Rejected Luna’s Shattered Bond

For seven years as the Luna of the Silver Moon Pack, Nicolas, our Alpha, had always avoided meeting my extended family beyond my parents. Whenever I brought it up, he'd use that commanding alpha tone, "The pack's stability comes first. Once our borders are secure, I’ll make time."

And I, as his Luna, believed him.

Until my mother insisted I attend a full moon celebration for my cousin Angela’s pup, Krew, whom I hadn’t seen in years. There, in the heart of the Crimson Fang Pack’s territory, I found Nicolas, laughing and playing with a young boy who bore an uncanny resemblance to him.

My wolf stirred uneasily in the back of my mind, a low growl of warning. My hands trembled as I pulled Aunt Cheyenne, a respected elder of the Crimson Fang Pack, aside. "Is that your daughter’s mate? And is the boy their pup?"

Aunt Cheyenne’s smile was warm, but her words cut like a blade. "Yes, Alpha Nicolas and Angela have been mated for six years. They’ve been living in the Lycan King’s territory but returned to formalize their bond."

"You should greet your cousin and her mate," she added, her tone dripping with a casual cruelty that made my stomach churn.

I locked eyes with Nicolas across the room. For a moment, his alpha aura faltered, and he froze, his usual confidence replaced by something I couldn’t quite place—guilt, perhaps, or fear.

Angela approached, her hand entwined with Nicolas’s, her smile radiant. "Vivienne, it’s been so long!" she said, her voice sweet but laced with a mocking edge.

"This is my mate," she announced, and Nicolas’s discomfort was palpable, though he remained silent, his alpha mask firmly in place.

The room seemed to spin around me, the chatter of the pack fading into a distant hum. Angela’s friendliness was a facade, her eyes gleaming with triumph as if she were savoring my shock.

When I didn’t respond, she tilted her head, her smile widening. "You look pale, cousin. Are you feeling unwell? Perhaps you should rest."

"Honey, you don’t mind, do you?" she purred, tightening her grip on Nicolas’s arm.

Nicolas, ever the composed Alpha, tapped her nose gently, his voice soft but laced with alpha authority. "You’ve asked, so how could I refuse?"

The intimacy between them was like a punch to the gut. The man who had just yesterday told me he was on a diplomatic mission to the Lycan King’s territory was here, standing beside my cousin as her mate, with a six-year-old pup who was his spitting image.

What did that make me? Seven years as his Luna, and I’d been living a lie.

No wonder Nicolas was always away on “diplomatic missions,” disappearing for weeks at a time. No wonder he avoided my extended family. He had another mate all along, and his words were nothing but a carefully constructed shield.

I clenched my fists, trying to maintain my composure as Luna, but my wolf’s growl grew louder, a raw,