"Run, little Luna." Serenya's voice was a venomous lullaby as she pulled away from Jasper, her emerald dress shimmering in the firelight like a warning flare. "Go hide in your cold bed and pretend you never saw what everyone already knows."
But I didn't run. My bare feet stayed stuck to the stone floor that suddenly felt icy, every part of me frozen by the weight of what I'd just witnessed.
My husband. My half-sister. Their bodies so close I could still see where her lipstick stained his mouth.
"Leave, Araya." Jasper's tone was like metal grinding against rock, harsh, icy, and final. Through the mate bond, I felt nothing, not guilt, not shame, just irritation at being caught and a deep, aching resentment for even existing.
"No."
The word burst out before I could stop it. Small but fierce, powered by a rage hotter than the shame flooding my veins.
His storm-gray eyes narrowed sharply. "What did you say?"
"I said no." My voice grew stronger with every syllable, fueled by a wild fire waking inside me. "You swore your vows before Selene, before the whole pack. You made me yours less than three hours ago, and now—"
"Now I'm reminding you what those vows are worth." He stepped toward me like a predator, towering over my shaking form. "Nothing, Araya. They mean nothing."
Power radiated off him like a tidal wave, the kind of dominance that should have crushed me. But my wolf-less body had no armor, no strength to fight back. Every instinct screamed to bow, submit, beg forgiveness.
Instead, I raised my chin and met his furious gaze.
"You're wrong."
Serenya laughed, a sound like shattering glass. "Oh, this is rich. The little mouse has teeth." She circled us like a cat enjoying the hunt. "Tell me, sister—do you really believe he'd pick you over me? You, with no wolf, no power, nothing but a womb that probably won't even work?"
Her words cut through me, designed to rip open every wound. Through the bond, I sensed Jasper's silent agreement, he believed her, thought I was worthless, a burden he'd taken on only because the elders forced him.
"Why?" My voice cracked but I forced the question out. "Why marry me if you wanted her?"
"Politics." Jasper's answer was sharp and brutal. "Your father's bloodline brings alliances I need. Serenya's doesn't. That's all."
"And you?" I faced Serenya, tears burning my eyes. "What do you get from this? Satisfaction from tearing me down?"
Her smile was a razor. "I get him. The mate I should have had from the start, before Father decided you needed saving from your pathetic existence." She leaned in, voice a poisonous whisper. "Did you think Jasper would ever want you? You're a shadow. A ghost. Less than nothing."
"He's right." Jasper's words hit like blows. "You're weak. Wolf-less. A burden I accepted out of duty, not because you had anything to offer."
His contempt screamed through the bond, but beneath it, I felt something else, a cold relief that made my stomach twist.
He was glad to be with her, not me.
"I'm your mate," I whispered, voice raw. "Chosen by Selene herself."
"Selene made a mistake." His voice was cold as ice. "And if you push me, I'll fix it."
The threat hung between us like a knife—rejection so brutal it would strip me not just of my title, but of myself.
"You wouldn't dare." I knew the truth even as I said it. Through the bond, I felt his readiness to erase me if I became a problem.
"Try me." He leaned close, face inches from mine. "Cause trouble. Humiliate me before the pack. I'll reject you so completely not even your father will remember you."
Power crashed into me like a physical blow, pushing me back. The stones beneath my feet trembled, guards stirring at the sound of their Alpha's rage.
But Serenya just smiled wider, green eyes shining with cruel delight. "You heard him, sister. Know your place. Accept what you can't change." She pressed against Jasper like a queen claiming her throne. "Or lose everything."
I looked at them—this perfect, terrible pair who belonged in legends while I was a forgotten footnote and felt something break and harden.
Not submission.
Rage.
"I get it," I said, voice steady as stone even as my world fell apart. "You want me quiet. Compliant. Thankful for scraps while you parade your affair in front of the pack."
"Exactly." Jasper's lips curved coldly. "I knew you'd come around."
"Oh, I see clearly." My fists clenched. "I see what you both are." I stepped forward. "But remember this—I'm still your Luna. Bound by vows you can't erase with cruelty or betrayal. And when this falls apart, because it will, don't expect mercy."
Serenya's smile wavered. For a moment, doubt flickered before her mask returned.
Jasper laughed. "Bold words from a girl with nothing. No wolf, no power, no allies." He turned away. "Go to our chambers, Araya. Sleep. Tomorrow, you'll remember just how powerless you really are."
"Goodnight, sister." Serenya's voice followed me like a poison dart. "Don't wait up for your husband. He's… occupied."
My legs shook but I walked on, spine straight despite tears, their laughter ringing behind me like funeral bells.
Morning brought fresh horrors.
I forced myself to dress, to braid my hair, to paint on the serene expression expected of a Luna even as my insides churned with nausea that had nothing to do with pregnancy yet.
The great hall was already alive with breakfast—warriors laughing, she-wolves gossiping, the normal rhythm of pack life that I would never truly be part of.
Conversations didn't stop when I entered. They just... shifted. Muted to half-volume while eyes tracked my movement with barely concealed speculation.
I took my seat beside Jasper at the high table. He didn't acknowledge me. Didn't even glance my way as he continued his conversation with Corvin, his golden-haired Beta.
"...not touched on her wedding night." The whisper came from a cluster of she-wolves three tables down, spoken just loud enough to carry.
"The barren Luna." Another voice, dripping false sympathy. "Poor thing."
My hands shook as I reached for bread, forcing myself to eat though it tasted like ash. Through the bond, I felt Jasper's complete indifference to their cruelty.
He wasn't defending me. He was letting them destroy me, one whispered insult at a time.
Then Serenya entered.
She swept through the hall like conquering royalty, her emerald gown catching every eye, her golden hair gleaming in the firelight. When she reached our table, she leaned down to brush her lips against Jasper's cheek in a greeting far too intimate for propriety.
And he let her.
Through the bond, I felt his pleasure at her touch, warm, genuine, everything he'd never felt for me.
"Good morning, brother," she purred, then turned to me with a smile that could kill. "Sister."
She took the seat beside me, her perfume cloying and overwhelming, her presence a constant reminder of everything I wasn't.
The whispers rose again, feeding on our tension like wolves scenting blood.
"She looks ill."
"Couldn't even keep her Alpha's interest for one night."
"Why waste effort on damaged goods?"
Each word was a lash across already raw wounds. My throat closed, vision blurring as I fought to breathe past the humiliation.
Then Serenya leaned close, her breath warm against my ear.
"You'll be gone before the next full moon," she whispered, absolute certainty in every word. "I promise you that."
Four weeks had passed, and her prediction felt like a looming certainty.
The pack no longer bothered to hide their disdain. Warriors stopped bowing. The she-wolves ceased whispering "Luna" as I walked by. Even the servants grew careless, forgetting to refill my cup or clear my dishes.
And Jasper? Each morning he sat beside me in complete silence, his cold indifference cutting deeper than any harsh word.
Until Millie noticed what I was desperately trying to conceal.
"You haven't bled this moon," she said quietly one day, her fingers gently stroking my hair.
My body froze. "You're mistaken."
She shook her head. "No, I'm certain." Meeting my eyes in the mirror, she added, "You throw up most mornings, grow weak when you stand—you're with child, my lady."
That word struck me like a thunderbolt—bright, burning, and undeniable.
"No," I whispered, my hand moving protectively to my belly. "That can't be true."
But Millie was already on her feet, fetching Healer Ysolde despite my protests.
When the healer confirmed it, "You're pregnant" ,the world seemed to stop turning.
A child growing inside me from that one harsh, brutal night. Proof that I wasn't broken or barren, despite everything they said.
Hope flared inside me, wild and fierce.
I rushed to him, armed with nothing but that hope and a fierce protectiveness blooming in my heart.
I found Jasper in the council chamber, bent over his maps, looking every bit the powerful Alpha.
"Jasper." My voice trembled. "I need to tell you something."
He didn't look up. "What is it?"
"I'm pregnant." The words spilled out, desperate and hopeful. "Our child. Born from our bond—"
He laughed.
Not with joy or surprise, but with a bitter, cruel sound like nails on stone.
"Pregnant?" His eyes were cold and furious. "You expect me to believe that ridiculous story?"
The room tilted. "It's true. Healer Ysolde confirmed it—"
"Or maybe you took another man's bed while I was busy." His voice dropped low, dangerous. "Is that it, dear wife?"
The accusation knocked the air from my lungs. "No! You're my mate—I would never—"
"Don't lie to me." His power lashed out like claws. "I know your type, weak, desperate, willing to do anything for power."
"This is your child!" My voice broke with disbelief and anger. "How can you deny it—"
"Because I know exactly what I gave you that night." His words were blunt and cruel. "And it wasn't enough to create life. That child inside you will never be mine."
The mate bond screamed with his certainty, his rock-solid belief that I'd betrayed him.
"You can't mean that," I whispered, hand pressed over my belly.
"Leave." His voice brooked no argument. "Get out before I do something we'll both regret."
I stared at the stranger wearing my husband's face, feeling something precious die inside me.
"Fine." My voice was steady as stone. "But when that child is born with your eyes and that stubborn pride of yours, you'll remember this moment, the day you chose cruelty over truth."
I turned toward the door, my spine straight despite the pain.
Behind me, his voice followed like a curse.
"That child will never be mine."