The Unclaimed Luna

(Emma) The wind was cold here in Montana this time of the year which was getting to me a bit as I stood at the edge of the pack’s training field, my arms crossed tightly over my chest. My thin jacket did little to keep out the chill, but I stayed anyway, watching him. Darius. I hadn’t been this close to him in months. Every part of me told me to turn around and leave, but I couldn’t. Not tonight. Not when I had something this important to tell him. He was at the center of the field, shouting orders at the younger male pack warriors. They moved quickly, their sparring spot on, and focused under his watchful eyes. Darius always had this way about him—strong, commanding, someone people respected without question. It was one of the reasons I fell for him in the first place. But that was before everything fell apart. Before he ruined me. Darius had marked me months ago. That night was still fresh in my mind—the way he touched me, the way he made me feel like I mattered. I thought it meant something. I thought we were starting a life together. I was wrong. The next morning, he wouldn’t even look at me. When I finally confronted him, his words hurt more than I thought possible. “I’m in love with Lauren,” he said, holding nothing back. Lauren. My ex-best friend. We hadn’t spoken in months, not since she betrayed me. The whole pack knew what had happened. Lauren lied to me, took things that weren’t hers, and made it clear I was nothing compared to her. She always had to be the center of attention, and she didn’t care who she hurt to get there. I’d trusted her, and she destroyed that. It didn’t help that Darius seemed blind to it all. He looked at her like she was perfect. She was tall, beautiful, and confident—the kind of woman everyone noticed. She knew how to make people want her, and she used that to her advantage. She wasn’t even marked, but Darius treated her like she was his. That hurts more than anything. The pack wasn’t blind to what happened between us. They whispered about it behind my back. About how Lauren and I used to be inseparable until she set her sights on Darius. About how she flirted with him even after I told her how I felt about him. And about how she smiled when I told her he’d marked me as if she already had the plan to take him for herself. I hated her for it. And I hated him for letting her. But tonight wasn’t about any of that. Tonight was about the truth I’d been carrying for weeks. I stepped onto the field and Darius noticed me right away, his eyes narrowing slightly. “What are you doing here, Emma?” he asked, I could tell that he was irritated. “We need to talk,” I said. His jaw tightened. “Now’s not the time.” “It can’t wait,” I said firmly. The young boys around him stopped what they were doing, their eyes shifting between us. I felt their stares, but I didn’t care. Darius sighed, running a hand through his dark hair. “Take five,” he told them. They hesitated before stepping back. They didn’t bother hiding their curiosity. Darius hurriedly made his way towards me. When he stopped in front of me, his face was hard and his expression was unreadable. “What is it?” he demanded. I opened my mouth, but the words wouldn’t come out. I’d rehearsed this moment so many times in my head, but now I felt frozen. “Well?” he asked, his tone harsher now. “I’m pregnant,” I said quickly, the words coming out before I could stop them. Everything around us seemed to stop. He stared at me, his eyes unblinking. For a moment, I thought he might just walk away. Then he spoke. “You’re sure it’s mine?” His words felt like a slap. I clenched my fists, forcing myself to stay calm. “Of course, it’s yours,” I said. “You marked me, Darius. There’s no one else.” He turned away from me, dragging a hand through his hair again. “This can’t be happening.” “It is,” I said, my voice rising. “And you need to figure out what you’re going to do about it.” He spun back to face me, his eyes filled with anger. “You think I’m just going to walk away?” “I don’t know what you’re going to do,” I admitted. “You’ve been ignoring me for weeks. You’ve made it clear you don’t want me. But this isn’t just about you or me anymore. It’s about the baby.” He stepped closer, his voice low and dangerous. “You don’t get it, do you? I can’t reject you, Emma. You’re mine. Whether you like it or not.” His words made my stomach twist. “You don’t love me,” I replied. “You love Lauren. You told me that before, everyone in the pack knows who you want.” His expression hardened a little. “I don’t need to love you to protect what’s mine.” Tears burned at the back of my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. “I’m not some possession, Darius. You can’t just keep me because you’re obsessed with control.” “You think this is about control?” he snapped, his voice rising. “You don’t understand anything.” “Then explain it to me,” I said. “Because all I see is a man who doesn’t care about me. All you care about is her.” His breathing was heavy, his fists clenched at his sides. “I don’t care about Lauren the way you think I do,” he said finally. “But that doesn’t mean I’m letting you go.” Before I could respond, a familiar voice broke through the tension. “What’s going on?” I turned to see Lauren walking toward us. Her face lit up when she saw Darius, but her smile faded as her eyes landed on me. “Nothing,” Darius said quickly, stepping away from me. Lauren’s eyes narrowed. “It doesn’t look like nothing.” “It’s none of your f*****g business,” I snapped, hating that she was here interrupting our conversation. Lauren raised an eyebrow, but before she could say anything else, Darius cut her off. “Emma was just leaving.” His words hurt a lot, but I refused to let him see how much. Without another word, I turned and walked away. As I reached the edge of the field, a sharp pain shot through my stomach, and I gasped, clutching it. My knees buckled, and I collapsed to the ground. “Emma!” I looked up to see Darius running toward me, his face filled with panic. The pain grew worse, and my vision blurred. I could barely feel his arms catch me before everything went black.