My Ex-Alpha Wants Me Back

Liora's POV "You're not even listening to me," Nadia said, sitting cross-legged on my bed watching me struggle with the clasp of my necklace, "I've been talking for five minutes straight." "I'm listening," I said, even though I wasn't, my mind was somewhere else entirely, "You said something about the festival decorations." "I said the elders are already whispering about tonight, Liora, everyone's saying something big is going to happen at the temple." She got up and came to fix the clasp herself since my hands were shaking too much to manage it. "You think it's what I think it is?" I looked at her through the mirror and didn't answer right away because saying it out loud felt like it might jinx it. "I've been sick for two weeks," I said finally, "and tired all the time, and yesterday I couldn't even stand the smell of the kitchen." Nadia's eyes went wide and she grabbed both my shoulders. "Liora. Are you saying..." "I don't know," I said quickly, "I haven't told anyone, not even Alexander, I wanted to be sure first, but if it's true, if I'm really carrying his heir, maybe tonight changes everything and you know, maybe he finally sees me." "He'd be a fool not to," Nadia said and I believed it, even after three years of a loveless marriage. I smoothed my dress down and took one last look at myself before going out. Alexander, my husband was waiting outside my door when I stepped out, and he gave me a short nod like he always would He didn't ask anything else after that and we walked down together in silence. I spent the whole walk rehearsing how I'd tell him, imagining his face when he heard the word heir. The temple was already packed by the time we arrived, the whole pack gathered under the moonlight and I just stood beside Alexander. Everything was going well until the doors at the far end slammed open. Vivienne, the daughter of one of our pack's top elders, walked in slowly, and before anyone could ask what she was doing there she dropped to her knees and started crying. "He might not even accept me because he is married" she said amidst her tears, loud enough so everyone would hear. The Moon Priest rushed to her, pressed two fingers to her forehead, and went completely still. "The Moon Goddess has revealed Alpha Alexander's true mate." He announced I turned to Alexander expecting him to laugh it off, to shake his head or even say this was some mistake, but he didn't move, he just stared at her. Vivienne lifted her wrist and it started glowing, and someone shouted for Alexander to show his only for us all to see how his wrist lit up the exact same color. The hall exploded with joy. People started cheering like something good had just happened. Elders who hadn't looked at me in three years turned toward Vivienne and bowed low, and not one of them so much as glanced my way while my whole world came apart standing up. Elder Corwin stepped forward first. "You know what must be done, Alpha," he said, loud enough for the back of the hall to hear him, "you cannot deny the Goddess, not tonight and absolutely not with all of us watching." Another elder pushed in beside him. "Reject the Luna, Alexander, do it now so the bond can settle properly." He said and everyone started chanting that. I looked at Alexander and waited for him to grab my hand and tell them I was his wife and that none of this changed that, but he took one step toward Vivienne instead. I knew at that instant that I was doomed to hell! "Liora Ashwood," he said, and his voice didn't shake at all, "I reject you." My knees buckled immediately and my chest was ripping apart, but I locked them because I refused to give these people the satisfaction of watching me fall apart. Somebody clapped and everyone started clapping immediately. Another person who was close enough said it definitely for me to hear muttered "finally" under their breath. My face burned even though nobody was looking at me anymore, they were all watching Alexander lift Vivienne off the floor and tuck her against his side. He was immediately taking her to his room to claim her, and they had even started kissing from the hall with everyone cheering them on My mind immediately went back to when I was eight years old and my grandmother heard from the healers that my wolf hadn't woken and might never wake. That was not too long after I had lost my parents in a fire accident I still don't understand. It was so hard for me back then that the pack kids had started calling me the wolfless girl not long after and never once stopped, even throughout my school days. I used to think marrying Alexander would erase that name for good, make me someone worth something and all, but kneeling here now with the whole pack watching I understood nothing had changed and that I was still her, the girl nobody thought was worth loving properly. I had to run home because I suddenly felt like vomiting. The next thing I knew, I was hunched over my bathroom sink throwing up, "Geez! I really forgot I was sick" I cursed under my breath, desperately praying it wasn't pregnancy as I had hoped. I rinsed my mouth and splashed water on my face and told myself I'd feel steady again by morning and that it definitely was not going to be a pregnancy. My grandmother found me on the floor like that and she didn't ask what happened, the whole pack already knew. She just crouched beside me and pressed her palm flat against my forehead. "My Lili. You know I love you, right?" she said silently and I could see how hard she was struggling to fight back the tears already forming below her eyes. "We're going to the healer. Now." I told her I was fine, that I just needed sleep, but her face stopped the words halfway out of my mouth and I let her pull me up and grab my coat. The healer didn't take time to check on me as soon as we got there. I was scared the whole time, desperately hoping it would just be something else. She looked up at me and then... "Luna," she said, "You're pregnant."