The Rejected Luna's Secret: Rise Of The White Wolf

On our tenth mating anniversary, I stood outside my Alpha husband's office with his favorite coffee, only to be hit by the cloying scent of rotting peaches-a female in heat.

Through the mind-link, I heard him promise his mistress he'd deal with the "boring formalities" regarding me tonight.

I walked in to find him plotting with his pregnant assistant, Jami.

Instead of apologizing, Dustin sneered at me.

"She gave me in three months what you couldn't give me in ten years. A strong lineage."

He conveniently forgot that I was the one who built his empire, designed his impenetrable wards, and funded his lifestyle by selling my own family heirlooms.

When I confronted him about the betrayal, he didn't just dismiss me; he shoved me.

I crashed into a silver nightstand. For a normal wolf, silver is an irritant. For me, a descendant of the White Wolf bloodline, it is acid.

As my flesh sizzled and blood poured down my face, blinding me, Dustin didn't even flinch.

He stepped over my convulsing body-his wife of a decade-to ask his mistress if she was stressed.

Lying on the floor, watching him comfort the woman wearing my mother's stolen ring, the bond finally died.

He thought I was a broken, barren Luna who would accept his scraps just to keep her title.

He was wrong.

I didn't call the police. I called a specialist extraction team.

"I am the architect of this pack's security and financial systems," I told the crew. "Decommission everything."

I wasn't just leaving. I was taking my empire with me.

Chapter 1

Eliana POV:

The tray in my hands did not tremble, even though my wolf, Seraphina, was pacing anxiously in the back of my mind. The coffee in the porcelain cup was black, just the way Dustin liked it, infused with a drop of energy potion I had brewed myself. It was our tenth mating anniversary.

I stood before the heavy oak doors of the Alpha's office. I took a deep breath, expecting the scent of old paper and the sandalwood cologne I had bought him last month.

Instead, a different smell hit me.

It was cloying and sweet, like rotting peaches left out in the sun too long. It was the scent of a female in heat, masked poorly by cheap vanilla perfume. It clashed violently with Dustin's musk.

My stomach churned. I reached for the door handle, but my hand froze when I heard the Mind-Link.

In our pack, the Iron Ridge Pack, telepathic communication was usually reserved for emergencies or tactical commands. But sometimes, if an Alpha wasn't careful, his mental barriers slipped.

You promise? A female voice giggled in my head. It wasn't directed at me, but I intercepted it because my bond with Dustin was still technically intact.

I promise, kitten. Just let me deal with the boring formalities tonight. She expects dinner. It's the anniversary of the day I got stuck with her, Dustin's voice replied. His tone was not weary; it was excited. It was a tone he hadn't used with me in five years.

I felt the blood drain from my face. I lowered the tray to a side table. I didn't knock. I pushed the door open.

The office was empty, but the window was open. The curtains fluttered in the wind. The scent of sex and betrayal was so thick I could taste it on my tongue.

I walked to his desk. There, sitting right on top of the quarterly budget reports I had organized for him, was a bone bracelet. It looked like a primitive charm, something a low-ranking wolf would wear.

I picked it up. It smelled of her. The rotting peach scent.

Just then, the door behind me opened. Dustin walked in, adjusting his tie. He looked handsome, his dark hair slicked back, his jawline sharp. He was the picture of a powerful Alpha. A picture I had painted for him.

"Eliana," he said, his voice flat. He didn't look at me. He looked at the coffee. "You're late with the caffeine."

"Happy Anniversary, Dustin," I said quietly.

He blinked, as if I had spoken a foreign language. "Right. That." He walked past me, grabbing the bracelet from my hand without a second glance. He shoved it into his pocket. "I can't do dinner. Border patrol issues. Some rogues were spotted near the northern line."

It was a lie. I knew the northern line. I had designed the runic wards that protected it. If a rogue had so much as sneezed near the border, I would have felt the vibration in my bones.

"Rogues," I repeated.

"Yes. Don't wait up." He checked his watch, a Rolex I had bought him by pawning my grandmother's silver comb-one of the few things I had kept after walking away from my father's wealth to be with him. "And stop projecting that depressing aura. It's making my wolf agitated."

He didn't wait for a response. He turned and left.

As he walked away, I felt a sharp pinch in my mind. He had severed our mental connection for the night. He didn't want me to hear him with her.

I stood alone in the office. My eyes drifted to his computer screen. It was still active. A photo was minimized in the corner. I clicked it.

It was a selfie. Dustin's hand was resting possessively on a woman's stomach. The woman had blonde hair and a smirk that looked like a scar. Jami. His personal assistant.

On Dustin's wrist, in the photo, was the protection band I had woven from my own blood and spirit threads to keep him safe during the shift.

He was using my protection to touch his mistress.

I walked out of the office and went to the kitchen. On the counter sat the premium Spirit Meat I had ordered for our celebration dinner. It had cost a fortune.

I looked at the meat. It had turned gray. It was spoiled. Just like this marriage.

I grabbed the package and walked to the disposal chute. I shoved the expensive meat down the hole and listened to the grinder tear it apart.

"Seraphina?" I whispered to my wolf.

She didn't howl. She was too weak from years of suppressing our power to make Dustin look stronger. But for the first time in a decade, she stood up. She shook her fur.

I went upstairs to the bathroom and opened the cabinet. There was a box of pregnancy tests there, gathering dust. I had taken hundreds of them over the years, praying for a pup. We never conceived. The pack healers said my womb was "cold."

I looked at the empty box.

Thank the Goddess, I thought. Thank the Moon Goddess I am not carrying the spawn of a traitor.

I remembered the day we bought this land. I had foolishly refused my father's dowry, determined to prove that Dustin and I could build an empire on love alone. Instead, I had sold my mother's Moonstone camera-a rare artifact capable of capturing spiritual energy-just to pay the down payment. I had given up my art, my heritage, and my blood to build his throne.

I looked in the mirror. My brown eyes flashed gold for a split second-the mark of the White Wolf bloodline I had hidden from everyone, even him.

If Dustin wanted to treat me like a disposable stepping stone, he was about to learn a very painful lesson. You don't kick the stone that holds up the castle.

Eliana POV:

I found them in the walk-in closet.

It was an hour later. Dustin had returned, claiming he forgot his "tactical gear." In reality, he was changing into a tuxedo.

"I thought you were hunting rogues," I said, leaning against the doorframe.

Dustin jumped. He was struggling with his cufflinks. "I am. There's a... diplomatic meeting with the neighboring Alpha first."

"Does the neighboring Alpha wear 'Midnight Seduction' perfume?" I asked.

Dustin froze. He turned slowly, his eyes narrowing. The air in the room grew heavy. He was releasing his Alpha pheromones, a dominance tactic meant to make lower-ranking wolves submit.

"You are imagining things, Eliana. You always do. You're hysterical because you haven't given me an heir."

"I smell the pup, Dustin," I said, my voice steady despite the pressure on my chest. "Jami is pregnant."

The silence that followed was louder than a scream.

Dustin's face shifted. The mask of the dutiful husband fell away, replaced by a sneer of arrogance. "So? What if she is?"

He took a step toward me. "She is a fertile Omega. She gave me in three months what you couldn't give me in ten years. A strong lineage."

"Lineage?" I laughed, a dry, brittle sound. "You were a Beta when I found you, Dustin. My runic wards legitimized your claim to this land. My strategies built your alliances."

"You did paperwork!" he roared, using the Alpha's Voice.

The command hit me like a physical blow. My knees buckled, forcing me to grab the doorframe to stay upright. It is the curse of our biology; an Alpha's command forces obedience from anyone in the pack.

"You are nothing without me," he spat. "I am the Alpha. I built this empire."

He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a checkbook. He scribbled something hastily and threw the paper at me. It fluttered to the floor, landing near my feet.

"Here. Take this from the family fund. Go buy yourself a new robe. You look like a ghost."

I looked down at the check. It was drawn from the account I had built from scratch using my consulting fees.

"We are done, Dustin," I said. "I want an unmarking."

He laughed. It was a cruel, barking sound. "Unmarking? No. You stay. You maintain the house. You keep up appearances. No other pack will take a barren, washed-up Luna. You need me."

He brushed past me, knocking my shoulder hard.

I followed him downstairs. In the living room, Jami was waiting.

She wasn't hiding anymore. She was wearing a tight white dress that showed off the slight bump of her belly. Around her neck was a silver collar studded with diamonds-a traditional gift for a promised Luna.

She looked at me and smiled. It was a predator's smile.

"Oh, Eliana," Jami cooed, her hand resting on her stomach. "Don't worry. I'm going to redecorate the nursery. The grey you chose was so... depressing. We're going with gold. Like a real royal den."

She was marking her territory. She was urinating on my life.

"Get out of my house," I said.

"Our house," Dustin corrected, walking to Jami's side. He put his arm around her waist. "Actually, this is Jami's house now. I bought her the deed to the downtown penthouse last week. Using the pack's emergency funds."

"That money was for the winter food supply," I whispered, horrified.

"My son needs a safe nest," Dustin shrugged. "If you have a problem with it, take it up with the Elders. Oh, wait. I appointed all the Elders. They won't listen to you."

Jami suddenly winced, clutching her belly. "Oh, Dustin! The baby... I think your wife's negative energy is hurting him!"

It was a pathetic performance, but Dustin ate it up. He turned to me, his eyes flashing red.

"If you cause my son any stress, Eliana, I will strip you of your title, cut your allowance, and throw you into the Wildlands as a Rogue. Do you hear me?"

I looked at the man I had loved. I looked at the check still lying on the floor upstairs.

I didn't need his allowance.

I reached into my pocket, where I kept a small, serrated silver knife for cutting herbs. I didn't attack him. Instead, I looked him in the eye.

"You won't have to throw me out," I said.

I turned my back on them. My skin was prickling with heat-not from fear, but from the rising power of my bloodline finally waking up.

"Where are you going?" Dustin demanded.

"To hell," I muttered. "And I'm leaving you here."

Eliana POV:

I didn't take much. Just my grimoire of runes, my laptop, and my old film camera.

I left the mansion and walked straight to the edge of the territory. As I crossed the invisible barrier of the wards, I felt a tug in my gut. These were my wards. I had sung the spells into the earth myself.

With a mental snap, I severed my connection to them.

Behind me, the lights of the mansion flickered. The security system would now be glitchy, the heating inefficient. The house was reacting to the loss of its mistress.

I walked five miles to the nearest human town. I didn't go to a hotel. I went to Sarah's apartment.

Sarah was a Beta who had left the pack life years ago to live among humans. She was the only friend I had left who wasn't on Dustin's payroll.

When she opened the door and saw me-shivering, pale, and carrying a duffel bag-she didn't ask questions. She just pulled me inside and handed me a blanket.

I slept for three days.

It was a coma-like sleep. My body was purging the stress of the bond. My wolf, Seraphina, howled in my dreams, mourning the loss of her mate, but also celebrating her freedom.

When I woke up on the fourth day, the sun was streaming through the window. I felt empty, but light. The crushing weight of Dustin's expectations was gone.

"You're alive," Sarah said, walking into the living room with toast. "Your ex-husband has been blowing up your phone."

I looked at my phone. 47 missed calls. 12 voicemails.

I didn't listen to them. I turned on the small TV in the corner.

It was a local news channel. They were interviewing the local business leaders. There was Dustin, looking charming in a suit. Jami was next to him, beaming.

"Mr. Powell," the reporter asked. "What is the secret to your success?"

"A strong diet," Dustin laughed. "My partner prepares a special tonic. Silver-infused energy blends. It keeps the mind sharp. Most wolves can't handle the metal content, but... I like living on the edge."

My blood ran cold.

Silver.

He was bragging about micro-dosing the one substance that was uniquely lethal to me. While most wolves just got a rash from ingested silver, my White Wolf bloodline made me hypersensitive. It caused anaphylaxis. I had spent ten years carefully filtering our water and food.

He knew this.

He was celebrating with the very thing that could kill me. It was the ultimate proof. He hadn't just neglected me; he had erased my existence from his mind. He didn't care if I lived or died.

My phone buzzed again. A text from Dustin.

Where are you? I can't find the pack seal. The bank needs it for the loan renewal. Stop being a childish brat and come home.

He didn't care that I was gone. He cared that he couldn't find his stamp.

I looked at the text. I started to type the code to the safe-it was the date the pack was founded, not our anniversary.

Then, I stopped.

Why should I make it easy?

"Sarah," I said, standing up. My legs felt strong. "I need to go back."

"Are you crazy?" Sarah asked, dropping her toast.

"Not to stay," I said. My eyes drifted to my hand. My ring finger was bare. But my mother's ring-a sapphire set in ancient goblin silver-was still in the safe in the master bedroom. It was the source of my family's runic power.

"I left something behind," I said. "And I'm going to take back what is mine."

I grabbed my camera. I wasn't going back as a wife. I was going back as a spy. A ghost in the machine I had built.