The first Luna

Chapter 1 Lane POV "Lane, in a few days, I'm going to mark Maris too." When Alpha Ethan Blackwood said those words, Lane Conlay was lying naked on his sweaty chest, still catching her breath after being with him. His voice felt like an ice pick striking her eardrums. One year ago, on their marking night, he hadn't even received the chance to mark her. An urgent order from the Alpha King had dragged him off the bed and straight to the battlefield. Tonight, he came home a hero. He had burst into her room under the moonlight and pinned her to the bed without saying a single word. For two hours, he claimed her like she was a prize he had won back, leaving marks all over her. Her neck was still throbbing and hot from where his teeth had pierced her skin. And now, he was calmly stating that he wanted to mark another she-wolf. "Are you serious, Ethan?" Lane's voice sounded raspy and strange. "If this is a joke... it's disgusting." She looked up, searching his gray-brown eyes for even the smallest hint that he was kidding. But all she saw was a calm, steady gaze, as if everything he said was perfectly normal. "Sorry, Lane." Ethan didn't even pull his arm away from her waist. His fingers idly traced the skin that had just been shaking under him. "But don't worry. No matter what, you'll always be my first Luna. Your status, your honor—none of that will change." First Luna? Lane shoved his hand away, as if she were shaking off a cold, venomous snake. "No pack in our history has ever had two Lunas, Ethan! Even the lowest Rogues know they should stay loyal to their fated mate!" "Then it starts with the Blackwood Pack." He sat up, his muscles looking cold and hard in the moonlight. "The Alpha King already approved it himself." "You love her?" Her voice was shaking now. "Yes. Very much." The answer came fast, like a blade he had sharpened days ago. It suddenly felt incredibly hard for Lane to breathe. She couldn't understand it. How could he finish claiming her, soak her completely in his scent, and then calmly, shamelessly state that he was in love with someone else? They were literally still in bed together. The room still smelled heavily of their union. "Then why did you mark me?!" Lane finally snapped, her voice cracking with raw emotion. "If you moved on, you could've broken our mate bond! Instead, you came back and rushed straight into my bed, making me moan like some clueless prostitute!!" "Lane!" Ethan's face darkened instantly, and he let out a heavy wave of Alpha pressure that made the very air in the room feel suffocating. "Don't be ungrateful. I marked you to protect you. Your parents and family are dead. Where would you go without me? Run into the wild, become a rogue, and get torn apart? Damn it." He hopped out of bed and began pulling his clothes back on, not even offering her a backward glance. "Listen, you're my fated mate. That won't change. I'm marrying Maris... but I promise you'll always be the first Luna of the Blackwood Pack. No one can take your spot. That should be enough to make you feel better, right?" He sounded as if he were talking to a child throwing a tantrum—deeply annoyed and utterly dismissive. The burning anger and pain in Lane's chest suddenly collapsed into cold ashes. Why was she even arguing about loyalty with a man who had already given his heart to someone else? To keep begging would only insult herself. "Do whatever you want." Lane pulled the sheet tightly around her shoulders. "I'm tired. I want to rest. Alpha, please leave." "Lane! I said your Luna status won't change! What more do you want? Can't you be a little more understanding? Think about the pack, think about me—" "Alpha!" Lane lifted her head, using the absolute last bit of her strength to scream, "Get. Out. Now!" "Damn it! You're impossible, Lane." Ethan buckled his belt, looking totally fed up with her. "I have to marry Maris. For the past year, she's been the one fighting by my side on the battlefield. I promised her she'd get everything she deserves, including my mark and a status!" "You promised her? What about me?" Lane forced a smile that felt much more like a sob, tears finally pouring down her face in the dark. "The night before you left for war, who was it that swore he'd love me forever, protect me, and give me the best of everything? Ethan, are your promises the cheapest lies in the whole pack?" Ethan went quiet for a second, but he didn't look guilty. He just looked stubborn. "I do love you, Lane. I marked you the second I got back because I wanted every wolf in the Blackwood Pack to know you're the Luna I chose. Even if your wolf can't fight, even if your whole family is gone, as long as I'm here, no one will dare look down on you. I promised your mother I would take care of you. I swear I won't let anyone kick you out. The Blackwood Pack will always be your home." He actually thought he was being the hero of the story. Lane looked at him, and it felt as if she were finally seeing who he truly was behind that handsome face. A sudden wave of intense nausea hit her. Pure disgust. She wanted to throw up. "Your mother?" Lane held onto one last, tiny thread of hope. "She agrees with this, too?" "Yes. She's already met Maris. She likes her a lot." When Ethan spoke of Maris, his voice actually turned soft. "And ever since meeting her, my mother's health has gotten much better." "It's because I stayed by her side all year, taking care of her!" Lane snapped, her nails digging into her palms. "Maybe," he said, sounding entirely indifferent. "But happiness is the best medicine. Maris is cheerful and full of energy. She makes my mother happy. That's what matters, right?" The very last bit of light inside Lane went out. "I want to see Maris," she said. "No need." He shut her down instantly. "Lane, you wouldn't get along with her. She's a warrior. She's straightforward and simple. She doesn't know how to talk to someone like you." "Someone like me?" Lane repeated his words, feeling so ridiculous she almost laughed aloud. "What exactly am I to you, Ethan? You seem to have forgotten that I am the daughter of the Silvermoon Pack's Alpha! My father and my five brothers were all legendary generals! I have the blood of warriors in my veins! I—" "That's them," he cut her off coldly, his words snapping through the silence like a whip. "But you, Lane—your wolf is too weak to fight. You'll never get how brutal the battlefield is, or what it means to trust someone with your life. Maris gets it. This conversation is over. Don't worry, you'll still handle the pack's internal affairs. She's not going to fight you for that." Lane stared at him. She didn't even care about running the Blackwood Pack. During her one year there, she was the one fixing their broken roads and bridges. She was the one paying for the pack schools and the warriors' training gear out of her own pocket, using the massive inheritance she had brought from the Silvermoon Pack. She had even paid for his mother's incredibly expensive medicine. And yet, he and his mother had accepted another she-wolf just like that, planning to make her a Luna equal to her. He didn't even care enough to hide his betrayal. Cold disappointment and burning anger inside Lane finally mixed into a calm, diamond-hard resolve. She threw the blanket aside and stood up in front of him, completely bare. She wasn't hiding her scars or her feelings anymore. She looked at him the exact way her father used to look down at his soldiers. "Alpha Ethan Blackwood." Her voice was clear, crisp, and cold, without a single shake. "End our mate bond. Right now."