My Alpha Chose His Mistress Over Our Unborn Pup

I stood in the Alpha's private quarters, my hands trembling slightly as I adjusted the silver candlesticks on the mahogany dining table. Nine years. Nine years of healer treatments, of Luna Leslie's cutting remarks, of watching my dreams as a dancer fade like morning mist. And now, finally, I had something to show for it.

My wolf, Luna, stirred within me, her presence stronger than it had been in months. *He's coming home*, she whispered, and I felt that flutter again—that impossible, miraculous flutter that had started three days ago.

'The pup,' I whispered back, my hand instinctively moving to my still-flat stomach. 'Our pup.'

The ritual meal was perfect. I'd spent hours preparing it, following the traditions Jaden and I had established in our early years together. The venison was cooked to medium-rare, the wild mushrooms sautéed in butter and herbs, the wine breathing in crystal glasses that caught the late afternoon light. I'd even found the strength to braid my hair in the pattern he'd once said reminded him of moonlight on water.

I lit the candles, their warm glow casting dancing shadows across the walls. This would be the night we celebrated. This would be the night Jaden finally saw how much I'd sacrificed for him, for us, for the Moonveil Pack. My heart raced with a hope I'd almost forgotten how to feel.

The door opened with a familiar creak, and my breath caught. Jaden's scent—pine resin and cold river water—filled the room, but something was wrong. The air felt suddenly heavy, charged with an energy that made my wolf whimper.

Jaden stepped inside, but he wasn't alone. Luna Leslie glided in behind him, her presence like a shadow that had been waiting for this moment. Her eyes swept over the table, her lips curving into something that wasn't quite a smile.

'How... thoughtful,' she said, her voice dripping with false warmth. 'Though I wonder why you're still bothering with these... displays.'

I straightened my spine, fighting against the immediate submission my wolf wanted to show. 'Jaden, I have news—'

'Actually,' Jaden cut me off, his voice carrying that Alpha tone that made every nerve in my body scream to obey, 'I have something to say first.'

Luna Leslie stepped forward, smoothing the front of her dress in that deliberate way I'd learned to dread. 'It's been nine years, Emberlynn. Nine years of waiting. The nursery remains empty while the Moonveil Pack grows restless.'

My throat closed. The words about the pup died on my lips.

'Perhaps,' she continued, 'it's time we accepted that some bonds, however sacred they might seem, simply aren't meant to bear fruit.'

Jaden's eyes met mine, and I searched desperately for the warmth that had once lived there. Instead, I found nothing but cold calculation.

'Emberlynn,' he said, his Alpha tone pressing down on me like a physical weight, forcing me to my knees beside the table I'd prepared with such care. 'You have failed this pack. You have failed me.'