The Rejected Luna's Secret Triplets

Chapter 2: The Betrayal

The shadow in the doorway didn’t belong to Hunter. As the figure stepped into the sliver of moonlight, the scent of jasmine and expensive oils filled the cramped room, clashing violently with the damp earth of the servant’s quarters.

"Going somewhere, Willow?"

Willow froze, her hand still gripping the strap of her satchel. Standing there was Calla—her older sister. While Willow was the "grey" wolf, a low-ranking omega relegated to the kitchens, Calla was the pride of their family. She was a high-Beta, beautiful, and the personal handmaiden to Lady Seraphina.

"Calla," Willow exhaled, her heart hammering against her ribs. "You shouldn’t be here. The Alpha... he forbade anyone from speaking to me."

"Oh, I know," Calla said, her voice smooth and devoid of its usual warmth. She stepped inside, kicking the door shut behind her. She didn't look like a grieving sister coming to comfort a rejected mate. She looked like a predator closing in on a kill. "But I couldn't let my little sister leave without a proper goodbye. Or a proper explanation."

Willow stepped back, her hand instinctively shielding her stomach. The movement didn't go unnoticed. Calla’s eyes dropped to Willow’s midsection, and a cruel, knowing smirk twisted her lips.

"So, it took. The moon-lily infusion I slipped into your tea worked better than I expected. You actually managed to conceive on a single night of Heat."

Willow’s blood ran cold. "Infusion? Calla, what are you talking about?"

"The Alpha was never supposed to touch you, Willow," Calla hissed, her facade finally cracking. "But Hunter needed a 'biological release' before his union with Seraphina—a way to burn off the primal aggression that comes with a transition. And I needed a way to ensure you were finally, irrevocably removed from the pack's board. Who better to play the role of the Alpha’s 'mistake' than the pathetic, nameless omega sister?"

The room seemed to spin. "You... you set that night up? You told me he called for me. You told me he wanted to apologise for the work duty."

"And you were so desperate for his love that you ran right into his bed," Calla laughed, a sound like breaking glass. "But that’s only half of it. You see, Seraphina doesn't like loose ends. She knows about the bond, even if Hunter rejected it. She wants you gone—not just exiled, but erased."

Before Willow could react, Calla reached into the folds of her dress and pulled out a small, ornate dagger. Willow recognized it instantly. It was the ceremonial blade of the High Elder, an artifact kept under lock and key in the Alpha’s private study.

"Calla, what are you doing with that?"

"I’m not doing anything," Calla whispered. She suddenly lunged forward, not at Willow, but toward the floor. She slashed her own arm, letting a spray of Beta blood coat the edge of the bed and the satchel Willow was holding. "But *you*? You just stole the High Elder’s blade. And in your attempt to flee, you attacked a high-ranking member of the pack. My testimony, combined with the blood on your hands, will ensure the Enforcers hunt you down as a traitor."

The realization hit Willow like a physical blow. This wasn't just a rejection; it was a frame-job. Her own flesh and blood had conspired with the woman who stole her mate to ensure Willow would never be able to claim a life elsewhere. If she was labeled a thief and a traitor, no other pack would take her in. She would be a rogue, hunted for sport.

"Why?" Willow choked out, tears finally spilling over. "I’m your sister."

"Because as long as you exist, Hunter’s wolf will always look for you," Calla snarled, her face contorted with envy. "Even rejected, a fated bond is a stain on his reputation. Seraphina promised me a seat at Luna's table if I handled the 'Willow problem.' And unlike you, I know how to play the game of power."

A heavy thud sounded at the end of the corridor—the rhythm of armored boots. The Enforcers.

"Help!" Calla suddenly screamed, her voice shifting into a pitch of perfect, feigned terror. "She has the blade! Willow is trying to kill me! She stole the Elder’s relic!"

"No!" Willow scrambled toward the small, high window at the back of the room. She shoved her satchel through the opening first.

"Guards! In here!" Calla shrieked, throwing herself onto the floor and smearing more blood on the doorframe.

Willow didn't have time to think. She used the small wooden chair to boost herself up. Her wolf, sensing the life-or-death stakes for the three tiny pulses in her womb, gave her a sudden, desperate surge of strength. She hauled herself through the narrow window just as the door to her room was kicked off its hinges.

"There she goes!" she heard Calla cry out. "She’s heading for the Forbidden Forest! She’s a thief! Stop her!"

Willow hit the muddy ground outside and didn't look back. She sprinted toward the wall of ancient, gnarled trees that marked the boundary of the Blood-Moon territory. The "Forbidden Forest" was a place of nightmare—full of silver-moss and ancient creatures that even Alphas feared—but it was her only chance.

Behind her, the howling began. It wasn't the howl of a mate calling for his love. It was the hunting cry of the pack.

She pushed through the thick brush, her lungs burning, the scent of her own blood and the metallic tang of the stolen dagger—which Calla had cleverly tucked into her satchel during the struggle—clinging to her. She hadn't even realized she was carrying the evidence until she felt the cold steel against her hip through the canvas bag.

She reached the edge of the ravine, the boundary line marked by a rushing, black river. On the other side lay the unknown. Behind her, the golden eyes of the Lead Enforcer, Beta Silas, flashed through the dark.

"Halt, Omega!" Silas’s voice boomed. "By order of Alpha Hunter, you are to be detained for the theft of the Sacred Relic and the attempted murder of a pack member!"

Willow looked at the churning water, then back at the forest. She saw a second pair of eyes—larger, more dominant. Hunter. He was there, watching from the shadows of the tree line, his silhouette massive and terrifying. He didn't move to help her. He didn't shift to save her. He stood like a statue, watching his "mistake" be hunted down.

The betrayal of her sister was a wound to her soul, but the silence of the man who had shared her bed just twenty-four hours ago was the death of her heart.

She looked at the river, then at the dark depths of the Forbidden Forest. She had no choice. She had to disappear.

Just as she turned to leap into the darkness, a massive, pitch-black wolf—far larger than any in the Blood-Moon Pack—stepped out from behind a tree, blocking her path. It wasn't an Enforcer. It was something far older, and it was looking directly at her pregnant belly.