My Ex-mate and My Ex-bestie Wanted to Kill My Child

I never thought the whispers could hurt more than they already did. I never thought the side glances and the cold shoulders could cut deeper. But I was wrong.

The Emberhowl Pack had a way of pretending you didn't exist when they wanted to. They were a family when it suited them, but once you were branded a traitor, a deceiver, they’d sooner see you fade into the shadows. A month ago, Rosalind became Luna, her lies securing her place beside Alpha Fenris. And I was left to wander on the outskirts of my own pack, a ghost among wolves.

I should have left. I should have walked away from this place and never looked back. But I stayed. My wolf didn’t want to leave, her loyalty to Fenris unwavering despite everything. She still saw him as her Alpha, her mate—even though I couldn’t. Even though he didn’t deserve it. And maybe, deep down, I was holding onto something too. A foolish hope that he’d see the truth, that he'd remember the woman I was before the lies and the venomous words.

But now... now everything had changed.

I found out a week ago. I’d been feeling off, the kind of off you can’t quite place—like something had shifted inside you but you couldn’t figure out what. I thought it was the stress. The rejection. The loneliness gnawing at my bones. But when I used my own healing abilities, my entire world tilted on its axis.

I was pregnant. With Fenris’s baby.

I sat on the edge of my bed in the small, cramped cabin that had become my home—a far cry from the Alpha’s quarters I once shared with him. My hand rested on my still-flat stomach, my thoughts a tangled web of fear, anger, and something I hadn’t felt in a long time: hope.

A baby. My baby. Fenris’s baby. Our child.

Despite everything, despite the bitterness and the betrayal, I couldn’t help the small, hesitant smile that tugged at my lips. This baby was innocent, untouched by the cruelty of the world outside. And I would keep it that way. This child would be mine, my light in the suffocating darkness that had become my life.

I had posted about it on the pack’s community board earlier today. I didn’t know why—maybe to remind them that I was still here. That I still mattered. Or maybe, just maybe, I wanted Fenris to know. To see that some part of what we had wasn’t lost after all.

But of course, I should have known Rosalind would spin it to her advantage. She always did.

The moment I stepped out of my cabin to get some air, I could feel the change in the air, the heightened tension, the new round of hushed whispers that followed me wherever I went. Wolves turned their heads as I passed, muttering under their breaths. Some stared with pity, others with disdain.

“She’s desperate,” I heard someone whisper as I walked by. “Trying to win him back with a child.”

“I always knew she’d try something like this,” another voice said. “Doesn’t she have any shame?”

I felt my wolf bristle inside me, her hackles rising at the affront. My steps quickened, my heart pounding in my chest, until I came face-to-face with the source of the poison. Rosalind stood near the training grounds, surrounded by a cluster of pack members. She was smiling that sweet, saccharine smile of hers, but there was a sharpness in her eyes as she looked up and saw me.

“Thalia!” she called out, her voice bright and falsely warm. “Congratulations on the pregnancy.”

I clenched my jaw, forcing myself to remain calm. “Rosalind,” I greeted coldly, my hands curling into fists at my sides. “What have you done?”

She put a hand to her chest, feigning innocence. “Whatever do you mean? I was just telling everyone how happy I am for you. It must be so comforting to have a piece of Alpha Fenris with you even after everything. Some might think it’s a desperate move, but I told them you were just trying to find a way to hold on to the past.”

“You told them what?” I growled, my voice low, dangerous.

She shrugged, a sly smile tugging at her lips. “Oh, you know how people are. They see a woman like you posting about being pregnant with the Alpha’s child and they assume you’re trying to reclaim some lost glory.”

“Enough of your games, Rosalind,” I snapped, stepping closer. “You know damn well that’s not what this is about. This baby is my child, and I won’t let you use it to stir more lies.”

She tilted her head, her smile never faltering. “Lies? Thalia, darling, you’re the one who made this public. I’m just... explaining what it looks like to the rest of the pack. You know how they talk. Besides,” she leaned in, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper, “if you’re going to have the Alpha's child, you should be prepared for the consequences. Some might think you’re trying to steal back the Luna title. It’s a dangerous game you’re playing.”

I laughed, a bitter sound that bubbled up from my chest. “You think I care about being Luna anymore? You think I want any of this?” I gestured to the pack, to the wolves who had turned their backs on me. “I don’t need a title. I don’t need Fenris. I just want to raise my child in peace, away from your deceit.”

I took a deep breath, my wolf clawing at the surface, begging to be unleashed. But I knew that was what she wanted—to provoke me, to make me lose control, to prove that I was unstable, unfit to be a mother. So, I held my ground.

“I’m not afraid of him. Or you.”