My Luna Accused Me of Treason to Protect Her Lover

Alpha Marcus didn't look up from his desk when I entered his office. Just kept signing documents like I wasn't standing there with my father's desecrated grave burning in my mind.

"Sir." My voice came out flat. Military. "We need to discuss the construction markers near the eastern cairn."

"Ah, yes." He set down his pen, finally meeting my eyes. "Livia mentioned you might have concerns. It's for a guest house. We're expanding our hospitality facilities."

"That's sacred ground." Ash stirred in my chest, hackles rising. "My father's memorial—"

"Is a pile of rocks, Kendrick." Marcus leaned back in his chair, and I saw where Livia got her coldness. "Your father served the pack admirably, but we can't let sentiment hold us back from progress. Livia has consulted the Oracle extensively. The Moon Goddess approves."

The Moon Goddess. Always the Moon Goddess with them now.

"And Jax?" I kept my tone neutral, professional. "An Omega who fled the pack, suddenly pardoned and welcomed back?"

"Livia vouches for him." Marcus waved a hand dismissively. "She has spiritual gifts you and I lack, Kendrick. We must trust her guidance. Besides, you should be focused on retraining our warriors. Five years is a long time. They've grown soft."

Soft. Like I hadn't spent those five years keeping Rogues from ripping through this territory. Like I hadn't bled for every single wolf in this pack.

"Understood, sir." I turned to leave before I said something I couldn't take back.

"Kendrick." His voice stopped me at the door. "I know the war was difficult. If you're struggling with... instability... we have healers who can help with that."

Instability. Feral. They had their narrative, and I was the monster in it.

I spent the afternoon running the borders, letting Ash stretch in wolf form, trying to burn off the rage that threatened to consume us both. The territory was secure—I'd made sure of that. Every marker, every scent post, exactly where it should be.

Except for one.

The scent hit me near the western clearing, and Ash went rigid. Vanilla and roses, twisted with that cloying cologne. Fresh. Recent. Intimate.

I shifted back to human form, moving silent through the underbrush. Years of war had taught me how to hunt, how to track, how to kill without being seen. The skills served me now in ways I'd never imagined I'd need them.

The clearing opened before me, dappled with late afternoon sun. And there they were.

Livia had her neck tilted back, exposing her throat—the throat that should have borne my mark five years ago. Jax pressed close, rubbing his scent along her jaw, her collarbone, marking her in the way only mates should. Her hands fisted in his shirt, and the sound she made—breathy, desperate—drove spikes through my chest.

"We have to be careful," Jax murmured against her skin. "He's suspicious."

"Kendrick's too honorable to act without proof." Livia's voice was thick with pleasure. "And too damaged to be believed even if he finds any. The war broke something in him. Everyone sees it."

"Still." Jax pulled back slightly, and I saw his smile—predatory, satisfied. "The sooner we can get him to reject you, the better. Then you'll be free to choose your true mate."

"Soon." She kissed him, deep and claiming. "Once the guest house is built and you're established in the pack, we'll push him over the edge. He'll either reject me or go fully feral. Either way, he's gone."

Ash exploded inside me, demanding blood, demanding justice, demanding we rip Jax's throat out and make Livia watch. My vision went red at the edges, claws erupting from my fingertips.

But I held him back. Barely. Because killing them now would make me the monster they claimed I was. Would prove every lie they'd told.

I melted back into the forest, silent as death, and ran.

Midnight found me outside Livia's private chambers. She was still with Jax somewhere, probably rubbing more of his weak scent into her skin. The lock was simple—I'd installed it myself years ago, back when I thought I was protecting my future mate's privacy.

Her room smelled like lies. Crystals everywhere, tarot cards spread across every surface, incense burning to mask the scent of betrayal. I found her journal in the nightstand, leather-bound and locked.

The lock broke easily in my hands.

The first entry was dated five years ago. The day after I left for the Border Wars.

*Oracle reading #1: The Moon Goddess warns against completing the bond. Kendrick's Alpha blood is too strong, too barbaric. He would dominate me, control me, turn me into a breeding vessel like the Lunas of old. I need time. I need Jax.*

I flipped forward. Entry after entry, ninety-nine in total. Ninety-nine fabricated prophecies. Ninety-nine reasons why the Moon Goddess—who'd chosen us as mates—suddenly wanted us apart.

*Oracle reading #47: Saw Jax in town today. He's everything Kendrick isn't—refined, modern, understanding. If only he were my fated mate instead.*

*Oracle reading #73: Kendrick's letters from the war are disturbing. He writes about killing like it's normal. Like it's something to be proud of. What if he comes back broken? What if he hurts me?*

*Oracle reading #99: The guest house will be perfect for Jax. Once Kendrick's father's ugly cairn is gone, we can build something beautiful. Something that represents our future, not his barbaric past.*

The journal slipped from my hands. Ash had gone silent in my chest, and that scared me more than his rage.

Because silence meant acceptance. Meant understanding.

Meant we finally knew the truth.

I left everything exactly as I'd found it, except for one thing. I took Oracle reading #99, folded it carefully, and tucked it into my pocket.

Evidence. Proof. The thing Livia said I'd never have.

The moon hung full and bright outside her window, and I wondered if the Moon Goddess was watching. If She saw what Her chosen daughter had done to the mate She'd given her.

If She cared at all.