Alpha's Mistress's Deception

The nausea hit me like a rogue wave during morning training, forcing me to stumble behind the equipment shed before emptying my stomach into the bushes. Luna whimpered in my chest, her confusion mirroring my own as I pressed my back against the rough wooden wall, waiting for the world to stop spinning.

*Something's different,* she whispered, her voice tinged with hope I didn't dare feel.

I'd been here before—the phantom symptoms, the desperate hope, the crushing disappointment when my monthly cycle arrived like clockwork. But this felt different. Stronger. More certain.

With trembling hands, I drove to the human pharmacy two towns over, purchasing three different pregnancy tests like a woman possessed. Back in my private bathroom, I lined them up on the marble counter, my heart hammering as I waited for the results.

Positive. All three.

Luna howled with joy in my chest, her elation flooding through our bond. *Our pup,* she sang. *Finally, our pup.*

For a moment, I allowed myself to dream. Maybe this would change everything. Maybe Porter would remember why he'd chosen me as his mate. Maybe the pack would finally see me as more than the barren Luna who'd failed in her most basic duty.

I found Porter in his office, reviewing patrol schedules with Beta Marcus. When Marcus left, I closed the door behind him, my hand instinctively moving to my still-flat stomach.

"Porter," I began, my voice soft with wonder. "I have news."

He looked up from his papers, his expression mildly interested. "What is it?"

"I'm pregnant." The words fell between us like stones in still water.

Porter blinked, his pen freezing mid-signature. "Are you certain?"

"Three tests. All positive."

He set down his pen, leaning back in his chair. "Well. That's... good news." His tone was flat, businesslike, as if I'd just reported successful inventory numbers.

My heart cracked. Where was the joy? The pride? The overwhelming Alpha possessiveness that should have flooded our mate bond? Instead, he looked almost... inconvenienced.

"Good news?" I repeated, my voice barely above a whisper. "Porter, we're having a baby. Your heir."

"Yes, I heard you." He picked up his pen again, already returning to his paperwork. "We'll need to schedule a doctor's appointment. Make sure everything is... progressing normally."

The clinical detachment in his voice made Luna recoil. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. This wasn't how a mate should react to news of his first pup.

I left his office with my joy curdling into something bitter and familiar. Hope, it seemed, was just another form of self-torture.

Two days later, I was walking past the common room when voices drifted through the partially open door. Pack members clustered around the couches, their animated chatter stopping abruptly when they noticed me.

"Luna Alexis," Sarah, one of the younger wolves, stammered. "We were just—"

"Discussing Sloan's wonderful news," finished Elena, her eyes bright with excitement. "Isn't it amazing? Two pregnancies in the pack at the same time."

The floor seemed to tilt beneath my feet. "Sloan's... pregnant?"

"Oh yes," Sarah gushed, apparently forgetting the awkwardness of the situation. "She announced it yesterday. Alpha Porter was so excited, he could barely contain himself. Said it was a sign of the pack's strength and fertility."

Luna snarled in my chest, her golden eyes blazing with betrayal. *He celebrated her pregnancy but not ours?*

I managed to excuse myself before the tears started, fleeing to my study where I could process this fresh hell in private. Sloan wasn't just Porter's mistress—she was carrying his child. And from the pack's reaction, he'd made no secret of his joy about her condition.

The next evening, Porter called a mandatory pack meeting. I sat in my designated chair beside his, watching as he addressed our wolves with the commanding presence of a true Alpha. Until he mentioned Sloan.

"Our pack has been blessed," he announced, his voice ringing with pride I'd never heard when discussing our own pregnancy. "Sloan Dixon carries new life, a testament to our pack's vitality and future strength."

The applause was thunderous. Pack members cheered and howled their approval while I sat frozen in my chair, watching my mate beam with paternal pride over another woman's pregnancy.

Luna Mother wheeled closer to Porter's podium, her voice carrying clearly through the room. "Such wonderful news deserves celebration. I propose a pack run tomorrow night, under the full moon. Let us test the strength of our pregnant females and ensure our future generation is born of the strongest bloodlines."

My blood turned to ice. A pack run during the full moon, when wolves were most aggressive and territorial. When accidents happened. When pregnancies could be... lost.

"Excellent idea, Mother," Porter agreed immediately. "All pack members will participate. It's time we separated the strong from the weak."

His eyes found mine across the room, and I saw the challenge there. The test. The trap.

"Of course," Luna Mother added with false concern, "Sloan will remain at the pack house. Her delicate condition requires special care during these crucial early weeks."

The message was crystal clear. I was expendable. My pregnancy was disposable. But Sloan—Sloan was precious cargo to be protected at all costs.

Luna raged in my chest, her fury matching my own. *They want to kill our pup,* she snarled. *They want to eliminate the competition.*

I stood slowly, every eye in the room tracking my movement. "What a thoughtful suggestion, Luna Mother. I look forward to tomorrow's... test of strength."

My smile was sharp enough to cut glass, and I saw Porter's confident expression falter slightly. Good. Let him wonder what I was planning.

Because if they thought I'd roll over and let them destroy my child, they were about to learn exactly what kind of wolf they'd been underestimating all these years.