I and the pup were just tools for Alaric's rehearsal. He didn't want Ravenna to suffer through his learning curve, so I became the sacrifice.
I listened to the messages over and over, the pain swelling inside me until I laughed. Not because it was funny, because it hurt so much it pushed me over the edge. Everything I had been so proud of since the moment I learned I was carrying had been nothing but a lie. My wolf went silent. Not growling, not whimpering. Just silent, the way an animal goes still when the wound is too deep to howl through.
Alaric's tenderness toward my pup? It didn't even come close to what he showed Ravenna and hers.
I clenched my communicator so tightly my hand shook. It hurt to breathe. All I could do was whisper over and over to myself that it was okay.
It was okay. Because soon, we'd be free of him.
Just me and the pup. And we'd be just fine.
The pup kicked, like he could hear me. Like he understood.
I wrapped my arms around my belly and held it close.
I stayed that way for a long time, until I could finally breathe again.
After Ravenna moved in, Alaric practically glued himself to her side.
And me? I stopped expecting anything from him the moment I saw the truth.
One night, as I walked downstairs to get some water, I heard her voice through the slightly open door of the guest chamber.
"Alaric," she cooed, "I heard that Ancestral Moonfang Token from your bloodline works really well. The pup's been keeping me up at night… could I borrow it for a while?"
The token wasn't just a piece of jewelry. It was a Blackthorn heirloom, forged under a blood moon and blessed by the Moon Goddess herself. A symbol that whoever wore it was the rightful Luna of Blackthorn Den. Alaric had given it to me on the night of our mating ceremony, clasped it around my neck himself. He said it would be mine forever, because there would never be another Luna of Blackthorn.
His voice pulled me out of the memory.
Through the gap in the door, I saw him press a gentle kiss to her cheek and smile. "Of course. I'll ask her for it. You can wear it as long as you want, at least until the pup is born."
A sharp pain stabbed through my chest.
I couldn't even remember his exact promise anymore, but it didn't matter. Because clearly, neither could he.