My Ex-mate and My Ex-bestie Wanted to Kill My Child

When I posted a picture of my positive pregnancy test, my ex-best friend who was now the Luna, twisted it into a weapon, accusing me of trying to win back my ex-husband, Alpha Fenris Rhaegon, and branding me a desperate homewrecker.

It didn't take long for her to show up at my new clinic on the neutral land, dragging along her pack of loyal followers. "Look who it is—the washed-up former Luna of Emberhowl Pack," she sneered, her voice dripping with venom. "Can't find a man, so you’re crawling back to your ex? Think your old Luna status gives you rights? Pathetic."

I tried to hold my ground, but they were ruthless. "Today, we're going to show you what happens to desperate little tramps like you," she spat, unleashing the wolves. They tore into me with vicious claws and cruel insults, a frenzied assault that nearly cost me my unborn child.

But in their blind rage, they failed to see who they were really hurting. The lives they ended that day were more than just packmates—they were my ex-Alpha's mother and sister. And there will be hell to pay.

***

I never imagined it would end like this.

The air was thick with tension as I stood at the center of the clearing, surrounded by the members of the Emberhowl Pack—the pack that was supposed to be my family, my home. But today, they all stared at me with thinly veiled contempt, with suspicion simmering in their eyes like the embers of a dying fire. My pulse drummed in my ears, each beat a painful reminder of what I had lost.

I wasn’t here by choice. Alpha Fenris had demanded it. And when the Alpha of the Emberhowl Pack demands something, you have no choice but to comply.

Fenris stood in front of me, his imposing frame a contrast to the pale winter light that filtered through the skeletal trees. His eyes, normally a deep, stormy blue that could calm or command with a single glance, were now cold and hard as steel. The man I had once admired, the Alpha I had once loved—he wasn’t looking at me like his Luna anymore. He was looking at me like I was prey. Like I was the enemy.

“Thalia Blackwood,” he began, his voice ringing out with authority. “You stand accused of infidelity and betrayal against this pack.”

I felt a sharp sting in my chest, like claws raking down my heart. “Fenris, please,” I implored, stepping forward, only to be met with a growl that rumbled deep in his throat—a warning.

“Do not speak until spoken to,” he snarled, and my wolf, instinctively recognizing the command of her Alpha, whined in my mind. But I wouldn’t back down. I couldn’t. Not when everything was on the line.

“Fenris, this is madness!” I said, my voice breaking despite my best efforts. “I would never betray you. You know me—”

“Do I?” he cut in, his voice venomous. “Because from where I’m standing, all I see is a woman who’s been sneaking around behind my back. All I hear are whispers that my Luna has been sharing her bed with another.”

Luna. The word cut deeper than any blade. How quickly he forgot the vows we made, the bond we tried to forge, even if it wasn’t a fated one—even though our union just happened because our Alpha fathers arranged us to marry for the sake of the pack.

I tried to swallow the lump in my throat. “You’re listening to rumors, Fenris. Lies. Spread by someone who wants—”

“Enough!” He bellowed, his command echoing through the clearing. “Rosalind wouldn’t lie about this.”

I felt my blood turn to ice at the mention of her name. Rosalind. I could see her out of the corner of my eye, standing just behind Fenris, a picture of innocence with her big, doe eyes and soft, golden curls. She clung to Fenris’s arm, and I felt the bile rise in my throat. She played her part perfectly. The concerned she-wolf. The dutiful pack member. The one who’d told Fenris everything, whispering poison into his ear like the serpent she was.

“Why would she lie?” Fenris continued. “What would she gain?”

My eyes snapped to hers, my voice dropping to a growl. “You know exactly what she’d gain. You’re not blind, Fenris. She wants to be Luna.”

The pack let out a collective gasp at my boldness, but I didn’t care. I’d had enough. I’d been patient. I’d held my tongue. But no more.

“Careful, Thalia,” Rosalind said softly, her voice like honey dripping off poison-tipped fangs. “You wouldn’t want to sound jealous, would you?”

“Jealous?” I laughed, a bitter, broken sound that tore from my chest. “Of you? Never. I pity you, Rosalind. I pity you because you have to resort to lies and deceit to get what you want.”

Fenris’s eyes flashed with anger. “Enough! You dishonor yourself more with every word you speak.”

“Dishonor?” I echoed, the word tasting sour in my mouth. “Dishonor is standing by and letting your pack be torn apart by lies. Dishonor is turning your back on the truth because it’s easier to believe the worst.”

There was a moment—a brief, fleeting moment—when I saw doubt flicker in Fenris’s eyes. A part of me wanted to reach out, to pull him back, to make him see reason. But then Rosalind leaned in closer, whispering something in his ear. Whatever spark of doubt had been there was snuffed out in an instant.

“Enough,” Fenris said again, but this time, his voice was colder, more resolute. “You are no longer my Luna, Thalia. You are no longer my wife.”

My heart shattered in that instant. The words hung in the air like a death knell. The crowd murmured, and I saw the looks of pity, of disgust. The betrayal cut deeper than any wound ever could. I had always known Fenris was strong, fierce—but never cruel. Never so easily manipulated.

It must be easy, huh? It's easy because I was not even his fated mate in the first place. I was just his Luna for him to gain more power—just because I had a Lycan lineage.

“From this day forth,” he continued, his voice echoing with finality, “you are stripped of your title and your honor. You are an outcast of this pack.”

An outcast. A traitor. Branded for something I didn’t do.

I stared at Fenris, tears stinging my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. “You will regret this,” I said, my voice barely more than a whisper, but it carried in the stillness of the clearing. “One day, you will see the truth, and when you do, I hope you remember this moment.”