After My Mate Crowned His Mistress Luna, I Fought Back

The heavy oak doors of the Silver Claw Pack's grand hall magnified the silence as I stood at the podium. My voice, usually steady and commanding, echoed slightly as I pointed to the map of our northern borders.

"As you can see, the rogue incursions have increased by twelve percent since the last full moon," I stated, meeting the gaze of the Council elders. "I propose shifting the Gamma unit to the ridge line to—"

"That will be enough, Cecilia."

My mate’s voice cut through the air like a whip. I froze, my hand hovering over the map. Alpha August Spencer stood up from his throne, his aura restless and agitated. He wasn't looking at me. His eyes were fixed on the side entrance, where the heavy curtains parted.

A hush fell over the room. Violette Fox stepped forward. She looked delicate, wearing a white dress that seemed to swallow her slender frame, her eyes wide and shimmering with unshed tears. She looked like a porcelain doll that had been broken and glued back together—fragile, but undeniably present.

"August?" I asked, my voice low. "We are in the middle of a security briefing."

He ignored me. He walked down the steps of the dais, bypassing me completely to take Violette’s hand. He led her up the stairs, placing her right beside his chair—the space reserved for the Luna.

"Elders, warriors," August announced, his voice booming with Alpha command. "Violette has returned to us from the brink of death. It is a miracle granted by the Moon Goddess. To ensure her comfort and safety as she reintegrates, I am making an executive decree."

My stomach twisted. A cold dread seeped into my bones.

"Effective immediately," August continued, squeezing Violette’s hand, "Violette will assume the title of Acting Luna for all internal pack affairs. Furthermore, to secure her future, I am transferring five percent of the prime river valley territory to her name."

The hall erupted in murmurs. I stood there, the blood draining from my face. Internal affairs? That was my domain. The river valley? That was the most fertile land in the territory—land that my father, Alpha Marcus Knight, had helped secure with his resources when we married.

"August," I said, my tone sharp enough to slice glass. "You cannot simply—"

"It is done," he snapped, finally looking at me. His eyes were cold, devoid of the warmth they held just a week ago. "Sit down, Cecilia."

I didn't sit. I turned on my heel, my chin held high despite the burning humiliation in my chest, and marched out of the hall. I am a Knight. I do not let them see me bleed.

My feet carried me instinctively to his private office. I needed answers. I needed to understand why the man I had spent a year saving was publicly dismantling me.

I shoved the office door open. "August, you—"

The words died in my throat. The air in the room was thick, suffocating. It wasn't just the smell of old paper and coffee anymore. It was the heavy, cloying scent of jasmine mixed with the deep, earthy musk of my mate.

It was the scent of sex. Fresh sex.

My knees nearly buckled. I grabbed the edge of his mahogany desk to steady myself. That’s when I saw it. The large tactical map of our joint territories, the symbol of our alliance, was gone. In its place stood a framed photograph. It was an old picture, taken years ago—a teenage August laughing, his arms wrapped tight around a beaming Violette.

"You have no right to barge in here."

I spun around. August stood in the doorway, looking annoyed rather than guilty. He adjusted his cufflinks, refusing to meet my eyes.

"The scent," I whispered, my voice trembling with a rage I had never felt before. "You were with her. Before the meeting?"

"She was scared, Cecilia," he said, walking past me to sit behind his desk, right next to that damned photo. "She needed reassurance. She’s my chosen mate. You knew this when you married me. You knew my heart belonged to the memory of her."

"She was dead!" I slammed my hand on the desk. "And I am your wife! I am the one who secured your borders. I am the one who fed your pack when the winter stores ran dry!"

"And I am grateful," he said, his tone dismissive, as if thanking a servant. "But Violette is back. I have to balance my duty to you with my love for her. You are the Luna of the alliance. She is the Luna of my heart. Learn to share, Cecilia. It’s the only way this works."

Learn to share. The audacity stole my breath. He wasn't asking for compromise; he was demanding my submission.

I didn't scream. I didn't cry. Something inside me, the part of me that had tried so hard to be the perfect wife, quietly snapped.

"I see," I said coldly. I straightened my blazer, smoothing out the invisible wrinkles. "I will see you at dinner."

"Actually," August muttered, shuffling some papers. "I’ll be sleeping in the guest wing tonight. Violette’s room is on the east side. I don’t want her to feel... excluded or jealous if I stay in the Alpha suite with you. She needs time to adjust."

He was kicking me out of my own bed. For her.

"Fine," I said. The word was clipped, final.

I walked out of the office, the scent of jasmine clinging to my clothes like a poison. I didn't go to the dining hall. I went straight to the Alpha suite—my suite—and pulled a travel bag from the closet. I packed only the essentials: my journals, my dagger, and the jewelry my mother left me.

I moved my things to the guest room down the hall, the one furthest from the east wing. Once the door was locked, I pulled out my phone and dialed a number I hadn't used for personal favors in a long time.

"Luna?" The deep, gravelly voice of Beta Charlie answered on the first ring.

"Charlie," I said, staring at the moon through the window. My reflection looked back at me—pale, but eyes burning with a silver fire. "I need a full audit."

"An audit, Luna? Of the household accounts?"

"No," I replied, my voice devoid of emotion. "Of the Knight Moon resources. Every dollar, every warrior, every grain of wheat we have poured into the Silver Claw Pack over the last twelve months. I want a report on my desk by morning."

There was a pause on the other end, heavy with understanding.

"Understood, Alpha," Charlie said, shifting titles. "It begins."

"Yes," I whispered, hanging up. "It begins."