His Pregnant Luna Is Not Me

The scent of Jasmin's arousal mixed with Leo's familiar pine pheromones drifted into my tiny room.

For six months, I listened to them mate exactly one hundred times.

"Mia, you are my only Mate," Leo would whisper to me every morning, wiping the sweat from his brow. "Once she breeds the heir, we will have our Mark ceremony."

I believed him, raising our secret five-year-old son in the shadows of the Blazetooth Pack.

Until tonight.

The Pack howled in celebration—Jasmin was finally pregnant.

And the Alpha's decree followed immediately: he was marking Jasmin as his true Luna tomorrow.

My son tugged at my sleeve. "Mom, why isn't Dad picking us up?"

I stroked his hair, dropping the silver medallion of the Southern Alpha King into my pocket.

"Because we're going to our real home, baby."

***

My fingers clamped around the cold silver badge in my pocket, the raised crest of the Southern Wolf clan biting into my palm. Outside the window, the Blazetooth Pack square erupted into a deafening roar.

"Quiet down, everyone!" Leo's voice boomed through the loudspeakers, vibrating against the thin glass of the packhouse corridor.

I stood in the shadows near the rear exit, gripping the fabric of my faded cotton dress. My five-year-old son, Lucas, pressed his small body against my leg.

"Well, well. Look who decided to skulk in the dark."

I turned my head. Tara, Jasmin's head maid, strutted down the hallway. She crossed her arms, a nasty smirk plastered across her face.

"Shouldn't you be in the kitchens, Mia?" Tara sneered. "The celebration feast needs more meat prepared. Or are you too busy spying on your betters?"

"I am not on duty tonight," I replied, keeping my voice flat.

"Not on duty?" Tara laughed loudly. "You are the Alpha's pity case. You are always on duty. Jasmin specifically asked for you to serve her wine tonight. She thought it would be fitting."

"Tell Jasmin to get her own wine," I said.

Tara stepped closer, her eyes flashing with a challenge. "Watch your tone. You are speaking about the future Luna."

"She is not Luna yet," I pointed out.

"She will be tomorrow," Tara snapped. "And once she is, the first thing she will do is throw you and that little brat out of the packhouse."

Lucas shrank behind me, burying his face in my skirt.

"Do not talk about my son," I warned, stepping directly into Tara's space.

She scoffed, though she took a half-step back. "Just get to the kitchen, Mia. Unless you want Alpha Leo to punish you again."

"I am done taking orders from you," I said. "And I am done serving Jasmin."

Before Tara could respond, another massive cheer shook the building.

"Mommy, why is Daddy up there?" Lucas asked, pointing his little finger toward the brightly lit stage visible through the large window.

Tara sneered one last time before turning on her heel. "Enjoy the show, loser."

I ignored her retreating figure and looked out the window. On the platform, Leo stood tall and proud. He wrapped his arm around Jasmin's waist, pulling her close. A heavy diamond crown rested on her blonde head, catching the harsh glare of the spotlights.

"Jasmin and I have an announcement," Leo declared, his voice echoing across the packed square. "She is carrying my heir!"

The crowd screamed their approval. Wolves howled into the night sky, their voices blending into a chaotic symphony of loyalty to their Alpha and his chosen mate.

"And tomorrow night," Leo continued, raising his hand to silence them again. "We will hold the official Mark ceremony. Jasmin will take her rightful place by my side."

Lucas tugged at my skirt. His grip was tight, wrinkling the cheap material. "Mommy? Why is Daddy going to have a ceremony with another auntie? Isn't he supposed to be with you?"

I knelt on the cold hardwood floor, bringing myself down to his eye level. I smoothed a stray curl away from his forehead. His skin felt so warm under my freezing fingertips.

"Because," I started, my voice remarkably steady. "Your father made a choice."

"But we lived in the cabin for so long," Lucas whispered, his lower lip trembling. "We ate stale bread so he could train. Didn't he say we would be happy when he became Alpha?"

"People change when they get power, Lucas," I said softly.

"Did I do something wrong?" he asked. "Is that why Daddy does not want us?"

"No," I said sharply, grabbing his small shoulders. "You did nothing wrong. Never think that."

"Then why?"

"It is just for politics, Mia," Leo had told me on that first night, standing in the doorway of my cramped servant's quarters. "I need her father's influence to secure the elders' votes."

"You are sleeping in her room," I had argued back then.

"I will just visit her room to keep up appearances," Leo had insisted, grabbing my hands. "You know you are the only one I love."

Tonight marked the hundredth night he had walked into her bedroom. A hundred nights of appearances that resulted in a pregnancy and a diamond crown.

"Mommy?" Lucas's voice pulled me back to the present. "Are we going to watch the ceremony tomorrow?"

A hollow laugh scraped the back of my throat. I did not cry. The tears had dried up somewhere around night fifty.

"No, sweetie," I said, forcing a small smile for his sake. "We aren't going to watch."

"Where are we going?"

"We are going back to our real home."

I reached into my pocket and traced the edges of the silver badge one last time. The Southern Wolf clan. My clan. The family I abandoned to run away with a rogue who promised me the world and delivered nothing but lies.

"Are we leaving Daddy?" Lucas asked, his wide eyes searching my face.

"He left us first," I replied quietly. I stood up and took his small hand in mine. "Come on. We need to go before the crowd disperses."

"Will he be mad?"

"It does not matter anymore."

I turned my back on the glowing stage and the cheering crowd. Every step toward the heavy oak door at the end of the hall felt lighter than the last. The suffocating weight of the Blazetooth Pack, of Leo's empty promises, began to lift off my shoulders.

"Alpha Leo! Alpha Leo!" the pack chanted outside.

"Thank you, my people," Leo's voice drifted through the speakers, thick with arrogance. "Tomorrow, a new era begins for all of us."

I pushed the heavy door open. The cool night air hit my face, crisp and sharp. We stepped out onto the dirt path that led toward the border. No guards watched this exit during a major celebration. Everyone was too busy worshipping their new Luna.

"Keep up, Lucas," I urged, tightening my grip on his hand.

"My legs are tired," he mumbled, though he quickened his pace.

"I will carry you once we cross the tree line," I promised.

"Will Grandpa be there?" he asked.

"Yes," I said. "He will be."

We were halfway across the shadowed lawn when the microphone squealed with a sudden burst of feedback. The sharp noise pierced the night, making me flinch. The cheering abruptly died down, replaced by a confused murmur.

I did not stop walking. I did not look back.

"Hold on," Leo's voice boomed over the speakers, the smooth Alpha tone suddenly replaced by a sharp edge of panic. "Wait, where is Mia?"