My Alpha Put My Luna Ring on His First Love

Carter stepped into the dining room and stopped beside my chair. His hand reached out, picked up the Luna Ring from the side table, and slid it back onto my finger without hurry. The metal warmed quickly against my skin.

"No matter what they say, you are my Luna."

The words settled in my chest, but I let myself believe them anyway. After nineteen years with Carter, after we completed our mate bond, I had been Luna in Silverpine for seven years. I had given birth to Eli, the son who could shift. I had hosted rituals, calmed the family when Carter's power surged out of control by using our mate bond to steady him. I had endured the rumors that called me nothing but a pretty Luna who could not shift, a Luna who was useless for the duties that mattered.

The table in front of me held three plates, the cake ready, and a card from Eli waiting beside the plates. We had been there for a while, but two hours passed and they still had not returned. The guards at the door had only said they were heading to handle an urgent matter in the North border. No one had canceled the plans.

The kitchen staff moved around the room, and the manager stood there with a hesitant look.

I walked over to her.

"Give the cake to the young wolves on guard duty. No need to save it for anyone."

She blinked. "But the arrangements were for the family."

"I know. This is my birthday. I'll handle it."

She nodded slowly.

I turned to the roster next.

"Change the dinner on the schedule from Alpha Family Dinner to a regular shift meal. Stop holding the whole house for a celebration that the Alpha and his son have skipped."

The manager glanced at me. "Will Carter be upset when he returns?"

I met her eyes. "This is my birthday. I don't need the Alpha's approval to end it this way."

That small decision settled something inside me. It was the first time I had taken control of something without waiting for their return.

The afternoon light grew softer as I turned on the official Moon Festival live stream. It pushed automatically to the pack's public channel, and the screen lit up with the festival scene.

Carter stood at the center of the podium, his posture straight. Eli stood to his left, looking proud. Sienna occupied the right side, the spot that belonged to the Luna during rituals.

The camera zoomed in as Sienna lifted her hand to sign the visitor's book. The Luna Ring Carter had put back on my finger that morning, then asked me to hand over before leaving so its setting could be checked, was now on her finger.

My phone rang and I answered to hear Carter's voice.

"The Northern Council only allows women wearing the Luna authorized symbol to attend core negotiations. It's just lending it to Sienna for three hours. I'll return it when it's over."

"Why didn't you tell me about this earlier?" I asked.

"If I had discussed it first, you would have refused because of the recent rumors. The Pack can't afford the risk to the border because of our couple's emotions."

I did not press the point about the three hours.

Instead, I reached up and unclasped the mate necklace from around my neck. I placed it on the table beside the cake.

For the first time, I stopped using my bond to provide stability to Carter far away.

The moment the necklace left my skin, my chest did not feel weak. Instead, a strange and strong wolf howl rose up inside me.

My wolf, who had been asleep for years, finally opened its eyes in my consciousness.

Then a different alpha scent crashed into my perception from the North. A deep voice came through like it spoke from blood itself: "He was never the only Alpha bound to you."

As the sun began to set, I found myself standing at the Silverpine border, the words still echoing in my mind.

Seven years ago, Carter had driven Ronan out for his rebellion. Now Ronan stood there as the Northern Alpha representative.

He looked across the boundary and said, "Lena, I heard my brother put your Luna Ring on another woman's hand."

I glanced at my phone, where the live stream was still playing. Carter was there, helping Sienna with the chair.

I corrected him coldly, "Soon I won't be your sister-in-law."