"Why is her name above mine?" I slapped the permission slip onto the kitchen island.
Eli didn't look up from his cereal. He traced the rim of his bowl with his spoon.
"Mom gets mad sometimes," my son muttered. "Sienna is easier to find."
"Easier to find?" I asked, keeping my voice dangerously low. "I am your mother. I am always here."
Eli shrank into his chair, avoiding my gaze.
I stared at the black ink on the emergency contact sheet. Sienna occupied line one. My name sat on line two. Right below that, Carter's bold signature authorized the change as the Alpha guardian.
"Change it back," I told Carter, pushing the paper toward his coffee mug.
He didn't touch the sheet. He took a sip of his black coffee. "It is just an extra contact, Lena. No one is replacing you."
"You signed a document demoting your own mate."
"I signed a form so the school can reach someone if you are busy," Carter countered, his tone flat. "You are overreacting again."
I leaned over the marble counter, forcing him to meet my eyes. "If he crossed out your name and put another man as his father, would you say it was just an extra contact?"
The kitchen went dead silent. Carter set his mug down. The ceramic clinked sharply against the stone. A muscle feathered in his jaw.
"You are arguing with an eight-year-old over technicalities," Carter said, finally breaking the silence. He picked up his briefcase, turning his back to me. "Grow up, Lena."
Two hours later, the pack photographer set up his lights in the courtyard for the annual family portrait. I smoothed the skirt of my navy dress, stepping into my usual spot next to Carter under the old oak tree. The pack archives required this photo every year. Just the Alpha, the Luna, and their heir.
Eli bolted out of the frame before the flash could go off. He grabbed Sienna's wrist from the sidelines, where she had been watching from a lawn chair, and dragged her onto the grass.
"Stand right here," Eli told her, wedging her firmly between himself and Carter. "This is who we actually live with now."
I stepped back from the glare of the lighting umbrellas. "Eli, stop playing. This is the official Alpha family portrait. It is just the three of us."
Sienna lowered her head, pulling her arm out of Eli's grip. "I should step away. This is your family moment."
"We can take one private shot to make the kid happy," Carter told the photographer, raising a hand to stop him from adjusting the tripod. "Just one."
"I want this one hung in the main hall," Eli demanded, gripping Sienna's sleeve again. "Not the boring one."
"Carter, no," I said, my voice tight. "Do not turn the official Luna photo into a group shot."
"It is just a picture," he shot back, his eyes flashing with impatience. "Stand still."
I stood frozen on Carter's left side. Sienna stayed on his right. Just as the shutter clicked, Eli threw his arms around Sienna's waist and buried his face in her side. The flash blinded me for a second. In the bright glare, I realized I was the one who looked like a guest intruding on their perfect family.
The sharp scent of rubbing alcohol at the pack clinic grounded me that afternoon. I sat on the crinkling paper of the exam table while the healer handed me a small white appointment card.
"Seven weeks," the healer told me, offering a warm smile as she packed away the ultrasound gel. "Everything is stable. The pup is growing perfectly."
I tucked the appointment card behind my driver's license. I had planned to tell Carter and Eli after the award ceremony; now I wasn't sure the news would stop anything.
That fragile hope died the second I walked back into the Alpha House.
The digital social announcement screen in the foyer glowed brightly against the stone wall. The four-person photo from the courtyard dominated the display.
I read the scrolling text at the bottom twice. Alpha Blackwell and family thank the Pack for their support.
My Luna title did not exist on the screen. My name was erased.
"Members are asking if the Alpha took a second mate," Dorian said, turning the screen toward me. His face was pale. "Some are congratulating him on the new addition. Should I take this down immediately?"
"Leave it up," Carter ordered, stepping out of his office before I could answer.
"They are mistaking her for your wife," I told Carter, pointing a shaking finger at the glowing screen. "Put the three-person photo up right now."
"The picture looks warm," Carter replied, dismissing Dorian with a flick of his wrist. "There is no need to disappoint Eli over a few misunderstandings in the comment section."
"I am the Luna," I said, my voice rising, echoing off the high ceilings. "I am telling you to change the public channel."
Carter crossed the foyer, closing the distance between us. "A Luna does not command public channels out of personal insecurity."
Sienna walked down the carpeted stairs, twisting a silver ring on her finger. She stopped on the bottom step. "I can just ask Dorian to crop me out. I do not want to cause a fight between you two."
Eli sprinted past her on the steps and wrapped his arms tightly around her legs. He glared at me. "Is Mom trying to chase you away again?"
"Keep the photo exactly as it is," Carter instructed Dorian, his tone leaving no room for debate.
He grabbed my elbow and pulled me into the shadow of the hallway. His grip bruised my skin, dragging me away from the staff.
"Stop this," Carter warned, his voice dropping to a low, dangerous rumble. "Do not make Eli feel he needs your permission to love someone."
"He is my son," I whispered fiercely.
"Then act like a mother, not a jealous rival," Carter snapped.
The house fell quiet by midnight. The only sound was the distant hum of the central heating. I walked through the main hall, the floorboards creaking under my bare feet.
A new silver frame sat dead center under the spotlight. The four-person photo stared back at me. Eli grinning. Sienna glowing. Carter standing tall.
I looked to the right. My wedding photo, the one that had occupied that exact spot for seven years, now sat pushed against the wall on a small wooden side cabinet. A thin layer of dust coated the glass.
I reached out, my fingers wrapping around the cold silver edge of the new frame. I lifted it off the table, ready to shove it into the nearest drawer.
Sienna stepped out of the kitchen shadows. She wore one of Carter's old gray t-shirts. She held a steaming mug of herbal tea in her left hand. A soft, satisfied smile played on her lips as she watched my hand hovering over the frame.
"Since you are already up," Sienna said, taking a slow sip from her mug. "Could you fetch me a bottle of the blackthorn digestive drops from the bottom storage cabinet?"