Spoiled by my Ex’s Uncle 1

LEILA MILLER

The moonlight trickled through the slightly parted curtains, casting pale shadows across the room. I lay beside Matt, my body still warm from our time together, but my mind buzzed with restless thoughts.

I should have felt content, wrapped in the embrace of the man I’d loved for two years. Yet, a familiar ache stirred within me, one I couldn’t shake no matter how hard I tried.

I turned my head, watching Matt as he lay beside me, his breathing even and slow, already drifting into sleep. His arm was draped over me, possessive even in slumber. I closed my eyes, trying to focus on the steady rhythm of his breathing, hoping it might calm the storm in my chest. That was what I usually did, for I’d heard it could calm the mind. But tonight, like every other night lately, it didn’t work.

Two years together, and still no real commitment. We were still not married, despite all his promises, despite the hope I’d clung to for so long.

Matt had told me from the beginning that it would take time. He needed to prove to the pack that I was worthy of him, that I wasn’t just a rogue who had wandered in from nowhere. He said they needed to accept me before we could make our union official. I’d believed him back then, eager to win over the New Moon Pack. But now, after two years, those promises were starting to wear thin.

I pressed a hand to my stomach, feeling the emptiness there. We’d been together long enough to start a family. I wanted that so badly. It had always been my dream—maybe because I’d lost my mother at a young age; the idea of motherhood had meant the world to me. But every time I brought up the idea of children, Matt dismissed it.

“Not yet,” he would always say. “Now is not the right time. We can’t have kids until we’re married to ensure their name, and you know the pack still hasn’t fully accepted you. I just need more time to make them see.”

How much more time was he going to need? How much longer would I need to keep proving myself? Just earlier, we’d argued about one of the things I had to do to gain their approval.

“Why haven’t you gone in for your blood draw these last two months?” he had asked, his tone tight, more an accusation than a question.

Yes, the blood draw. Because of my rogue identity, the pack required me to submit to monthly blood tests. But in truth, I wasn’t rogue. I had Alpha blood, but I hid my lineage to avoid causing chaos within the pack.

I had turned to him, startled by the intensity in his voice. “I haven’t gone because—”

“How dare you!” he snapped, cutting me off before I could explain.

I flinched, taken aback by the force of his words. Still, I said, “I think it’s time to stop. My wolf... she’s weak, and I—”

Matt’s fists clenched at his sides, but then, just as quickly, his expression shifted. A practiced smile replaced the anger, and he placed a hand on my shoulder, his touch too light, too calculated. “I know,” he said, his tone dripping with false sweetness. “That’s why I’ve arranged for the chef to make you the best meals, to keep you healthy. All you need to do is go for your monthly checkups. You don’t have to worry about anything else.” That was how he had brushed it off.

But deep down, I knew I didn’t belong to this pack. I never had. I was the daughter of the Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack, destined for a different path.

I had given it all up and left my pack for Matt, for the man who had once saved me when I was in danger near my pack’s borders. Two months after I confessed my love, he proposed, and it had felt like a dream come true. I thought I’d finally found a place where I could be loved, where my Alpha blood wouldn’t matter.

I wanted him to love me for who I was, not because of the power that flowed through my veins.

That was why I never told Matt about my real identity. I thought it didn’t matter, that it wouldn’t, no matter what I was asked to do, no matter how much blood I had to give. I was the daughter of an Alpha; my body and my wolf should have been strong enough to handle however much blood they needed. But I had been wrong.