She Fled the Alpha,And Found Her Fated Mate

"How can a grown she-wolf still be afraid of a little bitterness? Be good, Elara. You've always wanted a pup. Shouldn't you take your tonic properly so the pregnancy stays strong?"

"Here. Let me mix it with some honeyed moonberries for you."

Five years of mating. He knew me better than anyone. He knew the moment he mentioned a pup, every wall I had crumbled.

But Fenris, were you truly this heartless? You knew how desperately I wanted to carry a pup, yet you destroyed every hope I had with your own hands, just to clear the way for yours and Seraphina's child.

He didn't need to go through all this trouble. All he had to do was bring Seraphina before me, and I would have stepped aside on my own.

No tears came. My eyes were so dry they burned. I went numb, opened my mouth, and let him spoon the tonic in, swallow after swallow, until every last drop was gone.

That night, the wolfsbane took hold.

I writhed on the mating den's furs, my body arching against waves of agony that rolled through me like a tide dragging something precious out to sea. My inner wolf howled, a sound so raw and broken it didn't feel like it belonged to me. She clawed at the walls of my consciousness, frantic, trying to protect what she already knew was slipping away. I could feel it, the tiny spark of life inside me dimming, guttering like a candle flame in a storm. Each pulse of pain carried something irreplaceable with it, and the warmth that had lived beneath my navel for weeks drained away until all that remained was a dark stain of blood spreading across the sheets.

My wolf collapsed inside me. She curled into herself, whimpering, smaller than I had ever felt her. Something between us fractured, not completely, but enough. A hairline crack in the bond between woman and wolf, born of a grief too primal for either of us to bear alone.

My heart went cold along with it.

"The Luna's constitution was already fragile. After two lost pups, I'm afraid she may never conceive again."

As the pack healer delivered his verdict, Fenris clutched my hand, his eyes bloodshot, crying harder than I was. His scent, cedarwood and iron and winter smoke, was thick with anguish, so convincing it would have broken anyone who didn't know the truth. His wolf rumbled low in his chest, a sound of mourning that vibrated through our clasped fingers.

A man who couldn't stand the slightest mess. He washed my body himself. The blood-soaked furs that even the pack attendants recoiled from, he cleaned with his own hands, wringing the dark water into the basin without flinching.

"Elara... the pup..." His voice cracked. "If you really want a pup that badly, give it some time. I'll have someone bring one home from outside the pack. We'll raise it as our own."

Such a devoted mate. If I hadn't seen what I saw with my own eyes, I might never have doubted him.

He finished speaking and gently brushed the sweat-dampened hair from my forehead, leaning down to press his lips there. His breath was warm. His touch was tender. I turned my face away.

"I'm tired. Let's just sleep."

I was afraid that if I didn't stop myself, I'd scream every accusation building inside me. My wolf stirred weakly, baring her teeth at the shadow of him in my mind, but she was too broken to do more than snarl. I squeezed my eyes shut against the pain.

He froze for a moment, but quickly recovered. He tucked the furs around me with care, gathered my ice-cold hands and feet into his arms to warm them, and held me like that through the night, never once letting go, even in sleep. His Alpha warmth seeped into my bones whether I wanted it or not.

I watched his face in the moonlight and felt like I was looking at a stranger. The silver glow carved shadows beneath his cheekbones, made him look almost beautiful, almost innocent. Every tender thing he'd ever done for me played through my mind, one memory after another. The way he'd carried me across the threshold of the Ashvane Stronghold the night of our Mating Ceremony. The way he'd pressed his forehead to mine after marking me, whispering that I was his, only his, forever. The way he'd wrapped his body around mine during my first heat as his Luna, shielding me from the world.

All that devotion, deep as the ocean. Every bit of it had been a lie.

The next morning, I gathered the pup clothes and small carved toys I'd prepared so long ago and fed them into the brazier, piece by piece.

Those tiny moonthread-woven blankets. I'd stayed up all night stitching them the moment I found out I was carrying, weaving protective blessings into every thread under the light of a waxing moon, pouring my wolf's warmth into the fabric so my pup would feel held even before it was born. And the little wooden wolf I'd carved myself, its surface worn smooth from how many times I'd held it, imagining tiny fingers closing around it. I watched the flames lick over each one, swallowing them whole, and the pain in my chest was so sharp I could barely breathe. My wolf keened, low and endless, pressing herself against my ribs as if she could somehow save what the fire was taking.

By the time Fenris returned from the High Pack Council session, only cold ash remained in the brazier.

He let out a heavy sigh and pulled me into his arms. His scent wrapped around me, and I hated how my body still leaned into it, how my wolf still recognized him even through her grief.

"Elara, don't grieve so much. I've heard the Moon Priestesses at the Silverveil Sanctuary are immensely powerful. I've already arranged for one of them to perform a moonlight rite for the pup's spirit, to guide it safely to the Moon Goddess."

I followed him to the wolf-drawn carriage like a sleepwalker. The world outside was muted, colors drained to grey, sounds arriving as if through deep water. When we arrived at the sanctuary gates, ancient stone arches draped in silver moss, he was helping me down when a pack warrior suddenly approached.

"Alpha Ashvane, someone is here asking to see you."

Fenris's brow creased with irritation. "What is it? I told you, today is for Elara. No one is to disturb us."

Before he could finish, the visitor charged forward on her own and dropped to her knees before him. His pupils blew wide. The rest of his words lodged in his throat.

I expected him to erupt in fury. His Alpha aura should have flared, should have sent any intruder staggering back with the force of his displeasure. Instead, he stepped in front of me, blocking my line of sight, his expression strained. The air around him didn't thicken with authority. It thinned with guilt.

"Elara, I just remembered. The Alpha King did assign me something urgent. Go on ahead and find the High Priestess. I'll take care of this and join you shortly."

I stared straight into his eyes and caught the flicker of panic there. His wolf was pacing behind those dark irises, restless, cornered.

In the instant he turned away, I'd already glimpsed the figure kneeling on the ground. She wore an oversized man's cloak, but that slender waist, that pale, soft skin, and beneath the heavy wool, a scent I would never forget, jasmine and something cloyingly sweet. Who else could it be but Seraphina, the Omega he'd been keeping hidden beyond pack territory?