Rejected Luna's Baby

•Amar's POV

I was trembling as I stared down at the small white plastic stick in my hands.

My hands were shaking violently as if an electric current was passing through it.

I held onto my clothes tightly to keep it from shaking so badly as I waited.

My heart was pounding so hard.

The thumping sound was all I could hear as it echoed against the wall of the room.

I closed my eyes for a moment and began to desperately mutter words of prayer.

"Please," I whispered to the Moon Goddess unsure wether she was hearing me.

I kept talking even though I wasn't even sure what I was asking for anymore.

The pregnancy test felt heavy in my palm, heavier than my crown had ever been.

"Please," I murmured one last time before I slowly and reluctantly opened my eyes.

I looked again, and my eyes widened as a small scream tore out of my mouth.

There was two pink lines.

I staggered backwards, my legs instantly failing me at this critical time.

Joy-white, hot and blinding tore through me like an express train.

My heart rate skyrocketed as I let out a scream that bore all my emotions.

There was frustration, fear, disappointment, anxiety-all leaving as I screamed.

There was finally two lines.

There was finally hope.

After several months of staring down at the single lines that crushed it wickedly.

I shook uncontrollably as I set the pregancy test stick on the counter.

I was breathing so hard as I gripped the edge of the sink tightly.

I looked up and my eyes met my reflection in the large gold rimmed mirror.

The woman who stared back at me had dark messy hair and wounded lips.

Her eyes were red from crying too many nights alone in here matrimonial bed.

Depression was taking her while her husband worked late at his office.

I was that woman.

I slumped against the counter as the tears started flowing down my cheeks.

But for the first time in months, they weren't tears of sadness.

I was pregnant.

I was finally pregnant.

And this would change everything.

My mind wandered to last week when Kade had barely looked at me during dinner.

His plate had sat untouched while he had been reading the pack reports.

"The council is asking questions again," he had said without looking up.

I had stilled instantly because I knew what was about to come next.

"When shall we birth heirs Amara, for the future of the pack?" He demanded.

The words had hit me hard.

I wanted to tell him that we were trying and that these things took time.

I had looked up to meet his sharp eyes and saw his jaw tight with frustration.

I made to speak, but the cold look that glazed his eyes halted me.

But now I had an answer.

Now I had hope.

We had been married two years.

Our mating ceremony had been the most wonderful day of my life.

I had anticipated the happiness in my marriage until I wasn't anymore.

The mating ceremony had taken place under the Harvest Moon.

I could still remember how the crown felt when they placed it on my head.

I could still recall how Kade's eyes had been shining with love and pride.

"Do you, Amara Nightshade, accept Kade Blackwater as your mate and Alpha?" the officiating elder, Sage had asked.

"I do," I had said in a whisper and meant it with every fiber of my being.

"And do you, Kade Blackwater, accept Amara Nightshade as your mate and Luna?"

Kade' eyes had scanned me from head to toe before he opened his mouth to speak.

"I do. Amara will give me strong pups and rule beside me with wisdom."

The pack had cheered, and everything had felt perfect and eternal then.

But that was before the disappointment, before the council started to whisper.

That was before I heard fragments of conversations I wasn't meant to.

The elders whispered to my husband to consider other options as I was barren.

Once, I had heard them offer Elara, the princess of the Moonridge pack.

"She is from a fertile bloodline. Her mother had six pups," elder Thorne haf said.

My hand had instantly flown to my mouth to stop the gasp that escaped it.

I had pressed myself against the wall while straining to hear even more.

"I am mated to Amara," Kade had said, but i noticed his voice lacked conviction.

"Strategic alliances have been broken before fir the good of the pack."

"Maybe, maybe not," Kade had shrugged and my heart had shattered.

I had run to our room and cried until my eyes were swollen shut.

But now, as I stared at this pregnancy test, I knew all that was going to be over.

This baby would fix everything.

It would remind Kade why he had chosen me and why we belonged together.

A soft knock interrupted my thoughts.

"Luna Amara," the voice of Marie, on eof my younger maids called from outside.

"What is it?" I asked.

"The Alpha has requested your presence in the great hall for a pack assembly"

I smiled broadly.

This was perfect timing.

"I'll be right there," I called back.

I heard her footeps as she retreated.

I leaned down and splashed cold water over my face and hurriedly fixed my hair.

Then I carefully wrapped the pregnancy test in a tissue and tucked it into my pocket.

Tonight would give Kade the news that would change everything.

And I would do it in front of the entire pack that had been hasty to call me barren.

I chose my best dress, did my makeup and hair and prepared for the assembly.

I was Luna of Silvergrove pack who was carrying the future Alpha.

The hall was buzzing with pack members and conversations when I came.

Tonight, my nerves were on fire.

I spotted Kade who was standing near the fireplace with his broad shoulders tense.

He wore dark shirts and pants, and even from across the room he was beautiful.

I started walking toward him with my heart hammering hard against my ribs.

The pregnancy test felt as if it was quickly burning a hole in my pocket.

"Kade," I said when I reached him and hee turned to look at me.

My breath hitched as I met those green eyes that always set me on fire.

They were cold and distant, nothing like the man who had promised me forever.

Still, I continued to speak.

"Can I speak with you? I have something rather important to tell you."

He didn't even acknowledge my smile or the excitement that sat in my voice.

"Not now Amara!" He snapped in his loud Alpha voice that instantly rattled me.

My eyes widened as I stepped back.

Fear began to creep up my spine as I realized that something was wrong.

The pack sensed it too and conversations died as Kade stepped forward.

"I, Kade Blackwater, reject you, Amara Nightshade, as my mate and Luna."

•Amara's POV

The words hit me square in the chest like a hard blow delivered during a fight.

The air left my lungs just as the entire pack gasped collectively in shock.

But I could barely hear them over the sound of my own heart shattering.

"What do you mean you reject me?" I said to him in a voice that shook badly.

My entire word was spinning.

Kade's eyes met mine.

And for just a moment, I saw a flash of the man that I had fallen in love with.

Then it was gone.

It was quickly replaced by the cold mask of an Alpha making a political decision.

"I need a new Luna," he said to me in an acerbic tone that crushed me.

I gaped softly, uncertain if what to do as my hands hurriedly flew to my pocket.

I was panicking.

I needed to show him the pregnancy test that was supposed to save us.

I needed to tell him that both of us had finally been able to make a baby.

"Come," Kade called out to the shadows and I looked up at the sound of his voice.

A woman stepped out of the shadows, draped in the Luna robes.

The moment I saw her, I knew that I couldn't do anything again anymore.

It was Elara, and she had a triumphant smile playing across her lips.

She was beautiful in a way that made my stomach to clench with anxiety.

Elara Moonridge had long golden hair and perfect curves highlighted by her dress.

My heart skipped several beats as my hands dropped away from my pocket.

Disbelief caused my throat to tighten.

"No," I whispered, but my voice was lost in the sudden silence that followed.

"Yes Amara," Kade countered.

He stared at me for the longest of time with a guilty look in his emerald orbs.

And then he turned away.

"Silvergrove pack," he announced, "I have called this assembly here tonight to make an important announcement."

My head was spinning and I crouched a bit to keep myself from falling backwards.

"You are dismissed from your position Amara," he began. "Elara with take it."

Whispers filled the pack as my heart twisted and my stomach clenched tight.

The council was instantly nodding their approval with gleaming eyes.

"You shall hand over your crown to Elara and step down," he delivered.

"No," I muttered. "No! No!" I began to scream while I shook my head.

Kade couldn't do this to me.

Not now.

"Stop throwing a tantrum," he spat with disgust. "Come," Kade gestured to her.

Elara walked up to him after casting a mocking smile my way.

Elder Thorne stepped forward to proclaim Elara the new Luna of Silvergrove pack.

"I introduce Elra of the Moon ridge pack to you all as your new Luna," he said.

And just like that, it was gine.

Everything I had worked for and everything I had been was given to someone else.

Tears filled my eyes and began to rush down my face before I could hold back.

It felt like I was slowly watching one of my haunting nightmares unfold.

I clutched my heart which was splitting into several chinese formations.

Tonight wasn't supposed to go like this.

I was supposed to tell him about the baby and we were supposed to celebrate.

But as it seemed now, our baby might never have a father.

"Why?" I demanded in a cracked voice. "Why are you doing this to me?"

The look in his eyes when he answered me would continue to haunt me.

"Amara, it is because you are pathetic," he spat in a cold, clinical voice.

My jaw dropped slack.

"You are a weak wolf that I have detested for longer than I care to admit."

The pack had gasped.

And even the Elders had looked surprised and stunned by the cruelty of his words.

The disdain in his eyes, the disgust in his time did something unspeakable to me.

"I need a Luna who can give me heirs," he continued to yell at me.

My legs started to give out, but I battled to keep standing and hold the fort.

"And not a barren, useless wife who brings about nothing to this pack!" he added.

He gestured towards Elara.

"I need someone who is stronger and far better than you Amara, a Luna."

She stepped forward with a satisfied smile that I would never be able to forget.

"See my choice, Amara," he gloated. "See what a real Luna should look like."

"You can't do this to me Kade," I muttered in a pleading voice. "I am your mate."

"Accept the rejection Amara!" He bellowed as he grabbed me by the shoulders.

He shook me as he spoke.

"Accept it so we can part ways! I do not want to be tied to a weakling as you!"

My heart dropped to my feet.

"I can not Kade!" I screamed. "You promised me forever in the mating ceremony."

Kade stepped back with a tsk.

"Amara, there is nothing like forever for a weak, incompetent and barren liability."

His voice was cold.

His words where like ice arrows shot straight at my heart without mercy.

It moved sleek, like cupid.

But, it was damaging.

"You are unworthy of the crown you wear and the position that you keep."

My legs began to shake.

Tears clouded my eyes, pain veiled my heart and disappointment glazed me.

I could have fought.

I could have screamed about the baby that was now growing inside of me.

I could have chosen to destroy every one of them there with the truth.

The pack would have been torn apart by the scandal of it had unfolded them.

And even Kade would have been forced to take me back because of the pregancy.

But, I didn't.

I didn't do any of that.

I couldn't do it.

Instead, I looked at Kade one more time, my eyes memorizing every inch of his face.

Then I reached up to remove my crown, the weight of it suddenly unbearable.

The pack watched in stunned silence as I placed it on the floor at Kade's feet.

"This is what you want?" I asked him with a broken voice and trembling hands.

"Yes Amara, I want you and your weak liability ass far away from me."

It was all the words I needed to hear to realize my fucking place.

"I, Amara Nightshade, reject you, Kade Blackwater, as my mate and Alpha."

The bond deep inside of me violently ripped apart as I let out a piercing scream.

It was a sound that was so raw it didn't even seem normal to me at all.

All of my pain, my agony and the fury from the betrayal was channeled into it.

The hall went deathly silent.

My fingers trembled as I dropped to my knees before him, rigged by pain.

Every inch of me felr like it was being marred and torn apart viciously.

Something built up, churning inside of my stomach before it was forced up.

It was blood.

I lurched forward as the blood sprayed out of my mouth with a hard core intensity.

I steadied myself with a hand in the floor and felt relief right after gagging.

For a moment after that, I couldn't breath as I just knelt there.

I waited till my breathing was steady and I was composed enough.

I rose to my feet, battling to do it but becoming victorious at the end.

Then, I looked Kade in the eyes one last time and whispered to him.

"You will regret this when you learn what you have lost," I muttered.

I had expected him to stop me.

Some part of me hoped he would realize what he was doing and take it all back.

He didn't.

Instead, he had stood there like a statue while the pack stared at me in shock.

And I had stood there with the crown at my feet and my heart in pieces.

I realized it wouldn't be worth it.

I realized that I didn't want a mate who had to be forced to stay with me.

I didn't want to raise my child in a pack that would always see me as weaklinh.

"It is over," I said to him in a bitter voice. "Our forever has finally ended."

Then I had turned and walked out of the great hall with my head held high.

I left my crown, my mate and the life I had thought would last forever behind.

In my pocket, the pregnancy test felt like the heaviest thing in the world.

•Amara's POV

(Six years later)

The smell of pancakes filled our small kitchen as I flipped the last one.

"Mommy why is it that I am different from the other kids in my class?".

I kept my face calm even though my heart skipped a beat.

I turned to my son who was cutting his pancakes into perfect squares.

This conversation had been coming for months and I still wasn't ready for it.

"What do you mean, honey?" I asked while pouring orange juice into his glass.

My son, Milo looked up at me with bright eyes that were so much like Kade's.

"Tommy pushed me during recess. I nudged him a bit but he flew across the room."

I swallowed softly.

"Tommy doesn't eat enough, that's why he flew though you barely touched him."

Milo gave me a dirty look.

"But mom, what about that thing my eyes does always?" he pressed on.

He was not fooled by my deflection.

"When I get really mad, they feel hot and Jimmy said they flash gold."

My stomach clenched.

"It's not normal, is it?" He demanded from me with quirked brows.

Milo was already too smart and too observant at five years old.

The wolf blood in him was stirring and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

I sat down across from him and spoke, choosing my words carefully.

"Eyes play tricks in the light," I lied.

I forced a smile.

"Now eat your breakfast or you will be late for school again, today."

"But Mom-"

"Milo." I used my firm voice, the one that usually ended arguments. "Eat."

He sighed and took a big bite.

His questions were getting more specific and deflecting wouldn't work soon.

"If daddy was here, he wouldn't tell me to eat?" he mumured between bites.

And there it was, the words that always made my chest feel hollow.

"He wouldn't," I answered carefully.

His eyes lit up.

"Is daddy strong like me? Did he have gold eyes too?" He bombarded me.

My throat tightened.

I wanted to say.

I wanted to say that Kade was the strongest man that I ever knew.

I wanted to tell him that Kade's eyes could go from green to gold in a heartbeat.

I wanted to tell him that Kade would have loved you more than life itself.

That is if he had known of him existed.

But, I couldn't.

So I said only one word: "Yes."

"Why isn't daddy here with us?" He said with sad eyes and a pouting look.

Milo's innocent question hit me hard like a wicked punch straight to the gut.

How do I explain to a five year old that his father had rejected his mother?

How do you tell him that his father had chosen pack politics over love?

"Sometimes adults decide to make choices that will hurt people," I said softly.

He made a huh sound.

"Your father made a choice that meant he couldn't be a part of our family."

Milo nodded seriously as if he understood every word I had just said.

But I knew that more questions would be coming later-they always did.

My mind drifted back to that night six years ago that changed everything.

That night when I had walked out of that hall and Kade didn't follow me.

He didn't stop me when I had packed my few belongings that night.

He didn't come after me when I left pack lands at dawn with nothing.

I did take the silver knife and the braid he gave me during our mating ceremony.

And I took the most important thing,the secret growing deep in my stomach.

My exile wasn't chosen.

It was survived.

And survival meant raising Milo far from the man that had mercilessly burned me.

I needed my child far from the world where strength was measured in clans.

"Mom, you are spacing out again," Milo said, pulling me back to the present.

I blinked and realized then that I had been staring out of the window.

My coffee had grown cold in my hands.

"Sorry, baby. I was just thinking."

"About my daddy?" He asked just as he finished his last bite of pancake.

I laughed, grateful for his ability to pull me out of my dark memories.

He was always too smart.

"Tell me mommy," he pressed.

I ignored him and simply checked the clock on the microwave.

"We need to leave now or we will both be late for work and school."

He made a sound of horror.

"I don't want to be late or the classroom teacher will get cranky again."

I laughed as he jumped up from the table and ran to get his backpack.

I watched him go, so full to the brim with that soothing face year old energy.

My heart began to ache with how much he looked like Kade when he moved.

They had the same confident stride and the same way of holding their shoulders.

Like father, like son.

"Ready, Mom!" he called from the hallway as I grabbed my purse and keys.

I pushed the memories back into the locked box in my mind where they belonged.

Today was about getting Milo to school and myself to work at the diner.

Today was about the normal and almost human life I had created for us.

But as we headed toward the door, I could not shake that uneasy feeling.

I felt like our carefully constructed normalcy was about to come to an end.

"Come on, little wolf," I said, using his nickname. "Let's go face the world."

If only I had known how prophetic those words would turn out to be.