His Stolen Luna, His Ultimate Regret

For five years, I was the fated mate of Alpha Alan, the Luna of the Bloodmoon Pack. But for all five of those years, his heart belonged to another woman-Fiona.

On our shared birthday, the final thread of my hope snapped. I watched as she descended the grand staircase in a magnificent silver gown, a dress he had promised was a surprise for me. In front of the entire pack, she walked to him and kissed his cheek.

He always claimed Fiona was a fragile, broken wolf who needed his protection. For years, I believed his lies. I endured his indifference while he gave my dreams to her, celebrating her birthday in secret while leaving me with the hollow title of Luna.

When I confronted him, he dismissed my pain.

"She just doesn't get it," he complained to Fiona, his voice seeping into my mind through our broken bond. "Thinking a mate title can chain me. It's suffocating."

He thought he was suffocating? I was the one drowning in his neglect. He wasn't my mate; he was a coward, and I was just a cage he was forced into by the Goddess.

So I walked out of the hall, and later, out of his life. I formally rejected him. As the bond shattered between us, he finally panicked, begging me to reconsider. But it was too late. I was done being his cage.

Chapter 1

Freya POV:

The grand hall of the Bloodmoon Pack castle was filled with the scent of pine from the great hearth and roasted boar from the feasting tables. Tonight was the Annual Celebration, a night that also marked my birthday, and Fiona's.

It was also the fifth anniversary of the Moon Goddess declaring Alpha Alan Barnes as my mate. Five years, and every single one of them had felt like I was borrowing someone else's life. Every year, his eyes found Fiona in the crowd first.

My wolf paced restlessly under my skin, a low growl of anxiety vibrating in my chest. He was missing. I had scanned the throng of dancing pack members a dozen times, but Alan was nowhere to be seen.

A cold dread, familiar and sharp, settled in my stomach. I slipped away from the festivities, my soft slippers making no sound on the cold stone floors. I knew where to look. The Alpha's study.

The heavy oak door was slightly ajar. I didn't need to press my ear to it. Through the faint, crackling connection of our mate bond, a bond he so clearly resented, I could feel the echo of his private Mind-Link. It was a privilege only an Alpha could bestow, a direct line into his thoughts, and he was using it with her.

"Just a little longer, my little flame," his voice, a low, intimate murmur in the shared space of their minds, seeped into mine like poison. "The moment the midnight bell chimes, I promise my voice will be the first one you hear. The first Alpha to wish you a happy birthday."

My breath caught in my throat. A memory, sharp and hopeful, flashed behind my eyes. Two weeks ago, in the finest tailor's shop in the territory. He'd held up a magnificent silver gown, the fabric shimmering like captured moonlight. "I have a surprise for you at the celebration, Freya," he had said, his eyes for once holding a flicker of warmth. "This year will be different."

I had believed him. Like a fool, I had let that tiny spark of hope grow into a fire, thinking this was the year he would finally see me, his fated mate, his Luna.

Now, standing outside his study, I understood. The dress, the promise, the surprise-it was never for me. It was all for Fiona.

The broken link between us pulsed with his frustration, his words a bitter complaint meant only for her. "She just doesn't get it," he grumbled, and I knew he was talking about me. "Thinking a mate title can chain me. It's suffocating."

He was suffocating? What about me? For five years I had been drowning in his indifference.

"After the celebration, I'll come to your chambers," he promised Fiona, his tone softening again to that sickening, sweet warmth. "Wear the dress for me."

Something inside me shattered. The last thread of hope I'd been clinging to finally snapped. I wasn't his love. I wasn't even his Luna, not really. I was an obstacle. A cage he was forced into by the Goddess, and Fiona was his rebellion, his twisted symbol of freedom.

I turned away from the door, my movements stiff, my heart a block of ice in my chest. I walked back into the grand hall just as the midnight bell began to toll.

And there she was. Fiona, descending the grand staircase, wrapped in shimmering silver moonlight. My dress. She paused on the final step, a triumphant smirk on her lips, and walked directly to Alan, who had just emerged from the shadows. In front of the entire pack, she rose on her toes and kissed his cheek.

A pained whine escaped my wolf, a sound of pure agony that only I could hear. I lifted my chin, my eyes locking with Alan's across the room. He looked startled, a flicker of guilt crossing his features before being replaced by defiance.

Fine. Let him have his defiance.

I opened a mind-link to the entire pack, my voice cold and clear, a single thought cutting through the celebratory chatter.

"He's a coward. You can have him."