The Broken Luna's Second Chance

　　Willow's POV

　　"You should know that Mason and I spent the night together again last night. We fucked for hours, until I could barely walk, but I'm sure you felt it as well, right? You're such a poor excuse for a Luna. You can't even do what you're supposed to when you open your legs for the Alpha. It's not hard to let him get you pregnant you know. You're such a fucking reject. Aren't you ashamed that he has to fuck other women behind your back in the hopes that he finally gets the heir that every Alpha deserves?"

　　I had been stopped in the middle of my birthday celebration's by my so called mate's new favourite side-piece, Lila. She was only a Gamma, but status didn't seem to matter to her anymore.

　　I was Luna of the Shadowclaw Pack, and all of the surrounding packs had gathered to celebrate with us. But right now, every pair of eyes was trained in my direction, their keen eyesight seeking the source of the commotion. There may not have been any malice in their curious eyes, but nevertheless, I felt embarrassed that they were all present to bear witness to this unseemly conversation.

　　I did my best to suppress the anger that threatened to erupt from inside me and met Lila's condescending gaze without any trace of emotion, even though my blood boiled with the injustice of it all.

　　This was not the first time that one of Mason's lovers had taken it upon themselves to humiliate me in public. This had been happening ever since we got married. This time it was Lila. next time it would probably be a different woman, either a member of this pack or another, even their status didn't matter to Mason. Clearly he didn't discriminate in who he chose to lay with. The worst part of it all was that it was glaringly obvious that no one within my Shadowclaw Pack thought of me as their Luna anymore.

　　I could see the lovebites scattered across Lila's neck and chest, an the sight of them made my heart ache terribly. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that these marks had been left by Mason and as much as I hated to admit it, the pain was crippling.

　　As I was about to reply, Lila's expression changed suddenly and the arrogance that had presented itself so comfortably suddenly morphed into a meek and innocent look, as if she was suddenly fearful of me.

　　"Luna, I'm sorry, I promise I won't go near Mason anymore! Please...let me go!"

　　Before I had time to utter a response, Lila was suddenly on top of me and we fell backward down the stairs together. I didn't even have time to shift into my wolf to try and lessen the impact. I was dimly aware of screams around me as we fell, the only sensation that I was fully aware of was that of Lila's body entangled with my own and the sharp pain that coursed through my back and my arms.

　　We landed in an unceremonious heap at the bottom of the stairs and I was surprised to see the dominating figure of Mason striding towards where I lay purposefully, with concern etched into every line on his face. But, my heart sank as he passed right over me and tended to Lila. Lifting her up carefully and cradling her in his arms as he held her close to his chest.

　　I pushed myself up, wincing at the pain as I stood shakily, forcing my aching legs to obey me. The physical pain that I was experiencing was nothing when compared to the pain in my soul as my wolf whimpered desolately at the scene playing out before me.

　　My eyes had landed on Mason's broad shoulders, is arms wrapped lovingly around Lila as he bent and kissed her forehead gently in front of all of our guests.

　　As he turned his head towards me, I saw nothing but blazing anger reflected in his eyes as I searched for even the slightest bit of concern in there. It was obvious that he thought I had been the instigator in this incident and pushed Lila down the stairs in a fit of jealous rage.

　　When your fated mate fell down the stairs with your lover, who would you choose to see to first?

　　My fated mate, Mason, chose to run to his lover and embarrass his Luna in front of everyone. He had always taken great delight in torturing me this way.

　　A Luna was supposed to be as strong and commanding as any Alpha in any pack, but all I could do was claw my way up from the ground like a feral beast. There was no dignity left in my position here anymore.

　　I pressed my hand against my chest in an effort to ease the pain of my aching heart, as my fingers curled towards my palm, clenching into a fist at the pure anger at the injustice of it all.

　　It was all I could do to hold my head high as I staggered through the countless people gathered here as I made my way through to the banquet hall. I tried to ignore the sore pull of my skin on my grazed knees that oozed blood with each step as I could feel them healing already, but the indignity of the whole incident still stung.

　　No one gave a shit that it was my birthday. They didn't even give a shit that I had been humiliated in such a way at an event supposedly held in my honor! Why would they? It was clear that they had no respect for the infertile Luna who couldn't provide the coveted heir to the pack.

　　I didn't know how much more pain my heart could take. It had been a year of nothing but sadness and suffering and everytime that Mason slept with another woman, it shattered my heart even further.

　　In Mason's opinion, it was what I deserved.

　　Unfortunately for me, I am the daughter of the man who killed Mason's parents. The Shadowclaw Pack and the Thorn Pack had been enemies for generations and there had always been a deep rift between the packs.

　　Mason's father, the former Alpha King of the Shadowclaw Pack, was murdered at the hands of my parents and their son, Mason, was married to me in order to gain control over the Thorn Pack. Mason had hated me for my parent's actions, even though I had no part in it.

　　He had told me countless times that as soon as he found out that I was his fated mate, he had wanted to reject me as would any male wolf in his position. But, the Elder Council had other plans, and suggested that Mason see the Goddess fated match through and proceed with the marking. I was the sole heir to the Thorn Pack after all.

　　Once he had accepted the bond and marked me, he could use this connection to merge the two packs and expand his territory when the time came. At the time of our marking, I had no power at all, and still didn't. A daughter couldn't inherit the title of her father when they stepped down or died, it passed to their mate. After the civil war the Thorn Pack was in a state of turbulence, and the numbers of its members had dwindled considerably. If I wanted to hold on to my family's memory and see the pack survive, then I really had no choice but to merge with another pack. Shadowclaw Pack had been the best choice at the time.

　　Honestly, I felt no attraction to him at all when we first met, and my wolf had little reaction to his presence as well. It wasn't what we had dreamed of in our interaction with our fated mate, but after an intimate dinner with him, I at least, felt the chemistry begin to develop between us.

　　Although I had always considered it odd and that question plagued me to this day. Why hadn't I noticed the chemistry between us from the first meeting?

　　At the time I didn't dwell on it too much. If I wanted my pack to survive then I really was left with little choice.

　　Our wedding was essentially a transaction between two parties, almost a business transaction if you thought about it rationally. We both needed something from the match. What Alpha didn't want to expand his territory and consolidate his power with such ease? Mason had the added bonus of being able to seek his revenge for his parent's death by ensuring that he caused me as much pain as possible though.

　　I sighed as I pulled myself out of my thoughts and chewed my lip nervously. I really didn't want to stay here any longer jst to be ridiculed in whispers behind hands, so I made my way as quietly as possible out of the patio doors in the corner and through to the fountains in the peaceful gardens.

　　There were no people here and the silence was comforting. The cool night air wrapped itself around me and I shivered unexpectedly, smiling at myself in embarrassment.

　　I could feel the tell tale signs of my supposed mate starting a sexual encounter with one of his women and I took a deep breath to steady myself, preparing for the onslaught of pain that I knew would be coming. My wolf howled miserably in my head and it broke me to know that I couldn't ease her pain, only share it.

　　It was at that moment that my emotions spilled over and I allowed myself to cry in the privacy of the gardens. The tears streaming down my face now that I refused to hold them back.

　　As I cried silently, wallowing in my own despair, a hand appeared in front of me, offering a light gray handkerchief. Peering at it through bleary eyes I reached out uncertainly and took it. By the time I had wiped my eyes and turned to thank the person that had offered it, I only saw the back of a tall, muscular man walking back towards the party.