Chapter 001:

Ember's POV.

“It’s good news, Luna Ember… You are pregnant… but we both know it's time to tell him the truth,” Caleb Dark, my closest friend and also the pack's doctor, uttered, his eyes fixed on me.

I was happy knowing that I was carrying the Alpha's child, the Pack's heir, but Caleb's words did little to add to the joy I felt.

“I…” I began to say, but he shook his head.

“No more secrets, Ember… you have to tell Alpha Thane everything. The fact that you have your past bottled up could…” he started to say, but I immediately panicked, springing to my feet.

“I’m sorry, Caleb, but I think I’ll be leaving now. Alpha Thane will be back soon, and I can’t raise suspicions,” I lied, trying not to make him hate me for attempting to hide and run away from the truth.

I understood that he wanted the best for me, but my past wasn't something I could share with anyone. Yes, Alpha Thane deserved to know everything, but what would happen to me? What would happen to my seven-year-old son?

With a swift bow, I turned on my heels and left the room where Caleb sat. He wasn't happy seeing that I didn’t agree with him, but we both knew that trying to force me would do no good.

Leaving the pack's clinic, I began to walk back to the pack's house, my mind swirling with a lot of thoughts. Slowly, my eyes trailed to my tummy, and touching it gently, a smile curled up across my lips.

After escaping the Scar Moon Pack with my unborn son, I tried my best to learn how to be useful, to be a good nurse for myself and the ones I loved.

Five years later, during my night shifts, I unexpectedly caught sight of an elderly man choking on the roadside. I helped save him without knowing that he was the Alpha of the Claw Bane Pack.

Seeing how good I was to him, he decided to grant me a favor, which was to get married to his son, the Alpha Heir of the Claw Bane Pack, Alpha Thane Grey. I didn’t want to at first, but realizing how much I could gain from being the Luna of the pack, I decided to accept the offer.

It was all business at first, but…

Staying closer to Thane, I unexpectedly developed feelings for him. I loved him, and he loved me too. We planned to have kids together, to grow old too, but these dreams faded the second he became the true Alpha of the pack.

He began to give me cold shoulders and barely looked my way. I wasn't sure why, and whenever I asked him, he'd brush me off. This made me feel helpless and lonely in my marriage to Alpha Thane.

I wished for it to end, and maybe this was the only way—to really give him an heir to the throne, to bear a child. But telling him about my son, whom I had kept hidden from the day we first met until now, was something I found hard to do.

I knew how pack politics worked; they would definitely ask for my son's head, so I left him with Doctor Caleb, who had trained me in the medical field. It was a risky move to have brought him to the pack at that point.

But now, who knows? Maybe it wouldn’t be the same. I wasn't sure. Coming to a brief halt in front of the pack's house, I raised my eyes. I hadn't realized how long I had been lost in thought until now.

“Please, Moon Goddess, let him accept me… please, let him be happy.” A painful smile curled up across my lips as I prayed silently.

With a sigh leaving my lips, I walked into the pack's house. Just as I got closer to the room, I caught sight of Alpha Thane and Beta Ivar exiting the room in a rush.

With a sense of urgency, I walked faster toward him, blocking his path.

His brows raised in disgust as he stared at me. “And what's the meaning of this, Luna Ember?” he asked, his voice tinged with contempt that sent a jolting chill down my spine.

I swallowed nervously, preparing to speak. “Please… can I speak to you briefly? I... I have good news.” I stuttered, unsure of the right words to say to him.

I just didn't want to provoke him. I loved him now, after all, and losing him wasn't in my plans. Not now, not ever.

“As you can see, Ember, I’m on my way to an important meeting with the pack's council. So I think this can wait…” he uttered coldly and was about to walk away, but just then, I acted swiftly, grabbing his arm and stopping him right in his tracks before he could take another step.

His glaring eyes trailed down to my hand that gripped him, and immediately, I let go. He had always been like this after becoming the Alpha. If only I knew what had changed.

“I... I promise, it won’t take that long. Please, Alpha Thane,” I begged softly, my heart racing rapidly in his presence.

He hesitated for a split second, turning to Beta Ivar briefly before darting his gaze back to me. “Two seconds,” he let out as he walked into the room.

I followed suit, shutting the door behind me.

“Thank you for—” I was about to say, but then he cut in.

“One second left,” he sounded dismissive as he warned me in his cold tone.

Alpha Thane always kept to his warnings, and if I needed to inform him about being pregnant, I had to tell him now. I just couldn't wait to watch him claim me as his again.

To embrace me, kiss me on my lips, and make sweet promises to me.

With a cheerful smile curling up on my lips, I reached for my tummy before raising my eyes to meet his gaze.

“I called you in here to tell you that I am pregnant, Alpha Thane. I am carrying your son, the heir to the Claw Bane Pack,” I finally let out, expecting a smile at least from him.

But all my expectations were cut short when Alpha Thane walked closer to me, his breath hitting every hair on my face that leaped for joy.

With his green eyes piercing deeply into mine, he commanded, “Abort it… having an affair with you that night was a mistake!”