After My Mate Called Me a Traitor, He Begged

The pain ripped through me like lightning, each contraction more violent than the last. I gripped the edges of the birthing bed, my knuckles white as another wave crashed over me. Outside, thunder shook the windows of the Luna's chambers, rain lashing against the glass like angry fists.

"Breathe, Luna Ashlyn," the midwife urged, her face a blur above me. "The baby is crowning."

I bore down with all my strength, feeling as though my body was being torn apart. Through sweat-soaked strands of hair, I caught sight of Reina Gomez standing near the fireplace, her eyes gleaming with something that made my wolf whimper.

"The Moon Goddess watches," she whispered, tossing something into the flames. The fire flared green, then purple, filling the room with sweet-smelling smoke that made my head spin.

"Aiden!" I gasped as another contraction seized me. "Aiden, please!"

My mate stood at the foot of the bed, his face impassive as stone. The Alpha King of the Sovereign Moon Pack watched me suffer without a flicker of emotion.

"Push now!" the midwife commanded.

With a final, primal scream that tore from the depths of my soul, I felt my baby slip into the world. The room filled with the scent of blood and birth—and something else. Something wrong.

"That's not—" I began, but Reina's scream cut me off.

"THE DEMON CHILD!" she wailed, pointing at my baby. "The Moon Goddess has cursed us! She has sent this abomination to punish us for harboring the Doom Bringer!"

Through the haze of exhaustion and pain, I saw my beautiful baby boy—healthy, perfect—but through the smoke that filled the room, everyone else saw something else entirely. A gore-slicked creature with twisted limbs and dead eyes.

"No!" I tried to reach for my child, but hands held me down. "He's normal! He's beautiful! This is a trick!"

Aiden's eyes met mine for a brief moment—cold, calculating Alpha eyes that held no trace of the mate who had once looked at me with love.

"Take it away," he ordered, his voice devoid of emotion. "Dispose of it according to pack law."

"No! Please!" I fought against the hands that restrained me, but I was too weak, too exhausted. "Aiden, please! He's our son!"

But my mate had already turned away, leaving me to the mercy of the pack that now saw me as a monster.

---

Twelve hours later, I stood chained to the iron execution post in the training grounds. The entire pack had gathered to witness my punishment. My wrists and ankles were bound with silver-infused chains that burned against my skin, preventing my wolf from healing.

"The Traitor Luna," Reina announced to the crowd, her voice carrying across the silent gathering. "Who has brought the curse of the Moon Goddess upon us all."

I lifted my head, searching the faces before me for a single ally. Finding none, I looked up at the balcony where Aiden stood. His face was a mask of Alpha authority, his eyes