Rise Of The Warrior Luna

Chapter 5

FREYA

I turn around to look at him, standing where Max was just a few moments ago but he’s not looking at me, he’s looking at Victoria and his son and when his gaze finally lands on me, what I see in his eyes makes my heart seize in my chest.

His jaw is set, his eyes dark and cold, his entire body radiating a fury that seems to fill the room. He looks at me like I'm something that needs to be dealt with, eliminated and removed from his sight.

"What's going on here?" he repeats, his voice hard as stone, this time, the question is directed to me.

Victoria's sobs intensify and she shakes her head quickly, her hands coming up in a placating gesture. "It's not— it's not Luna Freya's fault," she stammers, her voice breaking. "She has every right to be angry. I shouldn't have— I shouldn't have come here without permission. I just— Martin needed you and I didn't know where else to go and—"

Her words paint a picture so clear it might as well be written in blood. She's saying it's not my fault while making it abundantly clear that something is my fault. That I've done something to make her this afraid, this upset.

Eli's expression hardens further, his eyes narrowing, and he crosses the room to Victoria, his hand coming to rest on her shoulder. "It's alright, Vicky," he says, his voice gentling in a way it never does for me anymore. "You did the right thing coming here."

Then he turns to me, and the gentleness evaporates, replaced by a look so cutting it feels like being flayed alive. "This isn't appropriate Luna behavior, Freya."

The words hit me like a physical blow, stealing the air from my lungs. My heart pounds so violently it feels like it might crack my ribs from the inside.

He didn't ask what happened. Didn't ask for my side of the story. Didn't even question why his ex-girlfriend is in our home wearing my apron, cooking in my kitchen.

He just condemned me immediately because he cares about her too much to even consider that I might not be the villain here.

"Eli, please," Victoria's voice wavers as fresh tears spill down her cheeks. "I'm sorry, I'm so—"

She sniffs hard and throws herself into his arms, burying her face against his chest, her whole body shaking with sobs.

Eli's eyes meet mine over Victoria's head, and there's something cold and deliberate in his gaze, like ice forming over still water. His arms tighten around her fractionally, his chin lifting in silent challenge. Like he's doing this on purpose. Like he's punishing me for daring to question her, for making her cry, for being the obstacle between him and the family he actually wants.

He wraps his arms around her and holds her tight, right in front of me, staring directly at me.

My vision blurs but I force myself to keep watching, to not look away from this moment that's carving itself into my memory with a painful and brutal clarity.

He doesn’t show even a flicker of awareness that this might hurt me. I think he wants it to hurt me but if this is what he wants, why punish me further by asking me to remain in his life?

I've never felt more like an outsider in my own home than I do right now, standing in my own living room, watching my husband comfort the woman he's always loved while I fade into nothing.

"Martin needed me," Victoria sobs against his chest. "He needed his medication and I had no other choice but to come here. I'm so sorry, Eli. I didn't mean to cause problems between you and your wife—"

"You didn't cause anything," Eli murmurs, his hand moving in soothing circles on her back. "You did what any mother would do."

The words sink into me like lead, heavy and cold. Any mother would do. A dig at what I'm not. What I haven't been able to do for him.

Except I am. I'm carrying his child right now. But standing here, watching this, I realize with crushing certainty that it doesn't matter. Even if I told him, it wouldn't change anything. He'd still choose her. He'd still hold her while looking at me like I'm the problem.

Eli finally pulls back from Victoria, his expression softening as he looks down at her. "Max," he calls, and I hear Max shift behind me. "Take Victoria and Martin to the hospital. Make sure Martin gets the care he needs."

"Of course, Alpha," Max says quietly and when our eyes meet, he quickly looks away, sparing me the look of pity I know his eyes must hold for me.

Victoria nods, wiping at her tears. She gathers Martin, who's been watching everything with wide, confused eyes, and follows Max toward the door. She doesn't look at me as she passes, but I can feel her satisfaction like a tangible thing in the air.

She got what she wanted. Eli's protection. Eli's comfort. Eli's prioritization of her needs over his wife's feelings.

The door closes behind them and suddenly the house feels too quiet. Too empty. Just me and Eli and the wreckage of whatever our marriage used to be.

He turns to face me fully, his shoulders squared, his eyes sharp and unyielding. "You are the Luna," he says, his voice cutting. "Act like one."

Something inside me finally breaks free from the numbness. "I just asked her when the child happened," I say, my voice surprisingly steady despite the storm raging inside me. "But since she found that too harsh, maybe you can answer it."

His jaw clenches, his nostrils flaring slightly, a muscle ticking in his cheek. "I wouldn't have considered this if you had fulfilled your duty as Luna. As my mate."

His implication is clear. If I had given him a child, he wouldn't need Victoria's. If I had been enough, he wouldn't be planning to make another woman's son his heir.

My hand instinctively moves to my stomach, to the secret growing there that suddenly feels like the saddest thing in the world.

"The meeting is tomorrow morning," Eli continues, his tone clipped and formal. "Be there."

He starts to turn away, to dismiss me like I'm just another pack member receiving orders, and for the first time in a long time, I remember the girl inside me who rebels against orders, the girl who used to go toe to toe with him in combat, the warrior who had to die for me to be Luna.

"I'll go," I say quietly, and he pauses. "If you agree to a divorce."

The word hangs in the air between us like a thunderclap.

Eli turns back slowly, his eyes going wide, his lips parting in shock. For the first time tonight, I surprised him. For the first time, I'm not playing the role he's assigned me.

"What did you say?"

My heart is pounding so hard I can feel it in my throat. I grind my teeth and exhale softly, “I’m only giving you what you really want. Your happiness.”