The Day I Learned His Love Was Fake, I Walked Away from the Pack

(Moira’s POV)

Three years after becoming mates, I uncovered a secret.

My mate, Alpha Axton of the Graveclaw Pack, the ruler who once swore before the Moon Goddess that he loved me more than his own life, had been hiding another woman inside a secluded manor near the borders of the territory.

I followed him there in silence.

From the shadows of the frost covered trees, I watched him slip his hand beneath another she wolf’s clothes right in front of his Beta warriors. His golden eyes burned with the same hunger I once believed belonged only to me.

The warriors nearby exchanged dark smiles.

“You crave Lady Daciana Frostvein this much, Alpha. Why not make her your true Luna already?” one of them laughed. “For years, the healer has mixed moonroot into your mate’s medicine so she cannot carry a pup. Aren’t you only waiting for her to give up the Luna title on her own?”

Axton’s face darkened at once.

“Enough.”

His voice carried the sharp pressure of Alpha command.

“And tell Healer Rhett to watch the amount carefully. I will not allow the medicine to harm Moira’s body.”

After a moment, he spoke again, colder this time.

“If my Luna hears even a whisper of this, every one of you will answer to me.”

The warriors immediately lowered their heads.

Then they watched as Axton wrapped an arm around Daciana’s waist and guided her toward the private chamber deeper inside the manor.

Not long after, muffled sounds drifted through the closed wooden door.

My body turned colder little by little, as if ice had entered my bones.

So the mate who treated me like the center of his world had already given his heart to someone else.

Fine then.

Whether beneath the moonlight or deep within the abyss, I would disappear somewhere he could never find me again.

***

I fled from the manor in panic.

I wandered through the snowy forest for hours without knowing where I was going. Only after the silver moon stood high above the kingdom did I finally return to the Graveclaw Pack castle.

Rietta waited for me in the kitchen, holding the usual cup of warm tonic prepared by the pack healer.

The familiar scent of blood drifted into my nose, making my thoughts grow distant.

After our mating ceremony, the pack healer once examined me and claimed my body was too weak to conceive an heir easily.

Axton refused to let me lose hope.

He summoned healers from distant territories, from Shadowclaw Kingdom to Mistveil Pack, until one finally created a forbidden remedy. A tonic brewed with an Alpha’s blood, said to strengthen a Luna’s body beneath the Moon Goddess’s blessing.

Without hesitation, Axton cut open his own chest.

Every single day, he let blood flow from near his heart to brew the medicine for me.

Many nights, I traced the scars across his chest while my heart ached unbearably. I could not bear wasting the pain he endured for me.

So for three years, I drank the bitter tonic without missing a single night.

I truly believed he wanted what I wanted.

A pup born from both our bloodlines.

Yet he would rather carve open his own flesh than allow me to carry his pup.

The castle doors opened just as I sat there staring blankly at the cup in my hands.

Axton walked toward me quietly and rested his hands on my shoulders.

“What are you thinking about, Moira?” he asked softly. “The medicine will grow cold soon.”

I lifted my eyes toward him carefully.

At some point, he had already changed clothes. His silver hair still carried the clean scent of fresh water and frost herbs. He must have bathed before returning.

But despite how careful he was, the faint crimson stain near his collar exposed everything.

The lingering perfume on his skin instantly brought back the image of him tangled together with Daciana.

My stomach twisted painfully.

“It’s nothing,” I replied quietly. “I rode near the abandoned borderlands today. Maybe the cold wind got to me. The medicine tastes more bitter than usual tonight.”

For a split second, panic flashed across Axton’s face.

“The borderlands?” His brows tightened immediately. “Why would you go there? The snowstorms are dangerous this season. Did you meet anyone?”

“No.”

I shook my head slowly before placing the cup onto the table.

Then I pouted slightly like a spoiled mate.

“Do I really need to keep drinking this? It’s been three years already. Maybe that healer lied to us.”

The tension in his body finally eased.

Axton pulled me gently into his arms and tapped the tip of my nose.

“Moira, don’t act childish,” he said with a helpless smile. “Don’t you want to give your Alpha a pup?”

He picked up the cup again.

“Be good. I’ll feed you myself.”

His dark eyes looked so warm and tender that they almost made me forget everything I had seen.

My eyes slowly reddened as I asked one final time in a trembling voice,

“Do I really have to drink it?”

Axton paused briefly before smiling softly and nodding.

Then he lifted the spoon to my lips again and again, feeding me the blood tonic one mouthful at a time.

I swallowed everything numbly.

The bitterness spread through my throat until tears gathered in my eyes.

He truly was determined.

No matter what happened, he would never allow me to bear his pup.

If he had fallen in love with another she wolf, he could have simply told me the truth.

I would have surrendered the Luna position willingly.

There had never been any need for this cruelty.