaction. But Bianca wasn’t done. She fell to the floor, clutching her stomach with a dramatic gasp. “Oh no! My belly—my baby! Please, someone help me!” She wailed, her voice pitched high in a show of exaggerated distress.

Brian was instantly by her side, his expression shifting from anger to worry. “Bianca!” He shouted, his hands shaking as he helped her up. His gaze darted to one of the pack healers, ordering him to take her to the hospital immediately.

I stood there, motionless, my breath coming in sharp gasps. I couldn’t process what had just happened. I had slapped her. I had actually slapped her.

But before I could even gather my thoughts, Brian turned on me, his eyes blazing with fury. The anger in his face was unmistakable. “If anything happens to Bianca or the baby, you’ll pay for it!” he spat, his words venomous and cold.

And then, before I could say a word, before I could even defend myself, he kicked me hard in the stomach. The pain shot through me like a jagged knife, and I gasped in agony, my hands instinctively pressing against my abdomen.

I could feel the world tilt beneath me, my knees buckling as I collapsed to the ground. My vision blurred, and for a moment, I thought I might pass out.

“Alpha!” I managed to choke out, my voice barely a whisper.

He didn’t look back. He didn’t even care. He stormed off, leaving me crumpled on the floor, helpless and broken.

My hands shook as I reached for my stomach, but when my fingers brushed over my skin, I felt something warm and sticky. Blood.

“No...” I whispered, my voice trembling as the realization hit me like a freight train. No. Not now. Not when I finally had hope. Not when I was carrying our child, the baby I had longed for.

The blood continued to flow, and I could feel the life draining out of me. My vision began to darken at the edges, and the sounds of the pack hall faded away, replaced by the ringing in my ears. I couldn’t focus. I couldn’t think. All I could do was clutch at my belly, desperate to hold on, to keep the baby safe.

SAMANTHA'S POV

I slowly opened my eyes, blinking against the harsh light that pierced through the dim room. The sterile scent of the pack’s hospital clung to the air, and my body felt as though it had been trampled by a hundred wolves. Every inch of me throbbed with pain, a deep, aching sorrow that dug into my chest, threatening to tear me apart. The weight of it was suffocating.

I turned my head, and there she was—Nancy, the head healer, my only friend in this cursed pack. She was seated beside my bed, her face creased with worry.

Her hand flew to her mouth as soon as she noticed I was awake. “Samantha, thank the Moon Goddess! You gave me quite the scare. They’re all gathered around that shameless breeder’s bed, even though nothing is wrong with her. Luckily, I found you lying there all alone, unconscious and covered in blood before it's too late. You freaked me out!”

I took in her words, trying to focus. My body felt too heavy, my mind too sluggish, but there was one thing I needed to know—one thing that had haunted me since I’d blacked out.

“How about the baby?” I asked, my voice hoarse, as I stared at Nancy with a calm that didn’t match the storm of emotions raging inside me.

Nancy froze, her eyes darting away for a split second, and I knew. She was hiding something.

She hesitated before speaking. “Oh, you mean that breeder’s baby? Her baby is fine,” she said, though her tone seemed too light, too dismissive.

I felt my pulse spike, the anger bubbling to the surface, but I held it back, forcing myself to stay still. “I’m talking about my baby. Don’t play the fool with me,” I said, my words cutting through the room like a knife.

Nancy's face fell, and her gaze softened with sympathy, which only made my stomach churn. She sighed heavily, clearly realizing she couldn’t keep the truth from me anymore. “I thought you didn’t know you were pregnant,” she said, her voice quiet. “I didn’t want to tell you, to spare you more pain. But… you’re right. When I was examining you, I discovered you were pregnant. The baby was still small, only three months along, and very unstable. I’m so sorry.”

Her words didn’t make sense at first, and I found myself just staring at her in silence. My mind tried to process the shock, but it was like a fog had settled in. The numbness had crept in again, so thick that I couldn’t even feel the tears I knew should have been falling.

"But the baby... the baby didn’t survive," Nancy added, her voice breaking.

My body went cold. The words sliced through me, but I didn’t react—not right away. I felt nothing but emptiness, a hollow pit opening inside me.

I continued to stare ahead, blankly, feeling the cool sheets beneath my fingers. I didn’t know how much time passed before I felt something wet on my hand. I looked down, confused, and saw drops of water falling onto it. My gaze shifted upward, and I realized it wasn’t raining outside.

I turned to Nancy, smiling weakly despite the emptiness that consumed me. “Look,” I said softly, my voice almost a whisper, “it’s raining. How can it be raining indoors?”

Her expression faltered, and she blinked rapidly, as though trying to will away the tears welling in her eyes. My body couldn’t even bring itself to mourn. Not yet. Maybe never.

Nancy didn’t respond. Instead, she just gave me a sad, pitiful look, then stood up, as if to give me space.

"Rest, Sam. I’ll be here if you need anything," she said quietly, her words carrying a weight of sorrow I couldn't bring myself to care about.

---

The pack house was just a short walk from the hospital, but the distance felt endless. The pack's halls were unnervingly quiet as I made my way through them, but it wasn't the usual silence that made my heart race. No, it was the sudden, oppressive weight of every pair of eyes that fell on me, staring, judging, whispering.

As I rounded the corner, I saw them.

Brian, with his arm around Bianca, both of them surrounded by a group of pack members. They laughed and chatted like everything was fine, as if nothing had happened. As if I didn’t exist.

Bianca’s eyes locked onto mine, and I saw the challenge in them. She stepped forward, her heels clicking loudly against the floor, her posture dripping with arrogance. “Well, well, look who’s up,” she cooed mockingly, her voice sickly sweet. “Feeling better now, Samantha? Or should I say Luna?”

The title felt like poison in my mouth. I didn’t respond to her bait. I couldn’t. But my wolf, the one that had been silent for so long, growled beneath the surface, furious at the audacity she had.

The Alpha, ever the coward, stood behind her. His eyes flickered briefly toward me, but it wasn’t concern or even indifference I saw in them. It was disdain. Pure, unfiltered disdain. He barely even acknowledged me as he shifted his gaze back to Bianca.

“Don’t bother with her, Bianca,” he said dismissively. “She’s already done enough damage. Let her go wallow in her failure.”

I felt my heart crack, but I held my head high. My hands clenched at my sides, the tension in my body palpable.

It was time.

I took a step forward, my voice steady and calm, though my soul was shaking. “I reject you, Brian. As my mate. As my Alpha. I’ve had enough.”

The words hit the air like a bomb, shattering the silence around us. The pack members stilled, their gazes flicking between Brian and me. Even Bianca stopped in her tracks, her expression faltering as her smug grin slowly faded.

Brian's face turned to stone. “What did you say?” His voice was low, dangerous. The arrogance I had once admired now felt like a noose tightening around my neck.

“I said I reject you,” I repeated, louder this time, my voice unwavering. “You never cared for me. You’re not worthy to be my mate.” I paused, letting my words sink in. “And I certainly would rather endure the pain of ending this mateship than to share my bed to a mere breeder.” I gestured toward Bianca, my voice dripping with finality.