Escaping My Mate

After ten years of war in the southern territory, my mate, Nick, finally returned—a battle-scarred Alpha with victory in his eyes. When he told me he wanted to claim me as his Luna, my wolf stirred with longing. At that moment, I thought I had finally found my place within the pack.

But fate had other plans.

Three months after his return, I discovered the truth. A full terabyte of intimate recordings of Nick and my best friend, Sherry, was hidden within his computer, alongside journal entries overflowing with love confessions to her.

My wolf howled in agony.

The bond that was supposed to tie us together felt like a cruel joke.

Then, I checked his secondary WhatsApp account. Though Sherry had blocked him, he still sent her love-filled pleas, desperate voice recordings—words meant for a mate, not a forbidden lover.

When I confronted him, my Alpha did not falter. He stood tall, unrepentant, his piercing golden eyes filled with cold indifference.

The argument that followed left my wolf snarling, aching to lash out, but I forced myself to walk away. I needed distance, needed him to feel my absence, to understand the weight of my pain.

When I went to the hospital for a prenatal checkup, I saw Nick down on one knee in the hospital lobby, holding roses. For a moment, I thought he was begging for my forgiveness.

In that instant, a spark of happiness flickered in my heart. If Nick had indeed ended things with Sherry, I was truly willing to forgive him since I was also carrying his child.

After all, those intimate videos and messages were in the past. I could not let old wounds ruin our future, especially now that Nick was standing there with flowers and a gift box, looking at me with such determination—this was the proposal I had dreamed of for ten years.

He said, "Marry me, be my Luna, and let me be the father of our child!"

I smiled and took a step forward, already imagining our reconciliation. I even planned the perfect candlelit dinner at Moonlight Restaurant to celebrate. However, his next words stopped me in my tracks.

"Will you, Sherry?"

I found myself lost in the crowd of onlookers while Sherry stood at the center, one hand on her belly as she reached out to take his flowers. Her face was glowing with happiness.

I stood frozen, suffocating in my own humiliation. Just seconds ago, I had been stupid enough to believe he was proposing to me.

Nick stood up, gently embracing Sherry from behind. Then, he tenderly brushed aside her long hair to place his family's heirloom moonstone necklace around her neck.

The crowd erupted into cheers as Sherry leaned into him, their lips meeting in a deep, lingering kiss.

The scent of their mingling pheromones was suffocating.

I had once believed that nothing could physically hurt an Alpha's mate unless rejected, but in that moment, I realized I had been wrong.

I felt a sharp pain in my belly, and I nearly collapsed. However, I managed to find the obstetrician, schedule an abortion appointment, and leave. This would be my second time losing a child.

I had been pregnant once before, three years ago. However, Nick was still at war, conquering the southern packs.

He said that my pregnancy would interfere with his grand ambitions since he could not divide his attention to care for me. So, he had asked me to abort the child.

He had assured me, "Don't worry. We're young and healthy. We can always have another baby later."

I told him that werewolves were not supposed to terminate their pregnancies and that the Moon Goddess would punish us.

Yet, he was unfazed. He simply replied, "I don't care about the Moon Goddess. I'm the Alpha, and if I say get rid of it, you get rid of it."

After seeing that I went through with the abortion, he abandoned me to continue fighting in the southern territory, pursuing his goals.

Like a naive, devoted mate, I had done as he commanded, believing his promises that we would have a family when the time was right.

And yet, when I had awoken from that bloodstained nightmare, he had already left—gone to war once more, leaving me to suffer alone.

Even then, I made excuses for him. He was an Alpha with responsibilities, and I told myself I needed to be more understanding.

It was not until I witnessed him proposing to Sherry at the hospital that I understood the truth—it was not that he could not sacrifice his ambitions for a child; he just did not want to sacrifice them for our child.

As Nick carefully helped Sherry walk to the hospital courtyard, she said, "Nick, I'll agree to marry you, but I want Flora as my bridal attendant—what humans call a bridesmaid. If you don't agree, I won't go through with the wedding."

Nick was an Alpha, and I was curious whether he would actually allow such an absurd arrangement at his wedding.

Nick frowned. "If you don't marry me, who else would you marry? You belong to me, Sherry. You're my Luna."

"Yes, you're the Alpha, and I can't escape that. If you won't let Flora be my bridesmaid, I'll just... I'll just have to be secretly unhappy!" Sherry pouted.

He conceded, "Well, it seems that to keep you happy, I have no choice but to agree. Now, will you marry me?"

"We should surprise Flora! Let's keep it a secret until the wedding day. You know how temperamental she is, and if we accidentally offend her, she might refuse, and then I'd have no attendant," Sherry suggested.

"Don't worry. She owes me her life, and I spent ten years with her—she has no reason to refuse. Besides, being the Luna's attendant would be the greatest honor for someone like her," Nick assured her.

Then, he pulled Sherry into his arms and kissed her again—long, deep, and full of passion. This time, not only did my belly hurt, but my heart felt like it was being stabbed.

I staggered forward with my last bit of strength. With trembling hands, I pulled out my phone and called my brother, Francis Haywood, the Alpha of the Blue Moon Pack.

I whispered weakly, "Francis, come get me. I want to go home."