She's coming here," Demitri says flatly. "And there's nothing you can do about it."
For a second, I don't understand."Who?" I ask. "Coming here?"
"My fated mate." No hesitation. "I met her on a mission outside the territory."
The word fated lands like a blow.
"She's the daughter of the Beta of Silverclaw Pack," he continues. "And I'm going to fulfill the mate bond."
"She's coming to Blue Moon."
"But—" I step forward panicking. "Demitri, you can't just—"
"No." He cuts me off. "I don't want to hear it. If I had known she existed, I would never have chosen you as my mate."
Never.
The word echoes. A broken laugh escapes me. My wolf growls softly
"So that's it? After everything I've done? After everything I gave you and this pack?"
He exhales, like I'm the exhausting one.
"What about me?" I whisper. My wolf presses against my skin, wanting to bare teeth, to snarl in his face.
"You'll still be Luna," he says.
For one stupid second, hope flickers. My wolf stills, ears pricked, listening.
Then he steps closer and snuffs it out.
"By title," he adds. "Because I'm allowing it."
The word loaned hangs unspoken between us. My wolf snarls again furious.
"I gave you a name," he continues, voice turning cold. "A place."
I shake my head. "You didn't make me—"
"I did," he snaps. "When I found you, you were nothing. No family. No pack. No name. No past. You were disoriented. Lost. You didn't even know who you were."
The room blurs. My wolf whines, the old emptiness echoing back through her.
"I took you in," he says. "I protected you. Provided for you. Gave you purpose. Status."
He looks at me like he's reciting facts, not dismantling me piece by piece.
"I brought you from nothing," he says quietly, deliberately, "and I made you everything."
My tears spill, hot and humiliating. My wolf curls inward, grief mixing with her anger, the ache shared between us.
"I loved you," I choke. "I chose you. I stood beside you when everyone doubted you. I gave this pack my life."
He grips my chin suddenly, forcing my face up so I have to look at him.
"If you don't like how this ends," he says softly, "you're free to leave."
My breath stutters.
"You can keep the title I loaned you," he adds. "Or you can walk away. I don't care which."
Loaned.
"You should be grateful," he finishes. "Most Alphas wouldn't be this generous."
Something inside me shatters.I shove his hand away and scream, "I gave you my life!"
"Enough!" His fist slams into the desk. The crack echoes through the room. "Get out. I don't even want to look at you."
I don't remember turning around.
I only remember the door slamming shut behind me.
My legs give out in the corridor. I grab the wall and slide down it, sobbing, gasping for air like I'm drowning. My chest aches. My head pounds and everything hurts. My wolf presses close, sharing the pain, her warmth the only thing keeping me from falling completely apart.
Wolves pass nearby. I don't care if they hear me.
"Luna?"
The voice is soft. Careful.
I wipe my face, but it doesn't help. The tears keep coming.
Mara stands a few steps away, one of the handmaids. Her eyes are wide, uncertain, like she's walked in on something she was never meant to see.
"Please," she says quietly. "Come to your room."
"I'm fine," I say.
She doesn't argue. She steps closer, slow and steady.
"Lean on me," she murmurs.
"I don't need—"
My knees buckle agagainain.
Mara catches me before I hit the floor. The humiliation burns worse than the pain. The Luna of the Blue Moon Pack being held upright like a broken thing in the corridor while doors close and eyes turn away.
"Please," she says . "Let me get you out of here."
I let her.
She guides me down the hallway, my feet dragging, my breath uneven. When we reach my chambers, she closes the door behind us like she's sealing me away from the rest of the world.
I start pacing immediately.
Back and forth. My hands won't stop shaking. I rake my fingers through my hair, pulling hard enough to sting, like pain might force me to think straight. My wolf paces with me inside, restless, snarling at shadows.
"I need to tell him," I say. "I need to tell him now."
Mara hesitates. "Tell him… what, Luna?"
This morning was meant to be good. I went to the healer.
The healer's room.
The smell of crushed herbs and smoke thick in the air.
Me sitting on the edge of the narrow bed, feet dangling, fingers clenched so tight they hurt.
"You're with child."
For a moment, I hadn't breathed.
A child.
His child.
My wolf had thrummed with quiet joy, already protective, already curling around that tiny spark like it was the most precious thing in the world.
I remember my hand flying to my stomach. The laugh that burst out of me through tears. The way hope flooded my chest. I imagined Demitri's face softening. Imagined his hands over mine. Imagined this finally making me chosen in a way fate never had. I thought—naively—that I would be his forever.
I left the healer's quarters shaking with excitement.
I went straight to his office.
I never got to say the words.
"She's coming here, and there's nothing you can do about it."
Now my hand presses to my stomach again.
Just there. Like if I let go, everything will fall apart.
My wolf curls tighter around the pup, fierce protective and unyielding,If he knows… maybe…
If he hears it from me first,
Maybe he'll stop.
Maybe he won't go through with it.
Maybe blood will matter more than fate.
Or maybe—maybe he'll look at me the way he did in his office.
Like I'm already something he regrets keeping.
My breath turns shallow. I bend forward, pressing my forehead to the wall, trying to think.
Think.
I slide down without meaning to, curling inward, one arm tight around my stomach.
"I'm still Luna," I whisper.
The words feel thin. Temporary.
My wolf whines softly, the emptiness spreading wider.
I drag in a breath. Then another. I wipe my face with shaking hands and force myself to stand.
I don't have time.
I don't have protection.
I don't have anyone.
I only have one chance.
I will tell him—
before morning comes.