Chapter three
1190 Words
Aria's POV
I deleted Ethan's message immediately, my hands shaking. How did he find me? I'd been so careful, covering my tracks, using scent suppressors when I first arrived.
"Luna? Is everything alright?" Marcus asked, noticing my distress.
"Fine. Just tired." I handed him the completed patrol schedule. "This should cover the next two weeks."
Walking back to my quarters, I noticed pack members avoiding my gaze. News traveled fast. Everyone knew their Alpha had brought home a pregnant mistress. Everyone knew their Luna had been displaced.
The humiliation burned worse than the broken mate bond.
In the morning, I found out just how much worse things could get.
"You're demoting me from running pack finances?" I stared at Damien across his office desk.
"Serena has experience with larger pack economics from the Northern Alliance," he said without looking up from his papers. "She'll be taking over most of your responsibilities."
"Most of my—" I gripped the chair arms. "I've managed this pack's resources for three years. We've never been more prosperous."
"And I appreciate that. But things change."
"You mean you're systematically stripping me of every bit of power I have."
He finally looked up, his gray eyes cold. "You still have your title."
"An empty title."
"That's up to you." He leaned back. "Submit to the new order, support Serena, and you remain Luna. Fight me, and you'll lose even that."
"You're threatening to break our mate bond?"
"I'm offering you a choice."
Before I could respond, Serena walked in without knocking. She wore one of my dresses—the silver one Damien had given me for our anniversary.
"Oh, am I interrupting?" She smiled sweetly. "I just wanted to go over the pack finances with you, Aria. Make sure the transition is smooth."
"That's my dress."
"This?" She did a little spin. "Damien said I could borrow anything I needed. My clothes are all too tight now." She touched her stomach. "The pup is growing so fast."
It had been one day. Her stomach was still flat. But I saw Damien's expression soften as he looked at her, and I realized it didn't matter. She'd already won.
"I'll send you the files," I said stiffly, heading for the door.
"Oh, and Aria?" Serena called. "I'm redecorating the Luna's garden. Those wildflowers are so chaotic. I prefer roses. Structured. Organized."
The Luna's garden. My sanctuary. The place where I grew the wildflowers that reminded me of home, of the palace gardens I'd left behind.
"No."
"Excuse me?" Serena's voice sharpened.
"The garden stays as it is."
"Damien?" She turned to him with wide eyes. "The garden is traditionally maintained by the Alpha's mate, isn't it?"
I watched Damien wrestle with himself for exactly two seconds before he said, "Serena's right. The garden should reflect the future of this pack."
"You bastard." The words slipped out before I could stop them.
His alpha aura slammed into me, forcing me to my knees. "You will show respect."
I fought against it, my own bloodline burning in my veins. If I released my true aura, his would crumble like paper. But I couldn't. Not without revealing everything.
"I'm sorry, Alpha," I gritted out.
He released me, and I fled.
Mia found me in the garden hours later, sitting among my wildflowers. "Luna, you're crying."
I touched my cheeks. I hadn't even noticed.
"They're going to destroy it all," I whispered. "Every trace of me in this pack."
"Then we won't let them," Mia said firmly. "I'll gather seeds. We'll preserve what we can."
"Why do you still care? Everyone else has already chosen their side."
"Because I remember when you arrived," she said. "A scared omega with no references, no family, nothing but determination. You earned your place here. You earned our loyalty. Real loyalty doesn't fade just because some princess shows up pregnant."
Princess. If only she knew how accurate that was—just about the wrong person.
That afternoon, I watched from my window as workers tore up my wildflowers. Serena stood there directing them, occasionally glancing up at my window with a smirk.
My phone buzzed. Another message from Ethan: "Father's asking questions. He knows you're missing. How long before he connects the dots?"
Then another: "That Alpha of yours made headlines. 'War hero returns with pregnant mate.' Father will see it, Aria."
My blood ran cold. If my father saw those headlines, if he recognized me in any photos...
A knock interrupted my panic. I opened the door to find Jason, one of the younger warriors.
"Luna, there's been an accident. Serena fell in the garden. The Alpha's requesting your presence."
Of course she did.
I found them in the pack hospital. Serena lay dramatically across a bed while Damien hovered over her. The pack doctor looked frustrated.
"She's fine," he said. "The pup is fine. It was a minor stumble."
"It was not minor!" Serena cried. "I could have lost the baby! This is because of the stress. Aria's hostility is affecting my pregnancy."
"I wasn't even there—"
"Your negative energy," she interrupted. "The doctor says stress is bad for the pup. Having you lurking around, glaring at me, it's taking a toll."
I looked at the doctor. He shook his head slightly, but Damien was already talking.
"You'll take your meals in your quarters from now on," he ordered. "Limit your interactions with Serena."
"You're isolating me?"
"I'm protecting my heir."
"From me? You think I would harm an innocent pup?"
"You threw a vase at her head!"
"At the wall! And she wasn't even pregnant then—it was yesterday!"
But he wasn't listening. He'd already chosen what to believe.
That night, alone in my quarters, I made a decision. I opened my phone and typed a message to Ethan:
"I need more time. Please."
His response was immediate: "You have one week. Then I'm coming for you."
One week to figure out how to salvage this mess. One week before my royal brother showed up and exposed everything.
The sound of howling interrupted my thoughts. I looked out to see Damien and Serena in wolf form, running together under the moonlight. The pack was watching, celebrating their Alpha's happiness.
My wolf whimpered, remembering when that was us. When we were the ones running together, when the pack celebrated our bond.
A sharp pain lanced through my chest—the mate bond screaming at the betrayal. I doubled over, gasping.
This was unbearable. But I wouldn't break.
Not yet.
Tomorrow, Serena would learn that an omega could bite back. Tomorrow, I'd remind Damien what he was throwing away.
But tonight, I pulled out a hidden phone from beneath my mattress. If Ethan was coming, I needed insurance.
I scrolled to a contact I hadn't used in three years: "Lucas - Royal Guard."
My finger hovered over the call button as another wave of pain hit. In the distance, I heard Damien howl again—a sound of pure joy.
I pressed call.
"Princess Aria?" Lucas's shocked voice filled the room. "Is it really you?"
"Hello, Lucas. I need your help."
- Writer
