I open the door and my world crumbles.
Demitri has her pinned against the wall. His broad back blocks most of her, but I see enough—his hands claiming every inch, rough and hungry.
One palm cups her breast, thumb circling her nipple through thin fabric while his mouth follows, teeth grazing, tongue dragging slowly and deliberate along her skin. His other hand digs into her hip, fingers bruising as he grinds against her, low growl rumbling from his chest—the same sound he used to make for me.
Rose's head is thrown back, throat exposed in surrender, lips parted on soft, breathless moans that echo in the corridor like knives.
To my horror, he drops to his knees in front of her.
His hands slide down her thighs, forcing them apart. Rose gasps, one leg hooking over his shoulder as he spreads her wider, exposing her completely. His mouth follows—lips brushing the sensitive skin of her inner thigh, then higher, tongue flicking out to taste her.
He groans against her core, deep and satisfied, like the flavor of her is everything he's ever craved. His tongue works deeper, circling, pressing, drawing out every shudder from her body. Rose's moans turn louder, broken and needy, her fingers tangling in his hair to hold him there as her hips rock against his face.
Then he rises. In one fluid motion he lifts her, her legs wrapping around his waist. He doesn't hesitate—he thrusts into her hard, burying himself fully with a guttural groan of pure satisfaction. Rose cries out, nails raking down his back, head falling against the wall as he starts moving—deep, relentless thrusts that make her body jolt with each one.
The wet, rhythmic sound of skin against skin fills the corridor, mixed with his low grunts and her escalating moans. He's lost in her, hips snapping forward like he can't get deep enough, like this is the only thing that matters anymore.
My wolf explodes inside me,She claws at my skin from the inside, desperate to tear free, to rip his throat out for daring to claim another while our pup grows in my womb.
Rage boils through my veins—hot, metallic, tasting of blood. My hands shake, nails digging into my palms until they bleed. I want to scream, to lunge, to make him feel even a fraction of this pain, but for one endless second my body refuses to move, locked by the sheer brutality of what I'm seeing: my mate fucking his fated in our halls, finding ecstasy in her while I stand here shattered.
The scent of their joining—sweat, sex, her release—chokes the air. My wolf howls silently, curling protectively around the tiny life inside me as if to shield it from the sight.
Rose opens her eyes. Sees me.
She smiles—smug, triumphant—then arches harder into his thrusts, moaning louder as if to rub it in.
Something inside me snaps.
"What are you doing?" I scream, voice raw and echoing down the corridor.
I'm sobbing before I realize tears have started falling.
Demitri freezes. Pulls back enough to turn toward me, surprise flickering across his face like he's just remembered I exist.
"Alex—"
"You couldn't even wait," I sob. "Couldn't even pretend."
Rose lets out a soft laugh, smoothing her dress like nothing happened, like she wasn't just being claimed against the wall.
"You should've knocked," she says sweetly. "Or
better yet—left."
I stumble forward, shaking, fury and pain tangling so tightly in my chest I can't separate them. My wolf snaps her jaws, wanting out.
"You're in my home," I snapped. "You don't get to—"
"She does," Demitri cuts in sharply.
The words hit harder than any slap. My wolf recoils, wounded.
"She's my mate."
I stare at him, stunned.
"And you," he adds, his voice already turning cold, "need to get yourself together."
"I need to talk to you," I plead, my voice breaking. "Privately. Please. I need to tell you something."
Rose's hand slides possessively around his arm. "There's nothing she needs to say," Rose murmurs. "Is there?"
Rose's mouth curves, smug and slow. "She's dramatic," she murmurs, eyes on me. "Isn't she?"
My vision blurs. My wolf growls low, the sound rumbling in my throat.
"I need to speak to you," I say. "Demitri, I need—"
"Not now," he cuts in immediately.
My heart pounds so loud I can feel it in my throat.
"Please," I push out, voice breaking. "I need to speak to you privately."
Rose's eyes flicker with irritation.
Demitri doesn't even look at me properly. He adjusts Rose's dress, smooths her hair like she was the most precious thing.
"You'll speak when I say you speak," he says.
The words land like a slap.
"Do you hear yourself?" I cry. "After last night, after what you said to me—after you—"
"Enough." His voice is low, dangerous. "Don't do this here."
"I came to tell you something," I say, and my voice shakes so badly it scares me. "It's important."
Rose tilts her head. "Important?" She repeats sweetly. "More important than his mate? I don't think so…"
Demitri takes Rose's hand.
"Get yourself together," he says to me like I'm a child. "We're going to the courtyard."
I blink.
"The courtyard?" My voice comes out thin.
He turns back. "I'm introducing her," he says. "The pack is waiting."
My mouth opens but I have nothing to say. I can already see it. I can already feel it. The stares. The whispers. The questions. The humiliation.
"Demitri—please," I try again, stepping into his path. "Just—two minutes. Just listen—"
He leans in, close enough that I smell Rose on him. "I told you already," he says quietly, cruelly, "you can keep the title I loaned you. Or you can leave."
My breath catches.
"And right now," he adds, "you will not embarrass me."
He steps past me. Rose follows at his side like she's always belonged there.
And I stand in the doorway, shaking, staring after them my body has forgetting how to move.
Mara appears from a side corridor, eyes wide.
"Luna…" she whispers.And u hear the pity in her voice
I wipe my face hard, like I can wipe away the sight of him buried inside her, the sounds he made, the pleasure he took. My legs carry me down the corridor on instinct.
I don't even realize I'm following until the doors to the courtyard open and the cold morning air hits my face.
The pack is already gathered.
Wolves lined in rows, shoulders squared, eyes sharp with early-morning suspicion. The kind of gathering that's never called for something small.
When Demitri steps onto the raised platform, the murmurs die.
Rose stands beside him.
His hand rests at the small of her back. A kind statement.
A claim.
My stomach twists.
I move to my place—beside him, because that is where the Luna stands.
But the second I step up, I feel it.
The shift. The discomfort. The way eyes flick to Rose… then to me… then away.
A low ripple of whispers spreads through the crowd.
Demitri raises his hand and everyone goes silent.
"This is Rose," he announces. His voice carries, "My fated mate."
It's like the pack collectively inhales and then the courtyard erupts.
"What?"
"Fated mate?"
"But—Luna Alex—"
"When did this happen?"
"You didn't tell the council—"
An elder steps forward, face tight, eyes cold with warning. Elder Garron. Old enough to have seen Alphas rise and fall. Old enough not to fear Demitri's temper.
"Alpha," Garron says, voice sharp. "You already have a Luna."
Another council member joins him, her gaze flicking to me with something that looks like pity. "Luna Alex has served this pack. She has been competent, steady and loyal."
Demitri's jaw tightens.
"She remains Luna," he says "By my permission."
Rose's expression hardens.
Garron's eyes narrow. "Permission doesn't erase tradition."
A third elder steps forward. "You did not consult the council."
A murmur rises again in agreement, unease, disapproval.
Demitri's gaze sweeps over them like he's counting who he'll punish later.
"I don't need permission to follow fate or be with my mate," he says. "The mate bond is law and traditions are not above the moon goddess."
"And the pack is not a toy," Garron snaps back. "You cannot destabilize us because you've decided you want something new."
Rose cowers behind him.
Demitri's hand presses into her lower back, steadying her. Protecting her.
My stomach turns again.
He doesn't steady me.
He doesn't protect me.
He doesn't even look at me.
"You speak of stability," Demitri says, voice lowering, dangerous. "Rose brings alliances. Power. Silverclaw stands behind her; she is a betas daughter."
That hits the pack like another blow.
Because Silverclaw isn't some weak territory. It's a name that carries weight. Warriors. Bloodlines. Politics that crush smaller packs without lifting a claw.
Garron's face hardens further. "And what of the Luna who has already stood beside you?"
Demitri finally turns his head toward me. He doesn't look at me with love or gratitude nor does he regret his decision. He looks at me with calculation.
"She will keep her title," he says, voice cold enough to freeze bone. "If she knows her place."
The courtyard goes still again—too still.
Then someone whispers it, loud enough that others catch it.
"What does that mean?"
Rose's eyes flick toward me and the anger in them was unmistakable. I saw it clearly.
She didn't want me to keep the title.
She didn't want me here.
She wanted me gone.
And the fact that elders are speaking my name like I matter and I've earned respect makes her furious.
Demitri lifts his chin.
"This discussion is over," he says. "Rose is my mate. She stays. That's final"
Garron holds his gaze. "Then you will deal with the consequences of what you've done."
Demitri's eyes flash.
"You're dismissed," he snaps.
The pack disperses slowly, tense and uneasy.
I stand on the platform, stiff, shaking, trying not to fall apart where everyone can see.
I feel Rose's stare like claws on my skin.
Demitri steps down.
Rose is behind him and brushes past me. Her shoulder knocks mine deliberately.
"Oh," she murmurs, close to my ear. "They like you."
My throat tightens.
"I don't," she added.
I turn toward Demitri, "Please," I say, voice shaking. "I really need to speak to you. Alone."
He doesn't stop walking.
"Not now."
My feet move faster. I follow him down the steps. "Demitri please just a moment—"
He turns so suddenly I nearly stumble into him.
"Do you want them to see you beg?" he asks quietly. "Because you're doing a good job."
"I'm not begging," I whisper.
He leans closer. "Then stop."
Rose steps up beside him, linking her arm through his like she's been doing it for years.
"You heard him," she says lightly. "Stop."
Something inside me goes cold.
Because she's not just speaking to me. She's ordering me and Demitri allows it.
I swallow hard. "Please," I try one last time, voice breaking despite how hard I tried. "I just need two minutes—"
Demitri's gaze flicks over my face like I'm nothing.
"You had your minutes last night," he says. "And you wasted them crying."
I flinched like he struck me.
Rose's smile widens.
Demitri turns away again.
And just like that, the door closes. The last thin thread of maybe he'll listen snapping clean in my hands.
I stand there, shaking, while they walk away together.
Then Rose slows down and is alone with me.
Her voice drops.
"I think you don't understand what you are," she says.
I stare at her.
She steps closer, "You think a title makes you untouchable?" she warns her smile fading.
"I come from Silverclaw," she whispers. "From a family that has ended wars with a single decision."
My mouth goes dry.
She tilts her head like she's considering me.
"You're not protected," she says. "You're tolerated."
I force my voice to work. "He said I'm still Luna."
Rose lets out a small laugh, like I just made a joke.
"He said that because the elders were watching," she replies. "Not because you matter."
My skin goes cold again.
She steps even closer.
"So listen carefully," Rose murmurs. "Leave things that were never meant for you."
I blink hard.
Her gaze flicks down at me "And if you don't?" she asks softly. "If you stay and keep pretending you have a place beside him?
Rose's voice turns sweet. "Then you just might disappear into thin air," she whispers, "quietly."
My stomach twists violently.
Because I just imagine what might happen if Rose finds out. What would be my fate and that of my child?
My hand moves to my stomach instinctively.Rose notices.
And in that split second, I know.
I know she saw it.
Maybe not the truth. Not yet.
But she saw enough.
I force my hand away like it burns from my stomach.
Rose's smile returns. "Be smart," she says. "Titles don't stop accidents."
Then she turns and walks away.
Leaving me standing in the courtyard, frozen in place, sunlight creeping over the treeline like nothing happened and like my whole life didn't just break in half.
I swallow hard, trying to breathe.
Think.
I can't tell him now.
Not with her attached to him like a shadow.
Not with her watching me like a predator.
If I tell him Rose finds out too and that would only give Rose a reason to end me faster.
My throat tightens and my hands shake but I force myself to move.
Because one thing is suddenly very clear—
If I stay…
I won't survive long enough for morning to come twice.
And if she finds out I'm carrying a child—I won't survive at all.
I step into the shadows of the corridor, my heart hammering, my body already preparing to run.
Tonight.
After the pack sleeps and before Rose decides the quickest way to make me disappear.
Tonight—
I leave.