I was carrying the Alpha's heir, my child due beneath the next full moon, when a sealed parchment arrived at Moonfang Keep.
The wax bore the crest of the Moon Sanctuary.
It was the sacred lodge where Kael Blackthorne, Alpha of the Moonfang Pack, had taken me after our mating ceremony seven years ago.
Inside rested a small ivory card.
I hope you and your Alpha enjoyed your stay.
My fingers turned cold.
My mate.
My Alpha.
The male who had sworn before the Moon Goddess to belong to me alone.
For two years, he had been bringing another she-wolf into the very chamber where he had first claimed me.
The first visit had happened on the night I lost our first pup.
A soft chime echoed from the Whisper Crystal resting beside my bed.
An unfamiliar sender.
No name.
Only a single message.
"His true Luna. The one destined to give the Pack strong heirs, unlike the barren female beside him."
Several Memory Crystals accompanied the words.
My hands trembled as I awakened the first one.
Mist swirled across its surface before forming a living vision.
Kael stood beneath silver moonlight, holding another woman in his arms.
"You are the only one I have ever loved."
His voice was unmistakable.
"When Bianca gives birth, I will dissolve our mating bond."
"I will make you my Luna."
The crystal dimmed.
For a long moment I could not breathe.
……
More messages appeared one after another.
"You deserve to know the truth."
"Every hunt he claimed kept him away from the Keep, he spent beside me."
"He only remains with you because the Council demands an heir."
"The Spirit Archive holds every memory of us together."
With numb fingers, I opened the enchanted archive.
Memory after memory unfolded before me.
Kael never allowed his face to appear clearly.
Yet I recognized him instantly.
How could I not?
I had fastened every cloak across his shoulders.
I knew every scar upon his hands.
Every silver wolf ring he wore during Council gatherings.
The tiny crack in the obsidian signet carved with the Blackthorne crest.
I never needed to see his face.
I knew my mate.
Then one memory stopped my heart.
The woman clung happily to Kael while displaying a moonstone ring.
Silver blossoms surrounded them.
Moonfire drifted across the night sky.
The inscription beneath the memory read:
The day he accepted me as his chosen mate.
My vision blurred.
That had been the same night I miscarried.
I remembered calling for Kael until my voice disappeared.
The Moon Healers had begged him to come.
Instead, he accused me of inventing excuses to pull him away from his duties.
Then he never came.
I watched our tiny pup carried away beneath a white burial cloth.
Something inside me died beside that child.
For months afterward, silence haunted Moonfang Keep.
Even the Pack Warriors avoided meeting my eyes.
Then another Memory Crystal appeared.
Inside rested a healer's blessing.
A tiny heartbeat glowed beneath sacred runes.
Below it was a single sentence.
I carry Kael's pup.
The chamber spun around me.
Air refused to fill my lungs.
Outside my window, warriors continued their patrol.
Servants moved quietly through the Keep.
Life carried on.
As though my world had not just shattered.
I rushed toward Kael's chambers.
Inside a carved oak chest rested the keepsake pouch he always carried.
For years, it had held a small portrait spell of us together.
When I opened it, my heart finally broke.
My likeness was gone.
Another woman's smile looked back at me.
There was no denying it anymore.
My mate had betrayed me.
The Alpha who had pledged himself before the Council of Elders.
The male my father had trusted before his death.
The only wolf I had ever loved.
With shaking hands, I awakened the final Memory Crystal.
Kael's face appeared clearly this time.
His expression glowed with happiness.
"You're carrying my pup?"
The woman nodded.
He swept her into his arms, laughing with a joy I had not heard in years.
"As soon as Bianca gives birth to a healthy heir, I'll dissolve our bond."
"Then we'll become a true family."
"Our pups will inherit everything."
The crystal darkened.
I watched it again.
And again.
Every viewing carved another wound into my heart.
My fingers brushed the empty place where my mating band once rested.
Pregnancy had swollen my hands, forcing me to remove it weeks ago.
Only now did I understand.
That bond had lost its meaning long before the ring ever left my hand.
I sank onto the floor, holding myself together as everything I believed crumbled around me.
Then the great doors of Moonfang Keep opened below.
Pack warriors straightened.
Servants bowed their heads.
Only one wolf inspired such silence.
Kael had returned.
"Bianca?"
His voice echoed through the hall.
When no answer came, he climbed the stairs.
He found me sitting alone in darkness.
Concern crossed his face.
"Bianca."
He reached toward me.
"You're close to your birthing moon. Why are you sitting on the floor?"
I stepped back before he could touch me.
Those hands had held another.
"Where were you today?"
His movements paused.
Only briefly.
Then he answered without hesitation.
"I was inspecting the northern border with Beta Rowan."
The lie came as naturally as breathing.
I met his eyes.
"Really?"
"A huntress told me she saw you walking beside Silver Lake with someone."
For a heartbeat, the color drained from his face.
Then it vanished.
"So now the Pack spies on its Alpha?"
His voice hardened.
"I cannot even walk my own lands?"
I smiled faintly.
"I only wondered whether you had gathered moonberries."
"I wanted some too."
He stared at me.
Then irritation replaced whatever guilt had briefly surfaced.
"Why must everything become a complaint?"
"I spend every day protecting this Pack."
"If you want moonberries, ask the servants."
He shook his head.
"Start acting like an Alpha's Luna."
Without another word, he turned away.
The chamber fell silent once more.
Slowly, I wrapped both arms around my swollen belly.
Tears slipped down my face.
"My little pup..."
I whispered softly.
"Your father has already abandoned us."
I closed my eyes.
"But your mother never will."
"I will protect you, even if I must stand against the entire Pack."
