The Betrayed Luna Claimed By The Lycan King

Isabella's POV

[Flashback]

"A little more," I said to myself.

The loose soil squashed between my palms as I slowly eased the soil about a bunch of moonleaf herbs. Their green leaves were pale and delicate and stubborn by turns as I touched them. I had grown these plants myself, and I had seen them slowly rooting in the course of the last year.

This garden always was my solitary spot.

Since I was the Luna and healer of Shadowfang Pack, I spent most of my free time here. The plants of this garden were not purely decoration or hobbies. All the leaves and roots and flowers were useful. Some healed wounds. Some lowered fever. Others soothed agitated wolves in their painful transformation.

I dusted my hands, slowly caressing my tummy aso felt a little kick.

A slight smile crept upon my face.

"Hello, baby," I mumbled, rubbing my belly. "I'll go eat soon hm? Sorry for starving you."

The wind passed through the garden with the light smell of herbs and fresh soil. It was peaceful. Too peaceful.

"I wonder what you will be like," I thought to myself. Will you be like your father or like me?

I hesitated and reflected about Adrian.

My mate.

Alpha Adrian Blackwood of Shadowfang Pack.

A weight sunk in my chest.

Our relationship wasn't the typical Alpha and Luna relationship. Adrian was aloof since the night the moon goddess paired us together, I tried to make him warm but that was futile. After his mother fell ill. He had paid most of his attention to how she was treated and when she died he forgot that I existed.

Nevertheless, I had wished that this child would make a difference.

Perhaps, once Adrian met his child first.

Perhaps my life would go be filled with warmth and love.

"Luna Isabella!"

The abrupt voice broke the silence of the garden.

I turned around and looked along the road and beheld a small pack messenger running at my direction. He breathed in an irregular manner and his pose was rigid with impatience.

"Yes?" I asked.

He bowed quickly. "The Pack Council want you to be at the meeting room at once."

I frowned slightly. "The council?"

"Yes, Luna," he replied quickly. "They said it is urgent."

My stomach tightened.

The council seldom summoned anyone without warning, more so not the Luna.

Still, I nodded. "Very well. I'll come."

The walk to the Meeting room was longer than it should have been.

Two guards moved aside and allowed me to go through as I went close to the big wooden doors. Their faces were abnormally grave.

That queer pain in my heart was intensified.

As soon as I got into the hall, I knew that something was terribly wrong.

Elders of the Pack Council were already seated in their usual places. Their looks were hard and unintelligible.

And in the middle of the room was Adrian.

My mate.

Alpha Adrian Blackwood.

His pose was stiff, and his face was void of emotion .

He didn't look at me.

I continued to walk forward and confusion increased.

"Elder Rowan," i said with respect. "You summoned me?"

The eldest member of the council was Elder Rowan, and he stared right at me.

His tone was strong as he talked.

"Isabella Hart, Luna of Shadowfang Pack, and head healer appointed of this territory, thou hast been called here to answer grave charges."

There was a weird shiver in my body.

"Accusations?" I repeated.

The stare of Elder Rowan was hardened.

"You are accused of killing the mother of Alpha, Helena Blackwood."

I was hit by the words as a physical blow.

"What?" I breathed.

I wondered briefly whether I had not heard him right.

"No, no, no," I said hastily.

Another aged man pushed a little box made out of wood on the table.

"Do you recognize this?" he asked.

He opened the box.

Inside were dried herbs.

My heart skipped.

I knew them perfectly well. "My herbs..." I unconsciously muttered.

The elder went on to say that these herbs were found in my personal garden. "Witnesses assert that they were utilized when the Alpha mother was being treated." He said, his eyes never leaving mine.

My voice came out shaky. "Yes, I used herbs. Those were to aid in reducing her pain . They were not harmful."

"Well that is not what our sources could say." The elder said, rudely interrupting me.

Somebody came forward before I could say another word.

Clara Wells.

My best friend.

I was relieved the moment when I saw her face.

Clara would get it all straightened out.

She was fully aware of everything. She had assisted me in picking some of the herbs herself.

"Clara," I said softly.

"Clara wells, restate everything you told me on that fateful day, in front of this council." Elder Rowan said.

Clara looked at me well, and cleared her throat before she started speaking.

"I saw Isabella experiment on the mother of the Alpha," Clara said.

My mind blanked out on the words.

"What?" I whispered.

Clara didn't look at me.

"She had applied herbs and procedures that she was not familiar with during the treatment," Clara went on. "I had told her that those remedies were perilous, but she wished to have a way to achieve immortality or anything like it. She had tried it on the alpha's mother. I tried to stop her, I tried to say the truth, but she threatened me, threatened to kill me and my mother. But now... I can't stay quiet anymore. The alpha's mother deserves Justice and her murderer should not be allowed freedom or rest."

I stared at her.

Pain painfully contracted my chest.

"That's not true," I said quickly. "Clara, you.. why are you saying this?"

Clara dropped her eyes and did not say another word.

My eyes moved to Adrian.

Surely he would utter something.

He knew me.

He was aware that I would never harm his mother.

"Adrian," I said to myself, as I looked up to him.

My voice trembled slightly. "You know I would never do that."

I thought a moment he would look at me. But he didn't. Adrian instead continued to stare at Clara. He refused to meet my eyes. That was worse than any accusation. It seemed that my heart was breaking in my chest.

"I am innocent," I said desperately, and looked back at the elders. "Please, listen to me. I was trying to save her. I would never dare to experiment on the life of a person.

The elders looked at each other in short glances.

Their words were cold, however.

The witness and testimony against you is great, Elder Rowan said. Your activities had caused death to the mother of the Alpha.

"No," I whispered.

My voice barely came out.

He proceeded, after hearing the testimony, to say, the council makes you guilty.

The room appeared to rotate a little.

Guilty?

I could hardly take in the word.

"But..." I tried to speak. "But... I did not even have a decent hearing! How will I be found guilty when this is the first time my charges are being made known to me-"

I was stopped by Elder Rowan who put up his hand. "Such a crime would normally lead to instant execution."

The term execution caught me off my breath.But it seemed he was not done as he continued talking.

"But since you are pregnant for the Alpha." Elder Rowan continued.

A murmur was passing through the room.

"Owing to this," he added, "the council will not punish you, until you have been put to bed."

Two guards came up behind me.

"You shall be locked in the dungeon, till the child is born," Elder Rowan said. "The baby's gender would determine your fate."

My legs felt weak.

Suddenly cold metal straps were clenched around my wrists.

I gasped softly.

"Take her away," Elder Rowan said.

Isabella s POV

"Isabella!"

My name was called sharply and I came to myself.

I was awhile uncertain where I was. Still in my mind like a nightmare, was the memory of the council hall, the accusations, Clara betraying me, Adrian rejecting me and the council sewing my fate. Despite it happening months back, it felt like it was yesterday.

"Did you become deaf?" the jail warden barked at me ." Get back in your cell!"

"Yes... I'm coming," I said quietly.

The other inmates started heading to the door. The majority of them were rogues we had taken in the patrol of the borders--wolves who had long since been out of the law of the pack. Dangerous. Unpredictable.

And now I was one of them. My hand then just naturally lay on my stomach as I trailed the others into the dungeon.The passage was damp and stale. The torches in the walls glowed feebly, and made long shadows upon the stone floor.

I needed rest, but I knew too well that was a fantasy.

"Well, the Luna is back," a coarse voice said.

I lifted my eyes slowly.

My fellow inmates

Three huge ladies. All rogues. Every one was stronger and more experienced in fighting than I was.

The speaker was leaning on the wall with crossed arms. Her hair was dark and dishevelled and there was a long scar on her cheek. I called her Scar behind her back.

"Be careful, girls, careful," Scar said in a loud voice. "The Luna has returned."

The other women broke out into laughter.

I didn't say anything. I just went to the end of the cell and sat down on the cold stone bench.

Silence was safer.

Regrettably they had no intention to leave me alone.

"Pray tell me something, Luna," Scar said as she came nearer. "Look at me!" She barked.

I kept my gaze lowered.

"Stay away from her," another voice suddenly said.

I looked up slightly.

The speaker was a tall rogue woman with braided hair standing close to the bars of the cell. She was a spy who single-handledly killed four wolves from our pack.

The lady added. "Pick on someone your own size. Can't you see she is pregnant?"

I experienced a little relief that moment.

Scar narrowed her eyes.

"Oh?" she said slowly. "You defending her now?"

The braided woman shrugged. "I'm just saying-"

Her sentence never finished.

Scared, startled, struck her, and the braided woman hit her back against the wall.

"Don't tell me what to do!" Scar hissed.

"Touch me once more and you'll become the fifth reason I'm in here." The woman with braids warned.

The atmosphere in the room was transformed immediately. The other rogue sat up, subtly cracking her knuckles, ready to jump in for her friend,Scar.

I felt my stomach tighten.

"Please," I said quietly. "Don't start a fight."

No one listened.

Scar sprung forward, and seized the shirt of the braided woman. In their crash, they struck a wooden stool and knocked it over against the wall. The beat of fists upon flesh was heard filling the little cell. Immediately the other woman jumped in.

What began as a push ended up as a full fight in a few seconds. Bodies were smashed in the walls. Scar cursed loudly. The other woman screamed and was punched on the face. I attempted to make more way into the corner. But there was nowhere to go.

Scar was thrown back before I could do anything. Her body struck me right to the ground. The blow made me feel as though I had no lungs left. Such a collision with the stone wall sent pain through my side. My hand flew to my stomach.

"Ah-!"

An excruciating pain was twisting somewhere within my stomach. I doubled over instantly. The pain grew worse. My vision became red and blurry.

Something was very wrong.

"I-" I gasped, trying to breathe. "Stop-please-"

"Fuck!" I heard a scream. "Guards! The Luna is bleeding!"

Footsteps were rushing down the corridor rattling the metal bars.

"What the hell is going on here?" a guard screamed as keys clattered against the metal bar.

The cell door burst open. Two guards broke their way in and started tearing the fighting women apart.

"Break it up!"

"Enough!"

On my knees, I held my stomach. My dress was covered with blood.

"Oh damn," he muttered.

A second guard moved nearer and swore to himself.

"Hospital, we need to take her to the hospital, she may be in labor."

The words echoed in my head. Labor. No. It was too early. I was struck by the pain, this time worse. I shouted a little when another contraction ripped my body.

"Raise her up," the guard on the right said. "Now!"

They hoisted me up, but each action caused a kind of pain in my stomach.

"Hold on," one of them said.

I could barely hear him. The only thing I could do is to concentrate on the pain. And the fear. Please. Please let my baby be okay. They took me to the pack hospital and the lights there were painfully bright. Voices filled the room.

"Get the healer!"

"She's already bleeding!"

"Hurry!"

Someone helped me onto a bed. The following hours melted. The agony came in waves, each stronger than the last. I held on to the bedside when the healer told me to breathe.

"Push, Isabella, push," the woman said sternly.

And just another contraction tore through me and I screamed.

"I can't-"

"Yes, you can," she replied. "Push!"

Time lost meaning. Pain. Breathing. Pushing. Over and over again. At last I was devoured by fatigue. The final thing I had recalled was the healer screaming something at the nurse. Then everything went dark.

I opened the eyes and the room was silent. Too quiet. My body felt weak and heavy. The doctor appeared next to my bed, and this was the first thing I saw. His expression was grim. My heart began to race.

"Doctor..." I whispered weakly.

My voice was parched and strange.

"Where... where is my baby?"

The doctor hesitated. It was a little pause that filled my heart with a fear.

"Doctor..." I said in a panicked manner, please. "Let me see my baby."

She lowered her eyes. Her voice was low when she finally spoke up.

"I'm sorry, Isabella."

My heart stopped.

"The child..."

She hesitated once more and completed the sentence.

"...was born stillborn."

Isabella's POV

"No."

I said the word without being aware of it.

I could not relax my hands on the thin hospital blanket as I looked at the doctor standing next my bed. Her face was still serious, and her eyes were down as though she did not want to see me in the eye.

"I am sorry, Luna Isabella, I am sorry," she said.

I kept on hearing those words.

My baby... stillborn.

"No!" I let out a blood curdling scream. "That's not possible."

I felt my voice shaking and my chest felt tight, panic beginning to build up. I compelled myself to sit up though it was very painful in my body.

"I want to see my baby," I said.

The doctor did not react right away. She just stood, with clasped hands before him.

"I want to see my baby!!" I screamed again.

The nurse who was close to the door moved impatiently.

"That will be impossible," the doctor replied, and said nothing more.

My heart beat was increased by his answer.

"It is not possible, what do you mean by that?" I demanded.

"That's my child," I continued. "You can not simply tell me the baby is dead, and expect me to take it without seeing--

"The body had been already taken away," she interrupted.

My breath caught in my throat.

"Taken... away?" I repeated slowly.

"Yes," she said. "The matter has been handled."

Handled.

The word sounded so cold.

"That was my child," I whispered.

My face was filled with tears and all the burden came crashing down on me. My baby was gone. I had not even been given a chance to hold my child. I put my hands over my face and wept and wept.

"No..." I sobbed. "No... this can't be real."

The room was silent during a few minutes only, save for the sound of my weeping. And then there was a knock of the door. The nurse looked up first.

One of the young pack messengers came in.

"Doctor," he said quickly. The Pack Council demands Isabella be present at the meeting room, now."

The words sliced my sorrow like a knife.

"The council?" I repeated hoarsely.

The messenger nodded. "They desire that she should come to the council hall at once."

I let out a weak laugh.

Immediately?

I had just given birth. My body was still sore and heavy and I could hardly sit up.

"Tell them..." I started, my voice shaking. "Tell them I can't-"

"We are to use force should you refuse." The messenger said,forcing me to swallow my remaining words.

The physician heaved a sigh, and gazed at me again.

"I'm afraid you'll have to go."

My heart sank.

Of course. I wasn't the Luna anymore. I was a prisoner. Some minutes later two guards came into the room. They helped me off the bed. Each and every step was painful as I went down the corridor.

My mind felt even worse.

The baby was gone. The same thought kept on replaying in my mind. I had been bearing that child months. I had talked to my baby day by day.

And now... Even now I was not permitted to look at the body. It seemed a long walk to the council hall. As the big doors were opened, what I saw first was that the elders had been seated.

Elder Rowan was seated in the centre with his face as gloomy as ever.

But something felt strange.

Adrian wasn't there.

I frowned slightly.

Where was he?

Was he mourning the loss of our child?

My eyes were sweeping slowly about the room. The members of the council were mumbling to one another. Some of the pack members were standing close to the walls watching.

It seemed that all the eyes focused on me as I was escorted into the premises by the guards. In the middle of the hall I stopped.

Elder Rowan said in a formal way, "Luna Isabella."

His tone sounded distant.

"We have called you to finalize some things."

My chest tightened.

Finalize?

The big doors behind me flew open once more before I had an opportunity to inquire what it was. The noise reverberated in the hall. They all looked in the direction of the entrance. I slowly looked back.

Adrian walked in.

My heart skipped.

Painfully I felt relief. Perhaps he had gone to make it all plain. Possibly, he had learned the lesson. But I looked who stood beside him.

Clara.

She moved with dignity alongside Adrian like she was part of him.

My stomach dropped.

Then my gaze went toward her stomach.

The shape could not be missed because her dress was tight around her body.

Clara was pregnant.

My thoughts had completely cleared.

No.

That couldn't be right.

I looked back and forth between Clara and Adrian, who were heading towards the front of the hall.

Clara appeared totally confident.

Her lips even smiled a little.

They both paused before the seat of the Luna and alpha.

My seat.

I stood with a speechless amazement and Clara walked away and sat down on the chair of the Luna.

Everything appeared to stop.

After which all members stood up and bowed their heads a little.

Elder Rowan stood up from his seat, "Luna Clara."

The title hit me like a slap.

Luna.

Adrian stood there with her. His hand touched her back lightly. The gesture looked natural. Familiar. It was as though he had done it many times. I could feel the pain in my chest.

I looked about in the face of Adrian.

He looked calm.

Cold. Quite indifferent to the consideration that I was standing only a few feet away. Clara sat back in the chair with ease. She smiled to the members of the council and put her hand on her stomach.

My best friend.

My mate.

Together?

"Luna Clara?"

What was happening?

My voice came out weak.

"Clara..."

She turned her head slowly towards me. For a moment, our eyes met. Her face was free of guilt. No shame. Only quiet satisfaction.

"How are you feeling, Isabella?" Clara asked casually.

Her tonewas rather distant.

Almost.

It was as though the room was spinning.

"You..." I whispered.

My voice became tremulous as the pieces fell together.

The testimony of Clara at the trial.

Her accusations.

Adrian's silence.

Her pregnancy.

Her sitting in the Luna's seat.

It all suddenly made sense.

The dreadful reality began to sink in the pit of my chest.

Clara had betrayed me.

Not just betrayed me.

She had replaced me.

My dearest friend... had stolen my mate... and my Luna place.

I was chilled to the core of the hall as it had all dawned on me.

Clara Wells was sitting in my seat now.

Beside my mate.

As new Luna of Shadowfang Pack.