The Alpha's Discarded Mate

Luna's POV

"Luna, you need to eat something," Marcus said, his voice carrying that Alpha tone that usually made my knees weak. Today it just made my stomach churn harder.

"I can't keep anything down," I muttered, pushing the plate of eggs away from me. The smell alone made bile rise in my throat.

Marcus sighed, running his hand through his dark hair-the same gesture that used to make my heart flutter. Now it just looked impatient. "The pack doctor said morning sickness should be getting better by now. You're almost four months along."

Four months. Four months of carrying the child I'd dreamed about for three years. The heir that would finally prove I belonged here, that I was worthy of being Luna of the Silvermoon Pack.

"Maybe I should see Dr. Hendricks again," I suggested, wrapping my silk robe tighter around my still-flat stomach.

"No." Marcus's response was sharp, final. "He's busy with more important pack matters. This is normal."

More important than his pregnant mate? I bit back the words. Marcus had been distant lately, always busy with "pack business" that somehow never included me anymore. Gone were the days when he'd seek my counsel on everything, when he'd tell me I was his partner in leading our people.

"Where are you going today?" I asked, trying to sound casual as he adjusted his tie.

"Council meeting with the Northern Territories. Alpha business." He kissed my forehead absently, the way you'd kiss a child. "Stay in bed. Rest."

I wanted to remind him that I used to attend council meetings, that before our mating ceremony I'd been the head healer of my birth pack. But pregnant Luna apparently meant fragile Luna, meant useless Luna.

After Marcus left, I wandered through our massive house feeling like a ghost. The pack members who used to greet me warmly now barely met my eyes. Even Rosalind, Marcus's mother, had been colder than usual.

"Luna needs to understand her place," I'd overheard her telling her daughter Lydia last week. "Being pregnant doesn't make her any less common-born."

Common-born. After three years, I was still just the healer's daughter who got lucky enough to catch the Alpha's eye. Never mind that I'd helped build this pack's reputation, that I'd saved dozens of lives, that I'd loved Marcus with everything I had.

My phone buzzed with a text from my sister Celeste: "Missing you! Can't wait to see you at dinner tonight. Have news to share!"

At least Celeste still treated me like family. She'd been visiting more often lately, which meant everything to me when I felt so isolated. My sweet little sister who'd always looked up to me, who'd been so excited when I became Luna.

I spent the afternoon in what used to be my office, trying to organize medical supplies. But even that felt hollow now. Marcus had quietly reassigned most of my healing duties to other pack members, claiming I needed to focus on "growing our child."

By evening, I'd managed to keep down some crackers and was feeling slightly more human. Marcus still wasn't home when Celeste arrived for dinner, looking radiant in a flowing blue dress that made her silver-blonde hair glow.

"You look beautiful," I said, hugging her. She'd always been the prettier sister, the one who could have had any Alpha she wanted.

"Thank you," she said, her smile seeming different somehow. Secretive. "Is Marcus joining us?"

"He's at a council meeting. You know how it is."

"Actually, I don't think he is." Celeste's voice was soft, almost pitying. "Luna, there's something I need to tell you. Something you deserve to know."

My blood went cold. "What are you talking about?"

"I saw Marcus today. He wasn't at any council meeting." She reached for my hands, her touch surprisingly cold. "He was at the Moonlight Hotel on Fifth Street."

The world tilted. "That's impossible. He said-"

"I know what he said." Celeste's eyes filled with what looked like tears. "Luna, I'm so sorry. He wasn't alone."

The room spun around me. "You're lying."

"I wish I was." She pulled out her phone, and my heart shattered into a million pieces.

There on her screen was a photo of Marcus entering the hotel with a woman. A pregnant woman with long auburn hair and a familiar laugh.

Someone who looked exactly like me, but wasn't me.

"Who is she?" I whispered.

Celeste's grip on my hands tightened. "Luna, I'm so sorry. I didn't know how to tell you."

But I already knew. Deep in my bones, I already knew my perfect life was about to become my perfect nightmare

Luna's POV

"I don't understand," I whispered, staring at the photo until my eyes burned. "Who is she?"

Celeste sat beside me on the couch, her hand rubbing soothing circles on my back. "Luna, maybe you should sit down properly. This is going to be hard to hear."

"I am sitting down." But I wasn't, not really. I was perched on the edge like I might bolt at any second. Maybe I should. Maybe I didn't want to know.

"The woman's name is Victoria Thorne. She's from the Eastern Ridge Pack." Celeste's voice was gentle, but each word hit like a physical blow. "She's... she's also pregnant, Luna."

My hands flew to my own stomach protectively. "How far along?"

"About five months."

Five months. I was four months pregnant. Which meant...

"He was with her before me," I breathed. "While I was struggling to conceive, while I was taking those awful fertility treatments, he was already-"

"Luna, breathe." Celeste moved closer. "There's more."

More? How could there possibly be more?

"Victoria isn't just some random pack member. She's Alpha Thorne's daughter. This... this looks like it might be a political alliance."

I shot to my feet, pacing to the window that overlooked our pack's territory. Everything looked the same-the same training grounds where Marcus and I used to spar together, the same forests where we'd run as wolves, the same lake where he'd proposed. But it was all a lie.

"A political alliance," I repeated numbly. "What does that make me then?"

Celeste was quiet for too long.

"What does that make me, Celeste?"

"I think..." She took a shaky breath. "I think maybe you were a placeholder. Until he could secure something better."

The words hit me like a physical slap. Three years. Three years of loving him, supporting him, helping him build this pack into something stronger. Three years of enduring his mother's snide comments and his sister's barely concealed contempt because I wasn't "Alpha-born."

"But we're mates," I said weakly. "We felt the bond. On my eighteenth birthday, we both felt it."

"Did we?"

I turned at the strange tone in Celeste's voice. She was looking at me with an expression I'd never seen before-sad, yes, but something else. Something that made my wolf stir uneasily.

"What do you mean, did we? Of course we did. You were there that night, remember? At my birthday party when the bond snapped into place."

"I remember." Celeste stood up slowly. "I remember a lot of things about that night."

A chill ran down my spine. "Celeste, you're scaring me."

"Do you remember what you drank that night? Before you felt the bond with Marcus?"

My mind raced back three years. It had been such a blur-my eighteenth birthday, finally old enough to find my mate. I'd been so nervous, so hopeful. "I... the ceremonial wine. You gave it to me. You said it was blessed by the Moon Goddess for finding true love."

Celeste's smile was small and sad. "It was blessed, in a way."

"What are you talking about?"

"Luna, what I'm about to tell you is going to destroy everything you thought you knew." She moved toward me, and I found myself backing away. "That wine contained a bonding potion. An artificial mate bond."

The world stopped spinning.

"That's impossible," I whispered. "Those are just myths. Old wives' tales."

"Are they?" Celeste tilted her head. "Think about it, Luna. Really think. How did it feel when the bond formed? Was it the overwhelming rush of recognition everyone talks about? Or was it more... gradual? Like warm honey spreading through your veins?"

Warm honey. That's exactly how I'd described it to my diary that night. Not the lightning strike other mated pairs talked about, but something slower, sweeter.

Artificial.

"You're lying." But my voice shook because deep down, I knew she wasn't.

"I wish I was. But Luna, the Moon Goddess doesn't make mistakes. If Marcus was truly your mate, why has he been able to form a connection with Victoria? True mates can't betray the bond like that."

I sank onto the couch as my legs gave out. "Why? Why would you do this to me?"

"I didn't. Not really." Celeste knelt in front of me, taking my cold hands in hers. "It was Mother's idea. She made the potion."

Our mother. The pack's former head healer who'd trained me everything I knew.

"She said it was for your own good. You were so desperate to find your mate, so heartbroken watching all your friends pair off. And Marcus needed a Luna who could help him politically. It seemed perfect."

"Perfect for who?" I yanked my hands away. "Not for me! I've wasted three years of my life on a lie!"

"But you were happy," Celeste protested. "You love him."

"I love who I thought he was!" I stood up again, rage finally overtaking the numbness. "But he's been lying to me our entire relationship. Planning to replace me the moment something better came along."

"Luna-"

"GET OUT!"

The words ripped from my throat with such force that every window in the room rattled. My wolf was pushing forward, wanting to shift, wanting to run or fight or something other than sit here and accept this betrayal.

Celeste flinched but didn't move. "Luna, please. Let me help you. We can figure this out together."

"Help me?" I laughed, and the sound was bitter and broken. "You helped create this mess! You've known for three years that my entire life is a lie, and you said nothing!"

"I was protecting you!"

"From what? The truth? From being able to make my own choices?"

Before Celeste could answer, I heard Marcus's car in the driveway. My stomach dropped. I wasn't ready for this confrontation. I needed time to think, to plan, to figure out how to survive what was coming.

But as I heard his key in the lock, I realized that time was a luxury I no longer had.

"Luna?" Marcus called out. "Whose car is in the driveway?"

I looked at Celeste, who was pale with fear.

"Go," I whispered. "Go before I do something we'll both regret."

She hesitated for a moment, then grabbed her purse and headed for the back door. Just before she left, she turned back.

"Luna, I really am sorry. But maybe... maybe this is your chance to find something real."

Then she was gone, leaving me alone to face the man I'd loved for three years.

The man who had never really loved me back

Luna's POV

I barely had time to compose myself before Marcus walked into the living room. He looked immaculate as always-his dark suit perfectly pressed, his hair styled, his Alpha confidence radiating from every pore.

How had I never noticed how cold his eyes were?

"There you are," he said, loosening his tie. "I thought I heard voices. Who was here?"

"Celeste." The word came out steadier than I felt. "She stopped by for dinner."

"Ah." He moved to the bar cart, pouring himself a scotch. He didn't offer me anything. When had he stopped doing little things like that? "How are you feeling? Any better?"

Such a caring question. Such a loving husband. If I didn't know better, I might actually believe he cared.

"I'm fine." I watched him take a long sip, noting how he avoided meeting my eyes. "How was your council meeting?"

He paused, the glass halfway to his lips. "Fine. Boring political discussions. Nothing you'd be interested in."

"Try me."

Now he did look at me, his brow furrowing. "Luna, you look pale. Maybe you should rest."

"I'm not tired." I stood up, facing him fully. "Actually, I'm more awake than I've been in months. Tell me about the meeting, Marcus. Who was there?"

"The usual suspects. Alpha Hendricks, Alpha Morrison, Alpha-"

"Alpha Thorne?"

The glass slipped from his fingers, shattering against the hardwood floor. The sharp sound made us both flinch, but neither of us moved to clean it up.

"What did you say?"

"I asked if Alpha Thorne was at your meeting." My voice was getting stronger with each word. "You know, from the Eastern Ridge Pack? The one with the daughter?"

Marcus's face had gone completely white. "Luna, I don't know what you think you know-"

"I know about Victoria."

The silence that followed was deafening. I could hear my own heartbeat, could smell the sudden spike of anxiety in Marcus's scent. His wolf was agitated, probably urging him to lie his way out of this.

"She told you." His voice was flat, emotionless.

"She? Who's she, Marcus? My sister who's been watching you betray me for months? Or Victoria, who's carrying your child while I struggle with morning sickness from carrying what you probably consider your spare heir?"

He flinched at that. Good. I hoped it hurt.

"It's not what you think."

"Really?" I laughed, and the sound was sharp enough to cut glass. "Then please, explain it to me. Explain how your pregnant mate stumbled across photos of you entering a hotel with another pregnant woman. Explain how that's not exactly what it looks like."

Marcus ran his hands through his hair, messing up the perfect styling. "Luna, sit down. Please."

"No."

"This is a conversation we should have sitting down."

"This is a conversation we should have had before you started sleeping with someone else!" My voice rose to a shout, and I felt my wolf push forward again, lending strength to my rage. "How long, Marcus? How long have you been lying to me?"

He was quiet for so long I thought he wouldn't answer. When he finally spoke, his voice was barely above a whisper.

"Since the beginning."

The words hit me like a physical blow. I actually staggered backward.

"Since the beginning," I repeated numbly.

"The political alliance with the Eastern Ridge Pack was always the plan. My father arranged it before he died. Victoria and I... we were supposed to be mated originally."

"Then why-" My voice broke. "Why me?"

"Because Victoria wasn't ready. She was only sixteen when my father died, too young to take on Luna duties. The pack needed stability, needed a Luna who could step in immediately." He finally met my eyes, and what I saw there was worse than hatred. It was pity. "You were perfect for the interim."

Interim. Like I was a temporary employee. A placeholder.

"And our bond? Our mating ceremony? The vows we made?"

"Political necessity."

Three words that destroyed three years of my life.

"Did you ever love me? Even a little bit?"

Marcus hesitated, and that hesitation was answer enough.

"I cared for you," he said finally. "You were... useful. A good Luna. The pack respected you."

"Useful." I tasted bile. "Like a good hunting dog."

"Luna, don't be dramatic-"

"DRAMATIC?" The windows rattled again, and somewhere in the distance, I heard wolves howling in response to the power rolling off me. "I gave you everything! I left my pack, my family, my career! I endured your mother's contempt and your sister's snide comments! I took fertility treatments that made me sick for months because I thought you wanted children with me!"

"I do want children with you-"

"As SPARES!" I was screaming now, my wolf so close to the surface that my vision was shifting. "Victoria's child will be your heir, and mine will be what? Your backup plan?"

"Luna, calm down. This isn't good for the baby-"

"Don't you DARE use my child as a weapon against me now!"

Something in my tone must have warned him, because Marcus took a step back. For the first time in our three-year relationship, he looked at me like I might be dangerous.

Smart man.

"We can make this work," he said, his voice taking on that Alpha command tone that used to make me melt. "You'll remain as Luna. Victoria will be my... companion. Our children will both be provided for."

I stared at him in disbelief. "You want me to share you. Officially."

"It's not uncommon among Alpha families-"

"Get out."

"What?"

"I said get out. Get out of my sight before I do something we'll both regret."

"This is my house-"

"GET OUT!"

The command came out with such Alpha force that Marcus actually stumbled backward. His eyes went wide with shock. In three years together, I had never used an Alpha command on him. I wasn't even sure I could.

Apparently, I could.

"Luna, what the hell-"

"GET OUT NOW!"

This time, every piece of glass in the room exploded. The windows, the mirror above the fireplace, even the crystal chandelier rained down in glittering shards. Marcus threw his arms up to protect his face, backing toward the door.

"We're not finished with this conversation!" he shouted over the sound of destruction.

"Yes, we are." My voice was eerily calm now, deadly quiet. "Because there's nothing left to discuss. You've made your choice, Marcus. Now live with it."

He opened his mouth to argue, but something in my expression made him think better of it. He turned and fled, slamming the door behind him.

Only then did I allow myself to collapse.

I sank to my knees among the broken glass, my hands pressed to my stomach where our child grew. The child he considered a spare. The child conceived through artificial love and political manipulation.

But as I knelt there in the wreckage of my old life, I felt something I hadn't felt in months.

I felt free.

And for the first time since my eighteenth birthday, I felt like myself again.

The real Luna. Not the perfect, submissive Luna who'd been crafted through potions and lies.

The Luna who was about to remind everyone exactly why you don't cross a healer who knows every poison in the forest.

They wanted to play games?

Fine.

But they were about to learn they'd been playing with the wrong woman all along.