Chapter 1 CHAPTER 1

A LUNA'S WORST FEAR

TIANA'S POV

The kitchen felt too loud... honestly. Pots clanged sharply, and the oil hissed louder than gossip at a pack meeting. And that there made my skin crawl.

Sweat kept sliding down my spine, soaking into the back of my black dress, like it wanted me dead. My hair stuck to my neck, flour clung to my arms, and still—I didn’t stop. Couldn’t stop. My hands wouldn’t allow me to. They stirred, chopped, tasted, burned...over and over... like if I got this one meal perfect, maybe my whole life would finally make sense.

Today wasn’t just any day. It was the farewell rites for the late Alpha. And tomorrow… tomorrow my husband, Lucas Monroe would stand where his grandfather once stood...Alpha of the Rivermist Pack.

And me? His wife... his Luna.

Well… sort of.

The pack didn’t really see me that way. To them, I was still that girl. The wolfless omega who had somehow slithered her way into their perfect, powerful family. Their words, not mine. I’d spent years breaking my back to prove them wrong... smiling when they sneered, bowing when they doubted me. And still, nothing.

But not tonight.

Tonight, they were going to eat my food and choke on their own disbelief. The pack maids offered to help, but I didn’t trust them. Not with this atleast. If anything went wrong, it would be my head on the platter, not theirs. So here I was, turning into a ghost in my own kitchen, fighting to prove something to people who would never see me as more than a mistake Lucas made.

I pulled the steaming broth off the stove just as my phone beeped on the counter. Wiping my hands on my apron, I snatched it up, hoping for a sweet text from Lucas... maybe a “miss you” or “be home soon.” God knew we hadn’t had much of that lately.

Instead, it was from my best friend, Constance.

[Are you pregnant?]

For a second, my mind just… blanked. The words blurred, my chest felt hollow, and something inside me ached in a way I’d learned to live with.

Pregnant.

God. That word used to taste so sweet on my tongue. Two years ago, I would’ve smiled at that question, clutched my belly, whispered dreams into the night. But then came the blood... the loss... the first miscarriage.

I thought I’d bounce back. That maybe the Moon Goddess would bless me again if I prayed harder, tried harder, loved harder. But after years of tests, of Lucas sitting beside me in cold doctor’s offices, after hearing nothing but “we can’t find the problem”... I just stopped believing. Or maybe I was just too scared to hope anymore.

My mother-in-law made sure I remembered it too. Her voice stayed sharp in my head: “You show signs of barrenness. Trust me, I know. I raised four strong Alphas myself.”

And stupid me... I believed her. Because what did I know about being a mother? About carrying life when I couldn’t even hold onto it?

I swallowed the ache, pressed dial, and sighed hard as Constance picked up on the first ring. “What’s this supposed to be? Another one of your pranks? You trying to mess with me?”

Her breath hitched. ““Tiana—listen. I just saw Alpha Lucas leaving Unity with a woman who looks pregnant. I thought it might be you.”

Alpha Lucas.

My Lucas.

With a pregnant woman? It couldn’t be true. It just couldn’t.

“Lucas said he’d be at the council all afternoon,” I said, because arguing felt safer than feeling. “He called me an hour ago.”

“Maybe he lied. Maybe he’s lying now. Call him,” Constance said. And then she hung up.

Just like that.

The phone slid from my hand, clattering onto the counter. My stomach twisted... my gut screaming things my brain refused to hear.

Because there was no way. Lucas wouldn’t. Lucas couldn’t.

And yet... why did this creeping dread feel so real?

By one, I was already snatching up the phone, and by two, I was dialing Lucas.

Trust me, I did not see this coming... his ringtone hummed right outside the door.

I froze.

My eyes snapped to the entrance, and for a heartbeat, the world tilted. He was here? Already?

Wiping my clammy palms against my apron, I yanked it off, forcing a smile onto my face.

The second the door swung open and Lucas walked in, my heart froze.

And it wasn’t because of him... or how annoyingly handsome he looked. It was because of the gorgeous woman at his side.

My eyes dropped to her stomach immediately, and every muscle in me locked in horror. The swell was faint, something you’d easily overlook, except Constance, who was a nurse, had already told me she saw Lucas with a pregnant woman. So now I couldn’t unsee it.

My gaze then climbed to his arm, resting snugly around her waist. A sharp pang ripped through my chest, but Lucas didn’t even flinch. Even when our eyes finally met, he kept that arm right where it was.

I forced a rough little cough. “Welcome back… honey.”

The word felt fake, and bitter on my tongue.

Her face lit up like I was some celebrity she’d been dying to meet. “Oh, you’re the Luna !” she gushed before I could even blink, wrapping me in a hug that smelled like expensive perfume and betrayal.

“Tatiana,” I corrected as my eyes cut straight to Lucas's, in a silent question that screamed, explain yourself.

He looked away... like a coward.

The woman’s lips curved into a practiced smile. “I’ve heard so much about you from Lucas. How are you?”

Wait… did I hear that right? Did she just call Lucas by his first name? The second it slipped from her lips, I knew damn well where this mess was about to go.

“And you are?” I swear I was aiming for calm, but knowing me, it probably came out extra.

“Oh? He didn’t tell you about me?” Her laugh was so fake it could’ve come with a price tag. “I’m Merlyn. His fated mate. We found out about the bond three months ago.”

The room immediately spun, and suddenly I was drowning in ice-cold shock, like someone had dumped winter straight into my veins.

I glanced at him, desperate for some denial, some explanation. But what I caught in his eyes wasn’t love. It was guilt.

It would’ve been easier if he had just stabbed me.

You see, I lost my wolf years ago, in an accident that scarred me more than anyone knew. All thanks to that, I couldn’t feel the mate bond... but somehow, I’d managed to win Lucas's heart. We’d fought for our marriage...against his mother, against the council, against every damn whisper in this pack.

And I’d always feared this day. Feared the bond would find him, rip him away from me. He promised me he’d never go looking. And I believed him.

My husband. The one who swore he’d choose me, even when his family made it clear I wasn’t their choice. The man who once cupped my face and said, ‘Fated mate or not, it’s always you, Tiana.’

But in this moment, I realized his promises were only words.

Three months?

While I was here, cooking... hoping... pretending his distance was just Alpha duties. Pretending I was enough.

He’d lied. He’d been with her when he wasn’t with me.

The lump in my throat burned, but I forced a smile. “Three months?”

Merlyn smiled like someone who expected to be forgiven for everything by virtue of being charming. She reached out to touch my arm with the practiced intimacy of a guest. “Sweet Luna Tiana,” she cooed. “I hope you won’t mind?"