My Alpha Let His Luna Poison Our Baby

The dust of the Rogue Lands still coated my tongue, a gritty reminder of the three months I’d spent fighting back-to-back with the man walking beside me. The Silverclaw Pack territory opened up before us, a sprawling expanse of pine and fog that usually signaled safety. Today, it felt different. Heavier.

I touched the flat of my stomach, a subconscious gesture I was still getting used to. My wolf, Vex, purred in the back of my mind, sensing the tiny spark of life growing inside me. An heir. A pup created from the blood and sweat of the battlefield, forged in the heat of the fated bond I shared with Alpha Preston Graham.

"We made it," I murmured, looking up at him. His jaw was set, his eyes fixed on the gathering crowd ahead. He looked like a king returning from war—powerful, handsome, and mine.

"Stay close, Natalie," Preston said, but his voice lacked its usual warmth. He didn't take my hand.

We mounted the steps of the Pack House. The entire pack had gathered, their cheers deafening. I straightened my spine, ignoring the ache in my muscles and the grime on my combat leathers. As the Lead Warrior, I stood tall. As his mate, I waited for the moment he would finally claim me. We had agreed to wait until the rogue threat was neutralized. The war was over. It was time.

But as we reached the dais, the crowd parted. A woman stepped forward. She was a vision in pristine white silk, not a speck of dirt on her. Her blonde hair was perfectly curled, and she smelled of expensive vanilla and roses—a stark contrast to my scent of copper blood and wet earth.

Isabelle Wright. The daughter of the Blood Moon Alpha.

Preston stepped away from me. The distance between us was only two feet, but it felt like a canyon opening up.

"My pack!" Preston’s Alpha voice boomed, silencing the cheers instantly. "Today marks a new era for Silverclaw. To secure our borders and double our territory, I present to you the union that will make us invincible."

My heart hammered against my ribs. Vex let out a low whine.

He reached out and took Isabelle’s hand. "I present to you my future Luna, Isabelle Wright."

The world tilted. The cheers erupted again, louder this time, shaking the wooden platform beneath my boots. Isabelle smiled, a practiced, sickly sweet thing, and leaned into him. Preston didn't look at me. He gestured vaguely in my direction.

"And let us honor Natalie Fox," he added, his tone dismissing me as if I were a piece of furniture. "Our Lead Warrior, whose service has been... adequate."

Adequate? I had taken a silver bullet for him. I carried his child. I turned on my heel, ignoring protocol, and stormed toward the Alpha’s office. I didn't wait for dismissal. If I stayed on that stage one second longer, I would shift and tear Isabelle’s throat out.

Five minutes later, the heavy mahogany door slammed open. Preston marched in, smelling of irritation and that cloying vanilla scent.

"You walked away," he snapped, locking the door. "You embarrassed me, Natalie."

"You humiliated me!" I shouted, the vibration rattling the trophies on his shelves. "Isabelle? She’s a political puppet, Preston! We are mates! Fated by the Moon Goddess!"

"The Moon Goddess doesn't sign land treaties," he said coldly, walking to his desk and pouring a drink. "The Blood Moon alliance makes us the strongest pack in the state. Isabelle is necessary."

"And what am I?" I stepped forward, my hand going to my stomach again. The secret couldn't wait. "I’m pregnant, Preston."

The glass in his hand paused halfway to his mouth. He turned slowly, his eyes dropping to my midsection. For a second, I saw the flash of his wolf—possessive, primal. But then the human calculation took over.

"An heir," he whispered. A slow smile spread across his face, but it wasn't the smile of a father. It was the smile of a man who realized he held all the cards.

"This is perfect," he said, setting the glass down. "You’ll carry the pup to term. It will be raised as the Alpha heir. Isabelle understands that her role is purely ceremonial. She knows I have... needs she cannot fulfill."

I stared at him, horror dawning on me. "What are you saying?"

He walked around the desk, closing the distance, reaching out to tuck a stray lock of hair behind my ear. His touch, once electric, now felt like a brand. "You will remain my Lead Warrior. In public, you serve the pack. In private... you serve me. You will be my breeder, Natalie. My true mate in the shadows, where no one can threaten us."

"A mistress?" I choked out, slapping his hand away. "You want to make the mother of your child a dirty secret while that pampered princess sits on the throne?"

"It is a sacrifice for the good of the pack!" he roared, his patience snapping.

"No." I backed away, shaking my head. Vex was snarling in my mind, urging me to run. "I resign. I’m taking my pup, and I’m leaving Silverclaw. I reject this. I reject you."

I turned for the door.

"**STOP.**"

The word wasn't spoken; it was a physical blow. The Alpha Command slammed into my shoulders like a falling boulder. My knees buckled, hitting the hardwood floor with a sickening crack. I gasped for air, my body paralyzed, betraying me to obey the Alpha of my pack.

Preston walked over to where I knelt, trembling under the supernatural weight of his voice. He crouched down, tilting my chin up. His eyes were glowing a bright, toxic gold.

"You do not resign," he hissed, his voice vibrating in my bones. "And you will never leave this territory. That pup belongs to Silverclaw. You will stay, you will remain silent, and you will do exactly as I say."

A tear leaked from my eye, hot and angry, as I realized the man I loved had died in the Rogue Lands. The monster in front of me wasn't my mate. He was my jailer.