My mate, Rowan, and I had gone through life and death to build a powerful pack. Our eternal mate bond had been witnessed by the Moon Goddess. That was until he brought back the teary-eyed Omega, Riley.

She was a scheming woman who lied about being homeless.

For her, Rowan used his Alpha's dominance on me in front of the pack to humiliate me. For Riley's pup, he accused me of jealousy and called me unworthy of being a Luna.

When I was pregnant with our pure blood heir, I asked for his help as I was about to die from the enemy's attack. He turned away to comfort the pup, who only had a scratch on his arm.

All Rowan did was leave me with cold words, blaming me for not being able to protect myself as a Luna. He told me I should reflect on that.

My mate killed our pup with his own hands.

The guards reported a commotion where my Alpha mate was during the werewolves' most important Blood Moon Alliance meeting. I rushed over to maintain order, only to see Rowan, the man who claimed to love me, protecting a female Omega behind his back.

…

"Luna! We have an emergency!"

Marcus was the captain of the guards, and he called out to me using the mind-link. It interrupted my prayers to the Moon Goddess.

My eyes snapped open as the silver moonlight shone on me from the dome of the Holy Temple.

It was the Blood Moon Alliance meeting tonight. Every werewolf elite from North Amoria would be gathered here for the most holy ritual held annually.

"What happened?" I replied.

"There's commotion on the outskirts where the Alpha is. The elders are requesting that you head over to handle it."

My heart sank.

What was Rowan doing?

I quickly got up as my long moonlight-colored Luna's robe billowed in the air.

As the Luna of the pack, my duty was to keep the order, especially during an important meeting like this. I passed through the crowd and heard arguing.

"According to the pack's rules, she has to stand trial in front of the elders for stealing the Moon Essence!"

"She's just an Omega with a pup. What do you mean by pushing her to the corner?"

It was Rowan's voice.

I quickened my pace as I pushed away the crowd surrounding him. What I saw stunned me.

Rowan was standing next to the Moonlight Spring, which was the core area of the ritual, while protecting a frail woman behind his back. That woman had a five-year-old boy in her arms. She was trembling while sobbing.

Three elders were surrounding them in a half-circle with stern looks on their faces.

"Alpha Rowan, this Omega was found hiding Moon Essence. According to the pack's rules—"

"That's enough!" Rowan interrupted the elder. "Riley did nothing wrong! All she wanted was some hope of treating her pup's illness."

Riley.

I had never heard of the name before this.

"Rowan." I stepped forward. My voice was calm, but not without the air of a respected Luna. "What's going on?"

He turned to look at me with a complicated look in his eyes.

"You came at the right time, Stella." He sounded a little frustrated. "The elders are bullying a helpless mother."

Elder Aldric grunted coldly. "Luna, this Omega has been secretly collecting Moon Essence from the Moon Goddess' Holy Spring and was caught red-handed by the guards. According to the pack's rules, this is a serious crime."

I looked at the woman called Riley. She did look pitiful. Her small and weak body was trembling while Rowan protected her. The pup in her arms looked pale. It was obvious that he was seriously ill.

However, rules were rules.

"If she has indeed gone against the pack's rules, we should handle this accordingly," I said.

The look in Rowan's eyes suddenly turned sharp. "Stella!"

His voice contained the Alpha's dominance, and the air around us froze.

I looked at him in disbelief. He was using the Alpha's dominance on me in public.

"Are you warning me?" My voice was soft, but every word I spoke was clear to hear.

"I'm trying to stop you from making a mistake." Rowan refused to back down. "All Riley wanted to do was save her pup. What's wrong with that?"

Everyone around us started to whisper amongst themselves. It was unprecedented humiliation for an Alpha to use his dominance on his Luna during the Blood Moon Alliance meeting.

I felt a sharp pain in my chest. It was a distress signal from the mate bond.

"This is all my fault," Riley suddenly said. Her voice was soft and fragile. "Please don't let the Alpha and Luna fall out because of me. I'm willing to accept any punishment."

Tears streamed down her face while she spoke.

Rowan turned to comfort her. "No, you did nothing wrong, Riley. I failed to protect you and your son."

He turned to look at me with disappointment after that. "Stella, your jealousy has tainted your status as Luna. A real Luna should have mercy in her heart, not be ruthless to the weak."

Jealousy?

Tainted my status as Luna?

My blood began to boil.

The pack members surrounding us looked at me. Some had pity in their eyes, others were shaking their heads.

They were waiting for me to react and take care of the situation.

I took a deep breath. I tried hard to maintain my remaining voice of reason.

It was only in the last full moon that Rowan had me in an embrace while swearing in front of the Moon Goddess, "My loyalty belongs only to you, my one and only Luna."

His vow still echoed in my ears, but reality was right in front of me.

"The Alpha has made his decision." My voice was frighteningly calm. "There is nothing more for me to say."

"Rowan."

I turned to face him as I felt the stabbing pain from our mate bond.

The whisperings of our pack only hurt me further. They were looking at me with pity and confusion. Some could not even hide the condescending look in their eyes.

No Luna had ever been publicly humiliated by her Alpha in the history of werewolves.

"I'll ask for the Moon Goddess' permission to annul our union as mates." My voice was calm. Every word could be heard clearly.

Rowan turned pale. "You're crazy. You can't do that."

"Yes, I can." I looked him straight in the eyes. "And that's exactly what I will do."

"You should calm down, Stella—"

"I am calm," I interrupted him. "I have never been so calm."

He quickly shook his head. "No, you're just saying this out of anger. Let's talk when we get back—"

"There's nothing to talk about."

I turned to walk toward the parking lot, and Rowan followed quickly behind me.

"Wait!" He grabbed my arm. "Riley has nowhere to go. I can't just leave her and her son behind."

I stopped and turned to look at him. "So?"

"So, I'm taking her back to the villa," Rowan said matter-of-factly. "She needs to stay somewhere safe."

She needed somewhere safe.

I laughed coldly. "When has our villa become a refuge for homeless werewolves?"

"Stella!" Rowan was warning me. "Riley was abused by her Alpha. She escaped with her pup and has nowhere to go now. I have a responsibility to protect her. It's an Alpha's responsibility."

An Alpha's responsibility. It was just another one of his grand excuses.

"Your responsibility is to protect your mate," I replied. "Not a stranger who keeps crying for help."

"She's not a stranger!" Rowan retorted. "She needs help!"

"What about me?" I asked.

"I just didn't want you to make a mistake…"

"Make a mistake?" I repeated his words. "How is it a mistake to sentence her according to the pack's rules?"

Rowan turned silent.

That was when Riley walked over to us timidly while holding her pup.

Her voice was trembling, "Alpha, I'm willing to leave if my presence is causing a conflict between you and your Luna."

"No," Rowan replied immediately. "You're not going anywhere."

He looked at me. "Get in the car. We're going back together."

Riley looked at Rowan hopefully. There were still tears in her eyes.

"Fine," I replied.

Rowan sighed with relief.

We got into the car. Riley sat in the back while hugging her pup tight.

Rowan started the car and drove toward the villa.

"Luna," Riley suddenly spoke up. She sounded so frail that I could hardly hear her voice. "I'm really sorry to have caused you so much trouble. I know you must really hate me now, but please believe me when I say that I have no malicious intentions."

She paused before continuing, "I'm just a pitiful woman with a pup. If it weren't for the kindness of the Alpha, we would have died in the wilderness."

Kindness…

I sneered silently.

"If only I weren't a burden, a damaged Omega… I would pray to the Moon Goddess for a chance to be with you because you're a true Alpha!"

Riley's words made me turn to look at her in shock. She was idolizing Rowan with passion in her eyes while ignoring me completely.

It infuriated me further to see a flash in Rowan's eyes that told me he was swayed by her words. He was seriously considering her offer!

"Stop the car," I said coldly.

The car stopped slowly by the road. I opened the door and walked to Riley's side in the car.

"Get out," I said.

"Luna?" Riley acted like she did not understand what was happening. "What's going on?"

"I said, get out," I repeated. "You and your pup should get out right now."

"What are you doing, Stella?" Rowan got out of the car as he questioned angrily.

"I'm fulfilling both your wishes," I sneered. "Since she's so grateful to you, idolizes you, and thinks you're a true Alpha, I'm giving her a chance to repay you."

Riley's face turned red. "Y-You've misunderstood me, Luna…"

She stammered and could not say anything else.

"If you don't have anything else to say, get out." I opened the car door. "You can find yourselves a nice cave to comfort each other. Your chosen mate has approved it, Rowan."

"Are you crazy?" Rowan said angrily. "This is the wilderness!"

"That's even better." My voice was cold. "No one will interrupt your passionate words for each other."

Riley was forced out of the car. The pup in her arms started to cry. She stood pitifully by the side of the road.

"Alpha, please…" She sobbed.

Rowan walked to her right away. He grabbed my wrist furiously after that. "She's just a homeless Omega. How can you be so cruel?"

"Stella, apologize to Riley."

Rowan was exerting his Alpha's dominance in his voice. He stood outside the car while staring coldly at me.

"After that, officially invite her back to the villa as the Luna."

I looked at him in disbelief. He had been defending Riley all this time, and now, he wanted me to apologize to her.

"You're crazy," I sneered. "Why must I apologize to a thief?"

"What you just did is not worthy of your status as Luna!" Rowan was furious. "Leaving behind an Omega with a pup in the wilderness… Is this your idea of benevolence?"

Riley stood at the roadside while the pup in her arms was still crying. She pretended to give us a determined yet hurt look, as if to tell us, 'Look at how your Luna is acting.'

"I won't apologize." I tried to hold back my anger. "And I won't invite her back to the villa."

"Well, I don't need your agreement for it," Rowan said coldly.

He turned and walked to Riley. He took off his coat and put it on her. "I'm sorry, Riley. My mate sometimes loses all sense of reason."

Mate…

Did he still remember that I was his mate?

"Don't worry, Alpha," Riley said softly. "I understand what the Luna is worried about. I'm an outsider, after all."

Her tears started to fall again as she spoke.

"You're not an outsider," Rowan comforted her gently. "You're a part of our pack."

Our pack…

When did Riley become a part of our pack?

"Rowan," I called his name one last time.

He looked at me, but there was no warmth in his eyes.

"Go away!" I roared with everything I had.

The night seemed to tremble around us with my roar.

Rowan shot me a deep look without wavering. He turned to help Riley up.

"I'll take you back," he said to her.

He started the car, and the red taillights gradually vanished in the night. I stood where I was as I watched them leave. The clear sight of Riley turning back to look at me could be clearly seen from the rearview mirror.

She was smiling tauntingly and victoriously at me. That smile was a particularly sore sight in the night. It was as if she were telling me that she had won.

As the car vanished in the night, I took out my communicator to get another car. It was midnight by the time I returned to the villa. Rowan's car was parked in the front, but I did not see him when I went in. I knew where he probably was.

He must have gone to settle down Riley and her son to ensure that they were in a 'safe' place.

We ignored each other for the next three days. Rowan stayed in the office while I stayed in the villa.

Elder Aldric dropped by once to try and ease things between us.

"Luna, the Alpha is just temporarily confused. A mate bond is sacred. You can't just…"

I stopped him. "Elder Aldric, what would you do if your mate humiliates you in public?"

He went silent.

On the fourth night, I saw a photo posted on the pack's internal social media platform. It was taken at the most luxurious charity dinner in the city center. In it, Rowan was tenderly helping a little boy put on a protection charm.

That boy was Riley's pup.

The charm had been the final bid of the night. It was worth 500 thousand dollars.

Rowan's hand could be seen in the corner of the photo, wearing the Moonstone ring that represented our mate bond. He was wearing the ring while spending lavishly on another woman's pup.

The comments section exploded with replies.

[The Alpha is so nice to this pup.]

[That Omega woman is truly lucky.]

[Where's the Luna? I can't believe she agreed to the Alpha buying a protection charm for another woman's pup. Their own pup isn't even born yet.]

[I heard that they're not on good terms recently.]

As I was about to close the page, a direct message popped up.

The sender was Riley.

I clicked on it. It was a holographic projection.