I couldn’t wait to tell Sebastian.
After seven years together—seven long, complicated years—I was finally bearing his children. Not one, but three. Triplets! Today, of all days, seemed perfect for the news. It marked our seventh anniversary as mates. It would also mark the day I’d officially become his Luna.
Everything felt like it was aligning. For years, the pack insisted Sebastian couldn’t finalize my position without an heir, and now, I had three growing inside me. My gift to him.
The packhouse buzzed with activity. Decorations, whispers, and glances—it all hinted at something big. Our big day, I assumed. Finally. But then, snippets of conversation drifted my way, harsh and cutting like blades.
“I heard the Alpha will announce his future Luna today,” someone muttered.
“Oh, you mean the King’s brat? Why bother? Everyone knows he’ll pick her,” another replied, dismissive.
“Don’t be stupid! Didn’t you hear? Evvie Smith’s back. They were making out last night!”
I froze. My blood ran cold.
“Making out?” someone else scoffed. “You mean he finally came to his senses? Good. Anyone but Saoirse. She’s a stuck-up, infertile bitch. I don’t care how pretty she thinks she is. She’s useless to the pack—and to him.”
Laughter. Loud, sharp, and cruel.
I clenched my fists, forcing myself to keep walking, head high, spine straight. They didn’t know Sebastian like I did. They didn’t know about the nights we shared, the whispered promises beneath the moonlight, the life we dreamed of building together.
And Evvie Smith? So what if she was back? She was his childhood love—childhood, emphasis on the past. She was nothing but a ghost of a memory.
I shook off the unease, telling myself it was nothing. Just talk. Just rumors.
Standing in front of the mirror in my room, I placed a protective hand over my stomach and whispered, “Tonight, they’ll know you. Our babies, our future.”
A loud voice boomed through the packhouse, cutting through my thoughts.
“Everyone, the ceremony is about to begin. The Alpha will make his announcement shortly. Please gather in the hall.”
Excitement surged through me. I smoothed down my dress and took a deep breath. This was it.
The hall was packed, the energy electric. My heart pounded as I stepped inside, scanning the room until I found him. Sebastian stood tall in the center, his Beta flanking him. He looked powerful, commanding, everything an Alpha should be.
But he didn’t look at me.
I lifted my hand slightly, hoping he’d glance my way. Acknowledge me. Something.
He didn’t.
The unease crept back, slithering up my spine.
Then he spoke. His voice was steady, confident.
“Today, I make an announcement that will change the future of our pack.”
I smiled. Here it comes.
“I would like to introduce our Luna, the woman who will rule by my side—”
I inhaled sharply, my heart ready to burst with joy.
“—Evvie Smith.”
The room erupted in applause.
My heart didn’t just break—it shattered into jagged pieces.
I heard it wrong. I had to have heard it wrong.
But then I saw her. Her. Evvie. Smiling like she’d won some twisted game, walking toward him with practiced grace.
“No…” The word barely made it past my lips, a choked whisper swallowed by the cheers.
And then—
Sebastian wrapped his arms around her and kissed her.
A kiss. A deep, claiming, passionate kiss.
In front of the entire pack.
Pain lanced through my chest, sharp and unforgiving. My breath hitched as my hands trembled at my sides.
Then, the final blow—
“And,” Sebastian continued, his voice booming with pride, “she’s carrying my child—a son, the future heir of this pack!”
The world spun. I felt sick.
“No…” I whispered again, my stomach twisting in ways I couldn’t blame on the pregnancy.
Sebastian finally looked at me. But it wasn’t the way I had hoped. His gaze wasn’t filled with love, with warmth, with excitement.
It was cold. Detached.
Like I was nothing.
I stumbled back, my vision blurring, the sounds of celebration warping into a nauseating hum. Tears spilled freely as I turned and ran, my feet barely carrying me through the doors and into the cold night air.
I gasped, desperate for breath, for understanding, for something—anything—to make this make sense.
How could he?
How could he do this to me? To us?
The babies in my womb felt like a cruel joke now. My gift to him—our future—meant nothing.
All those years. All those promises.
Lies.
And as I ran, the truth settled deep into my bones, heavy and undeniable.
I had been replaced.
