My Alpha Betrayed Me, So I Became His Rival's Luna

Snow was still melting in my hair when I heard her laugh.

"Come on, Damian. Your Luna doesn't have to know everything."

I stopped outside the Alpha's private chamber. In my arms was the laurel sachet I had stitched by candlelight for three months at the Northern Moon Temple. Tomorrow would be our eighth bonding anniversary. I had ridden through the first winter storm to surprise him.

I pushed the door open.

Damian Blackwood, my fated mate and Alpha of the Blackwood Pack, stood bare-chested by the fireplace. On the edge of our bed sat a tall she-wolf in black leather pants. She was wearing his white linen shirt, and she was drinking from his private cup.

She didn't jump. She didn't even set the cup down.

"Evelyn." Damian's brows rose. "You're back early."

"Clearly."

The woman smiled at me. "Relax, Luna. Damian and I are practically brothers."

"I don't think we've met."

"Sienna Vale. Head warrior." She tipped the cup toward me. "Three months now."

So this was the one. The pack letters had mentioned her. She was the she-wolf who had taken a silver arrow for Damian at the border.

My eyes moved across the room. Her combat boots sat beside the bed. Her leather armor hung in our bathroom. The silver moon shawl I had sewn with my own hands lay tossed over the back of a chair like a rag.

"Why," I asked, "is a warrior changing clothes in the Alpha's private chamber?"

Damian reached for a towel. "The border's tense. Sienna reports to me at all hours."

"In your shirt?"

"Her armor was soaked." He tossed the towel aside. "Don't make a normal friendship sound dirty, Evelyn."

I swallowed every word that wanted out. Then I crossed the room and set the sachet on the nightstand.

"Your wolf has been restless," I said quietly. "Keep using my calming herbs at night. Don't skip them."

Sienna plucked the sachet up before I could pull my hand back. She sniffed it and burst out laughing.

"A full-grown Alpha needs his Luna's perfume to fall asleep? That's adorable."

"Put it down."

She ignored me. She leaned toward Damian until her lips almost brushed his ear.

"Maybe what he needs is a stronger she-wolf to wear him out."

I waited for him to push her away.

Damian laughed. He reached over and ruffled her hair like she was a pup.

The blood drained from my face. He didn't notice.

Eight years ago, after the Blood Moon War, silver poison had eaten at his wolf until he couldn't tell friend from enemy. For seven nights I cut my palm open and poured Moon Goddess power into him. The scars were still on my hand. On the eighth morning, he knelt at the Goddess's altar and swore no one would ever hurt his Luna.

I closed my scarred hand into a fist and walked out.

---

The winter hunt feast was held in the Moon Hall that night.

I wore white silk. When I reached the high table, my seat at Damian's right was taken.

Sienna lounged in it, wearing a black battle robe stitched with the Blackwood crest. I knew that robe. Damian had it made last spring. He'd told me it was a gift for his best warrior.

She raised her goblet and shouted something that made the whole table roar.

"Luna." Gavin Cross, one of Damian's senior warriors, didn't stand. "Lost?"

"I'm looking for my seat."

"Funny." Gavin smirked. "Some of us think the woman who fights beside the Alpha deserves it more than the one who mixes herbs in a temple."

Laughter rippled down the table. Damian swirled his wine and said nothing.

I looked straight at Gavin. "Strength isn't measured by how loudly you insult another woman."

The laughter stopped.

Sienna's smile went stiff. She shoved back the chair and stood.

"You want strength, Luna? I'll show you strength."

She pulled a row of silver blades from her belt. One by one, she threw them into the far target. Each one landed dead center. The warriors whistled and pounded their fists on the tables.

She held up the last blade. She turned toward me and winked.

It flew past my face.

Something stung my earlobe. The blade sank into the wooden pillar beside me with a hard thunk. A lock of my silver-gold hair drifted slowly to the floor.

The hall went dead silent.

I touched my ear. My fingertips came away red.

"By pack law," I said, my voice steady, "threatening a Luna in public is an offense. I want it answered."

Sienna's eyes went wide and wet in an instant. "It was a joke. I'd never actually hurt you. Damian, tell her."

Damian rose. He crossed to me and closed his hand around my wrist. His grip was tight.

"Don't embarrass me in front of my warriors," he said low.

I stared up at him. "She drew blood. Do you even care that I was threatened?"

His jaw tightened. "Are you jealous because another she-wolf finally understands my world?"

I didn't cry. I didn't scream.

I laughed. It was one short, broken sound. Damian's grip loosened in surprise.

I pulled my wrist free and sat down in the empty chair at the end of the table. I didn't say another word for the rest of the night.

---

When the feast ended, Sienna threw Damian's cloak over her shoulders and hooked her arm through his.

"Moon's bright," she said. "Training yard? I still owe you a rematch."

"Damian." I stood. "It's late."

He didn't even turn around. "Go back to the chamber. I won't be long."

They walked out together. Her laughter echoed down the hall.

I stood alone in the empty corridor. Through the mate bond, I felt him on the other end.

He was relaxed. He was light. He was happy.

He hadn't felt that way when I walked into the room this afternoon.

For the first time in eight years, I understood. My husband no longer wanted me beside him.

---

Near midnight, my message crystal glowed on the nightstand.

It was a picture from Sienna. She was wearing Damian's shirt and sitting on the Alpha's bed, our bed, with her legs crossed and her smile sharp.

Some she-wolves know how to make an Alpha happy without keeping him on a leash.

My fingers locked around the crystal. A blinding pain tore through the mate mark over my heart. I gasped and doubled over the sheets.

---

Out in the training yard, Damian watched Sienna lower her crystal.

He had seen her send it. He knew exactly who it was for.

"Don't push Evelyn too far," he said.

Sienna stretched her arms over her head and grinned.

"Why? She'll never leave her fated mate."

Damian didn't answer.

Back in the chamber, the mark on my chest kept burning. And for the first time, I wondered what would happen if I cut that bond myself.