The Substitute Luna

Found out what? I wondered.

They didn’t even try to hide it. Ethan had always been in public with Helena since she came back.

Everyone in our pack knew that he had even bought an entire elementary school, so Helena could be its principal. Just because she said she wanted to be a teacher.

I had asked him about it once, and he said impatiently to me, “Helena and I are just friends. This is not your business.”

But I didn’t want to tell Ethan the things I had found.

I shook my head, “No.”

Ethan frowned.

“Even if you are jealous, the twin pups are innocent. Do you not want to be their mommy anymore? Why aren’t you taking care of them? You will disappoint me and the twin pups.”

I looked at him in the eyes and said, “Then I won’t be their mommy anymore.”

Ethan was shocked by my words.

He stared at me, then suddenly laughed.

“I know what’s going on now. Are you jealous of Helena? Are you afraid she will take your place as the Luna? I have told you. There’s no way Helena and I will be together. You will always be my Luna and the twins’ mother-wolf.”

I looked at his face, he acted just like every time he had lied to me before.

I didn’t say a word.

Ethan shook his head and said, “Stop this nonsense. I don’t have time to deal with this. The twin pups’ birthday is coming up soon. You need to help plan their party.”

The birthday party.

Every year before, I had planned their birthday parties.

I personally picked out gifts and invited their friends. But not this year.

A few days earlier, I wanted to set up that trust fund as a gift for them. But then I found out I wasn’t even their real mother-wolf.

Why bother? They weren’t even mine.

Ethan flipped through some documents, then looked up as if he remembered something important.

“Oh, right. Helena and the twin pups share the same birthday. What a coincidence! You should plan a joint celebration for them. I will invite Helena too. It will be so great.”

Something inside me shattered.

I could feel that the rage inside me.

I thought back to the day I had given birth to the twin pups. I had already been so weak and I could barely eat. The midwife suggested that I take the herbal portion to help give birth as soon as possible.

Ethan said, “The date isn’t good enough now. We need to wait.”

I suffered horribly, but Ethan still refused. He insisted on his chosen day.

The twin pups kicked so hard they broke my ribs, but he wouldn’t budge at all.

I had no clue why he was so picky about the date.

I finally got it.

I went through all that suffering just so Helena and the twin pups could share a birthday.

He wanted them to celebrate together someday.

How ridiculous! Did he think I was some kind of pup-making tool?

The birthday party was held in our ballroom.

I stood in the crowd, watching Helena on stage in a red gown covered in diamonds.

Ethan had booked the world’s top fashion design studio to make it for her. Every diamond was specially chosen and hand-stitched onto the gown.

Ethan wore a tuxedo with a red rose pinned to his chest, as if they were mates.

They walked hand in hand, keeping Joe and Eva company.

What a perfect family of four!

A guest who didn’t know Helena said, “That must be our Luna! What a happy family! Look how much she loves the pups. And to have an Alpha that rich and hot…”

A she-wolf nearby stopped her from saying more.

She looked at me and whispered, “That is the Alpha’s first love, Helena. She just moved back. They say they are ‘just friends’, but does that look like friendship to you?”

Another voice joined in, “No wonder he married Lila. She does look a bit like his ex. But Helena is in better shape.”

I turned and walked to the balcony to catch my breath.

How much longer until I could be free of this so-called family?

Then I heard the click of high heels. I turned to find Helena standing across from me.

“You know you’re just a replacement, don’t you? Why won’t you leave? I’m back to be with Ethan. Do the smart thing and go.”

I looked at her face and suddenly felt no urge to back down.

“If you want to be his Luna so badly, try to drive me out.”

I knew Ethan, and I knew the elders in the pack.

Their word meant a lot. They would never let Ethan marry someone from an enemy pack.

Helena stepped closer.

“Don’t think having those brats secures your position. You’re only a substitute!”

She tore off her necklace, waved it at me and tossed it into the lake below.

Suddenly, she raised her voice.

“How could you do that? You’re the pack’s Luna! Even if you don’t believe Ethan and I are just friends, you shouldn’t have thrown my necklace away!”

A crowd quickly gathered around, including Ethan.

“What necklace?” he asked. “Whatever it is, I’ll buy you another.”

Helena burst into tears.

“It’s not the same! The one she threw was the one you gave me before I left!”

Ethan looked angry.

I knew what she meant. I had seen it in their chats. It was purple crystal necklace with their photo engraved on the back.

“I didn’t do it. Helena threw it herself.”

Helena showed Ethan a red mark on her neck. “She tore it from me! Look what you did. Can you even afford something that precious?”

“There’s security footage,” I said, pointing to a camera in the corner. “Check it.”

Helena’s eyes widened in panic. She hadn’t expected that.

This was my home, of course I had installed cameras everywhere.

Ethan noticed Helena’s reaction.

“Maybe it was a misunderstanding…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Joe and Eva stepped protectively in front of Helena.

“Bad mommy!” Joe pointed at me. “We saw you do it!”

“Mommy did it! We saw from far away.”

The ballroom fell silent right away. Everyone stared at me.