Chapter 0002

ALaric.

“It should have been Cara!”

After propose, my wolf’s voice was cold and firm in my head.

“I told you, Grey,”

I sighed, speaking with my wolf internally, “This is my choice, not yours.”

“And it was also your choice to have sex with Cara just last month! She was good enough for you then!” Grey insisted.

“You know good and well the mate bond is hard to resist. But having sex with her doesn’t mean I love her. And it certainly doesn’t mean she’s fit to be the pack’s true Luna,”

We’d been over this so many times since I had decided to propose to Lilia that it was grating my nerves.

He growled at me, clearly upset. But he would just have to get over it.

“Alpha King! Congratulations! And such a fine and beautiful she-wolf to be the pack’s Luna!”

The pack elders were patting me on the back, beside themselves with pride that I had selected a noble-born from a neighboring pack to join Pack DarkWood’s Alpha family.

“Thank you for such kind words. I’m sure my brother, the Alpha King of Pack BloodyMoon, will be excited to hear that we intend to try for pups right away,”

Lilia’s voice was demure and sweet as she stroked her belly lovingly.

“What excellent news! An heir right away!” The elders were overjoyed.

They’d been plaguing me with questions about when I’d produce an heir. Every pack meeting for three years had ended with a reminder from the elders that time was ticking to settle down, marry, and establish the new Alpha family. It was for the stability of the pack, they had insisted.

I used to think that it’d be Cara at my side. Smart, strong, incredibly sexy… Cara is everything I wanted in a Luna.

I never cared that she was low-born, she was an incredible worker and always put the pack above herself. Or so I thought.

I’ll never forget the day that changed it all. The day I learned what she REALLY cares about.

I remember Cara’s plea to my father the day before I took over as Alpha King.

*

“But that’s not enough,”

I honestly didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but my father’s office door was wide open, and as Alpha King-to-be, I figured I probably had a right to listen.

“The deal is done, Cara. You’ll take the Agent Luna position temporarily for the time being,” my father had said to her.

“But the money! Please, just need more money…” she replied.

*

I stormed off at that point, unable to bear any more of her pathetic attempts to weasel my family, and the pack, out of more money.

When I pulled up the pack’s financial records and saw the frequent, large transfers into Cara’s bank account, anger coursed through my veins.

She had said in her own words that even those substantial sums were not enough. It was all about money for her!

I know she didn’t have the best upbringing being raised as a pack adoptee, but where was her sense of loyalty to the pack? To me?

The betrayal cut me so deep that I vowed then and there that I would never propose to Cara. Fate Mates be damned.

I never expected that my Fate Mate would be a gold digger. And every time pay day comes, she’s all too happy to receive a check. It’s like salt in the wounds all over again.

But damn if she didn’t make it hard to resist. I’ll admit, I haven’t been a perfect angel. Sometimes when I’m around Cara her scent envelopes me, and my instincts, my wolf, just take over.

The sex has been amazing. Better than amazing.

She fits me perfectly, exactly as I’d expect for a Fate Mate.

“We need her! ” my wolf, Grey, growls in my head.

But I can’t let anyone, not even my Fate Mate, take advantage of Pack DarkWood.

It’s my responsibility as Alpha King to protect the pack above all else. Especially from those who would pretend to care about me, and the pack, only to sell us out when it suits her wallet.

Lilia is exactly what I need, what the pack needs, no matter what my wolf wants. Lilia understands what it’s like to run a pack, having grown up in an Alpha family. She’d make a wonderful Luna.

Lilia is gorgeous and noble. She’s sweet and caring. And she’s got that unmistakable dark red hair…Darker than Cara's red hair.

She was even kind enough to offer to deal with Cara, and I knew her gentleness would stave off any awkwardness between the two she-wolves. Obviously, it wouldn’t be the most comfortable interaction, but Lilia offered to handle it anyway.

What other she-wolf would be so kind?

When I didn’t see Lilia after a while, I went searching. I found Cara, crying alone. The sight of her tears did something odd to me inside, like my heart was aching.

I did my best to comfort her, but she threw the bank cards at me and ran off. I’ve never seen her like this before. In fact, she’s usually the most steady and reliable she-wolf I know.

Something had to have made her so upset…

“Cara! Fate Mate!” My wolf’s voice was insistent in my mind.

Wait a minute… maybe Grey wasn’t the only one upset about Lilia.

Was that what this was all about? Did I get it all wrong?

Could Cara actually love me……?

Cara.

As I rushed through the hotel eager to leave, I passed several rooms of waitstaff cleaning up. I couldn’t help but overhear some of their conversations as I tried to navigate the maze of hallways, searching for a way out.

“I mean she was doing the whole ‘Agent Luna’ thing for YEARS now. I just assumed he’d propose to Cara and make it official.”

“Yeah, and she did such a great job, too. She’s got to be the best Beta the pack’s ever had. But… it’s got to be because she’s low-born.”

“That’s true. Everyone knows the elders want a purely noble-born heir.”

Great, even the hotel waitstaff know I’m not a suitable match for Alaric. Everyone knew it but me, apparently.

“But you ARE a match for him! You’re his FATE MATE!” Lucy nearly screamed into my head.

“Well, clearly HE doesn’t care, does he?!” I internally yelled back at her.

I couldn’t think of anything else to do, so I walked. I needed to move. Needed to clear my head and this anxious energy.

I needed to be away from everyone.

It's already dark outside the hotel, and it's now late ate night.

I walked and walked until my feet couldn’t carry me any further. I leaned against a lamppost, not quite sure exactly where I was. I looked at my feet, overwhelmed with the sense of defeat.

I cried. I cried and cried and cried so hard that my heart hurt, my eyes hurt, everything hurt. I cried harder than I had in my entire life.

Even after being orphaned as a pup, I’ve never cried like this.

I’ve never hurt quite like this.

I retch, the exhaustion and dizziness from earlier in the day all hitting me at once. My hand raises to wipe a tear, and I look down at the mess I’ve made on the street.

Wait… vomiting, fatigue, dizziness… I never get sick like this…

Is it…Could it be?

When was my last period?

Counting the days since then, and since the last time I had sex with Alaric, a bone-chilling realization hits me.

Could I… be pregnant?!