Chapter 1 My Alpha Had a Secret Heir

Elara’s POV

“I’m not attending the Northern Gathering this time.”

I said it over dinner, so calmly that no one at the table could have guessed anything was wrong.

The Northern Gathering was held every year to strengthen alliances between the northern packs. As Damon Blackwood’s Luna, I had never missed one.

Damon paused as he was placing a piece of roasted lamb on my plate. He looked up at me, a slight frown crossing his face: “I thought we agreed you’d come with me. Why the sudden change?”

“I’m tired.” I kept my eyes on my plate, avoiding his concerned gaze. “I don’t feel like making the trip this year.”

Damon was such a convincing liar. Even now, he could sit across from me and act like the devoted mate I'd always believed him to be.

Yet that morning, I had walked out of the hospital six weeks pregnant, already imagining the look on Damon’s face when I told him.

Then I saw him down the hall with his hidden son.

I heard the little boy ask Damon, “Daddy, can we go see the northern lights for my birthday in three days?”

Turned out, three days from now wasn’t just the Northern Gathering. It was his hidden son’s birthday.

I could hardly believe what I'd seen.

Everyone in Blackwood Pack knew how much their Alpha loved his Luna. He brought me everywhere, even to meetings where the other Alphas left their Lunas at home.

I had believed that love more than anyone, until a four-year-old boy called him Dad. Which meant that not long after our bonding ceremony, Damon had gotten another woman pregnant.

For five years, he had come home to me every night and played the devoted mate while raising a son behind my back.

I couldn’t decide which was worse. That Damon had lied so well. Or that I had loved him enough to believe every word.

Before Damon could respond, Helena Blackwood, the former Luna and Damon’s mother, glanced at him across the table.

“Then Elara may stay home.”She then smiled at me.“The trip is exhausting. You should rest.”

Something about her tone felt too quick and too prepared, then she gave Damon the slightest shake of her head.

It was a warning.

My fingers tightened around my fork. So Helena knew too. Maybe I was the only person in this family who hadn’t.

“I’m full.”I pushed my chair back and stood, unable to bear sitting at the table with them any longer.

“Elara.” Damon frowned, his voice filled with concerns, “you barely ate.”

“I’m not hungry.”

He looked like he wanted to ask more, but Helena shot him another look. This time, I saw it clearly. Helena must knew everything, but they decided to hide from me.

Damon fell silent for seconds, then he looked at me and said: “Get some rest. I’ll come see you later.”

I nodded and left the dining room. I had just turned the corner at the end of the hallway when Helena’s voice carried after me.

“You can’t keep that boy hidden forever.”

I stopped.

“Keep your voice down.”Damon answered in a low voice.

“He’s four years old, Damon. He’s your firstborn son and the future heir of Blackwood Pack. How much longer are you planning to keep him outside this pack?”

My hand tightened around the edge of the wall as I struggled to steady myself. Firstborn. Future heir. Each word felt like another blow to my chest.

This morning, I had thought I was carrying Damon’s first child. Apparently, I was four years too late.

“I told you I’d handle it,” Damon said, irritation creeping into his voice.

“When?” Helena demanded.

Damon didn’t answer.

Helena continued in a firm, commanding tone. “You’re leaving in three days. Bring the boy back with you this time. It’s time the pack knew who he is.”

“No.” Damon’s refusal was immediate.

“And Vanessa should come too.”

Vanessa, the boy’s mother.

I knew that name all too well. Vanessa Hale had once been hopelessly in love with Damon, following him everywhere despite his repeated rejections. After our bonding ceremony, she'd left to study medicine, and I hadn't heard much about her since.

And now, apparently, she'd been Damon's secret lover for the past four years.

Damon’s voice turned cold. “Absolutely not.”

“She gave you an heir.” Helena reminded him, as though that alone should settle the argument.

“That changes nothing.” Damon’s tone was firm.

“It changes everything! Elara has been your Luna for five years and still hasn’t given this pack a child. Vanessa has.”

Helena continued, “You need to start thinking about what’s best for Blackwood. Let Vanessa take her place.”

So this was what they'd been planning behind my back. Damon had secretly started a family with Vanessa, and now they wanted her to take my place as Luna.

“No.”Damon’s answer came without hesitation.“I will never leave Elara.”

My chest tightened. Once, hearing him say that would have made me feel like the luckiest woman, now it only made me cold.

Helena sighed. “Then what are you going to do about Vanessa and your son?”

“I’ll figure something out.”

“You said that four years ago, and nothing’s changed!”

“I said I’ll handle it.” Damon’s voice hardened. “The boy will be taken care of. So will Vanessa. But Elara is my Luna. That will not change.”

I didn’t stay to hear the rest, because there was nothing left to hear. Damon wanted his son and Vanessa taken care of. And he wanted to keep me as his Luna. Apparently, the Blackwood Alpha wanted everything.

I walked out into the garden and saw the moonflowers were in full bloom.

Damon had planted the entire garden for me after our bonding ceremony because I once told him I loved the way it smelled. For five years, I had thought this garden was proof of how much he loved me. Now the scent only made me sick.

I took out my phone and called my best friend Maya.

Maya answered quickly, “Elara?”

“Maya, I need you to help me arrange a plane crash.” I said. “Something convincing enough that everyone believes I died.”

Maya sounded surprised. “Elara, what happened?”

I didn’t know where to begin. This morning, I had been carrying an ultrasound photo and wondering how to surprise Damon with the happiest news of our lives. Tonight, I had learned that he already had a five-year-old heir.

By the time I finished telling Maya everything, she had gone completely quiet.

“I just want to leave him.”I said, “Two weeks from now.”

That was our bonding anniversary, it was the day Damon and I had once promised before the Moon Goddess that we would spend the rest of our lives together.

That seemed fitting, because the day our forever began would be the day I ended it. Since Damon already had another woman and a son, he could keep them.

And on our bonding anniversary, I would disappear from his life for good.