My Alpha and My Pup Both Chose Her

At the full-moon ceremony, my husband stripped me of my Luna title in front of the entire pack.

My ten-year-old son stood beside him, holding another woman's hand.

"Dad says Aunt Lena deserves to be Luna," he said.

"Her wolf is pure white. Yours can't even howl."

The pack laughed, mocking my twelve wolfless years.

They thought my Alpha was devoted to marry a cripple like me.

In truth, he only married me because of an Elder's prophecy.

He thought putting his ring on me secured the Moon Goddess's protection.

Then he moved his first love back in.

Now, he finished his rejection speech, waiting for my tears.

Instead, I simply lifted the Luna crown from my head and set it on the altar.

Instantly, every wolf on the grounds dropped into a freefall.

The Goddess's barrier that shielded them for three centuries went dark.

A blinding silver wolf-shaped mark bloomed across my wrist.

My wolf never learned to howl, because the Moon Goddess doesn't howl at herself.

***

"By the authority of the Alpha, I strip Elara of the Luna title."

Kael's voice cut through the biting wind at the top of the altar. He did not look at me. His fingers locked tightly with Lena's.

"Twelve years," Kael continued, raising his chin to address the crowd below. "Twelve years I tolerated a mate forced upon me by a dead Elder's prophecy. A mate with no wolf."

I stood two steps above them. The stone beneath my bare feet felt like ice.

"You bring me to the sacred altar to replace me tonight?" I asked.

Lena leaned into his side. Her white dress fluttered against his dark suit. "It is for the good of the pack, Elara. A crippled female cannot lead."

"I was not asking you, Lena," I said.

Kael sneered. "She speaks the truth. You have been a useless burden since the day we mated. Now, step down and hand over the crown."

"I earned this crown by keeping your borders funded when your father left this pack in ruins," I reminded him. "My family's wealth rebuilt your army."

"Your family is dead," Kael shot back. "Their money is mine now. You have outlived your usefulness."

A high-pitched voice echoed from the bottom of the stone stairs.

"Give it to Aunt Lena!"

I shifted my gaze downward. Jace. My ten-year-old son. The boy I carried for nine months and nearly died giving birth to.

He stood at the front of the crowd, pointing a finger up at me.

"Dad says Aunt Lena deserves to be Luna," Jace yelled. His young face twisted in a cruel smirk. "Her wolf is pure white. You can't even howl!"

Laughter erupted. Hundreds of pack members stood in the clearing below. Their mocking voices joined together, vibrating against my eardrums.

"Jace," I called out, my voice carrying over the wind. "Do you truly want this?"

The boy crossed his arms. "Yes! You never play with me. You just sit inside. Dad says you're weak. I don't want a weak mom."

"I sit inside managing the territory's finances so you have food on your table," I replied.

"Liar!" Jace shouted. "Aunt Lena says you steal from Dad!"

I shifted my eyes to Lena. She offered a mock pout.

"Children listen to the truth, Elara," Lena said. "He knows who really cares for him."

"You fed my son lies to turn him against me," I stated.

"I told him the facts," Kael interrupted. "You are a human. A mistake. My wolf rejects your scent every time you enter a room. I only kept you around until I found my true mate. Now I have Lena."

"A true mate," I echoed. "Is that what you call her?"

"She is strong," Kael said. "Her wolf is pure white. She will breed strong pups for this pack. Pups that can actually shift."

"Unlike me," Jace yelled from below. "I can't shift yet because of your bad blood!"

The crowd murmured in agreement.

"It's true," an older wolf shouted. "The boy is ten and still has no wolf. The human tainted our Alpha's bloodline!"

"Banish her!" another voice cried out.

"Strip her and throw her to the rogues!"

The viciousness of their words battered against the stone altar. These were the people I had fed during the winter famine. These were the families I had bought medicine for when the fever swept through the lower village.

Now, they wanted me thrown to the wilderness.

I looked at Kael. He stood tall, soaking in the crowd's approval.

"You hear them," Kael said. "The pack has spoken. Your time is done."

"And my dowry?" I asked. "The lands my father signed over to you?"

"Mine by marriage," Kael said smoothly. "You leave with nothing. Just the clothes on your back."

I looked at Jace again. My chest tightened, then completely hollowed out. I did not scream. I did not cry. A strange calm settled over my skin. I tilted my head.

"You taught him well, Kael," I said.

Kael puffed out his chest. His smug expression was unmistakable. "I taught him to recognize strength. Something you never possessed."

"I gave him life," I said softly.

"And Aunt Lena gives him a future," Kael countered. "She trains with him. She runs with him in the woods. What do you do? Sit in the library and read ancient histories that do not matter?"

"Strength." I tested the word on my tongue. "You married me because the Great Elder claimed my blood held the pack's survival. The moment he died, you locked me in the east wing."

"Because you are a defect," Kael growled. He took a step up the altar. "No shifting. No fangs. Nothing. Hand over the crown before I rip it from your head."

Lena smiled. "Do not make it ugly, Elara. Jace is watching."

"He has already seen his father parade a mistress in front of the pack," I replied. "I doubt a little ugliness will ruin his evening."

Lena's smile vanished. "Watch your mouth."

"Or what?" I challenged, stepping closer to the edge of the stone platform. "You will command the guards to throw me out? You do not have the authority yet."

"I do," Kael snapped. "And I order you to surrender the circlet."

"You think this piece of metal makes a Luna?" I asked.

"It makes it official," Kael said. "Once you hand it over, the pack bond will sever completely. You will be a rogue."

"A rogue," I repeated. "After twelve years of funding your wars, raising your heir, and maintaining your treaties."

"You did nothing but sit in a chair and sign papers," Kael scoffed. "Wolves respect power. They respect fangs and claws. Lena is the strongest female in this territory."

Lena puffed her chest out slightly. "I will be a mother to Jace, Elara. A real mother. One he can be proud of."

Jace pumped his fist in the air below. "Yeah! Aunt Lena is the best!"

The crowd cheered for the boy. They clapped each other on the back, pointing at me and laughing.

"Look at her," a woman near the front jeered. "She looks like a stiff corpse."

"Probably too scared to move," a man added.

I reached up. My fingers grazed the cold silver of the Luna crown nestled in my hair.

"You want it?" I asked.

Kael extended his empty hand, palm up. "Give it."

I pulled the metal circlet free. It felt heavy. Twelve years of silent obedience. Twelve years of swallowing insults. Twelve years of watching my own son learn to hate me.

"Take it," I whispered.

Instead of passing it to his waiting hand, I slammed the crown down onto the altar's ancient stone slab.

Metal shrieked against rock. The crown split straight down the middle.

"Are you insane?" Kael roared. He lunged forward.

He did not make it to the top step.

The moment the silver snapped apart, the night sky went pitch black. The moon vanished behind violently swirling clouds.

A deafening crack tore through the air. It sounded louder than thunder.

Above us, the glowing dome of the pack's protective barrier splintered. The shield that had kept this territory safe for three hundred years shattered into a million pieces. Glowing shards rained down, dissolving into ash before they hit the ground.

"The barrier!" Lena shrieked. She covered her head with both arms. "Kael, what did she do?"

"Elara!" Kael yelled. His eyes went wide with sudden panic. "Fix it!"

"I broke nothing," I said.

Fire erupted on my right wrist.

Skin tore. Blood beaded along my forearm. A silver giant wolf totem carved itself outward from my veins. It burst through the flesh with a blinding, searing light.

The pain vanished instantly. An overwhelming surge of power replaced it. The energy flooded my limbs, heavy and lethal.

The laughter below abruptly turned into choked gasps.

An immense, crushing pressure slammed into the clearing. It did not touch me. But the crowd went down. Hundreds of wolves collapsed onto the dirt. Their bodies flattened against the earth as if an invisible mountain had been dropped on their spines.

"Alpha!" someone wheezed from the dirt.

Kael hit his knees. His face slammed into the stone step just inches from my feet. Lena lay beside him, sobbing as the invisible weight pinned her throat to the rock.

Even Jace was pressed flat against the grass, whimpering.

I lowered my gaze to the altar table beside me.

My fingertips hovered half an inch over the hilt of a ceremonial silver dagger.