Betrayed Luna's New Start

The mind-link slipped through my consciousness like a whisper I wasn't meant to hear.

"Alpha, I've arranged for you to meet with Aniyah tonight at the eastern border cabin. She's agreed to wait until midnight when the patrol changes." My Beta's voice was hushed, conspiratorial.

"Good. Make sure no one follows us. I don't need Caroline asking questions." Dexter's mental voice carried that familiar authoritative edge that had once made me feel protected. Now it made my blood run cold.

I stood frozen outside Dexter's office door, my hand hovering over the handle. I'd come to discuss the upcoming full moon ceremony—my tenth as Luna of Silvermoon Pack. The ceremony where we would renew our mate bond before the pack and the Moon Goddess.

Aniyah. The name echoed in my mind like a death knell.

My wolf, Sarah, stirred restlessly within me. *Something's wrong. He smells different lately.*

"I've been covering your scent with hers for months now," the Beta continued. "But Alpha, the Luna's been asking about your extended absences during pack runs."

"Caroline understands my duties as Alpha." Dexter's dismissive tone cut through me like a blade. "Besides, she's too busy with the pups and her Luna duties to notice anything else."

My fingers trembled against the polished wood of his door. Ten years. Ten years of morning sickness alone while he claimed to be handling "urgent pack business." Ten years of raising our pups while he missed their first shifts, their first hunts.

*He's betrayed us,* Sarah growled, her rage building inside me. *He's found another.*

I pushed the door open without knocking.

Dexter's eyes widened momentarily before narrowing into slits. "Caroline. I'm in the middle of something important."

"Aniyah," I said, my voice surprisingly steady despite the earthquake happening inside me. "Who is she?"

The Beta standing beside him shifted uncomfortably, his eyes darting toward the window.

"You're eavesdropping now?" Dexter's voice took on that dangerous edge that made lesser wolves cower. "That's beneath you."

"Is she your chosen mate?" I stepped closer, my Luna training keeping my spine straight despite the weight crushing my chest. "While I've been planning our mate bond renewal ceremony?"

Dexter leaned back in his chair, studying me with cold calculation. "You've been a good Luna, Caroline. You've fulfilled your duties to this pack admirably."

*Fulfilled my duties.* Like I was a contract worker rather than his fated mate.

"I want a mate bond rejection," I said, the words tearing from my throat. "If you've found someone else, I won't stand in your way."

The room temperature seemed to drop ten degrees as Dexter's Alpha aura expanded, pressing against me like a physical weight.

"No." The single word carried the full force of his command. "I refuse the rejection."

"You can't—" I began, but he cut me off.

"I am Alpha of this pack, and I say no." His eyes flashed gold, his wolf rising to the surface. "Where would you go? What would you do? You can't survive as a lone wolf with two pups in tow."

"I'll manage," I whispered, though doubt clawed at me.

Dexter's laugh was cruel. "You? Manage? You've never had to hunt for yourself. You've never had to protect yourself. You think the pack will follow you over me? You think the elders will support a rejected Luna?"

His words struck at my deepest fears. Could I survive without the pack? Without his protection?

"The rejection ceremony requires both parties' consent," he continued, his voice softening into something almost worse than anger—pity. "And I will never consent to yours."

I backed away, unable to bear the weight of his Alpha presence any longer. Without another word, I fled.

The sacred moon garden was empty this time of day. I collapsed onto the stone bench beneath the silver-blossomed trees, my carefully maintained Luna composure shattering like glass.

"He's been with her for months," I whispered to the silent garden. "All this time..."

The realization crashed over me in waves. Every late night at the office. Every missed pack dinner. Every time he'd returned smelling of unfamiliar perfume that he claimed was from "pack negotiations."

Ten years of believing we were blessed by the Moon Goddess. Ten years of raising his pups while he built his empire. Ten years of thinking our bond was sacred.

All a lie.

"No," I moaned, clutching at my Luna marking—the silver crescent moon tattooed at the base of my neck. "No, no, no."

Sarah howled within me, her anguish matching my own. *We were never his true mate. Never.*

The moonflowers seemed to tremble as my sobs wracked my body. How had I not seen it sooner? How had I been so blind?

A cool breeze swept through the garden, carrying the scent of pine and wild roses—the scent that had always reminded me of the Moon Goddess's presence.

"We trusted him," I whispered to the sky. "We believed in the sacred bond."

But as the tears streamed down my face, a terrible clarity washed over me. The mate bond I'd cherished for a decade had never been real.

It had been nothing but a convenient arrangement for Alpha Dexter Crawford.

And now that he'd found someone new, I was just an obstacle to be removed.