One

"I'm not going to pretend anymore, Diana. I stopped loving you the moment I laid eyes on my mate. I want a divorce."

Marcus’s words cut through me like a knife. I had just stepped out of the kitchen, exhausted from hours of preparing a special dinner to celebrate our anniversary. At first, I thought he was joking, as he often did. I let out a laugh and wiped the sweat from my forehead, trying to shake off the strange feeling creeping into my gut.

“Nice try, but that’s impossible. Everyone knows you can’t function without me,” I teased, expecting his usual grin.

But Marcus didn’t smile. He stood there, stone-faced, and I felt a chill run through me.

“You can’t be serious, Marc. It’s our fifth wedding anniversary. I’ve been cooking all day, and I even bought new lingerie for later tonight. Please tell me this is a joke.”

My voice cracked as I spoke, and my heart pounded in my chest. The truth hit me minutes later when Marcus explained everything to me. Not only did he have a mate, but he had also gotten her pregnant.

"I’m Luna! What would our pack think? You’re all I have left in this world. Please don’t do this," I pleaded and went on my knees as tears streamed down my face.

I searched his face and hoped to find a hint of the love we once shared, but his eyes were stone cold.

"I’m sorry," he said with a flat tone and stepped aside. "We have to end this. I’m in love with Tessa."

My breath caught in my throat. "Tessa? The maid? You’ve been cheating on me right under my roof?"

Before I could process what was happening, Tessa slithered out of the shadows. Her lips curled into a smug smile. She had the audacity to look pleased with herself, like a snake enjoying victory. She was small and delicate, with an innocent face, the last person I would have ever suspected of betrayal.

Behind her stood my mother-in-law and several of the female elders from the pack. My stomach turned. This wasn’t just a private matter anymore. It was a public spectacle, and I felt like I was trapped in a nightmare.

"You’re no longer welcome here," my mother-in-law sneered in a cold and sharp tone. She had never liked me, and now she had the upper hand. "Tessa is the new Luna, and what she says goes."

My heart raced as I looked at Marcus, silently begging him to stop this madness, but he remained silent. Tessa’s eyes glinted with malice as she looked me up and down.

"You don’t belong here," she spat. "I don’t trust you. You might be bitter enough to poison me and my unborn baby."

"I would never do that," I whispered, swallowing my pride as I begged. Something I never thought I’d do. "Please, don’t ruin my life."

"Banish her, my Alpha," Tessa said to Marcus in a purr. "I’m your mate. I’m carrying your child. You have to choose."

Marcus hesitated for a moment, glancing between us before sighing heavily. "I have to do what’s best for Tessa."

"Marcus, please." I fell to my knees, my tears pouring down like rain. "Don’t do this. I’ll stay away from her. I swear. Just don’t banish me."

But Tessa’s voice was like a blade slicing through my desperate pleas. "Choose, Marcus!"

The pack house was never quiet, but now, it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. I could feel the eyes of the pack members on me. They were hiding behind walls, watching the scene unfold and enjoying my humiliation. How could Marcus let this happen? How could he stand by and let another woman destroy everything we had built?

"I’m sorry, Diana," Marcus said. And with a snap of his fingers, one of his men handed him a manila envelope. He passed it to me without hesitation. "Sign the divorce papers. After today, you’re no longer welcome in my pack."

My hands trembled as I held the papers. I felt numb, like my mind was swimming in fog. The ink blurred before my eyes as my tears spilled onto the pages.

“No, Marcus," I gasped, shaking my head. "You can’t do this. I’ve done nothing to deserve this.”

My mother-in-law grew impatient and shoved a ball pen at me. "It’s better if you leave now," she snarled. "We don’t want Tessa or the baby at risk because of you. You’re barren and useless anyway."

Every part of me wanted to tear the papers apart, to scream at the injustice, but I knew it was pointless. Marcus was already lost to me. I signed the papers, my tears falling harder. As soon as I was done, Tessa wrapped her arms around Marcus, kissing his face like a giddy schoolgirl.

Marcus glanced at me and guilt flickered in his eyes. I thought he was going to laugh and say it was all a prank, but he turned away and walked out with Tessa without a word.

"Take her out," my mother-in-law ordered the guards. "Throw her past the border. She’s no longer one of us."

I was dragged from the pack house, stripped of everything I had ever known, with nothing but the clothes on my back. "Please," I begged, my voice cracking. "Don’t leave me out here. It’s getting dark, and I have nowhere to go."

The guards ignored me as they marched me to the border. Pack members trailed behind, whispering among themselves, and watching as I was forced out like an animal. The news had already spread through the mind-link, and everyone was there to witness my downfall.

At the border, they shoved me out without so much as a word. The gates slammed shut behind me with a deafening clang. I collapsed against the gate, my fists pounding against it as I cried out in desperation. But no one came for me.

Marcus wasn’t my fated mate, but I had loved him. I had loved him with everything I had, and now he was gone, leaving me with nothing.

I wandered aimlessly through the forest. My wolf form took over as I tried to avoid other packs. When I reached the roads, I shifted into my human form, hoping no one would recognize me. No pack would dare take in a disgraced Luna.

By the fourth day, I was so tired I could barely walk. I had survived on nothing but a few wild fruits, and my body was on the verge of collapse. I didn’t even know where I was anymore, only that I was near the Lycan pack’s territory.

Lycans were larger and stronger than werewolves. We rarely crossed paths, and I wasn’t looking to stir up trouble.

“I see her!” a voice called from behind me. I was too weak to react. My feet shuffled forward as a group of Lycan guards quickly surrounded me.

“My Queen!" one of them exclaimed. "We’ve been searching for you since the rogue attack. The king’s been worried sick."

I blinked, trying to make sense of their words. "You have the wrong person," I muttered.

One of the Lycans chuckled. "You’re exhausted. Let us take you back home. The king will be relieved."

My stomach growled painfully, and my body screamed for rest. I needed food, shelter, anything. Maybe I’d let them take me back. At least for tonight.

“Fine,” I muttered. “Take me with you.”