Three years of whispered gossip about my inability to bear a child. Three years of watching other women cradle their babies while I remained empty. Three years of wondering if I would ever be enough for my husband, Alpha Leo.
But today, everything would change.
I still remembered the day Leo accepted me as his mate. I was just a maid in the Blood Moon Pack, invisible and unimportant. But when his eyes met mine across that crowded ballroom, his wolf had recognized me instantly.
"You're mine," he'd growled, pulling me close. "My Luna. My mate. My everything."
That night, under the moonlight, he'd held me and whispered promises I'd cherished for three years. A family. A future. A life together.
And now, finally, I could give him the one thing he needed most-an heir for the Moon Shadow Pack.
"Luna Selene, are you all right?" I immediately jerked out of my thoughts when I felt a hand touch my shoulders.
"Oh, oh, yes doctor, I'm fine."
I rose to my feet and picked up my bag. I had the calmest voice and a sweet smile that always melted people's hearts.
"Congratulations once again, Luna."
"Thank you so much."
Minutes later, I was outside, phone in hand. I dialed Leo. Once. Twice. Ten times. No answer. Strange.
I drove home, my heart racing with anticipation. I would tell him in person. I would make his favorite meal, set the table with candles, and surprise him with the news.
When I arrived at our cottage, I noticed something odd. Leo's study door was slightly ajar. He never left it open.
I stepped inside and my eyes fell on his desk. A letter lay half-buried under his papers-cream-colored stationery I didn't recognize. The handwriting was elegant. Feminine.
I picked it up and read the words that would shatter my world.
I'm coming home, my love. Wait for me.
Forever yours,
S
My hands trembled. Who was S? And why did Leo have a letter from someone calling herself "my love"?
I tried to push the thought away. Maybe it was nothing. Maybe it was an old letter from before we met. Leo loved me. He had accepted me as his mate when no one else would.
I went to the kitchen, cooked his favorite meal, and set the table. Then I waited.
One hour. Two hours. Three.
Even after three hours, there was still no sign of Leo. I tried calling again, but it went straight to voicemail.
My chest tightened with worry. Where was he?
A few minutes later, exhaustion overtook me, and I dozed off on the couch.
I was awakened by the sound of the door and I jerked upright in fear. It was still dark, but I could feel Leo's presence. His scent filled the room-but there was something different about it. Something cold.
"Leo?" I called out softly.
He didn't respond. Instead, he stood in the doorway, his silhouette looming over me like a shadow I couldn't escape.
"You deceived me," he said, his voice like ice.
My blood ran cold. "What? Leo, I don't understand-"
"I want a divorce!"
He yelled at me, but I had no idea what was really going on. Staring at him with watery eyes, I begged to know what my offence was. I had always been an obedient Luna and most importantly, a supportive Luna to him. What had I done?
"What is going on, Leo, please talk to me. Say something! Say anything please!" I begged him, now on my knees.
"You heard me, Selene. I want a divorce, and I want you gone from my life for good."
The tears that I had been trying so hard to hold back finally fell from my eyes. I didn't want to leave because, over the years, I had grown to love my husband with everything I had. If the reason Leo was saying all these was because I couldn't conceive, then I needed to break the news to him now.
"I'm pregnant! We're having a baby together." I informed him with the hope that he could change his mind, but his words shocked me even harder.
"Get rid of the baby. I don't want someone like you bearing my child and heir to my pack." His voice was ice.
Those words came as a shock to me, and they made me think I was in a dream, a bad dream that I wanted to wake up from. Was this man standing right in front of me really my husband? Was this the same Leo I had met on my eighteenth birthday?
"Why? Why are you doing this to me? To our baby?"
He seemed even more angry when I mentioned the baby. I couldn't believe his heartlessness, and it made me think he almost wasn't human at all.
With all the coldness and inhumane nature in him, he declared, "I, Alpha Leo Knight, reject you, Selene Grace, as my Luna and my mate. I never want you to show your filthy face in my pack ever again."
All I could feel at that moment was pain.
Leo was my first, and I always prayed he would be my last.
I had never felt the pain of a mate bond being broken before, but it was brutal. The pain was so intense and I could feel it shattering all of me inside.
I groaned in pain hoping Leo would even look at me, but even my pain wasn't enough to make him spare me a glance.
"Leo..." I gasped, reaching for him. "Leo, please..."
He didn't even look at me.
He turned and walked away, his footsteps echoing through the empty cottage. Each step felt like a knife in my chest.
Broken, I clutched my stomach and lost consciousness in agony.