My Husband Favored His True Mistress, I Fled

My ceremonial robe still reeked of wine as I made my way through the dimly lit corridors of the pack house. The stain had set—a crimson blotch across silver silk that no amount of washing would remove. How fitting, I thought bitterly, that my final night as Luna would be marked by such a visible wound.

Luna paced restlessly within me, her silver form prowling the edges of my consciousness with newfound determination. *We need to speak with Elder Rowan*, she urged. *Now, before we lose our courage.*

I nodded, my steps quickening as I approached the west wing where the pack elders resided. My hand instinctively drifted to my stomach, to the tiny life growing inside me—a life that deserved better than a father who had never truly wanted its mother.

Elder Rowan's quarters were modest despite his status as the pack's legal council. When he opened the door, his ancient eyes widened slightly at the sight of me standing there, still in my wine-stained Luna robe at such a late hour.

"Luna Grace," he said, his voice like dry leaves rustling. "This is... unexpected."

"I need your counsel, Elder," I said, proud that my voice didn't waver. "And your discretion."

He studied me for a long moment before stepping aside. "Come in, child."

His sitting room smelled of old books and sage, illuminated by a single lamp that cast long shadows across the walls. I perched on the edge of an armchair, my back straight, my hands folded in my lap—the perfect posture of a Luna that I'd practiced for five years.

"I need the mate rejection documents," I said without preamble.

Elder Rowan's bushy eyebrows shot up, but to his credit, he asked no questions. He simply nodded and moved to an ancient oak cabinet, retrieving a sealed envelope.

"These are sacred documents, Luna Grace," he said, placing them on the table between us. "Once invoked, the rejection cannot be undone."

"I understand," I whispered.

As he explained the procedure, I half-listened, my mind already made up. Luna had gone silent within me, but I could feel her steady presence, supporting me as I picked up the pen and began to fill out the forms.

My hand trembled as I wrote my name—*Grace Mitchell*—and then Ryan's—*Alpha Ryan Sterling*. The formal language of rejection felt cold and impersonal for something that would sever a bond I'd believed was blessed by the Moon Goddess herself.

*I, Grace Mitchell, Luna of Crescent Valley Pack, hereby reject the mate bond with Alpha Ryan Sterling...*

Luna roared in my mind as I signed my name at the bottom, a sound of both pain and liberation that echoed through my very soul.

"It is done," Elder Rowan said solemnly, taking the papers and sealing them in an official envelope. "You must present these to Alpha Ryan yourself to complete the ritual."

I nodded, rising to my feet. "Thank you, Elder."

As I turned to leave, his weathered hand caught mine. "The Moon Goddess guides all true mates to each other, Luna Grace," he said softly. "Remember that."

* * *

Ryan's study door loomed before me like the entrance to a dragon's lair. I clutched the envelope containing the rejection documents to my chest, feeling the rapid beating of my heart beneath it. Luna had gone eerily quiet, as if holding her breath for what was to come.

I knocked once, firmly.

"Enter," came Ryan's voice, that familiar Alpha tone that had once made me feel safe, protected.

I pushed open the door to find him at his desk, not even bothering to look up as I entered. The study smelled of his cologne and whiskey, a scent that had once made my heart race but now turned my stomach.

"What is it, Grace?" he asked, irritation clear in his tone. "I have work to finish."

I stepped forward, placing the sealed envelope directly in front of him. "These are mate rejection papers," I said, my voice steadier than I'd expected. "I've signed them."

That got his attention. His head snapped up, eyes narrowing as they took in my wine-stained robe, my resolute expression. For a fleeting moment, I saw something like panic cross his face—not the pain of potential loss, but the fear of scandal, of how this would look to the pack.

"What the hell is this?" he growled, his Alpha aura flaring around him like a physical force.

I stood my ground, Luna suddenly surging forward within me, lending me her strength. "You know exactly what it is, Ryan. I heard you last night. Through our bond. About Isabella. About her being your true mate. About her carrying your pup."

He had the decency to look shocked, then angry, then—most telling of all—relieved. He didn't deny it. Didn't even try.

"You've never been happy here," he said instead, as if this were somehow my fault. "The pack deserves a Luna who—"

"Don't," I cut him off, something I'd never dared do before. "Just sign the papers. Say the words. Let me go."

He stared at me for a long moment before reaching for the envelope, tearing it open with unnecessary force. His eyes scanned the document briefly before he picked up a pen.

"Fine," he said, scrawling his signature across the bottom. "If this is what you want."

He stood then, towering over me as he had countless times before, his Alpha presence filling the room. But this time, I didn't shrink back. I stood tall, my chin lifted, as he recited the ritual words that would end our bond.

"I, Alpha Ryan Sterling of Crescent Valley Pack, accept your rejection, Grace Mitchell. By the power of the Moon Goddess, I release you from our mate bond and all obligations to me and this pack."

The moment the words left his lips, a searing pain tore through my chest, as if someone had reached inside and ripped out a part of me. I gasped, staggering backward, one hand flying to my heart while the other instinctively protected my stomach.

Ryan felt it too—I could see it in the momentary grimace that crossed his face. But then he simply turned away, moving toward the door.

"I'll have Beta Ethan arrange for your belongings to be packed," he said over his shoulder, not even looking back. "You should be gone by morning."

And then he was gone, the door closing behind him with a quiet click that somehow hurt more than if he'd slammed it.

I stood alone in his study, the pain of the severed bond washing through me in waves. But beneath the pain was something else—something that felt remarkably like relief.

Inside me, Luna howled, the sound echoing through the empty study and through the hollow spaces in my chest where our mate bond had once been. It was a sound of mourning, yes—but also of freedom.

We were no longer bound to a man who had never truly wanted us. We were free.

But freedom, I realized as I pressed my hand against my still-flat stomach, came with its own kind of terror. Where would we go now? What would become of us—of my unborn pup—now that we had no pack, no Alpha, no home?

As if in answer, my phone buzzed in my pocket. A message from Marcus Campbell:

*Are you alright? I felt something... a disturbance. Like you were in pain.*

I stared at the screen, my vision blurring with tears. How could he have felt anything? We had no bond, no connection beyond our brief messages.

Unless...

Luna stirred within me, a flicker of hope warming her silver presence.

My fingers trembled as I typed a reply:

*I've rejected my mate bond with Ryan. I need... I need somewhere safe to go.*