The Betrayed Luna's Second Chance Alpha

Warning: This chapter contains graphic descriptions of childbirth that some readers may find uncomfortable. Proceed with caution. A piercing scream filled the dark cell as the trembling woman bore down, her hands cradling the swell of her belly as the child inside her fought their way out. Flora's brown eyes glowed gold in the dark as her wolf fought to break free of the magic binds that wound around her wrists, ankles and neck in blood red swirling runes. Going through labour without a wolf was unheard of for any she-wolf, especially a first-time mother. And after three hours of contractions and pained screams without any sign of a healer or even one of the guards just beyond the sturdy door of her cell coming in to check on her, Flora quickly realised that no one was coming to help her. And why would they bother when the whole purpose of her imprisonment was to quietly dispose of her and her 'disgrace', without getting blood on their hands. A painful contraction left Flora howling in pain and she collapsed down on the gathered straw she called her bed as she grew too weak to hold herself up. The rough straw bruised her skin as she writhed on it and the discomfort of it paired with the prickling pain in her hips caused frustrated tears to roll down her cheeks. "I'm going to die," The terrified woman whispered with a shaky sob, her eyes sliding shut as she curled around her belly to try and feel the child she would never get to hold. The child who never got a chance to live because its mother was too weak to fight for their lives. It had been her weakness that made Flora agree to her mate Logan being with Elaine, his first love who he had been forced to leave after he discovered Flora was his mate. It had been her weakness that made her turn the other way and hide her heartbreak when she saw their stolen kisses and Logan's suffocating love for Elaine that she had spent years longing for. She had silently played the part of the perfect Luna while watching Logan give everything she longed for to Elaine, and when she discovered her pregnancy, she had been ready to play the perfect mother too. Too bad Elaine had grown bored of being the mistress in their sad little story and had decided to get Flora out of the way. All it had taken was a couple of nasty rumours about Flora sneaking into the homes of the unmated men of Golden Claw, in between her Luna duties and a well-timed unwilling kiss from one of Elaine's cohorts for everything to fall apart. One minute Flora was Luna of one of the greatest packs in the Western Region and the next she was being dragged to the pack dungeons by stone-faced warriors whose only response to her frightened questions was that she was being imprisoned because of her illegitimate unborn child. A day later her mate, her Alpha, her everything had marched into her cell with the same stony expression on his face, all while ignoring her teary-eyed pleadings. Flora remembers with painful clarity how Logan had pinned her down to the cold floor and in a move too quick for her to guess he was about to do the unthinkable, he speared his claws into the back of her neck, severing her bond with her wolf. The pain that followed had been so agonizing that Flora had been sure it would kill both her and their little one. But it hadn't killed, and she had lived to see six more months, locked up in a cell that would be her deathbed, her final resting place alongside the innocent baby whose only crime was to have been conceived by a weak, naive mother. ‘Luna Flora, The Weak.’ A malicious voice whispered, one that sounded too much like Elaine, and had been with her since the beginning of her captivity. 'They'll tell stories of how you died like a rat, with your little bastard in your arms'. "No!" Flora snarled at the disjointed voice as she struggled to get on her knees, her body damp with sweat and trembling from the effort. "I-I can..." She shuddered as another painful contraction went through her, bringing with it nausea that threatened to rob her of what little food she had in her. "...I can do this. I will do this." She resolved as she shakily crawled to the cold stone wall by her bed of hay and braced herself against it. With one giant leap, Flora climbed to a shaky stand, her hands still gripping the rough stone, and spread her legs as far as she could without losing balance, in preparation. Before her imprisonment, Flora had been a Luna, a well-loved Luna who had a team of healers helping her get through the journey of pregnancy and prepare for the birth of their future Alpha. Now, she had nothing but the few lessons they had given her about pushing through contractions and gravity, and she was going to use it to make sure her baby survived the birth and lived. Even if it killed her. Inhaling deeply, she exhaled and then began pushing, her fingers digging so hard into the rough stone they bled, until the weight sitting on her pelvis began to slowly slide out and she could feel the crown of baby's head with her trembling fingers. Encouraged, she continued pushing with a blood-curling scream, even as she felt something tear and the wet trickle of blood flow down her legs. It was the worst pain she had ever experienced, and after what felt like forever, her vision swimming with black spots and her legs shaking as she lost the strength to keep standing, her baby's shoulders slipped all the way out and she collapsed to her knees to guide the remaining part of its body with her hands. Tears welled up in Flora's red-rimmed eyes when she was greeted with the sight of her little boy and her loud sob echoed in the cavernous room when a wet cry escaped his little throat, his small red face scrunching up as he struggled to acclimate to the unnatural chill of her cell. "Oh G-Goddess. You're.... perfect." Flora shakily rested her back against the wall, too absorbed with the softness of her little boy to care about the pain of sitting on rough straw dampened by her blood—so much that if she had given birth like a Luna should, the healers would be panicking—or the afterbirth that would soon follow. Carefully, she pulled down the tattered fabric of her dress and when she was sure her baby had latched on and was drinking, she pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her head against the wall, her eyes sliding shut. She had done it. She had saved her baby, but at what cost? Flora could feel her life coming to an end like a candle flame flickering in a raging storm, but she felt nothing but peace and love. Sure, she wished she could smell his scent, and know if he took after her or his father, or see what color his eyes were or know if he would say 'mama' or 'dada' first, but holding him was enough. Getting to feed him for the first and last time was more than she could ever ask for, and she was happier than she could ever remember being. The small room steadily grew colder and she wrapped him in one of the dirty cloths that was part of her nest, doing what little she could to protect him from the chill. When the room continued to grow colder, it took pressing her palm against her cheek for it to dawn on Flora that it was just her and she had lost so much blood, her body temperature was dropping too. When she was long gone and cold enough to rouse cries from her baby, her Adrian, she decided on the name, the warriors would come in and they would see him. They would see the tufts of his sunset orange hair, much like his Alpha father's, and his eyes she would never get to see but were hopefully as blue as his father's. Logan would see too, and he would know all the undeserved suffering she had been through and he would pour all his grief of condemning her into loving their son and raising him to be a good man. That was all Flora could wish for and as she felt the last of her consciousness slip away, a smile curved on her bruised lips and she finally let go, her beautiful, perfect son, her light, the last thing she would ever see.