The Alpha Who Threw Me Away for a Fake Pregnancy

My husband came home from three months at war, climbed out of the lead SUV in front of the entire pack, and pulled a pregnant stranger down from the passenger seat before he ever looked at me.

"That's my Alpha's pup," the woman whispered, pressing both hands to her swollen belly. She said it loud enough for the front row to hear. "Caleb gave me his pup."

I had stood on this porch for two years as Luna of the Hale pack. I had funded Caleb's army with my father's dowry, brokered the treaties that kept the eastern packs off our throats, and gone to his bed every night he was home. I knew exactly how long he had been gone, and I knew exactly what that belly meant.

"The scouts signaled his approach an hour ago," Elder Thorne had murmured beside me when the dust first rose on the dirt road. He had told me to smile. He had told me my mate was home.

Now Thorne's staff froze halfway to the ground.

Caleb wore the same tactical combat jacket he'd left in. Dirt streaked his boots. A fresh scar cut a red line across his left cheek. He kept his arm wrapped around the woman's waist as he guided her toward the concrete steps, and he still hadn't met my eyes.

"Caleb." I came down the first two steps. I expected him to flinch. I expected the old scent of pine and rain. "Who is she."

He didn't answer me. He answered the crowd.

"Elders," he announced, his voice carrying across the courtyard packed with our people. "This is Sienna."

The young woman shivered in a thin white cotton dress, autumn wind cutting straight through it. Up close her tears looked rehearsed, but the belly was real enough to stop the gossip in the square cold.

Cold air rushed into my lungs. A sharp spasm wracked my chest.

I backed up, my hand finding the wooden doorframe. My nails dug violently into the grain. A jagged splinter pierced my index finger. I welcomed the sting. It kept me grounded.

"Alpha," Elder Thorne barked. "Explain this."

Caleb wrapped his arm around the woman's waist. He guided her toward the concrete steps.

"Elders," Caleb announced, his voice carrying over the quiet courtyard. "This is Sienna."

I stared at her bulging belly. A violent cramp twisted my stomach. Nausea clawed at my throat. I forced my spine completely straight. I refused to cower.

"Sienna," I repeated the name. It felt like ash on my tongue. "Who is she to you, Caleb?"

"She is the mother of my pup," Caleb replied.

Silence slammed into the gathered crowd. The council members exchanged wide-eyed glances.

"You bring a pregnant stray to our territory?" Elder Thorne demanded. "To your mate's home?"

"Watch your tone, Thorne," Caleb growled. "She carries the next Alpha."

I laughed. A harsh, scraping sound that shocked even me. The elders flinched.

"Three months," I said, pointing at her stomach. "That pup is much older than three months."

Sienna shrank against Caleb's side. "I'm sorry," she whimpered.

"Don't apologize to her," Caleb told Sienna.

"Were you sleeping with her before you left?" I asked.

"That isn't important right now."

"It is incredibly important to me."

"I am the Alpha," Caleb roared. "I do not answer to you."

"I am your Luna," I shot back. "You answer to the pack."

Elder Miller stepped forward. "Aria is right. This violates our sacred laws. A mated Alpha does not flaunt a mistress."

"Laws change," Caleb stated flatly.

He reached into his jacket pocket. Metal clinked against metal. He pulled out a heavy bronze key.

My blood turned to ice.

"That belongs to the Luna's vault," I stated.

"Not anymore," Caleb replied.

He pressed the bronze key into Sienna's palm. He folded her small fingers over it.

"Caleb, have you lost your mind?" Elder Thorne shouted. "Only the bonded Luna holds that key! It protects the pack's wealth."

"Sienna needs security for the pup."

I descended the remaining stairs. I closed the distance between us.

"You humiliate me in front of the council," I said, keeping my voice dangerously low. "You hand my birthright to a stranger."

"It's just metal, Aria."

"It is the pack's legacy." I glared into his eyes. "Give it back."

"No."

"I am your wife."

"And she is giving me an heir," Caleb countered. "Something you failed to do."

The insult felt like a physical blow. My jaw tightened so hard my teeth ached.

"You blame me for that?" I whispered.

"The healer said your womb is weak," Caleb replied coldly. "I needed a strong bloodline. A true heir."

"We tried for one year, Caleb. Just one year."

"A year is too long for an Alpha to wait."

"So you found a breeder."

Sienna gasped. Tears welled in her pale eyes. "I love him! I am not just a breeder."

"Shut up," I snapped at her.

"Do not speak to her that way," Caleb warned, stepping between us.

"Or what?" I challenged. "Will you strike me in front of the entire council?"

"I don't need to strike you," Caleb said. "You have until tonight."

"Until tonight for what?" I asked.

"Pack your things. You are moving out of the master suite."

"Excuse me?"

"Sienna needs the space. The southern wing gets better sunlight. It is better for the baby."

"You want to kick me out of my own bedroom?"

"It's my house, Aria."

"It is our house. We built this pack together. My dowry paid for that roof."

"The decision is final," he declared.

Elder Thorne slammed his wooden staff against the ground. "This is an outrage! The council will not permit this disrespect to the Luna."

"The council serves me," Caleb sneered. "Anyone who disagrees can leave my territory by nightfall."

"You would risk a rebellion over a mistress?" Miller asked.

"She is not a mistress. She is my future."

"And what am I?" I demanded.

"You are a complication," Caleb muttered.

"I am your bonded mate."

"Bonds can be broken."

The elders erupted into fierce arguments. Voices clashed in the freezing air.

I didn't hear them. I only saw Caleb. The man I married two years ago was gone. Replaced by a stranger with cold eyes.

"I won't leave my room," I told him.

"Guards will remove you if necessary," Caleb replied.

"You wouldn't dare lay a hand on your Luna."

"Test me, Aria."

Sienna shifted her weight. She placed a protective hand over her belly and took a single step forward, leaving Caleb's side.

Her watery eyes met mine. For a fraction of a second the innocent mask slipped, and pure triumph gleamed underneath.

"Sister Aria," she said sweetly, loud enough for the elders. "Caleb says you'll be moving your things tonight. I picked the master suite. I do hope you won't make this harder than it needs to be."

I held her gaze and let her think she had won.

She had no idea what she was looking at. None of them did. Not Caleb, who married a quiet, fragile wife and never once asked why his strongest sparring partner always let him win. Not the healers, who tested a womb that had been sealed shut by my own blood the day my father hid me here. Not this grinning stray, counting a treasury she would never live to spend.

I had buried my true scent for twenty years. I had caged the thing that lived under my skin until even I half forgot the color of her eyes.

But standing on those steps, with my husband's mistress wearing my keys around her neck, I felt the cage door rattle for the first time in a long time.

Let them celebrate. Let them feed her my venison and pour her my winter ale.

They had just handed a crown to a corpse, and bowed to the wrong woman.