Alpha King’s Pregnant Rejected Luna

Chapter 1: I Missed You (Evelyn's POV) The pregnancy test result trembled in my hand. Positive. Two clear lines that would change everything. I sat alone in our den, the silence broken only by the soft hum of my laptop. My wolf, Cora, whimpered inside me, sensing my distress as I stared at the screen. The pack moon ceremony livestream filled my vision with dancing flames and celebrating wolves. And there they were—my mate, Alpha King Alexander Blackwood, standing proudly beside his mistress, Harper Lane. My stomach clenched as I watched him shield her protectively, his large hand covering hers as it rested on her belly. The gesture was unmistakable. Harper looked up at him with adoring gray eyes. Her white fur-trimmed dress made her look impossibly young and pure against Alexander's towering frame. "Today is my birthday," she said sweetly, her voice carrying through the speakers. "Don't you have anything you want to say to me?" The pack fell silent, waiting. Alexander's ice-blue eyes softened as he gazed down at her—a tenderness I'd never seen directed at me in five years as his marked mate. "When I saw you," he said, his deep voice resonating through the speakers, "everyone else became a compromise." My breath caught in my throat. Eight years of loving this man, five years as his Luna, and he had never once looked at me that way. Harper's delicate hand caressed her stomach. "I have a secret to tell everyone," she whispered, loud enough for the microphone to catch. The gathering erupted in approving howls. They knew. Everyone knew. Cora whimpered again, the pain of betrayal tearing through us both. I placed my hand over my own stomach, where our child—Alexander's child—was growing. The venison feast I'd spent half the day preparing sat untouched on our dining table. The elaborate meal now seemed like a cruel joke—a celebration for a mate who wouldn't return tonight. I rose from the couch, my legs unsteady. The coldness of our den seeped into my bones as I began packing up the food. The street dog that frequented our neighborhood would eat well tomorrow. Better than me, at least. My wolf howled in anguish inside me, but I refused to let the tears fall. Not yet. Not while the whole pack could still see my face on that screen if I stepped outside. I switched off the laptop, unable to bear another second of their happiness. Their celebration of my replacement. The silence in our den was deafening. Five years of marriage, and all I had to show for it were empty rooms and a cold bed. I touched my stomach again. "We'll be okay," I whispered to my unborn child. "Somehow, we'll be okay." The sound of the front door opening jolted me awake. It was three in the morning. The bedroom remained dark as familiar footsteps approached our bed. Alexander slipped under the covers, his body radiating heat as he pressed against my back. The scent of moonlight wine clung to him, sweet and intoxicating. His arms encircled my waist, pulling me against his chest. "I missed you..." he whispered, his voice thick with drunken longing. His lips found my neck, trailing kisses along my skin with a tenderness reserved only for our physical intimacy. This—the physical connection—was the only aspect of our mate bond that had ever been harmonious. Pain lanced through me as I realized these same arms had just held another she-wolf. These same lips had just professed love to Harper. I tried to push him away, but Alexander tightened his grip, his powerful body trapping mine against the mattress. "Honey, you care about me, don't you?" he murmured against my ear, his hands wandering possessively over my body. Lightning flashed outside, briefly illuminating the room and my pale, devastated face. In that moment of clarity, I understood—he thought I was Harper. My heart shattered into a thousand pieces. The final insult after years of coldness and neglect. I reached for the bedside lamp and switched it on. "Look carefully," I said, my voice steady despite the storm raging inside me. "I'm not Harper. If you're crazy, go to her." Alexander blinked in the sudden light, disorientation clouding his features as he focused on my face. Recognition dawned slowly, followed by embarrassment. Where he expected to see Harper's youthful energy and sweetness, he found only me—a cold, frail she-wolf who had never been enough. "Eve?" he said, confusion giving way to irritation. His ice-blue eyes narrowed as reality set in. He sat up abruptly, rubbing his temples. "You're right," he said coldly. "You're not her. She's pure. What makes you think you can compare to her?" I absorbed the blow, forcing myself to remain calm even as Cora howled in agony inside me. "If that's the case, why did you come to me?" I asked, my voice void of emotion. The humiliation burned deep. Not only had he taken a mistress, but he had paraded her before all the packs, grinding my dignity into dirt. "Did you enjoy making me look like a fool in front of everyone?" I asked, unable to keep the bitterness from my voice. "Was that part of your plan too?" Alexander's face became a mask of indifference. "She's pregnant with my pup," he stated flatly. "I have to give her a proper status as my Luna." Everything became clear in that moment. He couldn't be intimate with Harper during her pregnancy, so he had come to me for physical release. Now that she carried his heir, he expected me to step aside and allow our mate bond to be severed. I was nothing more than a convenient body to him. Anger simmered beneath my icy exterior. "What if I'm also carrying your pup?" I asked, the words escaping before I could stop them. Alexander's eyes instantly darkened with disgust. "Then reject it," he spat. "It wouldn't be the first time." His words chilled me to the bone. My blood froze in my veins as I gripped the bedsheet, knuckles turning white. I struggled to breathe, my heart contracting painfully. For five years as his marked mate and eight years of loving him, I was dreaming we had something real beneath the political alliance. The Reed family fell, my father was unjustly accused, my mother was struck down by illness, and my brother disappeared in a car accident. In Alexander's eyes, I was nothing more than a woman who climbed into his bed to save my father's healing den and secure his protection. He concealed my existence from everyone, and except for a few relatives, no one knew that the great Alpha King already had a mate. "So that's all I ever was to you," I whispered, the truth finally sinking in. "A transaction." Alexander's gaze turned stormy. "You know, the title of Luna of the Blackwood Pack will have to be given up sooner or later," he warned. "Any she-wolf can bear my pups—except you." His words struck like physical blows. Each syllable a knife twisting in my heart. "Get out," I said, my voice barely audible. "Get out now." Alexander stood, towering over me with cold indifference. "I expect you to handle this gracefully," he said. "For the pack's sake." With that, he slammed the door and left. I remained sitting on the bed, my mind numb, replaying his cruel words over and over. The only sound in my memory was the panicked whimpering of the young she-wolf on the phone earlier today when I'd confirmed my pregnancy. Suddenly, my phone rang, cutting through the silence. I flexed my fingers and answered. "Healer Reed, there's a young pregnant she-wolf who fell during her shift and the situation is complicated. Could you come to the Blackwood Healing Den?"