The Sacrificed Luna

All I wanted was to see my parents one more time before the baby was born. I had to beg Carrier to allow his Beta to drive me. I guess the Goddess didn’t want me to even have that, because we wrecked the car on the way. Luckily, neither me nor Beta Ted were seriously hurt, nor was the child that we swerved to avoid. The Mercedes was totaled though. I wanted to make sure that our baby was ok, so I went straight to the Tribal clinic. Ted lounged in one of the other cots while the healer strapped a monitor to my belly. There were only a were more weeks to go, and I couldn’t even see my feet beyond my bulging stomach. “Your baby sounds good, Luna. But I want you on bedrest so that the baby doesn’t come early. Should I call Alpha Carrier?” “Already done!” Ted called out from across the room. Good, maybe Carrier would actually care if I was in the hospital. He was more distant and easily frustrated than usual lately. Carrier had wanted a pup ever since we were mated, and he was especially eager since he found out that he was getting a son who would be Alpha after him. I know I wasn’t the attentive Luna he was used to, since I was so sick for the first two trimesters, and only recently started to feel better. The Alpha had spent a lot of extra time working and traveling since the pregnancy was announced. I understood – he’s the Alpha after all – but I missed him so much. I looked over at Beta Ted’s form on the other side of the room. His usually coiffed hair was in disarray from the crash, with dark-brown cowlicks a stark contrast against the bright white hospital pillow. He was an uncommonly handsome man. There was even a time, long ago, when I would have gladly chosen Ted as my mate. All the young she-wolves wanted him to hold his lean, taut body against them, and I was no exception. I knew Carrier was the one for me the moment we danced at Junior Prom. When I turned 18, though, and we didn’t feel the mate bond when I got my wolf, he still proposed that we come together as chosen mates. He wanted me to be his Luna. My reverie was interrupted by Carrier bursting through the clinic doors. He was immediately at his Beta’s side. “Ted! Are you OK?” He grabbed his shoulders and scanned him up and down, looking for any obvious signs of injury. “Carrier, I’m fine. Just a few bruises.” Ted laughed, and brushed Carrier’s hands away. “I didn’t know you cared so much!” He joked, because he knew that Carrier cared. Not only was he the Alpha’s closest confidant and right-hand man, but they’d also been best friend since they were pups. Carrier turned to the healer. “You’re SURE he’ll be OK? It’s imperative that my Beta is able to perform his duties.” “He’ll be fine,” The healer replied. “I just want him here for observation so that I can be sure there’s no concussion or whiplash.” What was I, chopped liver? It was too much. Ted was fine, and I’m carrying his son and the future of White Creek Pack. He didn’t even glance at me! Maybe we should just leave him. Leave and take your son. He doesn’t deserve you! Verona was as frustrated as I was. “Carrier?” I smiled and reached out to him. I didn’t want to believe that he hadn’t seen me, but when he whipped around with a look of annoyance, I knew he had chosen to ignore me. “You! This is all your fault! How could you let this happen? I should never have let you go out. My Beta might have been killed, and you KNOW how important he is to the pack.” Ted looked up from his phone and smirked at me, seeming to revel in my pain. The healer raised an eyebrow. “Your Beta is not in danger, Alpha Carrier. There’s no need to be upset.” “But he COULD have been seriously hurt!” Carrier hissed through his teeth. The healer backed away, knowing better than to pick a fight with her Alpha. “It wasn’t my fault!” I cried, tears flooding my eyes. "A kid ran into the street in front of the car! Isn’t your Luna important, too? And your son?” I didn’t understand why he was so angry with me. Something’s not right, why was he so concerned about Ted and not us? I heard Verona speaking to me in my mind. There was desperation in Carrier’s eyes when he thought Ted was hurt…why does he care so much? Carrier was at my bedside in two strides of his long legs. For a moment, he looked like he was going to hit me, but he stopped, took a deep breath, and a switch seemed to flip inside him. He was suddenly all smiles and charm. “Of course, I was worried about you, my love! And our baby.” He placed a hand on my belly and gave it a pat. I knew he didn’t mean it. Maybe he never did. “Now that I know you’re both alright, I have to go back to work. I’ll see you at home later.” He straightened his suit and quickly kissed my forehead. I couldn’t remember the last time he kissed my lips or touched me beyond a casual gesture. I told him it wouldn’t hurt the baby, but he insisted that we refrain from all mating activities. Maybe he didn’t like the look of my swollen belly and breasts. I heard that some fathers didn’t, but I never would have thought Carrier was one of them. Maybe he found some less bloated she-wolf to relieve his needs with. “Let me know the moment Ted is able to resume his duties.” I heard Carrier say to the healer as he left the clinic. She bowed her head, and he was gone. The healer next turned to me, empathy in her eyes. She returned to my bedside with her tablet in hand. “OK, Luna, you’re cleared to head home. Just take it easy and try not to stress out. I’m going to keep an extra-close watch on your pup for these last few weeks. Just in case.” She helped me out of the cot and held my arm as I balanced myself against the weight of the baby. “And you’re sure the baby is OK?” I asked. “You have a strong baby, Vanya. She’ll be just fine, so long as you don’t induce early labor. Now, go home and rest!” She gave me a little shove towards the door. With a final glance at Beta Ted, I left the clinic and walked through the packhouse towards the Alpha’s apartments. The long hallways of the White Creek Pack’s main building were filled with memories of the life I’d built here with Carrier. Was it all a lie? I tried to remember times when I wasn’t sure about his feelings for me. Did he look at another she-wolf a little too long? Not that I could see. If he wasn’t with me, he was with Ted. And did he sometimes seem uninterested in s*x? Sure, but that was normal with a couple mated for several years, wasn’t it? I returned to our home with more questions than answers, but I wouldn’t leave him without proof that he’d been unfaithful. I didn’t have a choice. I was his Luna, and pregnant with the future Alpha. I wasn’t going anywhere. As soon as I got home, I lay on the couch and cried. I hoped it was just the hormones making me emotional and irrational.