My pregnant mate

Mira's pov I smiled as I saw Kade, the gamma of our pack, my mate, our soon-to-be alpha, and my soon-to-be husband, approaching. I was excited. He walked through the path leading to our home, the moonlight bathing his frame like a dream. I didn’t think much of the fact that he was alone at first, but then I remembered that he had gone with my parents, the alphas of Crystal Red Pack, to the royal moonstone summit. That meeting was held once every month with the Alpha King himself. The topic this time was about rogues: how to tame their attacks and how to restore peace to broken lands that the rogues had destroyed. Knowing my parents, they would have wanted to stay back just a little and enjoy a private vacation. Those two are so in love, even after years together, they made me want love early, strong, and forever. But tonight was my wedding night, and even if they wanted a moment alone, they would never miss this for anything because I know how much they want me married. If it were left to them, they would want me married on my eighteenth birthday. So why was Kade walking alone, face drawn, eyes empty? Why wasn't anyone else with him, no guards, no wolves trailing behind? My heart froze. It beat slow, like the cold was inside me. Something was wrong; I felt it crawling beneath my skin. I took a step forward, trying to smile again and not show I was worried why he came back alone. Maybe something came up. Maybe they’ll arrive later, but the way Kade looked at me… I knew something was wrong. But as Kade drew closer, something in me froze. He was their guard, their security. He should never have returned without them. My wolf whimpered inside me, uneasy. She'd been restless all day, sending flashes of dread I tried to ignore. When our eyes met, I knew. The world I knew ended in that moment not because the man I loved was back safely, but because of what his return alone meant. My breath turned shallow. My vision blurred. This couldn’t be happening. Not tonight. Not on the night meant to bind our fates. Kade dropped to his knees in front of me and took my shaking hands in his. “Mira,” he whispered, voice cracking, “we were ambushed on the way back. Rogues attacked us in the mountain pass. Your parents... they fought like true Alphas. But there were too many. They made me swear to get back to you, to the pack.” My wolf howled in my chest at his words. The uneasy signals she’d given me all day now made sense. She had known. She had felt our bond to them break even before my mind would admit it. I collapsed forward, sobbing. I shook him, screaming at him to tell me it was a lie. That my parents, our Alphas, were alive. That they’d be here with us, rejoicing. But the truth was written on his face. They were gone. Killed by rogues on the journey home. That night was supposed to be my wedding night. Instead, it became the night we planned my parents’ burial rites. In werewolf tradition, laying my parents to rest was meant to bring peace, but for me it only deepened the ache in my heart. We had chosen to wed on the full moon, believing it would bless and strengthen our love. Instead, fate twisted that night into sorrow, stealing them from me on the very day meant to unite us. In the Crystal Red Pack, Alphas are always buried under the full moon. The elders and the Beta insisted we bury them immediately, claiming the moon had already claimed that day for them. I stood there, numb, watching the earth close over everything I had left of them. The world felt empty without their guidance, their warmth. Our pack had ancient traditions for laying an Alpha and Luna to rest. Their bodies were washed in sacred moonwater and wrapped in ceremonial leathers marked with our sigil. The entire pack gathered at the Silver Clearing, where the Elder lit the pyre with a flame blessed by the Moon Goddess herself. We howled our grief to the night sky so our ancestors would receive them. Their ashes were mixed with the earth beneath the Heart Tree to bind their spirits forever to the pack. A month later, the council wouldn’t let me grieve in peace. They said the pack needed a new alpha. That the weight of leadership couldn’t wait for my broken heart to heal. They pushed me to marry fast, not that it was fast, but I'm mourning my parents and couldn't even mourn them for a year. A husband needs to be chosen so my husband could become the Alpha and lead them. Under all that pressure, I married Kade. But it wasn’t the grand celebration I’d dreamed of since I was a child. There were no joyful toasts, no proud parents to walk me down the aisle. Just us, in the quiet, with tears in my eyes. And yet even in that simplicity, I clung to him. I let his arms promise me something steady in all the chaos. It wasn’t the wedding I imagined, but in that moment, he was my only solace. And I loved him all the more for it. I tried to be what they expected, I tried to lead, and I tried to smile. And then, I got pregnant. But each time, I lost the baby. Once, twice, three times, each one broke me a little more. Until Kade sat me down and said I should rest and focus on healing. He told me it was for the good of the pack. That taking another mate was necessary. That I would always be respected. But the moment she walked in, I saw the truth. Ravena. She didn’t arrive as a newcomer she arrived like someone reclaiming what had always belonged to her. Her hands fit too easily into his. Her eyes wandered places only history could explain. She wasn’t new… She was just no longer hidden. Everything I’d ignored suddenly clicked. The cold nights. The distant gaze. The lack of pull I wasn't supposed to feel from my mate. I blamed the Moon Goddess. Thought fate had been cruel. But fate wasn’t cruel; he was unfaithful. There had been no real bond. No fire. Not because I was broken, But because he was already bound to someone else. Ravena made sure I understood that. With every smirk when I entered the hall. Every insult veiled in soft words. Every time she corrected me in front of others, it was like I was beneath her. Then came the moment I’ll never forget. She leaned close, lips barely moving, and said “He marked you out of duty. But he loved me long before the ceremony.” I didn’t flinch. I didn’t cry. I simply listened. Because that was the moment something in me shifted. The pain didn’t burn; it turned cold. And from the ice, something sharp began to rise. They thought I would break. That I’d bow, fade, and accept my place behind her. But they forgot the blood in my veins. Forgot I’m the daughter of Alphas. Forgot that I still wear the Luna’s mark. Last night, I stood alone beneath the moon. And my wolf, silent for so long, finally rose. She didn’t speak of heartbreak. She didn’t mourn the lies. She asked one question. "Do I kill him first… or her?"