Claimed as the Alpha's Second Luna

Chapter 4

Annie's POV:

The message from the main house arrived before dawn. I was needed for work.

Each step made my sore thighs brush together, bringing back unwanted flashes of the night before.

I pulled on the black uniform. The fresh one Elena had left—a replacement for the torn one. I tugged the collar as high as it would go. The fabric rubbed against my n*****s, and I flinched when the weave dragged across them. The friction sent a sharp pulse through the tender skin his mouth had bruised.

The morning tasks were simple. Mop the ground floor hall. Dust. Scrub the wood. They should have been simple, but my body still ached from the night before.

My legs still shook each time I bent. Every movement pulled at the soreness between my thighs. When I bent to wring out the rag, pain tightened across my lower back and ran down my legs. The hard floor digging into my kneecaps was almost a relief. Something simple. Something that made sense.

I scrubbed. Kept my head down. Tried to make myself nothing more than a maid nobody bothered to notice.

Then footsteps.

"Elena. You don't look well."

Alexander's voice. Low. Warm with concern.

My hand stilled on the rag. I dropped my head lower.

"Did you sleep badly last night?"

"It's nothing." Elena's voice carried a smile, but something thin ran underneath it. "Change of seasons. I've been off."

"I'll have the healer prescribe something."

"No need. I'm fine."

The footsteps came closer. I heard Alexander settle onto the sofa, probably drawing Elena down beside him.

"Elena." His tone shifted. Weighted. "Last night. My wolf went out of control. I..."

My hands trembled against the wet rag.

"Whatever happened... I don't remember much. But I know I was rough with you. If I hurt you anywhere—"

"It's fine." Elena cut him off, soft. "Really. You're my mate. I'd never hold that against you."

Alexander's next words came low. "I'm sorry."

My knuckles went white around the rag.

He had called Elena's name throughout the night. He believed the woman beneath him was Elena. And now here he was—apologizing to her. Feeling tender. Carrying guilt.

I knelt three steps away, scrubbing the floor while he apologized to Elena for what he had done to me.

I stared at the same patch of wood I'd been polishing for minutes. The grain blurred.

"I need to handle territory business." Alexander stood. "Rest. I'll come back at noon for lunch."

"All right."

Footsteps. Toward the door.

I kept my head down. Barely breathed.

They stopped.

A gaze. Heavy. Settled on me.

"Are you new?"

I lifted my head slowly. Alexander stood above me, morning light behind him, his tall frame swallowing me in shadow. Dark gray eyes looked down—flat, detached. The way an Alpha looked at any servant he'd never seen before.

No recognition. Nothing.

He didn't remember a single second.

"Yes." I dropped my eyes. "Luna Elena assigned me to work in the main house."

He studied me a moment longer. Then nodded.

Turned and walked away. Boots on oak—steady, measured—fading until there was nothing but silence.

I stayed on my knees. The wet rag in my fist dripped onto the planks, forming slow dark pools. The hem of my skirt soaked through. I didn't move until the water had gone cold against my shins.

When my shift ended, I walked to the healer's cabin on the eastern edge of the territory. Dried herbs hung in the air—sage and something sharp I couldn't name.

I pushed the door open. Chloe stood at the medicine cabinet with her back to me, sorting glass bottles. She heard the bell and turned.

"Annie?" A smile broke across her face. "What brings you here?"

Chloe was the pack's healer and my only friend.

I stepped closer, keeping my voice low. "Something's been off with my body. Low in my stomach. A few days now. Can you look?"

The smile dropped. She led me to the exam room and closed the door.

The check didn't take long.

When it was done, Chloe didn't speak. She stood at the counter with her back to me, both hands braced on the wood. The line of her shoulders had gone rigid.

"Chloe?"

She turned around. Her face was pale. Her mouth opened, closed, opened again.

"Annie." Her voice came out unsteady. "You're pregnant."