Alpha's Lies Shatter Luna's World

I had just lost my mate, Alpha Zachary Blackthorn, Alpha of the Silverfang Pack. As the Luna-in-waiting and pregnant with his child, I was granted temporary sanctuary in the Blackthorn estate. My in-laws, the former Alpha and Luna, treated me kindly on the surface—but I could feel the shift in their auras, the unease in their glances. Perhaps they pitied me. Or perhaps, they already knew the truth I was yet to uncover. After the Moon Rite that honored Alpha Zachary's death, the elders suggested something I could barely believe—they proposed that his twin brother, Beta Ethan   Blackthorn, should "unite the bloodlines," and take responsibility for both females under the ancient law of Dual Protection.  Without formal mating bonds, he would serve as guardian and provider to both me and his existing mate, Sophia Hale. Sophia, who had always treated me like a walking curse, exploded with rage upon hearing it.  Her amber eyes turned feral, and before I could utter a word, she collapsed into unconsciousness. Her wolf, fragile and unstable, had taken a toll on her health long ago. That night, I approached the Alpha quarters, desperate to plead with Alpha Zachary’s parents to abandon such a humiliating idea. But just as I reached the wooden door carved with the sigil of the Moon, I heard voices from within. “You’re sure it was your brother who died?” my mother-in-law asked, her voice trembling slightly. The man who answered was not Alpha Zachary. A heavy sigh followed. “Sophia’s wolf is too weak to endure such pain. If she knew I was the one truly gone… she’d unravel. So I took my brother’s place. For her,” he said. “I never stopped loving her. I only accepted the bond with Rachel so my brother could be free. Now that she carries a pup, my duty is done. I owe her nothing. Don’t speak again of me caring for both females—it would tear Sophia apart.” The air left my lungs. The man I had grieved, the one I’d mourned and buried… wasn’t my mate. Alpha Zachary was alive. And the one who had died protecting me—was Beta Ethan . At the next family dinner, I lifted my chin and looked the elders in the eye. “You’ve been urging me to move forward,” I said calmly. “I’ve thought it through. I’ll terminate the pregnancy. And start a new life.” The male across the table—Alpha Zachary—froze mid-motion. He had been serving me stew like nothing had happened, as if he hadn’t betrayed me with a lie that reshaped my entire existence. After the funeral rites of “Alpha Zachary,” I found out I was carrying his child. For the sake of the pup, I bottled every tear, every howl of grief. My own wolf, Lyra, urged me to hold on—for him, for his legacy. Because of Alpha Zachary’s weak lycan bloodline, conceiving had been nearly impossible. This pup was a miracle. I needed injections daily to stabilize the fetus, while morning sickness wracked my body until I dropped forty pounds. I hovered between life and death. Even the elders began to soften. They advised me gently: “You’re young, Rachel. Let the past go. Heal. Abort the child, and we will guide you to a better path.” But how could I? Alpha Zachary—no, Beta Ethan —was the one who truly saved me. Years ago, I had been promised to Beta Ethan through a sacred mate-marking. But three nights before the ceremony, I was kidn*pped by a rogue pack. Abused. Torn. Beta Ethan called off the bond, disgusted that I was no longer “pure.” It was Alpha Zachary—his gentle twin—who risked his life to save me. He bled for me. He knelt before my father, sword in hand, and asked for my hand in marriage, claiming he had loved me from the beginning. And under his kindness, I healed. Slowly, painfully. And I thought we had found peace. Until the car crash took his life—or so I was told. And now, the child I was desperately trying to protect was not Alpha Zachary’s, but Beta Ethan ’s. Conceived during a moment of confusion, of duty—not love. I almost collapsed under the weight of it all. Still, I held on. For the child. Until, during lunch, they suggested the ancient rite of Twinned Guardianship—a ritual where the surviving twin would become protector of the deceased’s mate and offspring. Sophia lost control. “You w***e!” she screamed, slapping me across the face. “You think you can seduce him just because your mate’s dead?! You’re shameless!” Before I could explain, her wolf took over, and she fainted. Alpha Zachary—no, Beta Ethan —looked at me with scorn. Then swept her into his arms like a hero from an old wolf tale, leaving me alone with the taste of blood and betrayal.