After My Alpha Chose Betrayal Over Me

"I have an announcement,", the newly accepted pack member Madison Brooks called, "I am blessed to be carrying Alpha Alexander's pup. Our pack will have its heir at last."

Each word hit me like a punch to the chest. One. After. Another.

Alpha Alexander... is my mate. The triumphant gleam in her eyes that sent a chill down my spine.

My wolf howled in agony within me, the sound echoing through my mind as the room began to spin. The mate bond between Alexander and me flared with a sickening pulse of truth—confirmation of what my wolf had been trying to tell me for months.

Betrayal. Infidelity. Lies.

I couldn't breathe. Couldn't move. Could only sit frozen as pack members turned to stare, their expressions ranging from shock to pity to barely concealed satisfaction.

....

The silver moonlight streamed through the high windows of Shadowmere's Grand Hall, casting an ethereal glow across the ancient stone floor where I knelt. My fingers trembled slightly as I arranged the sacred herbs around the shallow pool of blessed water, the scent of lavender and moonflower rising to meet me. This was my tenth Fertility Moon Ceremony as Luna of the Shadowmere Pack, and perhaps—I allowed myself to hope—the last one I would need.

"Moon Goddess," I whispered, my voice barely audible even to my own ears, "I have served you faithfully. Please bless this broken vessel with new life."

My wolf stirred within me, her presence warm but tinged with a familiar sadness. She had been growing increasingly restless these past months, as though sensing something I refused to acknowledge.

I looked up, seeking Alexander's gaze across the hall. My Alpha, my mate, stood tall and imposing among the pack elders, his broad shoulders set in a rigid line. The bond between us hummed faintly, but there was a coldness to it that made my heart ache. Five years ago, that connection had blazed with such intensity that I hadn't hesitated to throw myself between him and the attacking rogues, taking the claws meant for his throat. The injuries had nearly killed me—and had left me struggling to conceive the heir he so desperately needed.

Alexander's eyes briefly met mine, then slid away, focusing on something—or someone—beyond my line of sight. I swallowed hard and returned to my ritual, dipping my hands into the sacred water and reciting the ancient words of fertility and blessing.

"May our bloodline continue strong," I finished, rising to my feet as the ceremony concluded.

The hall erupted in cheers and howls as pack members moved toward the long tables laden with food for the feast. I made my way through the crowd, accepting embraces and well-wishes with the practiced smile of a Luna. The heavy silver pendant at my throat—Alexander's mating gift—felt suddenly cold against my skin.

"You performed beautifully, Luna," whispered Elara, our pack healer, squeezing my hand. The sympathy in her eyes made something twist painfully in my chest.

I found my place at the