Runaway Luna: His Heir, Her Freedom

Chapter1

The Night Aeryn Vanished

Aeryn's POV

The motorcycle rumbled beneath me as I pulled into the Grimfang clubhouse lot. I wasn't supposed to be back until tomorrow, but the supplier meeting in Silver Creek had ended early. I thought Kael would be happy to see me home sooner. Never knew I was about to meet the most saddening surprise of my life.

The clubhouse sat quiet under the moon, its windows glowing soft yellow against the darkness. Most of the pack had already turned in for the night. I killed the engine and swung my leg off the bike, my boots crunching against the gravel. Something felt off. The air carried a tension I couldn't name, like the moment before a storm breaks free.

I pushed through the heavy oak door, and voices drifted from Kael's office down the hall. Male voices, low and serious. I recognized my mate's deep rumble immediately, along with Marcus, his beta, and old Gerald, the pack elder.

"The bloodline must continue," Gerald said. "Your father built this pack from nothing. You can't let it die with you."

My feet stopped moving. Bloodline? I pressed myself against the wall, my heart starting to hammer.

"I know my duty," Kael said, his voice tight. "The surrogate was the only option."

Surrogate?

The word hit me like a fist to the chest. I couldn't breathe. I was unable to think properly. My hand instinctively moved to my stomach, to the secret I'd been carrying for three weeks. The secret I'd planned to tell him tonight.

"She's healthy," Marcus added. "The healers confirmed it yesterday. Strong pup. Should be here in two months."

Two months. My legs started shaking. How long has this been going on? How long had Kael been lying to me?

"What about Aeryn?" Gerald asked.

"She doesn't need to know yet," Kael said. "I'll tell her when the time is right."

When the time is right. Like I was a child who couldn't handle the truth. Like I was nothing. My wolf surged inside me, pushing me forward before I could think. I shoved the office door open so hard it slammed against the wall. All three men jerked their heads toward me. Kael's face went white. "Aeryn."

"When exactly were you planning to tell me?" My voice came out steady, cold. I was proud of that. "Before or after your pup was born?"

Marcus shifted uncomfortably and looked at the floor. Gerald just watched me with those ancient eyes, showing nothing.

Kael stood, his chair scraping back. "You weren't supposed to be back until tomorrow."

"Clearly," I laughed, but it sounded wrong, broken. "Answer the question, Kael. When?"

He moved around the desk toward me, and I stepped back. He stopped, something like hurt flashing across his face. Good. Let him hurt.

"I was going to tell you," he said.

"When?"

"Soon."

"Liar."

His jaw clenched. "Watch your tone."

"Or what?" I shot back. "You'll replace me with another woman? Oh wait, you have already done that."

"It's not like that," Kael said, his voice rising. "This is about the pack. About leadership. You know I need an heir."

"I'm your mate." My voice cracked on the last word, and I hated myself for it. "We've been together for two years. Did you even try to wait? Did you even think about talking to me first?"

"There wasn't time," he said. "The pack elders insisted. My father's bloodline, "

"Your father's bloodline," I interrupted, "doesn't mean anything if you destroy everything to preserve it."

Gerald cleared his throat. "Child, you must understand. An alpha needs an heir. It's been two years, and you haven't conceived. We had no choice."

I turned on him, my wolf rising. "Don't call me child. And there's always a choice. He chose this. He chose her."

"Where is she?" I asked, looking back at Kael. "This surrogate. This woman is carrying your pup."

Kael's silence told me everything.

"She's here, isn't she?" I started from the door. "In this clubhouse."

"Aeryn, don't." Kael grabbed my arm.

I yanked free and ran. Down the hall, past the common room, toward the sleeping quarters. I didn't know where I was going, but my wolf knew. She could smell it, the scent of another woman marked by my mate. I burst through a door at the end of the hall.

She sat in a rocking chair by the window, her hand on her swollen belly. Her belly that held Kael's child. She looked up at me with wide, frightened eyes.

She was young. Maybe nineteen. Pretty, with long dark hair and a marking on her neck, Kael's bite, where everyone could see it.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm so sorry."

I couldn't speak. Couldn't move. All I could do was stare at her stomach, at the life growing inside her. The life that should have been mine and Kael's together.

"Aeryn." Kael appeared behind me, breathing hard. "Let me explain."

I turned to face him slowly. "Explain what? That you couldn't wait? That you couldn't trust me? That you marked another woman and put a pup in her belly while calling me your mate?"

"It was my duty," he said. "As alpha, I had to ensure the line continued."

"Your duty." I nodded, feeling something cold and hard settle in my chest. "Right. Leadership duty. That's what you call it."

I reached down and grabbed my jacket from where I'd dropped it. My hand brushed my stomach again, protecting the tiny life Kael didn't know existed. The life I would never tell him about now.

"Where are you going?" Kael asked.

"Away from here." I pushed past him. "Away from you."

"You can't leave pack territory," he said, following me. "Aeryn, stop. Be reasonable."

I whirled at him. "Reasonable? You want me to be reasonable?"

"I'm still your alpha," he said, and there it was. The command in his voice, the power that said I was supposed to obey. Something inside me snapped.

I ran. Through the clubhouse, out the front door, across the gravel lot. Behind me, Kael shouted orders. Marcus yelled something. Footsteps pounded after me.

But I was faster. I swung onto Kael's custom motorcycle, the black and chrome beauty he'd built himself. The one he never let anyone else touch. The engine roared to life.

"Aeryn, don't!" Kael reached the bike just as I kicked it into gear.

I looked at him one last time. My mate. My alpha. The man who had broken every promise.

"Goodbye, Kael."

I twisted the throttle hard. The motorcycle shot forward, gravel spraying behind me. In the mirror, I saw Kael standing alone in the lot, getting smaller and smaller.

I raced toward the border, toward the human territories beyond. I knew what I was doing. Leaving meant punishment. Leaving meant exile, maybe death if they caught me.

But staying meant dying anyway, just slower. My hand pressed against my stomach as I crossed the pack border. The baby, our baby, would never know its father. Never knew this place. But it would be free. I chose freedom over fate..