After My Mate Betrayed Me with My Childhood Enemy

The Pack Gathering was supposed to be my arena. For three years, I had commanded war councils on the northern border, my voice the only thing standing between my pack and annihilation. But as I stood on the raised dais in the community hall, my hand resting protectively over my swollen belly, I felt less like a Luna and more like a ghost haunting her own life.

"The rogue incursions near the eastern ridge have increased by fifteen percent," I said, my voice projecting clearly over the murmurs of the assembled wolves. I pointed to the large map spread across the table. "We need to double the patrols there. Pull two units from the southern perimeter. It's the only way to secure the nursery."

Silence fell. The elders nodded, recognizing the strategy. It was sound. It was necessary.

"Actually," a soft, hesitant voice cut through the air.

Millie Perkins stepped forward from the crowd. She wasn't wearing pack colors, just a simple, pale blue dress that made her look fragile, like a porcelain doll that might shatter if you breathed on it too hard.

"Alpha Lucas," she said, looking up at my mate with wide, innocent eyes. "I know I'm just a civilian, but... doesn't doubling the patrols make us look aggressive? If we want peace, shouldn't we show trust? Maybe open the borders a little? Let the rogues see we aren't enemies?"

A few younger wolves murmured in agreement. It was a naive, dangerous idea that would get us all killed. I opened my mouth to shut it down, to explain the brutality of rogue psychology.

"Millie has a point," Lucas said.

I whipped my head toward him. He was looking at her, not me. His expression was soft, indulgent. "We've been running on a war footing for too long. Perhaps a softer approach is what the pack needs right now. A... civilian perspective."

"Lucas," I hissed, keeping my voice low so the pack wouldn't hear the discord. "That is suicide. They will slaughter us."

He finally looked at me, his eyes cold and dismissive. "You're thinking like a soldier, June. Not a Luna. We will implement Millie's suggestion. Patrols remain as they are."

Humiliation burned my cheeks. He had just publicly chosen the advice of his mistress over the tactical expertise of his wife. I looked at Beta Thomas, Lucas's second-in-command. He shifted on his feet, refusing to meet my eyes, his jaw clenched tight. He knew this was wrong. But he said nothing.

The meeting disbanded, the wolves filing out with whispers that felt like claws raking down my back. I lingered, pretending to organize papers, needing a moment to compose myself.

Lucas and his Gamma, a brute named Silas, stood near the exit. They didn't see me in the shadows of the heavy curtains.

"She's becoming a problem, Alpha," Silas grunted. "Undermining you in front of the pack."

"Patience," Lucas's voice drifted back to me, casual and cruel. "Once the pup is born and weaned... we can deal with the June problem permanently. Maybe the northern border needs a commander again. A permanent one."

The air left my lungs. He wasn't just cheating on me. He was planning to exile me. To steal my child and cast me out to the frozen wasteland I had fought so hard to leave.

***

The next morning, I went to the training grounds. I needed to hit something. I needed to feel strong again, to remind my wolf that we were warriors, not victims. Despite the heaviness of my pregnancy, I moved through the katas, the familiar burn of my muscles grounding me.

"Mind if I join?"

Millie stood at the edge of the mat, wearing pristine, expensive workout gear that looked like it had never seen a drop of sweat.

"I'm busy," I grunted, throwing a jab at the punching bag.

"Lucas said I should learn self-defense," she persisted, stepping onto the mat. "Since the borders are 'so dangerous,' according to you."

My wolf growled. *Bait,* she warned. *Do not bite.*

"Fine," I said, wiping sweat from my forehead. "Basic stance. Keep your guard up."

I moved to correct her posture. I barely touched her elbow to lift her arm.

Suddenly, Millie shrieked.

She threw herself backward with the force of a cannonball, crashing onto the mats and curling into a ball, clutching her stomach. "My ribs! Oh goddess, my ribs!"

"What?" I stared at my hands. "I didn't even—"

"Help!" she screamed, her voice piercing the morning air. "The Luna! She's crushing me with her aura!"

Wolves came running from every direction. Lucas was there in seconds, his face a mask of thunderous rage. He dropped to his knees beside Millie, who was sobbing theatrically.

"She attacked me!" Millie wailed, burying her face in Lucas's chest. "I just wanted to learn! She's jealous, Lucas! She tried to kill me!"

"I didn't touch her!" I yelled, panic rising in my throat. "Lucas, look at me! I barely touched her elbow!"

The pack doctor, a man named Dr. Thorne who I knew owed gambling debts to my father, rushed over. He placed a glowing hand on Millie's side and gasped. "Internal bruising, Alpha. Severe. It's consistent with an Alpha command crushing the organs."

It was a lie. A blatant, impossible lie.

Lucas stood up slowly. The look he gave me wasn't just anger anymore. It was hatred.

"You are out of control," he said, his voice deadly quiet. "You attack a guest? A weaker wolf? You are a disgrace to your rank."

"Lucas, please," I begged, my hands trembling. "It's a setup. Can't you see—"

"Enough!" His roar silenced the entire training ground. "Beta Thomas! Escort June to the guest quarters on the lower level. Revoke her clearance. She is barred from the Alpha floor and the strategy room until further notice."

"You can't do that," I whispered, tears blurring my vision. "I am the Luna."

"Not right now," Lucas spat. "Right now, you are a liability."

Thomas stepped forward, his face pale. "June... please. Don't make him hurt you."

I let him lead me away. As I walked past the whispering pack members, I heard the words that Adele and Millie had planted taking root.

*"She's crazy."*

*"Jealous."*

*"Unfit mother."*

The heavy door of the guest room clicked shut, the lock engaging with a finality that sounded like a prison sentence. I sank to the floor, wrapping my arms around my belly. They had taken my voice. They had taken my rank. Now, they were coming for my child.