Rejected Luna's New Realm

Chapter 2

Elara insisted I stay in the clinic overnight for observation. The small medical room was cooler than my quarters, but my mind burned hotter than any fever as I lay there, one hand protectively curved over my belly. The cramps had subsided, but the fear hadn't. Our pup was hanging on—barely.

"Try to rest," Elara urged, placing a cool cloth on my forehead. "I've done what I can for now. Your body needs to recover."

I nodded weakly, watching her retreat to her desk in the corner. The clinic was quiet except for the soft hum of a small fan she'd positioned near my bed—a luxury my quarters didn't have.

My phone buzzed on the side table. I shouldn't have looked. Some part of me knew that nothing good would come from checking it, but the desperate need to connect with something, anything outside these walls overrode my better judgment.

With trembling fingers, I unlocked the screen. A notification from the pack's social media group glowed accusingly: "Blake Harrison has posted new photos."

My wolf, Luna, whimpered inside me. *Don't look. Please don't look.*

But I couldn't stop myself. I tapped the notification.

The images loaded one by one, each a fresh knife to my heart. Blake, my mate—the father of the child I was fighting to keep alive—stood on the balcony of a luxury mountain lodge. Behind him stretched the majestic Colorado Rockies, all sweeping vistas and pristine snow. And in his arms, smiling radiantly into the camera, was Victoria Sterling.

Her perfect blonde hair caught the sunlight, her designer clothes complementing the upscale surroundings. They looked like a magazine spread—the ideal Alpha couple enjoying a romantic getaway.

"Only a worthy she-wolf by my side," read his caption.

My breath caught painfully in my chest. The clinic walls seemed to close in around me as I scrolled through more photos. Blake and Victoria dining at an exclusive restaurant. Blake and Victoria hiking on private trails. Blake and Victoria toasting with champagne in a hot tub overlooking the mountains.

Pack funds. He was using pack funds—our collective resources—to treat another woman like a queen while I fought to keep our child alive in a sweltering room barely fit for storage.

The comments were worse. Pack members offering congratulations, expressing envy over their "perfect getaway." And Victoria herself, replying to someone who asked about the altitude: "Too high for those who can't keep up, I'm afraid."

They all knew. They all knew I was pregnant with his pup, fighting for my health in the pack clinic, and they were celebrating his betrayal.

Luna snarled in my mind, her fury matching my anguish. *He dishonors us. He dishonors our pup.*

Tears blurred my vision as I set the phone down. I couldn't bear to see more. The cruelty was so deliberate, so public. He wanted me to see. He wanted everyone to see.

I closed my eyes and reached for our mate bond—that connection that should have been sacred but had become a channel for pain.

*Blake,* I called through the bond, no longer begging but raw with hurt. *How could you? While our pup fights to survive, you parade her around like she's your mate?*

I felt his annoyance pulse through the bond before his cold reply came.

*Don't be dramatic, Mia. The pup will be fine. Healer said you just need to rest.*

*In a clinic,* I responded, *because the quarters you force me to live in are killing our child.*

A flash of irritation, then dismissal. *Not everything is about you. I have responsibilities to the pack that don't include catering to your constant demands.*

The injustice of it burned through me. *Responsibilities? Is that what you call taking Victoria to Colorado with pack money while I'm fighting for our baby's life?*

His response was instant and cutting. *Watch yourself, Mia. Remember your place.*

I pressed a hand to my mouth to stifle a sob, not wanting Elara to hear, though I was sure she could sense my distress.

*Our pup deserves better than this humiliation,* I sent through the bond, my mental voice breaking. *I deserve better.*

There was a long pause before his final, devastating reply came through.

*You deserve nothing. And once that pup is born, I'm rejecting you as my mate. I never intended for you to be my Luna. Victoria is my choice—she always has been.*

The bond went silent, but the echo of his words remained, shattering what little hope I had left.