Chapter 5: I'm Leaving You

Elena's Pov

I was running, but I didn't know where I was going. All I could hear were the voices around me, mocking and laughing.

"A wolf-less Luna."

 "A Luna who cannot bear children."

 "She doesn't deserve to be Luna." I covered my ears, but their voices only grew louder. No matter how fast I ran, I couldn't escape them.

Then someone shouted, "She's nothing but a burden to the Alpha!"

I turned around and saw people pointing at me with disgust. I wanted to tell them they were wrong, that I was still their Luna, but the words wouldn't come out.

A sudden splash of cold water hit my face, and I gasped as I jerked awake. My clothes and sheets were wet, and my hair stuck to my face.

As I opened my eyes, I saw the Beta's daughter sitting beside my bed with an empty basin in her hands. She was wearing a beautiful dress, one that immediately caught my attention. It was the kind of dress reserved for the Luna, the kind I had worn proudly for years.

She noticed me staring and smiled. "Finally awake? You looked so miserable that I thought you might sleep forever."

I pushed myself up and wiped the water from my face. My body was still weak after spending so long locked in the room without proper food or water. "What are you doing here?" I asked.

 She glanced down at her dress. "Can't you tell? I'm getting used to my new position."

I frowned at her. "Don't get too comfortable. You're only a surrogate. Once you give birth, you'll be sent away."

She laughed. "You're still thinking that way? You're more naive than I thought. I'm the Beta's daughter. I've known the Alpha since we were young, and I've fought beside him. We've faced life and death together. Do you really think I'm just some woman carrying his child?"

She placed a hand on her stomach. "The child we're having will be a powerful Alpha and the future heir of this pack. So why would the mother of the future heir be sent away?"

My heart sank, but she wasn't done. "The entire pack already sees me as the future Luna. The elders have been unhappy with you for years. You've been here all this time, yet you still haven't given the pack an heir. How much longer do you think they'll tolerate you?"

 I clenched my hands beneath the blanket. "You cannot take my position just because you're pregnant."

She tilted her head. "Can't I? What exactly can you do to stop me? You can't give the Alpha what he needs. All you do is make things difficult for him."

Her words hurt because they touched the things I had spent years trying to forget. I had no family or parents. I had been brought into the pack as an orphan, and the only reason I became Luna was because the Alpha loved me.

 I had believed that his love would be enough, but I couldn't shift, I wasn't a strong fighter, and I had failed to give him an heir after all these years. Maybe the elders were right. Maybe I had never been good enough. Still, I refused to let her see how much she was hurting me.

"You're only saying this to upset me. You may be carrying his child, but that doesn't make you Luna."

She laughed softly, and when I looked up, my eyes caught something on her neck. A fresh mark. I stared at it, my throat tightening as I recognized it. "Who marked you?" I asked, my voice trembling.

 She touched the mark with a proud smile. "Who else? The Alpha, of course. He marked me to protect me and the baby. An Alpha's mark carries his power, and he wants to make sure nothing happens to his child. Doesn't that show how much he values us?"

I couldn't speak. My husband had marked another woman. The same man who had promised before the Moon Goddess to love and protect me had given her his mark.

She watched my face, clearly pleased with my reaction. "Instead of clinging to him, why don't you leave while you still can? Give up your place. No one here will value you anymore. The Alpha has a child to protect now, and you should stop making things difficult for him."

She stood, straightened her dress, and walked out, leaving the door wide open. I stared at the doorway, but there were no guards outside. No one had come to stop her from entering my room, and no one was there to stop her from leaving. It was as though she could do whatever she wanted now.

For a long moment, I couldn't move. Seeing that mark had broken the last bit of hope I had been holding on to. I had tried to convince myself that the Alpha was only keeping her close because of the baby, but he had marked her and given her his protection. He would always favor her and the child she carried.

The guards had already changed their attitude towards me, and the servants no longer treated me with respect. Without the Alpha's love, they didn't see me as their Luna. Perhaps they had never truly accepted me in the first place.

I lowered my hand to my stomach. There was a life growing inside me, a child I had prayed for and waited so long to have. I wouldn't allow my baby to grow up in a place where their mother was treated like a burden. I wouldn't let anyone hurt my child or make them suffer because of what was happening between their parents. Perhaps I really had to leave.

I climbed out of bed and walked to the closet. My legs were still weak, but I forced myself to keep moving. I took out a small bag and packed only a few necessities and some clothes. As I packed, I looked around the room. This was where the Alpha and I had shared so many happy memories.

 I remembered the times we had laughed together, the nights I had waited for him to return, and the moments when I had fallen asleep in his arms. I had once imagined growing old with him in this room. I had even pictured raising our children here, never thinking that one day I would have to leave alone.

When I finished packing, I stood in the middle of the room and took one last look around. My heart ached, but I forced myself to put the feelings aside. At Kael's instruction, the guards outside had already been sent away, leaving the hallway empty. I picked up my small bag and walked towards the door.

I didn't know where I would go or what would happen next, but I knew I couldn't stay. With one hand holding my bag and the other resting on my stomach, I walked away from the only home I had ever known.