Chasing My Luna

3

REBECCA

Two hours later, just in time for my date with Reiner, I parked in the driveway of the pack house and darted out of the car, picking up my purse and his gift bag from the passenger seat. It was so small, so lightweight, that it felt like not having it in my hand, so much so that, as I walked toward the house, I kept looking towards it, just to make sure it was still there, and that everything that was happening was real.

I can’t wait to see his face when he opens it, I thought, with a big smile on my face.

A smile that dimmed a little when I noticed the absolute desolation that reigned around me.

At that time of day, usually, the house was busier than a beehive, including Sunday: yet, although I was still outside, not a soul was to be seen around. The garden was bathed in an eerie silence, and I couldn't hear the slightest noise coming from inside the house either.

Strange.

Confused, I sniffed the air around me - and although the pregnancy dampened my wolf’s abilities a bit, what I smelt did nothing to relax me: most of the inhabitants of the house were, in fact, inside, but they were gravely worried and tense... as if they were waiting for something.

What’s going on? I asked, opening my mind link to the whole pack.

No one answered.

I inhaled again, focusing on Reiner’s trace. He was the Alpha, the center and the leader of the pack - if the wolves were so worried that they didn’t even answer to their own Luna, maybe it was about him.

His trail was fresh - it started from inside the house and spread outside as if he had left in a great hurry... and furious.

The anger in his scent was absolutely unmistakable, and it made me worry even more. Reiner, despite being an Alpha, was the least anger-prone man I knew. If he had raged like that, then something severe must have happened.

I swallowed, as a sense of unease began to stir within me.

Were we under attack? That would have explained both the fear of the pack and Reiner's mood and sudden running out of the house. Perhaps he had gone to reinforce the troops stationed on the border.

But then, why hadn’t he warned me? I was the pack's Luna and the strongest warrior after him, not just his wife. He should have told me. It was my duty to defend the pack house if he and the Beta, Keenan, couldn’t.

Reiner? I called him, looking for him through our bond.

Only silence answered me. So I focused harder on him, trying to locate him: he was in his wolf form, running, but I could not quite tell where, which could only mean one thing: he was blocking me. Or trying to.

Reiner? Reiner, what’s going on? Where are you?

A horrible growl filled with fury and hatred was all I got from him before he threw me out of his mind. Permanently.

My concern turned into genuine fear.

“What the hell is going on here?”

“Oh, no need to raise your voice, dear.”

I yelped upon hearing that voice. Sheila, Reiner’s mother, had appeared on the porch. She was dressed and styled as her usual, but something in her made me raise my hackles, sending danger signals throughout my body. There was something in the way her dirty-blonde hair was sleeked and styled back, in the way she carried herself, in her grey dress, that was just... off.

“Sheila! What’s going on?”

A slow, evil smirk grew on her thin lips. “You have some nerve asking, girl. Do you really want to do this?”

I felt my mouth go dry. I had no idea what she was talking about, and the way she stood in front of me, the way she spoke to me as if I’d done something bad… it was unsettling. Scary, even.

“Do what?” I asked. I felt my hands shaking slightly, so I balled them up in fists. Sheila and I had never really seen eye-to-eye, and she’d always had the ability to make me feel little, but now… now she was bringing that up to the next level.

I might have been the Luna and one of the most powerful wolves in the pack, but now, pinned by those pale, icy eyes, I definitely felt like a scared little girl.

Sheila shook her head, always with that little smirk that both infuriated and scared me.

“Very well.” Sheila shrugged. “Reiner found out about your little side-piece.” She smiled, cold and cruel.

For a few moments, silence stretched between us as I tried to register her words, as I tried to understand what she’d said.

Reiner. Side-piece.

“What side piece?” I screamed. “I never cheated on him! Never!”

“Cut the scene, girl, no one’s giving you an Oscar.” She rolled her eyes. “I have proof.”

That’s impossible.

All of a sudden, my fear and confusion shifted to rage.

That woman was accusing me of having an affair and claiming to have proof of that, which was just impossible, because I’d never cheated on my husband.

“You have nothing.” I hissed. “Because this is… this is not true. It’s just a big pile of crap. I want to speak to my husband, now.”

“He has no interest in talking to you. I think his exact words were I don’t want to see that cheating slut ever again.” She smiled. Then, she pulled out her phone and turned it towards me.

Horror clenched my stomach.

Because the video she was showing me…

Oh, Goddess.

That was… that was me in my and Reiner’s bed.

But the man on top of me… was not my husband.

I looked at the video on Sheila's phone for what felt like an eternity - looked at the bedroom that was my and Reiner's love nest, at my face, at the unknown man on top of me.

The more I looked at that, the sicker I felt.

It wasn't real. I knew that. I'd never once such as looked at another man, let alone cheated on Reiner. And if that wasn't enough, I didn't know the man in the video.

“What is this?” I managed to whisper.

Her smirk widened. “A little thing I asked a friend to make. Too bad he’s very good, and Reiner believed it.”

Bile crept up inside of my stomach, and I suddenly felt light-headed.

Oh, no, no, no, no.

“You… you forged a deepfake… of…”

Sheila shrugged. “Not that he’ll ever believe you, right?” She smiled. “I’m his mother. I’ve loved and cared for him his entire life. Now, you’re nothing but the w***e who played him and cheated on him, making him the laughingstock of his pack.”

Of course, he wouldn’t believe me. Not just because he’d seen the video, which was realistic enough, but because of the distance that there had been between us lately. It’d be easy for him to believe I’d consoled myself with someone else, especially if his mother showed him proof like that.

He wouldn’t even want to see me, let alone talk to me to hear my side. I’d felt his anger, his loathe, when I’d touched his mind before, but didn’t realize they were directed to me.

I knew my husband. And since he’d clearly believed his mother…

My heart missed a beat, and it took all I had not to crumple over myself.

We were done.

In his eyes, it was over. He no longer saw me as his wife, let alone his mate.

“He couldn’t bear your sight, so he asked me to give you this.” Sheila smiled, now happily, offering me a brown envelope. “He was so determinate and angry the lawyers wrote this down really quick.”

I didn’t need her to go on to understand what was inside that envelope.

Divorce papers.

“Sheila, please…” I whispered. “Please, I need to talk to him, I’m…”

“Oh, I know all about the little runt. My daughter has a very, very big mouth. She’s so naive it’s irritating, honestly. She didn’t tell Reiner because you asked her not to, but thought I’d be delighted to know he was having your… spawn.” She spat. “Why do you think I worked so hard? I’ll never let my son know the shame of having a pup by one of your kind. The Goddess was clearly mistaken in pairing the two of you, Alphas like him should have equally powerful and pure-blooded mates. Now, sign the papers, so we can both be done with this ugly business and my son can start healing. He doesn’t need your presence around, doesn’t he?”

It was only at that point that tears began to stream down my face.

My whole life was crumbling beneath my feet. I was losing my home, my pack, my family, the love of my life… all because that woman had decided I wasn’t enough for her son. Because she’d decided to meddle with the Goddess’ wisdom.

All in a matter of minutes.

And there was nothing I could do.

The only one who could save me now was Reiner, but he had no intention to do so. He thought I’d betrayed him and didn’t want anything to do with me anymore.

“Why would you do this?” I sobbed. “He’s your son… Why would you hurt him like this?”

Sheila rolled her eyes. “Since your impending motherhood, allow me to give you a little piece of advice. Sometimes parents do need to keep their children from making mistakes even when they throw tantrums and stomp their feet.”

“And taking his mate and child away from him would be caring for him? Forcing him to believe your lies?”

She smiles. “I didn’t force him, dearie. That, he did all by himself. Maybe your bond wasn’t as strong as you thought. Now, the papers.”

This time, she offered me a pen.

“It’s best if you sign them now.” She said. “You don’t want him to come back home and publicly reject you, huh? That’d be an... unnecessary pain for the both of you”.

With a shaking hand, I took the pen from her long-nailed fingers.

There was nothing I could do or say to make this stop.

Reiner wasn’t there, but even if he were, he wouldn’t listen to me, wouldn’t believe me.

It was over.

I’d lost everything.

Not everything, a small voice inside of me reminded me. My baby was still there with me.

If he finds out about the baby, he’ll take it from you, that same voice whispered to me. He’ll never let you raise your child. He’ll put the baby against you.

Or he’d believe it wasn’t his child. And at that point, he’d throw the both of us into the dungeons with the prisoners and the traitors, forcing us into a life of darkness, filth, and labor.

I couldn’t risk either option. My life was completely in shambles, but my baby still had a chance – a chance he’d never have if I stayed there a minute longer.

Through tear-blurred eyes, I signed the papers.

Letting Sheila win and destroying my marriage and all I’d ever known.