Moon looked at the pregnancy test with shaking hands. There are two pink lines. She was shocked. She was going to have a child. Alpha Kaelen's child!
Her heart was beating so fast that she could barely walk in her tiny bathroom. There must be a mistake here. To be sure, she took one more test. Once more, two pink lines appeared quickly.
"Oh my gosh!" Luna whispered, pressing her hand to her still-flat tummy. "I'm really pregnant."
She and Kaelen had been sneaking around for months now. He was the pack Alpha – strong, powerful, and so handsome that Luna sometimes couldn't believe he had picked her. Alphas generally picked other strong wolves as their mates, not omegas like her.
Everyone knew omegas were at the bottom of the pack. They weren't supposed to be special. But Kaelen made her feel special every time he smiled at her or held her hand when nobody was looking.
"He's going to be so happy," Luna told herself as she rushed to get ready. She had to tell him right away!
Luna ran through the bush, taking shortcuts she knew by heart. Her long brown hair flew behind her as she dodged trees and jumped over fallen logs. Being pregnant didn't make her feel any different yet – she was still quick and light on her feet.
As she got closer to Kaelen's big house on the hill, she heard music and voices. Lots of sounds. That was weird. Kaelen hadn't mentioned any pack talks today.
Luna slowed down and caught her breath. Maybe this wasn't the best time to tell him their big news. But she was too excited to wait.
She smoothed down her simple blue dress and walked toward the house. More and more wolves were going the same way, all dressed up in their best clothes.
"What's going on?" Luna asked a woman walking close.
The woman looked shocked. "You don't know? It's Alpha Kaelen's wedding day! He's marrying Serena today. The ceremony starts in twenty minutes."
Luna felt like someone had punched her in the stomach. Wedding? Kaelen was getting married? To Serena?
"That's not possible," Luna said, her voice cracking. "There must be some mistake."
The woman shrugged and kept walking, leaving Luna frozen in place.
This couldn't be happening. Just three nights ago, Kaelen had hugged her close and told her how special she was to him. He had kissed her and promised they would always be together.
"I need to see for myself," Luna whispered.
Instead of using the front door where everyone else was going, Luna snuck around to the back of the house. She knew which window looked into Kaelen's room – she had climbed through it many times when they wanted to be alone.
Luna peeked through the window and her heart stopped.
There he was. Kaelen looked more handsome than ever in a black suit. His dark hair was neatly combed, and he was smiling into a mirror as another guy – his beta, Thomas – helped adjust his tie.
"Nervous, Alpha?" Thomas asked.
"Not at all," Kaelen answered. "Marrying Serena is the right thing for the pack. She's going to make the perfect Luna."
Luna. That's what they called the Alpha's mate. Luna had dreamed of being Kaelen's Luna someday.
She must have made a noise, because suddenly Kaelen turned toward the window. For a second, their eyes met. Luna saw shock flash across his face, then something else – guilt.
He knew she was there, but he didn't come to the window. He just turned back to the mirror like she didn't matter at all.
Luna backed away, her vision blurry with tears. She stumbled around the house, not caring who saw her now. She had to see more, even though each step felt like walking on broken glass.
She found herself at the side door that led to the main hall. Through the crack, she could see everything was covered with white flowers. Rows of chairs faced a beautiful arch where Kaelen would stand to marry someone else.
And there she was – Serena. She looked perfect in her long white dress, her golden hair piled high on her head with tiny flowers weaved through it. Two women fussed around her, fixing her dress and veil.
"You look beautiful," one of them said. "Alpha Kaelen is so lucky."
Serena smiled, but it wasn't a nice smile. "Yes, he is. And finally I'll be where I belong – as the pack's Luna."
"What about that omega girl?" the other woman whispered. "You know, the one he's been seen with?"
Luna held her breath, pushing closer to the door.
Serena laughed, a cold sound that made Luna shiver. "Luna? Please. She was just a distraction. Kaelen knows an omega could never be his true Luna. He needs someone strong by his side, not some weak little nobody."
Luna's face burned with shame. Was that really what Kaelen thought of her? Just a distraction?
"Besides," Serena continued, checking her image in a hand mirror, "I've known about his little omega pet for months. Did you really think I'd let her ruin my plans? I've been working too hard to become Luna."
The women laughed together, and Luna felt sick. Serena had known all along, and she hadn't cared because she never saw Luna as a real threat.
And she was right. Here was Kaelen, minutes away from marrying Serena, while Luna stood outside with his baby growing inside her.
Luna backed away from the door, nearly bumping into someone.
"Hey, watch it!" a man said, then his eyes widened. "Wait, aren't you—"
Luna didn't let him finish. She turned and ran, not caring who saw her now. Tears streamed down her face as she pushed past people walking toward the house. Some called after her, but she didn't stop.
She ran until her lungs burned, finally falling against a tree far enough away that no one would find her. The forest had always been her safe place, but now nowhere felt safe.
Luna pressed her hands against her stomach, where their baby was growing.
"What am I going to do?" she whispered. She had no family to help her. Her parents had died years ago, and her brother Jax had left the pack after a fight with Kaelen. She was all alone.
No, not alone. She had her baby.
Luna wiped her tears and took a deep breath. She couldn't stay here. Everyone would soon know she was pregnant with the Alpha's kid – the married Alpha. Serena would make her life unpleasant, and the baby would grow up being called horrible names.
"We have to leave," Luna decided, talking to her baby even though it was too tiny to hear. "We'll find somewhere safe, just you and me."
Luna stood up shakily and looked back toward Kaelen's house one last time. By now, he would be saying his vows to Serena. He would be promising to love her forever – the same promise he had made to Luna.
Luna turned away and started walking toward her small house. She would pack whatever she could carry and leave tonight, under the cover of darkness. She had some money saved up – not much, but enough to get far away from here.
As Luna walked, she felt something strange stir inside her. It wasn't the baby – it was too soon for that. This was something else, like a warm power flowing through her blood. For a second, her hands seemed to glow with a faint silver light.
Luna gasped and the light vanished. What was happening to her?
First the pregnancy, then finding Kaelen's betrayal, and now this? It was too much.
But deep inside, a new feeling was growing alongside her anger and sadness – determination. She would survive this. She would protect her baby. And someday, Kaelen would regret the day he picked Serena over her.
Luna didn't know that back at the house, as Kaelen stood at the altar with Serena, he suddenly fell over in pain. Everyone gasped as he clutched his chest and let out a growl that shook the windows.
"Alpha, what's wrong?" Thomas asked, running to his side.
Kaelen straightened up slowly, his eyes glowing bright red. Something was wrong. Very wrong. He could feel it – a breaking, a ripping inside him.
"Luna," he whispered, but he wasn't looking at Serena. He was looking out the window, toward the forest where another Luna was walking away, carrying much more than just his kid.