His Discarded Mate

Chapter 1: Ella's View

The pregnancy test landed hard on the bathroom floor. The pink lines seemed to mock me from the pristine white tiles. My hands shook as I gripped the vanity, staring at my reflection. I looked pale, tired, and broken.

I was six weeks pregnant carrying the child of the man who had just embarrassed in front of our whole pack.

*"I, Alpha Nathaniel Blackthorne, reject you, Ella Montgomery, as my mate and Luna,"* he had said.

The words kept playing in my head. It felt like a knife to the heart. He said it at a pack meeting, with tons of people watching. His mistress, Vivian, was right there, clinging to him like she'd won a prize.

I put my hand on my stomach, where our child was growing, not knowing any of this was happening. Nathaniel didn't have a clue. How could he? I found out myself just hours after he dumped me in the worst way possible.

A knock at the door broke my thoughts. "Luna? The Alpha wants you in his office." It was Beta Harrison, sounding formal and cold.

Luna. Not for long.

I stood up straight, trying to act tough. "Tell him I'll be there soon."

My reflection showed a woman about to fall apart, but I wouldn't let Nathaniel see me like that, knowing that I was carrying his heir, a kid he'd never even know about.

The walk to Nathaniel's office felt like a march to my own funeral. Pack members who used to be like family now looked away. Some even whispered about me. The rejection didn't just break our bond; it took away my position, my home, everything.

But not my child. Never that.

Nathaniel stood with his back to me behind his huge desk, looking out the windows. He was tall and had broad shoulders, which used to be my safe place. His dark hair caught the light. For a second, I remembered when his hands used to touch my face so gently, before Vivian came back from Europe and reminded him that love was for the weak.

"The papers are on the desk," he said, not turning around. He sounded empty inside. "Sign them, and it'll all be done."

I walked to the desk, looking at the divorce papers that would end our marriage. The rejection already broke the bond between us, but there was still some legal process to be done.

"Just like that?" I asked quietly, touching the papers. "Five years, and it ends with your signature?"

He finally turned around. He looked like a cold stranger wearing my husband's face. Those gray eyes that used to look at me with so much love now looked at me with something close to disgust.

"You knew this was coming, Ella. We both did." He sounded sharp and business-like. "The Council wants me to have a stronger Luna. Someone who can help bring the packs together, not..." He waved his hand at me, and it