Natalia and Andrei’s marriage was originally a three-year contract. With only 30 days left until the contract ends, Natalia discovered that she’s pregnant.

Just when she thought Andrei would reconsider divorcing her because of this, his deceased first mate, Lilith, returned. Feeling hopeless, Natalia decided to initiate the divorce.

However, at their engagement party, Andrei received the news of Natalia’s car accident, along with the shocking discovery of her pregnancy test results...

NATALIA

Positive. Estimated gestation: 8 weeks.

I stared down at the slip of paper the nurse had handed me. Just a few lines of numbers, hormone levels, and bolded words I kept reading over and over again like they might change.

"Congratulations, Luna. You're two months pregnant."

The room blurred. The scent of antiseptic clung to the air, the crisp white of the clinic walls suddenly too bright, too sterile. I blinked, sure I’d misheard.

“Pregnant?” I echoed, but my voice came out like a whisper dragged over gravel.

I pressed a hand to my stomach. Nothing had changed on the outside—no swell, no movement—but inside, something had shifted so profoundly I couldn’t breathe.

Pregnant. Andrei’s child.

And only thirty days left until our marriage contract ended.

My thoughts spiraled. A thousand emotions surged all at once—happiness, fear, and a terrible, fragile hope. For so long, I had dreamed of a future with him. Not the one written in ink, but one chosen. Real. And now, maybe…

Maybe this changed everything.

The nurse beamed and handed me a printout. "Two months along. Healthy vitals. Congratulations again."

There was no picture yet. No flicker of a heartbeat on a screen. Just data. Cold, clinical, undeniable.

And yet... my hands trembled as I held it. As if the paper itself might crumble under the weight of what it meant.

Inside me, something had already begun.

A life. A new thread in the tapestry of fate I never thought I’d get to weave.

My child.

Our child.

I pressed the paper against my chest and closed my eyes, trying to slow my breathing.

Our marriage had never been about love. It had been a matter of convenience, a strategic decision made by a man who’d lost everything—and a girl who had nothing left to lose.

When Andrei found me, I was barely surviving in a broken pack overrun by rogues. An orphan, unnoticed, unimportant. I hadn’t expected more than another bitter winter.

But the day he rode in with his warriors, cold and fierce as a blizzard, fate struck. One look—and I knew. My wolf knew.

We were mates.

But fate, I learned quickly, wasn’t always kind.

Even as he stared back at me with recognition, something in his eyes remained distant. Closed off. Like the door had been bolted from the inside and he had no intention of opening it again.

Andrei offered marriage—not love. A five-year contract. Terms were laid out like a business deal.

We would marry. I would serve as Luna. After five years, we’d reject each other unless he decided otherwise. I had no say.

At first, I thought the contract was because I was an orphan—Alphas are always cautious. But it didn’t take long for me to realize I was wrong.

The real reason... was Lilith.

Her name was a ghost in our home, clinging to walls and shadows. Her portraits still hung in the halls. Her books remained untouched in the study. Her perfume lingered in the bedroom drawers, as if she might return any minute and resume her place beside him.

Andrei had loved her deeply. Everyone knew it. He’d vowed at her funeral that he would never mark another. That his heart was buried with her. I suppose I thought, foolishly, that being his mate meant something stronger. Something unbreakable.

Because I believed—no, I hoped—that time would soften him. That if I poured enough of myself into this bond, if I showed him loyalty and grace—if I was the perfect Luna—he might one day look at me the way I imagined he used to look at her.

For the last four years, I had tried to be the Luna his pack needed—and the partner he didn’t ask for but desperately needed. I ran ceremonies, oversaw the infirmary, soothed disputes, protected the young, stood by him at every council. And I never once asked for more.

But inside, I wanted it all. The bond. The mark. His love.

And as each year slipped by, that hope began to dim.

Now, with just thirty days left, I had braced myself for the end. I’d even begun packing small things away, imagining what life might look like after rejection—banished from the pack I’d made home, from the people I’d come to love, from him.

But now…

A child.

Andrei’s child.

Werewolves revered children. They were proof of legacy, power, purpose. A bond made flesh. He couldn’t ignore that, could he?

Maybe this was fate’s way of rewriting our story. Maybe he would offer an extension—ten years, twenty. Maybe enough time to grow something real. Something permanent.

I left the clinic in a daze, my boots crunching softly on the gravel path. The market was still open, so I stopped in, heart fluttering with nervous excitement. I bought fresh herbs, vegetables, the cut of meat he liked best.

A bottle of red wine—non-alcoholic, of course. I wanted tonight to be special.

I would tell him at dinner. I’d light candles. Set the table by the fireplace. Tell him the news, and maybe—just maybe—he’d smile the way I’d always dreamed.

Maybe tonight would be the start of something new. The anniversary we chose, not the one fate dictated.

The packhouse buzzed as I walked through. A few wolves stopped to chat, noting the spring in my step.

“What’s the occasion, Luna?” someone asked with a wink.

I smiled, tucking the bag closer to my chest. “You’ll find out soon enough.”

Andrei would be the first to know. He had to be.

I called him twice as I walked, but it rang through both times. No answer. I tried not to let it dampen my mood.

He was probably in a meeting or patrolling the southern border. These were dangerous times we lived in. He’d be home soon.

But when I reached the Alpha house, the air felt... different.

Too still. Too quiet.

I stepped inside. The maids startled at the sight of me—one dropped her eyes, another turned abruptly into the hallway. My brow furrowed. I glanced down the corridor and then—

Stopped.

At the door.

Two pairs of shoes rested neatly by the entrance.

One was Andrei’s.

The other... wasn’t.

Small. Feminine. New.

Not mine.

My heart skipped. Logic tried to assert itself. A healer, perhaps. A visitor. An envoy’s wife. But something deep inside me—my wolf—bristled.

I moved slowly, grocery bag still in hand, fingers tightening around the handles as I approached the bedroom. I reached for the door.

It wasn’t locked.

It opened too easily.

And inside—

Andrei sat on the edge of the bed, arms wrapped around a woman, murmuring softly into her hair. She clung to him, crying quietly, her body curled into his as if she belonged there.

He turned at the sound of the door.

The look on his face—

Not fear. Not guilt.

Just surprise. And maybe… discomfort. Like he’d been caught in something intimate but inevitable.

He gently pulled away from her. She turned, dabbing at her eyes with a delicate hand.

And I saw her.

I knew her face instantly.

For one thing, it looked incredibly similar to mine. Everyone in the pack had commented at one point or another how much we looked alike.

So of course I had memorized her face without meaning to. Her smile smiled back at me from every photo that still lined the halls. Her perfume sat, untouched, on his nightstand. Her name was etched into every space in this house—even if most people didn’t dare say it out loud.

Lilith.

The dead were supposed to stay buried.

But she was here. Alive.

And in his arms.

NATALIA

Lilith’s eyes met mine with a kind of measured sweetness I didn’t trust. Her lips curved upward, polite and practiced, but her gaze cut through me like a blade wrapped in silk.

“You must be Andrei’s Luna,” she said.

There it was. That slight edge, subtle but unmistakable. A smile meant to suggest peace, but the kind that pressed its boot into your throat while doing so.

I straightened my spine, clutching the handles of the grocery bag still in my hands. “Yes,” I said, voice steady. “I am.”

She tilted her head, studying me as if I were an exhibit. “It’s good to finally meet you. I’ve heard… nothing, of course. I was gone.”

Andrei’s arm hovered at her back protectively, and he cleared his throat. “Lilith went missing during a rogue ambush six years ago. We searched the entire southern ravine, but her body was never recovered.”

He glanced at me briefly—just briefly—and I saw the flicker of apology there. But it was faint. Weak.

“I thought she was dead,” he finished softly.

I knew all this of course. Everyone from Andrei’s Beta to his chef had told me about Lilith. I guessed that he was explaining to me for etiquette’s sake.

Lilith stepped closer to him, one hand grazing his arm like muscle memory. “I was captured. Tortured. Every time I tried to escape, they punished me more harshly. But I survived. I had to. I kept thinking of Andrei. Of home.”

She looked up at him, voice trembling just enough to be convincing. “It was the only thing that kept me alive.”

Something coiled inside me, tight and bitter. I couldn’t breathe around it.

Andrei wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “You’re home now,” he murmured. “You’ll stay with us. I’ll have a room prepared.”

Before I could speak, Lilith let out a soft laugh and shook her head. “A room? Why not here, in the Alpha house? It’s where I’ve always stayed.”

Her tone was light, but I could feel the dig beneath it. She didn’t need a room. She wanted her place back.

My heart thudded painfully as I looked to Andrei. I wanted him to say no. To glance my way, to remember what this house had been for the past five years. But he only nodded.

“Of course,” he said. “Natalia, can you—?”

I didn’t let my expression crack. “I’ll make sure the guest suite is prepared,” I said quietly.

Lilith smiled at me again. “Thank you. That’s very generous of you.”

I turned to go. I needed air. Space. Silence.

But as I reached the hallway, her voice floated out behind me.

“So… have you fallen for her?”

I stopped walking.

There was a beat of silence—then Andrei’s voice, low and hesitant. I didn’t stay to hear the answer. I couldn’t.

I pushed through the front doors and let the cold night air hit my face. The groceries hung forgotten at my side. My fingers had gone numb, not from the chill, but from the way the ground had just shifted beneath my feet.

I had planned to tell him tonight.

I had dinner prepared, had picked out wine, had thought about where to place the candles. I had wanted to give him hope—us hope.

Now I couldn’t even remember what I had bought.

***

The next morning, I rose early and went to the study. The air still smelled faintly of old parchment and the dried lavender I kept in a jar on the shelf. My fingers moved automatically, unlocking the drawer where I’d tucked away the marriage contract all those years ago.

The paper crackled softly as I unfolded it.

Five years.

We’d agreed that I would serve as Luna to maintain the structure of the pack. A partnership, nothing more. No promises. No marks. No expectations.

But I had broken that rule, hadn’t I? I had let myself love him.

My eyes scanned down to the clause I had avoided rereading until now.

If children are conceived, full custody shall belong to the Alpha. Offspring shall remain within pack territory.

My stomach turned.

There it was. The reminder that I was always temporary. That if I gave birth, the child would belong to him—not to us. And if we divorced, he had the right to keep them.

He doesn’t even know, I thought. And now… I don’t even know if I’ll get the chance to tell him.

A sharp knock startled me. I shoved the contract back into the drawer and forced it shut just as the door creaked open.

Lilith.

She stepped into the room like she owned it, every movement deliberate and graceful. But her eyes had lost their pretend softness.

“So this is where you keep all the important things,” she said, glancing around. “Nice of you to keep it warm while I was gone.”

“What do you want?” I asked, keeping my voice flat.

“To talk,” she said, though her smile said otherwise. “You seem like a good girl. Sweet. Obedient. But you must understand—it’s time for you to go.”

My hands clenched at my sides. “Excuse me?”

She stepped closer. “I was taken. Not dead. That means I’m still Andrei’s true mate. You were a replacement. Convenient. Temporary.”

“I’m his fated mate,” I said simply.

She smirked. “And after all these years, he still hasn’t marked you.”

“Andrei hasn’t marked me,” I said carefully. “But he hasn’t marked you either.”

She sneered. “Give him time. You think he won’t? You think he’ll keep you when he can have me again?”

I didn’t answer.

Her expression darkened. “Do you know what it’s like to be tortured for years? To survive on scraps and filth, only to come back and find some little nobody playing Luna in your home?”

I lifted my chin. “I was asked to fill that role. I never claimed to be you.”

She moved fast. One second we were speaking—the next, her hand was around my throat.

My back hit the bookshelf with a dull thud, papers fluttering loose around us.

“You should never have been part of his life,” she hissed. “If I hadn’t been forced to leave, if I hadn’t been dragged away, you never would’ve had a place here. You’d still be nothing.”

Her grip tightened. My vision blurred. My wolf stirred inside me, protective and furious—not just for me, but for the tiny life growing inside.

I didn’t think.

My claws extended, slashing across her cheek.

She screamed and stumbled back, clutching her face, blood trickling through her fingers.

The door flew open.

Andrei stood there, eyes wide. “Lilith!”

He rushed to her side instantly, pulling her into his arms.

“She attacked me,” Lilith sobbed. “I only came to speak with her—I was trying to be kind—and she told me to stay away from you, that I wasn’t welcome.”

“I didn’t—” I started, but Andrei rounded on me.

“What the hell were you thinking?” His voice was sharp, colder than I’d heard it in months. “She just came back from years in hell, and you—?”

“She grabbed me,” I said. “She threatened me—”

“You’d better hope she’s all right,” he snapped. “For your sake.”

Then he turned and led Lilith out, his arm still around her shoulders, leaving me standing alone in the wreckage.

I could still feel the ghost of her hand on my throat. Still feel the tremor in my fingers.

Still hear the sound of Andrei’s footsteps as he walked away from me.

Again.

NATALIA

The clinic smelled like lemon-scented bleach and something sharper—sterile and clean, but not comforting. I sat in the exam room, cold paper crinkling beneath me, one hand resting over the small swell that wasn’t visible yet, but that I could feel in every breath.

The doctor entered quietly, glancing down at the chart in her hands. She looked young—maybe too young to be the bearer of life-altering news—but her expression was serious.

“Luna Natalia,” she began gently, “I’ve reviewed your hormone panels and did a full internal scan. Your pregnancy is progressing well, and the fetus is strong. In fact…” She looked up. “The baby’s readings are more robust than usual—even stronger than the average Alpha heir.”

A rush of warmth flooded my chest. My baby. Strong. Thriving. I clung to the word like a lifeline.

“But,” she added, her tone softening, “your body… is not keeping pace.”

I stiffened. “What does that mean?”

“There’s strain,” she said. “Your hormone levels indicate instability, particularly around the markers tied to the mate bond. You’re already experiencing mild depletion. It’s not dangerous yet, but if it continues…” She hesitated. “A stable bond would help. Reinforce you.”

“But we’re not marked,” I said.

“No,” she confirmed. “You and Alpha Andrei share a bond, but it’s… partial. Unstable.”

Of course, I thought. Lilith was his first love. Of course our bond wouldn’t be as strong.

The doctor kept talking, unaware of the emotions fluctuating wildly through me.

“In cases where the mother is unmarked, the bond doesn’t provide the same kind of physiological protection. Your condition is manageable—for now. But fluctuations could be risky.”

I looked up at her. Worried.

“If the bond weakens,” she went on, “the baby will draw more from you, and your body may not hold up under the strain.”

I nodded slowly, absorbing her words like cold water soaking into dry earth. “What about… rejection?” I asked carefully. “Would it make things worse?”

The doctor blinked. “Rejection?” She looked at me more closely now. “In that case, the bond would break entirely. You would lose any residual connection. The fetus wouldn’t be affected by the mate bond after that… but your recovery could be more complicated, especially given your current levels.”

I thanked her and left before she could press further. I could see the concern behind her eyes, and I knew what she wanted to ask. Why would a Luna even consider rejection while pregnant?

Because she didn’t know what I knew.

Because this house—the man I lived beside—was no longer the anchor I thought he’d become. Because Lilith was back. And with her, came the unraveling of everything I’d quietly hoped for.

I walked the long corridor back to the main wing of the hospital, heels echoing faintly off the tile. Andrei hadn’t come home the night before. I didn’t ask the staff where he was. I didn’t need to.

As I rounded the corner near the south wing, I caught a glimpse of him. Tall. Broad-shouldered. Familiar in a way that still made my chest ache.

He was standing outside one of the private rooms.

Lilith’s.

I paused before he noticed me, retreating to the shadow of an alcove just beyond view.

The door was cracked.

“…we promised each other,” Lilith was saying, her voice watery with well-practiced grief. “That I would be your Luna. That I would give you an heir. And now…”

Andrei’s voice followed, low and careful. “You’re here now. Safe. That’s all that matters.”

Lilith sniffled. “But you’re married.”

“It’s a contract,” he said.

A silence. Then:

“We can fix this,” she whispered. “Give her some money. A house, if you feel guilty. Let her go. She’ll understand.”

My heart thudded violently in my chest. I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t move.

“Unless… you don’t want to reject her,” Lilith added, her voice turning coy. “Unless you’ve grown attached.”

Andrei gave a soft exhale. “You’re overthinking it,” he said. “Natalia and you… you’re not the same.”

He didn’t say I mattered. He didn’t say he loved me. He didn’t even defend the marriage. Just a simple distinction. Two different women. No comparison. No weight.

That was all I needed to hear.

The mate bond inside me wavered. Not broken, but shaking. Like something delicate caught in a storm.

I pressed a hand to my abdomen.

No. He wouldn’t get this child. I wouldn’t let him pretend to care only when it suited him. This baby was mine. Not a pawn. Not a consolation prize. Mine.

He wasn’t getting it. He wouldn’t even know about it.

I turned and walked away.

***

That evening, the front door creaked open just as the sun dipped below the treetops. Andrei stepped into the house like he belonged there, like the air hadn’t changed between us.

I was in the parlor, going over patrol rosters. I didn’t look up.

He didn’t wait for a greeting.

“We need to talk,” he said.

“Do we?”

He scowled. “You attacked Lilith.”

I stopped cold. The word attacked echoed in my head like a slap. I turned to face him, slowly, deliberately. “She grabbed me by the throat.”

His scowl deepened. “She said you threatened her.”

“She came into my room,” I said, voice level, “told me to step aside, and said I was never meant to be here.”

“She’s grieving,” he said, like that was a good enough reason. He sighed, folding his arms across his chest. “Even if that were true, you didn’t have to draw blood.”

A bitter laugh escaped me before I could stop it. “You’re right. I should’ve let her crush my windpipe instead.”

“Don’t be dramatic, Natalia. You’re a Luna. You have responsibilities.”

The title used to mean something. Now it just felt like another leash. I looked away, swallowing hard. “No,” I said softly. “I had responsibilities. But you made it clear this morning that I was just a placeholder.”

His arms dropped to his sides, a flicker of confusion—or guilt—crossing his expression. “What are you talking about?”

I met his eyes, refusing to flinch.

“I see now,” I said, my voice quieter than before, but sharper. “You never intended to renew our contract. Not even after all these years.”

“Natalia—” He took a step toward me but I wouldn’t let him touch me. Couldn’t.

“I would’ve stayed.” The words came fast now, rising like a tide I couldn’t hold back. “I would’ve given you everything. I did give you everything. But you never saw me, did you? Not really. I was convenient. Dutiful. Temporary.”

He didn’t deny it.

That silence was louder than any answer.

“I want a divorce,” I said.

Andrei blinked. Once. Twice. Then he went very still.

“I’ll step down as Luna,” I added, each word carved out of me like stone. “Effective immediately.”

“Natalia…”

“I’m done.” I shook my head, feeling something inside me snap into place—final, firm. “I won’t stand here and be accused, scolded, or humiliated by someone who never wanted me.”

A beat of silence stretched between us, taut and full of things unsaid.

Then I turned and walked away.

And he didn’t follow.