Chapter 1 – The return of the Alpha

Ame POV

The day my husband brought home his fated mate, was the day my unborn child died.

***

“Luna, you’re eight months’ pregnant, you should let us handle these dangerous tasks.”

“I’m fine Lacey, I’m pregnant, not on death’s doors.”

“Even so, the alpha will have my head if he learns I let you set this stage up.” Lacey takes the screwdriver from my hold, pocketing it to complete the tasks herself.

She was my personal maid, having been assigned to me by Calian the moment we learned he needed to leave for war, leaving me just after we celebrated the news of our baby.

The news we had desperately waited for, having tried for three whole years to fall pregnant.

We both expected him to return within the week. Neither of us had expected the war to take as long as it did, he has missed the entire length of my pregnancy.

But today the pack finally received word of his return, my husband would be here for the birth of our first-born child.

Our alpha was already on his way home to us.

It hadn’t always been simple with Calian, yet he had always been in my life. I was the orphaned child of the beta couple, my father finally joining my mother in my early teen years.

Since then, I had been a constant figure in the alpha home at the generosity of Calian’s father.

He too returned to the moon goddess just after our arranged marriage, organised on his part to strengthen the pack.

I wasn’t Calian’s fated mate, yet he assured me at our wedding that if his father didn’t arrange this marriage, then it would only have been a matter of time before he did.

As daughter to the beta couple, I was held in high regards in the pack, our people responding to my orders without question.

I am the luna but in the past eight months I have been the acting alpha, going above and beyond to keep our borders safe.

In the early months of our marriage, Calian had put my doubts to rest, assuring me he didn’t need his fated mate.

I have always loved Calian, being his wife was something I hadn’t expected in my wildest dreams.

Yet here I am, pregnant with his child….the next chapter in our lives about to begin.

Tonight, would be a pack-wide extravaganza, an opportunity to not only celebrate our people that had been my rock and not questioned my luna authority once, but also knowing our alpha had safely survived the war that had ripped other packs apart.

As I finish setting up the stage for the pack concert tonight, I hear distant sounds of excitement…that the alpha had finally returned.

I look to Lacey, who places her hand out, supporting me as I step down from the high-built stage.

“He’s home?” I look to Lacey, I could feel the excitement exuding out of me, even our baby bounced inside from pure joy.

“Go be with Alpha, goddess knows he won’t leave you alone now.” Lacey taps the top of my hand, confirming the news…she will have felt through the pack link that he was truly here.

She has become like a mother figure to me in the past eight months. Being my support whilst the alpha has been away.

There was still a lot to do, but the rest could wait. I wanted to be with my husband.

I move as quickly as possible back into the alpha house, the stage being set up in the back field by our home.

Excitement bursting out of me as I push open the alpha office door, the pack rumblings not being a hoax.

He really had returned.

The impressive towering figure of the Shadow Hunters Alpha back where he belongs.

“Calian?” I stride over to him, as he leans against the mantlepiece in his office.

He turns to face me, his arms opening out, it was his usual invitation for me to press my head against his chest.

It soothes me to hear his heartbeat, to hear it beating so strong.

His body is holding a lot more tension than I remember, and he lets me go too soon.

His eyes are darker than usual, his face more taunt than when he left. I suppose that would be expected, having lived on a battlefield for eight months.

Yet he was still the most impressive alpha of our years, his unmatched muscular build which he had inherited from his alpha heritage, making him impossible to beat in a fight.

A dark beard covers his face, his black hair unkept as he looks as if he had only left the battlefield.

He moves back to the mantlepiece, a sigh emitting from him as he seems to be bracing himself for something.

He was exhausted, after some rest and a good meal, he’ll be my Calian again.

“Was it really that bad?”

“Yes Ame, I’m afraid it was.” He sighs again, a hand moving up to stroke the side of my face before he slowly lowers it back down.

“But you are home now, we can start to get things back to normal.”

“Normal?” His fingers run through his hair line, his jaw tensing as I place my hand on the tip of his shoulder.

He wasn’t acting like my husband; he wasn’t as warm as I remember.

I know war has changed many, but I didn’t think it would change my Calian.

His movements were more controlled than usual, he was guarded.

“Calian?” I lower my hand, wrapping it around his and gently squeezing. I had missed him more than I dare ever tell him.

Each day I had worried, every night I had prayed that he would come out a victor…even more so when all communication with him suddenly stopped.

I place his hand firmly on top of my prominent belly. He had missed so much, but we can make up for lost time.

I understand as Luna that duty comes first especially when you were an alpha.

“Ame, there’s something you need to know. ”

“Oh?”

“I haven’t returned alone.”

“What do you mean?” I hold his gaze even as he removes his hand from my stomach, the spot now feeling cold from his lost touch.

“I met my fated mate during the war.”

“Your fated mate….” I gasp out, a sudden chill running up my spine. Of all the announcements

he could have made, I would never have expected this.

“I have brought her home with me.”

“She is here?” I try to remain calm, reminding myself that he had promised to me he didn’t need

his fated mate.

He was just being the good person that I know he is.

“Yes, I couldn’t leave her…you’ll understand why.” He lowers his voice before calling out a name towards the hallway.

“Dessa!” His eyes abandon mine, shooting to the doorway behind me. I turn, intrigued by what has captivated him, to find a female now crossing the threshold of his office.

The female, of similar colourings to Calian, takes a step forward. Her straight black hair falling just below her shoulders and her eyes, an exact copy of my husband’s deep brown.

“This is a big change, for all of us. I understand it will take some adjusting Ame, but I need you to welcome Dessa and the child.”

“Child?” It isn’t until he mentions the word that my eyes drop down to her stomach, a similar protruding pregnant belly mirroring my own.

I hadn’t even realised she also was pregnant.

I look down at my own belly, cradling my baby. The baby I had waited for, prayed for…his father already has a second family, and he isn’t even born yet.

What does this mean for our child, if he already has another child with his fated mate on the way.

Inside I was screaming at this revelation, my entire body breaking at the very seams.

Any hopes of him just offering to house his fated mate have been trampled on, she was already pregnant and with his child.

Not only had he met his fated mate, but he had also already been intimate with her. Touched her, slept with her…and betrayed me in the process. Our wedding vows…the words of reassurance after our wedding now meant nothing.

A strong sensation of nausea washes over me, my chest suddenly aching.

“Ame?” I look down as tingles erupt across the palm of my hand as he pulls me towards him.

“I know this is difficult, but the child of my fated mate will be important to our pack, to our people.”

I watch his lips move but I struggle to connect the words, what he is asking me. He wants me to welcome the child, the mother….his fated mate.

My entire world has just come crashing down on me, my husband had finally returned to me after eight long months, and he wasn’t alone.

He hadn’t been pining for me like I had for him, he hadn’t been desperately praying every night to return to me…he had been living another life.

Albeit what they have done to me; I know in my heart of hearts that I couldn’t reject an innocent child.

Especially when I, myself, have been sheltered by my husband’s family.

I move back towards the stage area, needing comfort from Lacey. My mind was in turmoil as I try

to comprehend what had just happened.

A moment ago, I was preparing for the party tonight, to honour our alpha’s return, to celebrate the forthcoming arrival of our son.

Now somehow not only has my husband conceived another child, but that child is now going to be part of our baby’s life.

His fated mate remaining in this pack.

“Luna?” Lacey’s concerned expression does nothing to pacify the tears that want to fall.

Mindlessly I climb back up to the stage, towards my maid.

“You’re shivering. What is it, where is the alpha?” She starts to warm up my arms, her eyes searching behind me as I already feel another presence join us.

“Who is that?” Lacey whispers out to me, but I slam my eyes shut wanting the ground to swallow me up.

“Leave us!” I quietly order out, not ready for others to know who she is yet. But I know it is only a matter of time before they do.

As soon as we are alone, Dessa climbs up the steep steps, joining me on stage. My eyes refuse to look at her, their sole focus on the lights above.

“I can’t begin to understand what you are feeling, carrying this child alone.” She breaks the awkward silence between us, as I see her stepping closer to me in my peripheral vision.

“But imagine my surprise when I find out that my fated mate is already married, already has a Luna.”

My eyes close at her words. She was right, this must be difficult for her too.

I’m conflicted, Calian expects me to give this female and the child a chance, and I of all people

know how long he has waited to be a father.

How important a mother is to a child, could I send

her away, knowing the child would need her.

“I’m just trying to get my head around this, I need time…” I sigh out, trying my best to mask my true emotions but they are brimming at the surface.

“Unfortunately, time is not a luxury I have.” She sighs, her head dropping down as she cradles her own pregnancy bump.

Before I know what has happened, my body is falling through the air, Dessa on top of me, as we both fall to the ground.

Nausea grips at me as I hear a crunch as soon as I contact the ground, my body landing on my side.

I’m overcome with dizziness that it is Dessa who cries out for help first. The back door of the alpha house ripping open as Calian rushes our way.

In a daze, I look to the stage, my hand cradling my stomach as sharp pains start to ricochet through me.

Did she just push us off the stage…

“Calian, help me…you must help me.” Dessa screams frantically by my side, calling out to my husband.

I freeze in panic as my stomach starts to tighten, fear washing over me for the safety of our baby.

Something warm starts to leak out on to my upper thighs; my hand reaches downwards only to be coated in thick blood.

“Calian, the baby…”