Scorned Luna's Rising

CH3: Dominic's Pov

I did not have a good day today. Far from it.

The pack’s elders have been on my neck, pressuring me to find my mate and secure an heir before it’s too late.

At thirty-four, I should already have had sons—numerous heirs running through these halls, carrying the legacy of our line.

I am Alpha of one of the most powerful packs in the country, CEO of one of the most successful conglomerates in the nation. By all logic, women should be lining up, begging for the chance to bear my pups.

But none can.

Because I come from a bloodline cursed in fire. The Fireblood Pack.

Our ancestors fought in the war that eradicated the last of the dragon beasts of the skies. They believed it a noble cause protecting the dominion of land-dwellers. But when the final dragon fell, its dying roar carried vengeance. Its curse seeped into our bloodline: our seed would burn too hot for any normal woman to carry.

And the curse has never failed.

I have watched one hundred and sixty-five women perish because of me. Whether through intimate penetration or artificial insemination, the result was the same: death for the carrier, or the child or both. Even the strongest among them could not endure beyond a week and a half. Out of all those women, only five managed to save their lives by losing the children through medical means before they could grow.

A seer once told the elders of my pack that only a woman from WestHaven could bear my heir. Because when the war raged, it was WestHaven that defied us and sheltered the dragons. Their blood and blessing like said would counteract the curse in ours.

But that hope is hollow.

After the war, the other packs massacred WestHaven for its betrayal. Men, women, children, wherever they were. They were all slaughtered without mercy until the land itself was soaked in their blood.

For ten years, I’ve searched for one survivor. Just one. But every claim has been false. Liars with painted birthmarks, imposters chasing prize money. All frauds.

And time is not on my side. My family doctor warned me that by thirty-five, a hereditary disease that runs in my family will ensure I can never sire a child, curse or no curse. Desperation drove me to cryopreserve my seed, gambling on science and praying for a miracle should a WestHaven woman ever surface.

But this morning, fate twisted the knife.

My gynecologist called with a mistake she could barely choke out. An intern had used my vial on a woman two weeks ago. A mix-up. My bloodline had been forced into an innocent stranger.

She tried to soothe me, saying the woman was alive, saying she had even sent me the patient who happened to be her friend’s basic details. But there was no address or basic details apart from her name and photo was on the identity form she sent. Nothing I could use to track her.

It’s been two weeks. No woman before her survived beyond one and a half. That should mean she’s already gone. But what if she isn’t? What if—for once the curse faltered? What if the pup inside her is mine?

I want to hope. My wolf howls for it. But hope is dangerous and I’ve learned not to trust it.

“Alpha.” My beta’s voice broke my reverie. I turned from my study table, eyes hazy with the weight of too many thoughts.

“Kade of Bloodfang Circle is here. He says he’s brought a WestHaven woman.”

For a moment, I just stared at him. “Is it even worth it anymore?” I asked, my voice stripped of its usual steel.

He shifted uneasily. He knows how long I’ve searched. How many false hopes we’ve buried. “We can’t give up, Alpha. Not now. Not when time is…” His words trailed, cautious, as if afraid to prod at my raw wounds. I had few months before I'd turn thirty five.

I didn’t need him to finish. Time is nearly gone.

And now Kade—the one Alpha I trust least—claims to have what I’ve hunted for nearly a decade.

Steeling myself, I rose from my chair and followed my beta to the living room.

Perhaps it was another lie. Perhaps not.

Time was almost upon me and highest that could happen was a disappointment.

“She’s my mate but I’ve already divorced and rejected her the moment I heard about your search,” he said as we walked in.

I stared at him silently. Words were never necessary with me. My eyes alone carried enough weight to peel truths from liars and force explanations from cowards. This Alpha or whatever my beta had called him understood that. And so, under my gaze, he began to explain himself before I had spoken a single word.

“You divorced her?” My beta voiced the very thought echoing in my mind.

The shock lingered between us. He gave up his fated mate just because I was searching for a woman from WestHaven? Did he sacrifice her for me or for the reward he expected in return? That made him the most suspicious before my eyes.

“Not that way, Alpha,” he protested quickly, shaking his head. “My mate… she was an immoral woman even before the bond tied us together. I endured it because of the moon goddess’s will, but she kept betraying me again and again. I can’t forgive her anymore. The council of bonds has already approved our separation, so you’ve nothing to fear.” He finished with a smirk, winking as though this sordid confession was a favor.

He handed my beta a scroll. My second opened it, scanning each line with care before lifting his head and giving me a small nod. The separation was legal and had been finalized.

I said nothing. His excuses meant little to me. I had no desire to take her as a mate. I had little tolerance for women tainted by betrayal. But she was not here for love nor loyalty. If she was truly from WestHaven, she would be nothing more than a vessel to bear my heirs.

“What’s her name?” I asked, finally breaking my silence.

“Jasmine,” he replied.

The name struck something within me. A faint echo in my memory. My eyes shifted instinctively to my beta and I saw the same recognition flicker across his face.

“Jasmine Hugo,” Kade continued, noting our reaction. “Daughter of the late beta of WestHaven pack.”

I stilled. The name again. Familiar, almost painfully so. Even for a man like me who hardly cared to remember names.

My beta was already swiping through his records on his pad, hunting for the truth behind the name. I didn’t wait for his answer. I motioned to the guards holding her at the door.

“Bring her in.”

They obeyed swiftly. The woman was led forward, draped in black, her face hidden beneath a heavy veil. I did not hesitate. I reached forward and lifted the fabric away.

I saw a glint of defiance the moment I removed the veil. It burned in her eyes as she looked at me, unflinching and unwavering. The first woman to ever meet my gaze without faltering. Even my beta, even the fiercest Alphas, all bowed their eyes when they stood before me. But this woman held my stare with fire.

Heavens. I am a throne of pride, a man accustomed to beauty, yet her face commanded my attention without asking. To the extent I couldn't move my eyes away. Well they are for appreciating beauty afterall.

She looked familiar. Just as her name sounded.

“She’s the woman with your sperm, Alpha,” my beta’s voice whispered through the mind link.

The world tilted.

I turned back to her swiftly, my hand lifting her jaw, angling her face to the side. And there i saw her mark. Bold, black and unshakably natural upon her chin. The mark of WestHaven wolves. Not painted or forged like the ones i've seen before.

As I held her, a sudden burn seared across my fingers, forcing me to snatch them back. My wrist flared with pain I could not comprehend.

And then I felt my wolf spinning alive inside me.

“No. No, this can’t be happening,” I whispered.

“This is impossible,” I told him again, desperately trying to get him to stop twirling, but already I felt the thread unravel, binding from my wrist to hers.

“Mate!” my wolf roared within me.

“No!” My chest tightened. My pride raged. I would not accept this. I could not. My mate will never be divorced, discarded nor claimed by another before me? And worse a woman branded by infidelity?

Never.

I am the Alpha of Fireblood. The strongest of our cursed line. I will never lower myself to be someone's second chance mate.

And yet fate had laughed in my face.

Me, the most powerful Alpha of my time. Bound to a woman who belonged to another before me.

What irony.