The Alpha King's Unworthy Luna

The paper in Katerina’s hand felt like a heavy stone. She walked out of the clinic, her eyes stinging with tears she wouldn’t let fall. Was she happy? Or scared? She didn't know anymore.

The doctor’s voice replayed in her head. “The test is positive. You’re going to have a pup.”

Her mind flashed to her bonding ceremony three moons ago. Under the full moon, she had become the mate of Charles Hastings, the next Alpha of their pack. For one night, she felt like her wolf had found its true home.

She had loved Charles since they were pups. She was just ten winters old when she first saw him. From that day, she worked hard to be someone he would notice. 

For twelve long years, she worked to make that seed grow. She knew she was from a low-ranking pack, unworthy of an Alpha’s son. So she worked in secret. Late at night, she taught herself to design and sew, her fingers tracing patterns until they ached. She became “Sienna,” a mysterious designer whose clothes were sought after by the richest she-wolves in the city. She kept it a secret, a treasure she planned to lay at his feet one day. She dreamed of the look on his face when he realized she was more than just a poor girl from the wrong side of the territory.

She came from a weak pack. He was from the strongest. They were from different worlds.

Then, five moons ago, everything broke. At a pack gathering, she drank too much sweet wine. The next morning, she woke up in a strange bed. Charles was asleep beside her. The marks on their skin told the story of a wild, moon-fueled night.

Before she could think, loud banging shook the door. Reporters with flashing cameras pushed their way in. They shouted, "Alpha's Son in Scandal with Unknown She-Wolf!"

Charles’s family, the mighty Hastings pack, was enraged. Their reputation was everything. His grandfather, the old Alpha, was a stern man who valued tradition above all. To stop the gossip and control the story, he gave a single, unbreakable command,  Charles would take Katerina as his bonded mate.

For Katerina, it was a cruel joke. The dream she had wanted for so long was handed to her wrapped in shame and anger.

 Charles never tried to hide his feelings. He looked at her with cold, golden eyes that promised nothing but contempt. He was certain she had planned it all, that she had used the moon’s pull to trap him. He believed she had destroyed his future with Amelia Reds, who, in the pack’s most cruel joke, was also Katerina’s own half-sister, the favored daughter from her father’s second mating.

 who was, in a cruel twist, also Katerina’s own half-sister.

Tonight, after five long, lonely moons in a silent, beautiful den that never felt like home, Katerina found a sliver of courage. Maybe the pup would change things. Maybe it would soften his heart. Her hand shook as she dialed his number. It rang, and rang, and then went to his message box. His voice was crisp and cold. “You know what to do.”

Katerina: Charles, I have big news. Please, come home tonight.

She knew it was useless. He had never slept in their den. She was always alone, while he was… somewhere else. Her phone screen stayed dark.

Her phone buzzed, again, she rushed to pick it, thinking it was from Charles.  Picking it up, she heard her Uncle Ben’s worried voice. “Kattie? Your voice is shaking. Is everything okay with you and Charles? The Pack is whispering.”

“We’re fine, Uncle Ben. Why would they whisper?” she said, her eyes still glued to the miraculous results.

A cold knot tightened in Catherine’s stomach. “You think Charles has taken a mistress? He’s the Alpha king! He’s the most honorable man I know! Of all men, Charles is the last person in the world who will do such a thing!”

“Kattie, even good men can stumble, especially when the moon is so close. Their wolves get restless.”

“Not his,” she said, her voice firm. “Not my Charles.”

With a tired heart, she washed up and moved toward the big, empty bed. Just then, the bedroom door flew open with a loud CRACK.

She jumped, her heart leaping into her throat, a terrified gasp catching in her chest. Charles stood in the doorway, huge and shadowed. His eyes glowed with a dangerous gold light. He smelled of strong drink and wild anger. His massive frame blocking the light from the hall. He was still in his dark suit pants, but his shirt was untucked and unbuttoned at the throat. His tie was gone. His usually sharp and calculating eyes glowed with a feral, molten gold. 

The air in the room thickened, growing heavy with the smell of expensive bourbon and a deeper, wilder musk, the scent of his wolf, angry and close to the surface.

"Charles?" she whispered, the name a fragile prayer. A tiny, foolish hope sparked inside her. "You… you came home."

"Charles?" she whispered, a small hope flickering inside her. "You came home."

He didn’t speak. He walked toward her, his steps slow and heavy. With a brutal, effortless force, he yanked her forward and then threw her back onto the wide mattress. She landed with a jolt, the breath rushing from her lungs in a painful whoosh. Before she could sit up, he was on her, looming over her, caging her in with his powerful arms. His knuckles were white where he gripped the wooden headboard, and she heard the wood groan in protest, threatening to splinter.

"This what you wanted?" His voice was a guttural rasp, the wolf threading through every syllable, making it rough and dangerous. "You called me home. Is this why?" His breath was hot against her face, smelling of whiskey and wildness.

"You plotted for this. You trapped me into this bond with your tricks during the Run. Was it worth it? Dragging my name, my bloodline, through the mud just to get your claws into the next Alpha?"

The accusation was a blade, sharp and cold, twisting deep in her gut. He truly believed she was that cunning, that vile. "You know it wasn't like that," she whispered, her heart now beating very fast. "The moon was strong… our wolves…"

He let out a harsh, humorless laugh that held no warmth, only ice. "I know nothing about you, Katerina. Nothing except that you are a chain around my neck." His glowing eyes scanned her face with pure disgust. "A mark of shame I can never remove."

His words cut deeper than claws. "Charles, it wasn't like that," she pleaded, her voice cracking.

"Lies!" He let out a cold, hard laugh. His face was full of hate. "Stop pretending, Katerina."

Before she could say more, his mouth came down on hers. The kiss was hard and hurtful. It didn’t feel like love. It felt like a fight.