When My Alpha’s Mistress Tried to Kill Our Pup

The sacred grounds of the Moonridge Pack rested on a quiet, wind-swept hill near our southern border. It smelled of ancient pine, damp moss, and the lingering, honorable scents of warriors who had returned to the Moon Goddess. I knelt on the soft earth, my fingers gently tracing the deep grooves carved into the cold stone marker before me.

Beside me, my son shifted his weight, his small boots crunching softly on the fallen leaves. He was a bright, beautiful force of nature. Even without my sight, I knew the exact shape of his smile. His scent was pure sunshine and fresh rain, laced with the undeniable, protective cedar of Bridger’s Alpha blood. He was my redemption. My living, breathing second chance at motherhood.

I pulled him close, pressing a kiss into his soft hair, and began to hum. It was an ancient Luna lullaby, a melody of protection and peace that I used to sing in my darkest hours. The notes vibrated in my chest, carrying through the crisp afternoon air. My son leaned against my side, his little hands playing with the hem of my sweater, completely at peace.

Then, the wind shifted.

The lullaby died in my throat. I stiffened, my heightened senses flaring as a vile, unnatural stench rolled through the trees. It was the smell of rotting meat and stagnant swamp water—a sickening decay that made my inner wolf bare her teeth in the dark. Cecelia’s scent-masking magic hadn't just failed; it had completely rotted away.

Beneath that putrid stench was a secondary scent. Winter frost and ash. Maximiliano.

I stood up smoothly, my heart pounding a steady, dangerous rhythm against my ribs. I pushed my son behind my legs, shielding his small body with my own.

"Prove it to me, Max!" a voice shrieked from the tree line. It was Cecelia, her tone completely unhinged, vibrating with a frantic, murderous paranoia. Branches snapped wildly as she shoved her way through the brush. "You think I don't know? You've been staring at this border for days! If you really don't want the blind bitch, prove your loyalty to me! Kill her!"

"Cecelia, stop," Maximiliano’s voice followed, heavy and suffocatingly hollow. He sounded like a broken man being dragged on a leash, reluctant and exhausted. "Leave her alone. The magic is gone. You're nothing to me."

"I am your mate!" she screamed, the sound tearing through the sacred silence of the memorial grounds. "I gave you everything! I carry your heir!"

Her erratic, frantic footsteps stopped a few yards away. The air between us crackled with her toxic, desperate energy. Even in my darkness, I could feel the heat of her manic glare sweeping over me.

Then, her ragged breathing hitched.

She had noticed the small, steady heartbeat hiding behind my knees. She caught the scent of my son. The pure, undeniable fragrance of a healthy, thriving child with strong Alpha blood coursing through his veins.

A suffocating wave of jealousy violently crashed into the clearing. It was so thick and venomous it practically burned the back of my throat. I knew exactly what was fracturing inside her twisted mind. She was looking at the living proof of my happiness. She was looking at the child I had been blessed with, a glaring reminder of her own empty, barren lies, and the innocent infant son she had poisoned five years ago.

"A pup," Cecelia whispered. Her voice dropped, taking on a dangerous, hollow edge that made the hair on my arms stand up. "You have a pup."

"Do not take another step," I warned, my voice dropping into a low, lethal Luna command. I pushed my aura outward, a heavy, ethereal shield designed to crush intruders.

But Cecelia was too far gone. Paranoia and madness had completely consumed her.

"You don't deserve a child!" she shrieked, her voice cracking with absolute hysteria. "You lost yours! He died! And now you get another one while Max ignores ours?!"

The metallic, burning tang of silver suddenly sliced through the air. My damaged eyes throbbed with phantom pain at the scent. She had unsheathed her claws, and they were coated in the same deadly, burning silver she had once used to steal my sight.

"Cecelia, no!" Maximiliano yelled, his heavy boots finally scrambling forward in a delayed, pathetic panic.

But she was already moving. The violent displacement of air rushed toward me as Cecelia lunged, completely ignoring me to bypass my defenses. She wasn't aiming for my throat. Her sickening, rotting scent barreled straight toward the small, terrified heartbeat cowering behind my legs. She was going for my son.

A primal, earth-shattering snarl ripped from my chest. I couldn't see the deadly silver claws aiming for my child, but a mother's instinct didn't need eyes. I was no longer the helpless, bleeding girl in the dungeon. I was a Luna, and I would tear her apart with my bare hands before I let her take another son from me. I threw my body into the darkness, bracing for the burning impact of silver, ready to slaughter the monster rushing toward my only light.