After the Alpha’s Mistress Pushed Me into the Lake

The Winter Solstice Banquet was in full swing when I walked through the lakeside pavilion doors. Ice sculptures lined the entrance. White lights hung from every beam. The place was packed with allied pack representatives—Alphas, Betas, their mates. Everyone dressed sharp. Everyone smiling.

I smoothed my hand over my belly. Five months along. The bump was obvious now under the soft blue dress I'd chosen. I'd thought, maybe tonight, Gideon would acknowledge it. Acknowledge me.

I was wrong.

The Alpha's table sat at the center of the hall, raised on a low platform so everyone could see. Gideon Crawford—my mate, the man the Moon Goddess chose for me—sat in the center. His dark suit fit perfectly. His jaw was sharp. His presence commanded the room the way it always did. He was laughing at something, his head tilted toward the woman beside him.

Lilliana Pierce.

She sat in my seat. The Luna's seat. Her hand rested on Gideon's arm like it belonged there. She wore red. Her hair was pinned up. She looked perfect.

I stood at the entrance holding a list of seating assignments and felt invisible.

No one came to greet me. No one asked where I should sit. The packmates who passed me smiled thinly or didn't meet my eyes. I'd been the Luna of Shadowcrest for years, but you wouldn't know it tonight.

I greeted the arriving guests myself. I checked names. I directed people to their tables. I smiled when I was supposed to. My feet hurt. My back ached. The baby kicked once, then settled.

Gideon never looked my way.

An hour in, I stepped outside onto the frozen deck that overlooked the lake. The air was sharp and cold. My breath came out in clouds. I pressed my hands to the railing and closed my eyes. Just a minute. I just needed a minute.

"Still here?"

I turned. Lilliana stood in the doorway, backlit by the warmth inside. She stepped onto the deck and let the door swing shut behind her. The noise from the banquet muffled. It was just the two of us now. And the ice. And the dark water below.

"I was just getting some air," I said quietly.

She walked closer. Her heels clicked on the frozen wood. She stopped a few feet away and looked me over. Her gaze lingered on my belly. Then she smiled.

"You really don't know when to quit, do you?" Her voice was light. Almost kind. That made it worse.

"I'm not trying to—"

"You are," she cut in. "You think that baby is going to change anything. It won't. Gideon tolerates you because the bond forces him to. But that's all it is. Tolerance."

I swallowed. My hands tightened on the railing. "He's my mate."

"He's mine," Lilliana said simply. "You're just the mistake the Moon Goddess made."

She moved fast. One moment she was standing there. The next, her hands slammed into my chest. Hard.

I stumbled backward. My hip hit