Chapter 3 Chapter 3 Broken and Betrayed

Scarlett

"Faye is pregnant."

For a second, I thought I had hallucinated the words. I blinked slowly, trying to process Alexander's words. The sincerity on his face told me he wasn't lying. He had not only brought back his lover, but also gotten her pregnant.

I stared at Alexander, waiting for the smirk, the punchline, the sign that this was some sick joke.

But his eyes were steady-unashamed.

Not only had he brought back his lover, but he'd also given her what I'd been trying to give him for years.

An heir.

"You bastard!" The scream ripped from me before I could stop it.

So that explained it.

The burning on my mark these past weeks, the phantom ache on my neck-every time his wolf mated with someone else, my body paid the price. And every time I asked him, he brushed me off, claiming I was "overthinking."

I swung my hand at him, but he caught my wrist mid-air. My fingers digging into flesh.

"Scarlett," he said with controlled calm, "don't do something you'll regret."

My wolf snarled through me. "Let go, bastard!"

His claws slid out, just enough to threaten, not enough to draw blood. "If you challenge my authority again, I will remind you who rules this pack."

Not us.

Not together.

Just him.

My wolf whimpered, wounded deeper than I was. She had begged for our mate's acceptance for three years. Begged, compromised, endured. Only to be replaced by the woman he truly wanted.

I swallowed the metallic taste rising in my throat.

"Are you naming her Luna?"

"No."

The word was immediate, almost panicked. His wolf flinched, retreating behind his eyes.

"You are still the Luna of Crescent Moon," he insisted.

I laughed, not from amusement but sheer disbelief. "You claim to love me, yet you impregnated someone else."

His jaw tightened. "I didn't plan it."

"That's worse."

His eyes darkened. "Scarlett, listen to me. The pack needs an heir. You couldn't give me one."

The words hit harder than the infidelity itself.

You couldn't.

As if my body's silence was a moral failure, a betrayal equal to his.

"You could have talked to me," I breathed, voice shaking. "You could have tried."

"I did try," he snapped. "For years. The council is pressuring us. Our allies are watching. I can't risk Crescent Moon crumbling because you refuse to step down."

"Step down?" I repeated.

"From your role as my mate. Not Luna. I need both. My power, and my lineage."

There was no remorse in his words, making my heart tightened.

"You want the title wife and the womb mistress," I whispered. "Two women, one throne."

"Stop being dramatic. She's just carrying the heir."

"And what happens after she gives birth?"

His silence was a confession.

Faye would always have him.

And he would always let her.

"Reject me," I said, voice cracking. "I won't stand beside a man who humiliates me."

"No." His hand tightened painfully. "There will be no rejection. Ever."

"Why?"

"Because the moment I reject you, half the pack becomes loyal to you, not me. And I won't risk rebellion."

There it was-finally, the truth.

Not love.

Not devotion.

Control.

My laughter was hollow. "So I'm your safety net? Your hostage?"

"You're my Luna," he hissed. "And you don't get to walk away."

Before I could spit another curse, a knock sounded.

Alexander opened the door.

Faye stood there, draped in white silk that conveniently highlighted the swell of her stomach-barely visible, but deliberately accentuated. Her hair was braided, her lips glossed, powder hiding the exhaustion of early pregnancy.

"Alexander," she murmured sweetly, stepping inside. "I was worried. You left so suddenly."

Her doe-eyes flicked to me with performative concern. "Oh, Luna Scarlett, you look pale. I didn't mean to disturb you two. I just worry I've caused trouble. I know you've tried for so long, and I'm sure it must be painful."

She stroked her stomach, smiling softly. The gesture was subtle, but I caught the message.

'Look what I gave him. Look what you couldn't.'

I smiled back and answered her sharply. "Painful? No. What's painful is that you don't understand your place."

Her expression faltered.

"You're a surrogate, Faye. Nothing more. Your child belongs to the pack-and to me as Luna. You will never be anything but the Alpha's hidden lover."

For a moment, fear cracked her perfect mask that almost made me laugh.

Then she clutched her belly, gasping dramatically.

"Alexander-my stomach-"

He rushed to her instantly.

What made me sick wasn't her act.

It was his.

"Scarlett," he snapped over his shoulder, "be careful how you speak to her. She's carrying my heir."

Your heir.

Not our heir.

As he helped her out, his voice lowered, but not enough that I missed it. "Faye, don't listen to her. You deserve more love than that cold Luna ever gave me."

~

I swallowed the grievances and fury swell deep in me and left the scene. As I walked downstairs, forcing myself to keep my chin high-I was Luna and yet eyes followed me with pity and some of them looked at me in satisfaction-whispers trailed behind me.

"I heard the Luna couldn't conceive?"

"Maybe that's the reason why the Alpha chose Faye."

"Our pack needs heir-good thing Faye was there to provide one."

"I pity our Luna."

Pity.

That's the least I wanted them to view me.

I wanted to scream that I had been poisoned once, that someone sabotaged my heats. I wanted to hurl truth like a weapon.

But no one would believe me now. Not after he paraded her like a trophy-as if she were his Luna.

My legs carried me to my office. I shut the door, locked it, and finally let myself shake.

I picked up my phone and called the Wolf King. No answer.

I called every Alpha who owed me a favor and even left a voicemail to call me back once they see my message.

Then, out of desperation-I could my lost loyal lieutenant.

He didn't pick up either.

I felt abandoned in every direction.

Finally, a familiar name appeared.

Alpha Reno.

I answered quickly. "Alexander cheated. Faye's pregnant. He plans to raise the pup inside the pack-without rejecting me."

Reno's breath was heavy. "Scarlett. I'm sorry."

"Sorry doesn't help me," I whispered. "Help me stop this."

"You know we can't interfere with internal pack affairs. Not unless there's physical abuse or threat to life."

I laughed brokenly. "So what-infidelity is fine as long as he doesn't kill me?"

"Legally. yes."

"And what about Luna's rights? Do I lose everything if I leave?"

"Yes," he admitted. "Unless you become Alpha yourself. But the council hasn't passed the bill allowing female Alphas."

"Because enough men voted against it."

"Because they're afraid," Reno corrected. "A female Alpha threatens the power structure."

I stared at the ceiling and couldn't help but let out a mocking chuckle.

"Unless." Reno continued hesitantly. "If you secured backing from the strongest Alpha in the region, others might follow."

"The Nightshade Alpha," I breathed.

A man feared, respected, and impossible to manipulate.

Reno exhaled. "Be careful, Scarlett. Once you move, there's no undo."

"I know."

I hung up.

I slumped onto the couch, dizzy. Tears burned at the corners of my eyes. I wiped them before they fell.

"Kyra. are you there?"

My wolf didn't answer.

Our mate bond had crushed her spirit.

I pressed a palm to my chest. "Don't go. I need you."

Still nothing.

So I steadied myself.

Because if she couldn't fight- I would.

I pulled open a drawer and retrieved documents-pack laws, council regulations, old treaties my father once used.

I read them through blurred eyes, highlighting sections, circling loopholes, searching for weapons disguised as words.

If Alexander wanted power-I would strip him of it.

If he wanted control-I would shatter it.

If he wanted legacy-I would rewrite it.

My hands shook, but not from despair.

From clarity.

The world thought I had no options. Alexander thought he owned me.

He had no idea who he had just pushed to war.

Now, I needed to contact the one man who might help-Kathleen's brother. The only one powerful enough to stand with me.