Edeline
The guilt was a heavy, suffocating weight in my chest. I couldn’t stop thinking about that baby—a tiny, innocent life caught in the middle of this disaster. What would happen to it? The uncertainty gnawed at me, tangling with my own heartbreak until I felt like I was drowning.
"Percival... what happens when the child is born?" I asked, struggling to keep my voice from cracking.
He didn't have an answer, not really. He let out a long breath that fanned across my skin, leaving a trail of heat. In the dappled sunlight, he looked so young, his blue eyes clouded with a exhaustion that made him look years older than he was.
"She’ll raise the baby while it’s young," he said, his voice flat and defeated as he raked a hand through his messy hair. "I haven't worked out the details yet, but it’s the only way to do what's right."
"Where?" I pressed.
"I’m not sure. But my place is here—I’m the next Alpha. She’ll never be my Luna, Edeline. Never." He looked toward the trees, his jaw tightening. "Since she’s an only child, our son would eventually inherit her father’s lands. I’ll make sure that happens. He’ll be an Alpha's son, so it will be a boy. By the time he’s ten, he’ll be ready for the training in the Celestial Moon pack. He can live with her then, and spend his summers here with me. That’s the plan. Maybe by then, she’ll find her own fated match and understand why this had to happen. I know it kills you that my firstborn isn't yours. It kills me, too. But you're my mate. I can't turn my back on that."
I looked away, rolling my eyes. A plan? He was treating me like a backup, a prize he could put on a shelf until his mess was sorted out. Did he really think I was just going to sit around and wait for the stars to align? I had a life to live, too.
"I won't ask you to wait for me, because I know it isn't fair," he added quietly. "But I want you to know I’m not marking her. She isn’t the one. Whatever happens with us... you at least deserve to know that."
I sniffled, a stray tear finally escaping. We both knew the grim reality. Without the soul-bond, that pregnancy was a fragile thing. He wanted me, and I wanted him, but the shadow of that child stood between us. Yet, I felt a flicker of gratitude for his honesty. He was trying to protect my dignity, even if he couldn't fix my heart.
His hand slid over mine. The warmth of his skin seeped into me, a cruel reminder of the connection I craved.
'I want him to be mine,' my wolf whispered, her voice a low, desperate vibration in my mind.
Suddenly, the sweet, heavy scent of gardenias cut through the air. Percival froze. Then, the sound of a muffled, broken sob broke the silence.
We turned to see Tatiana standing twenty feet away. She looked like a ghost, one hand pressed to her mouth and the other protective over her still-flat stomach. Mascara ran in dark, ugly streaks down her cheeks, ruining her perfectly applied makeup. Her blonde curls were pristine, making the raw agony on her face look even more out of place.
She looked at him with a shattered expression, then turned her tear-filled brown eyes on me, as if I were a thief stealing her life.
"Tatiana... I..." Percival’s voice failed him.
I stared at her, but I couldn't find it in myself to feel pity. Every she-wolf knows when her heat is approaching. The signs are there for weeks. I couldn't shake the feeling that she was hiding a much darker truth about that night.
She began to shake, her hand dropping from her face as she wiped her eyes with a frantic, aggressive motion.
"Aren't you going to claim me, Percival?" she cried out, her voice rising in a sharp, hysterical peak. "I’m the mother of your child!" She pointed a trembling finger at me. "Her? You’d pick her? She’s nothing but a child!"
I saw the kindness in him then—the reason he’d fed her and cared for her. But it wasn't love.
Percival bowed his head, his voice turning cold and sharp. "She is my mate, Tatiana. My fated mate. You... you are just carrying a baby. It was a one-night mistake that should have never happened—" He cut himself off, his eyes narrowing as they locked onto hers with a sudden, piercing suspicion.
He was trying to hurt her, to push her back with words that stung like a lash. He hated the way she spoke about me, and he was making her pay for it.
She stepped forward, glaring at me with pure venom. I didn't move. This was my territory, my forest. I didn't feel like her heart was actually breaking—it felt like her pride had been wounded. Wolves don't fall in love in a single night of lust; we long for the soul the Moon Goddess chose for us.
"You’d honestly choose a girl over me and your own blood?" she demanded, a low, territorial growl vibrating in her chest.
Percival’s expression turned lethal. He let out a thunderous Alpha growl that echoed through the trees, silencing her instantly. I instinctively bowed my head at the sheer power of it. That was the command of a king.
He stood up, his gaze boring into her until she took several hurried steps back.
"You and I both know the statistics, Tatiana," he said, his voice like ice. "There is a fifty-percent chance that pregnancy won't even make it to term. And now that I have found my true mate, those chances are even slimmer. You have a mate out there, too—you just haven't found him because you're too busy trying to trap me."
The words were brutal. They were meant to devastate her. But for me? They were a lifeline.
If the pregnancy failed, she would be gone. The obstacle would vanish. It was a heartless thought, and it made me feel like a monster, but I couldn't stop it. If she wasn't in the picture, could we be happy? I didn't know, but I knew I wanted the chance to find out.
Tatiana’s face hardened, her sorrow replaced by a chilling, icy mask. "We’ll see what my father has to say about your 'statistics.'" She turned on her heel, a small, triumphant smirk playing on her lips.
Percival’s fury was palpable, and I felt a strange rush of adrenaline. My wolf purred, her hackles rising as she imagined tearing into the woman who dared threaten our mate.
He glanced at me, his eyes full of regret. "Edeline, I’m so sorry. Now you know it all... please, just think about what I’ve told you."
I didn't say a word. I just watched him. He leaned down, pressing a soft, lingering kiss to the top of my head, and then he was gone. He leaped into the air, his body blurring and expanding as he shifted mid-flight. His massive white wolf hit the ground running, a powerful howl ripping through the air as he gave chase to Tatiana, making sure she knew exactly who ruled these woods.
Watching him, I felt a cold realization settle over me. If that baby survived, I couldn't stay. I wouldn't spend my life being reminded of his betrayal every time I looked at a child's face. I would have to walk away, even if it destroyed me.
Am I really meant to be his Luna? Or am I just a girl whose story ended before it truly began? I needed to find out who I was without him. But my wolf... she was already decided. She wanted her mate, and she wanted Tatiana gone.
'Should I do it?' I wondered, the darkness in my heart growing. 'Should I be the one to end this?'
