His Luna By Mistake, A Mother By Fate

Marked... But Not Wanted

Aria’s POV

It had been five months since I took his hands and followed him to his home. And all I could say was taking his hands and believing in his words was the best thing I had ever done.

For the first time in my life, I felt safe and wanted.

His pack and his family welcomed me as though I was one of their own. They treated me like I mattered. Like I wasn’t just a girl who was abandoned by her biological parents and meant to be traded away by the woman who raised her.

His father especially...

Treated me like I was his own.

“Aria, you’re special,” he would always tell me with a smile on his face.

Though I didn’t understand what he meant by being special, I never questioned it. Because for someone like me who had being tagged as being insignificant and unlucky, being called a special being felt like a blessing.

Life with them wasn’t perfect, but it was peaceful.

I never had to bother about getting beaten by my aunt or getting sold off.

And like Kael had said, my aunt never called nor bothered looking for me since the day I left home.

Kael.

Being around him every day was both a blessing... and a punishment.

We spoke, laughed, and smiled. But those tiny and insignificant moments became everything to me.

I found myself waiting for him to come back from the office late at night when others were sleeping.

Whenever he was sick, I somehow felt restless too. Like my body refused to be at ease when he wasn’t.

And when he smiled at me, it always felt like the world had paused for a moment.

Pathetic, right?

I knew I was... but I just couldn’t stop it.

I didn't even realize when the gratitude I felt for him slowly began to shift into something deeper—something dangerous.

At first, I tried keeping my feelings under control. Because I felt he was out of my league—that we were of two different worlds. But instead, it got out of control.

I kept wanting him as each day passed by.

Then, a day came when she returned, and I found out the brutal truth.

The truth that I wasn’t just his savior.

I was something more important.

That day, I was in Kael’s room, tidying up everywhere when I heard noise from outside the door. At first, I ignored it, thinking it was just the other maids gossiping as usual.

But the noise increased, and I was forced to drop the rag and drag my feet out of the room.

The hallway was silent—none of the maids were in sight. My brows furrowed as I wondered where they had all gone.

The cheering came again, and I began to walk in the direction of where it came from. I reached the pack field, where the entire pack members were gathered under the open sky.

Laughter and murmurs filled the air, excitement buzzing through the crowd.

For a second, I stood at the edge, slightly confused but curious.

“What’s happening?” I asked one of the maids who stood very close to me.

She turned to me with a wide smile on her face.

“Didn’t you hear?” She asked.

“Heard what?”

“That two of the maids found their mates. The Alpha has decided to hold a mark ceremony for them tonight.”

My brows furrowed.

“Mark ceremony? What’s that?” I asked, but the maid had walked away before I finished.

“It’s a ceremony where a mated pair is publicly acknowledged,” a familiar voice said as he stepped beside me.

It was Silas.

“Publicly acknowledged?”

He nodded.

“When two people are destined for each other, they share a bond—one that can’t be broken. The mark appears, and when it’s activated, it confirms they’re mates.”

“Oh, I see...” I said, nodding my head.

“What does the mark look like? And how will one figure out who his/her mate is?” I pushed further.

“The mark is always red,” Silas continued, his gaze fixed on the center of the field. “It appears on the wrists of both mates. The moment they’re close to each other… it reacts.”

“Reacts?” I asked, my curiosity deepened.

“Yes,” he confirmed. “Sometimes it glows. Sometimes it burns. It depends on the strength of the bond. But one thing is certain—you can’t mistake it.”

My heart skipped.

Something about the way he said that made my heart tighten. That bond of a thing felt familiar, like I had experienced it before.

“Don’t worry. You seem confused. By the time you witness it tonight, you will understand it better,” Silas added before walking away.

Night came sooner than usual that day.

We all gathered under the moonlight to witness the marking ceremony.

The two maids, alongside their fated mates, stepped into the circle.

All eyes were on them as though they were the most important beings in the world.

The Alpha stepped forward, silence enveloping everywhere.

“This night,” he began, his deep voice echoing across the field, “We will witness bonds chosen by fate. Connections that cannot be broken… a truth that cannot be denied.”

“Now, let the ceremony begin,” he said, and the crowd cheered.

The two women stood facing their partners. Their hands trembled as they slowly reached out to their mates. The minute their fingers touched, a soft glow appeared on their wrists.

Gasps erupted from the crowd.

The glow intensified, spreading across their wrists until identical marks became visible—bright, radiant, and alive.

My breath hitched and my eyes widened.

“They’ve accepted each other,” Silas, who was seated beside me, said. “The bond is complete.”

My ears rang.

That mark...

It was the same... as that night.

That night I found Kael bleeding.

My heart slammed against my chest.

His wrist…

There was a mark too.

My fingers trembled as I slowly pulled back my sleeve.

The mark.

It was still there—the same shape and pattern.

Though it had become nearly invisible, it was unmistakable.

“No…” I whispered, shaking my head slightly.

My mind began to race as Silas’ words rang in my head.

“It reacts when they’re close... You can’t mistake it…”

My stomach twisted.

The way my heart raced wildly whenever I was with him... the pull I couldn't explain... why I couldn’t rest whenever he was hurt...

It was all because of the bond.

My gaze slowly lifted, searching through the crowd. Then, it landed on him.

He stood there, watching the ceremony as if it meant nothing to him. His expression was calm and unreadable.

He knew...

He knew I was his mate, but he just chose to ignore it.

When I asked him what the mark meant that night, he told me it was nothing.

And the foolish me... stupid me, had been encouraging him to chase another woman. All this time, I had been helping him find her.

I thought he wasn’t aware of my feelings for him. But in actuality, he was. He just chose to ignore them.

A sharp pain pierced through my chest, stealing the air from my lungs. Tears blurred my vision as I kept my gaze fixed on him.

Was I really that bad that he didn’t want me?

My chest constricted painfully as memories flooded my mind.

The way his voice broke when he talked about missing her…

The way his eyes lit up at the mere thought of finding her again…

Vivienne.

Even after 5 months of being out of sight, she was still the one he wanted.

I broke my gaze from him as I couldn’t bear the pain anymore. It was slowly destroying me.

I turned around, ready to walk away. But the moment I did, I saw someone I hadn’t expected to be there.

Although I hadn’t seen her before, I had seen her photographs multiple times.

She stood there, staring at Kael who didn’t notice her presence.

I froze.

Vivienne.

Why...

How come she was there?

As my gaze drifted to her belly, my heart dropped to my stomach.

Protruding.

She was... pregnant.

My chest ached so painfully I thought I would collapse right there.

Was it... his?

“Kael,” Vivienne softly called, her eyes wet with tears.

His body went rigid—he had recognized the voice. He slowly turned around and the moment he saw her, his eyes widened in surprise.

Suddenly, Vivienne lost balance and collapsed onto the floor.

“Vivienne!”

Kael’s voice cut through the air as he rushed forward, catching her midway before her body could hit the ground.

The crowd stopped cheering, whispers and gasps dominated the air.

“Call the doctor!” Kael barked, his voice laced with fear as he cradled her against his chest like she was the most fragile thing in the world.

Feet shuffled, people moved, but I remained frozen.

His hands trembled as he brushed her hair away from her face. His expression was filled with raw, unfiltered, and real worry.

It was a look I had never seen him wear for anyone else.

Not even for his family.

“I’m here, Vivienne… I’m here,” he whispered, his voice breaking, his hands unsteady

And at that moment, his advice echoed in my head.

“Love shouldn't be forced. If the man doesn’t notice her and he already has a woman he likes, then your friend should just let him go. Maybe... he isn’t the right one for her.”

I nodded my head lightly.

He was right. Love shouldn’t be forced, and he wasn’t the right one for me. Even if fate had bound us together, he had chosen someone else.

And the only thing I could do was to respect that decision.

That night, I walked away and refused to fight for a place... that was never mine.