Edeline

After breakfast, Darius and I took a chill walk along a peaceful river that ran through the woods next to the Packhouse. The morning sun sparkled on the water, and the gentle flow made everything feel super relaxing. We chatted about the usual stuff-pack plans, upcoming events, and a bit of gossip. The conversation was easy, and I felt totally comfortable with Darius.

Eventually, we reached a quiet spot by the river where the trees cleared, giving us a stunning view of the cliffs overlooking our territory. Darius paused, looked at me thoughtfully, and said, "I've got to head to training soon. I'll be done in about two hours. Feel free to stick around here, explore, or shift if you want. Just don't go back to your room, hmm? We can run together later. I promise."

He gave me a friendly smile and ruffled my hair before heading back along the river. I watched him go, smiling to myself. The peaceful spot was perfect for some alone time. I settled by the river, dipped my fingers in the cool water, and let the calm wash over me.

The sun felt great on my face as I closed my eyes and soaked in the wind and sun. The river's gentle murmur and the rustling leaves created a soothing background. Everything felt so peaceful.

But then, I suddenly felt like the calm had been shattered by someone watching me. It was like a sharp, intense gaze on my skin.

I snapped my eyes open and looked around. Everything seemed normal, but the feeling of being watched was strong.

I focused on my senses and saw a pair of eyes peeking out from the dark bushes where Darius had disappeared. We locked eyes, and a chill ran down my spine.

Before I could react, a white wolf burst out of the bushes and raced toward me with surprising speed. I stayed calm as I sat down. There was no fear, just an odd sense of detachment. I just stared at the wolf, feeling an eerie stillness.

The wolf's intense stare never wavered. Slowly, his form began to shift, bones and muscles changing beneath the surface. In moments, the wolf transformed into a naked man-Percival.

He stood over me, his eyes locked onto mine with a desperate intensity, like he was missing me deeply. His body was sculpted and powerful, every muscle defined and stretched tight. Despite his strong presence, I stayed calm, matching his gaze.

Driven by something, Percival leaned in, his lips nearing mine. I could feel the heat of his breath and the urgency in his movements. Just as he was about to kiss me, I pushed him away, my heart racing.

"What's wrong with you, Percival?" I demanded, my voice shaking. "Why are you doing this? Why are you here?"

Percival's face showed a mix of frustration and sorrow. "We need to talk."

"Talk?" I said, almost laughing bitterly. "How did you find me?"

Percival's gaze softened, though it remained intense. "I can track your scent anywhere. It drives me crazy when I come across it. With my libido, it's hard to keep my wolf from hunting you down. It's tough to control anything when you're involved."

I stared at him blankly for a moment before replying, "We don't have anything to talk about, Percival. Go back to your soon-to-be Luna."

I turned to leave, but before I could take more than a few steps, Percival grabbed my arm, his grip firm but pleading. "Please, Edeline, just listen to me."

I turned back to face him, my eyes locking onto his. His wide blue eyes were glassy with unshed tears, and his face was etched with pain. He looked at me with a mix of longing and anguish, his emotions raw and unfiltered.

He wasn't shattered, but he was hurting. I wasn't sure if it was because of me or how his pack now saw him. Either way, it was clear he had a lot of shame. I could feel the weight of his struggle, and despite everything, I felt a pang of empathy for him.

"I want you to know what happened," Percival said, his voice trembling.

I shook my head, my voice cold. "I don't want to know. It's none of my business."

Percival's expression hardened with determination. "It is your business. I need you to understand."

He didn't want to let me go? A little too late for that. I shook my head and fixed my gaze back on the stream before me.

Guess he took that as a sign to keep talking.

"Edeline, in that summer camp, the guys there... They're always fighting, challenging each other. The women are nice, but it's not like it is here. They don't value the mate bond like we do."

"Neither do you," I whispered.

He hung his head, looking ashamed. "I do, Edeline. I always have. My only friends there were women. The guys saw me as a threat, so I hung out with a few of them. Tatiana was just a friend, someone to talk to. We didn't have much one-on-one time; I was mostly with her friends. I only spent time alone with her once. Two weeks before I was due home, Tatiana went into heat."

This was exactly what I didn't want to hear. But he needed me to know, even though it would just hurt me more.

He lowered his gaze to where my hand was gripping the ground, and I felt a shiver run through my fingertips. He kept talking, his eyes avoiding my face so he wouldn't see the pain his words were causing me.

"It hit her before she even knew it was coming. We were up late, everyone else had gone to bed, and suddenly it was there. I should have sensed it coming, should have picked up on the signs, but I didn't! I don't get why!"

He slammed his fists down on the ground, and the pain in his voice was real. I could tell he genuinely didn't understand why.

Every female knows when her heat is coming, and so do the males. It's this sweet, musky scent you can smell coming off them. Tatiana should have felt it coming, so it didn't make sense. She would have sensed it weeks in advance.

"After everything was done, we realized how big of a mistake it was. A male just can't resist that, Edeline."

And that's true. Males can't resist a female in heat. A mate will be drawn to their she-wolf, and unmated males will try to get to any she-wolf, mated or not. That's why females are usually kept separated during that time, away from temptation. Usually, their parents or mates step in to protect them.

Hearing this made me sick to my stomach. I could feel a tear slipping down my cheek as I took in everything he was saying, keeping my eyes fixed on the grass between us. I felt his intense stare on my skin again, warming me with the burn of his gaze.

"But, Edeline... I won't mark her."

I lifted my eyes to meet his, searching for any hint of deceit. There was none. He was either being completely honest or just sincere in that moment.

He really wouldn't mark her.

Edeline

"You won't?" That single question gave me a glimmer of hope, though it felt too late for that.

He shook his head slowly. The way his skin shimmered was messing with my head, making me think I might have a chance with him. But I wouldn't if another woman was involved.

"She's staying with the Oracle at the cabin with my parents. I'm holed up in a house across the lake that's not being used. I didn't want her staying with me because of her wolf, and my dad thought it'd be best if I stayed away from you for now. Being across the lake helps because your scent isn't always around."

I stared at him in shock. I'd thought she'd be with him. They seemed like they were trying to be a family, like we should have been.

Then it hit me.

"You're staying away so your wolf won't be tempted to mark me, and vice versa?" I raised an eyebrow, feeling a mix of anger and relief.

He helped me, but he also broke my heart. The news pissed off my wolf but made me happy in a weird way. I didn't want to be near him.

With his head still lowered, he nodded, and I stayed quiet, waiting to hear more.

"Omega Conor, the leader of the Celestial Moon pack, is Tatiana's father. He told me to take her home and mark her as my mate as soon as he found out I didn't have one. It would unite our packs and give me control over both one day." I looked into his blue eyes. "The night I saw your face and smelled your scent, I knew what you meant to me. I thought about it a lot. Things changed after that. She was furious and didn't want to lose face, so she begged for my help. But, I couldn't do it. I can't do that to myself or to you." My hands were lifted from the ground, and I gasped as I looked deeper into his eyes. He was calling my wolf.

"You're a gift from me. I know how you feel about me and that you won't want me now. But there's a small part of me that's still holding on to hope. I really want to mark you as mine, but I'd never force that on you. Right now, my only duty to Tatiana is to help her through her pregnancy. I'm not sure what I'll do when the baby is born, but I can't just send it back to Celestial Moon with Tatiana."

His words cut deeper, tearing my heart apart. What did he think was the right choice? The only good thing about this mess was that he hadn't marked her. The Alpha of Tatiana's pack might want them to mate to unite their packs, but he wouldn't be happy if Percival didn't claim her, because it would mean his only child would lose honor.

Females can't take over a pack on their own. To get a pack, they have to mate with another Alpha. If she can find him, her true mate would be an Alpha. That's how it works. Alpha females can only mate with Alpha males because a male can't just become an Alpha. Any female Alpha can mate with an Alpha male because, no matter what, the female will always be the Luna.

I had tears in my eyes as I looked at him. Our feelings were so intense. "So, you're going to make her part of the pack? Take care of the baby together?" I asked. "If she's his only child, her dad wouldn't let that happen." I tried to stay calm, but my voice cracked and more tears rolled down my cheeks. It was hard to handle everything.

It's not every day that the person you love ends up marrying and having kids with someone else.

"She can't be packed," he sighed. I get it. "She's supposed to mate with an Alpha who can take over her pack. And since she's pregnant, her dad wants me to be that guy. But you know how rare it is for wolves to have babies with anyone other than their mate."

He was right.

You could have babies with someone other than your mate. It happened all the time, and it was tough. If you bred with someone who wasn't your mate, you could end up with a miscarriage or a baby. It was hard to say what would happen if your souls weren't linked. But it helped wolves whose mates had died, turned them down, or never found them. The moon would feel their pain and let them mate with someone else and have babies. But a guy who had a mate? One who never got a chance to leave her mark?

It wasn't clear if that baby would survive or not. Since I was here with them both, Tatiana had almost no chance of keeping that baby.

The Moon Goddess couldn't really dislike me that much.

Could this work out for me?

It was pretty selfish to hope someone would die so I could have a chance.

He'd be crushed to lose a baby. It didn't matter what kind of mother it was.

I didn't want that for him...

I lifted my face to his, and he placed a finger under my chin. It made my heart race, like a fire inside me. His touch made my insides tighten, and that one finger on my skin sent shockwaves through me. It hit me deep.

My red-rimmed eyes met his hooded blue ones again, and then his hand left me. It left a trail of cold as he closed his eyes and breathed in my scent.

I needed his touch again. I felt the wolf inside me urging me to lean towards him, but I didn't listen. I couldn't.

"The wolf would be to blame for anything I did, and I couldn't handle feeling any worse about myself." He shook his head, trying to snap out of it. I could feel his pain and desire, just like he felt mine.

"She's upset that I won't mark her," he said. "She's worried because she thinks this pregnancy won't end well. She wants what you have because she knows I only care about you and not her, Edeline. I don't know what will happen between her dad and me, but I'll make sure she doesn't lose respect for you. I don't love her. I've only seen her as a mistake since that night. I haven't touched her since then. I'm not going to touch her again."

Even though he said it like it didn't matter, my wolf was relieved to hear it.

When he told me the truth, I closed my eyes, grateful that I was wrong about what I had seen that day. But that didn't mean I'd offer myself to him. I wasn't going to wait around and be his backup plan.

Edeline

I couldn't shake off the guilt that was eating at me. The thought of the baby-so tiny and innocent-caught in all this mess was really getting to me. What was going to happen if things didn't work out? It weighed heavily on my mind, mixing with my own pain and confusion.

"Percival... What's going to happen when the baby arrives?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.

He didn't have a clear answer. The way he breathed out warmed my skin, making it tingle. The sunlight filtering through the leaves made his eyes look even more tired and lost. He seemed so young and worn out at that moment.

"She'll have to take care of the baby while he's little. I haven't figured everything out yet, but it seems like the right thing to do," he said, sounding defeated as he ran his hand through his tousled hair.

"Where?" I asked. 

"I'm not sure. But I have to stay here because I'm going to be the next Alpha. She'll never be my Luna. Since she's her dad's only child, our baby would inherit his land. I'll let that happen. He doesn't have any other sons or daughters. Since I'm an Alpha, the child will be a boy. I've thought about it. By age 10, the baby should be ready to live with Tatiana at the Celestial Moon pack and go through their tough training. During the summers, he'll stay with me. That's what should happen. She might find her true love one day, and she'll understand what she's going through. I know it hurts you that my first child isn't yours. It hurts me too. But you're my mate, my gift. I can't ignore that."

I shook my head and rolled my eyes. I could tell he was making me his backup plan. Did he really think I'd wait for his plans to come together? I needed to live my own life too. 

"I'm not even going to ask you to wait for me because it's not fair, but I'm telling you I won't mark her. She's not going to be my mate. At least you know that. I don't know what could ever happen between us."

I sniffled as tears started to form in my eyes. We wouldn't know what would happen if she miscarried or if the baby would live or die. I knew he cared about me. He wanted me to be his mate as much as I wanted him, but neither of us would let it happen. He respected me, and I was grateful for that.

His hand covered mine, and the warmth from it spread through my body.

I want him to be mine.

The smell of gardenias filled the air and made him stop in his tracks. Then, I heard a muffled sob.

Before we could turn around, Tatiana stood there, tall and imposing, one hand over her mouth and the other resting on her flat belly. Tears streamed down her face.

She looked at him helplessly and then at me, as if I was taking something from her.

"Tatiana... I'm..." He was at a loss for words.

The tall, slender woman was standing about twenty feet away from me. Her long blonde hair was perfectly curled, and her makeup was harsh on her pretty face, with black streaks from her mascara.

Her brown eyes darted between Percival and me, but I didn't feel bad for her. Who doesn't know that her heat is coming? I feel like she is hiding something.

I didn't like her at all.

She begged my mate to mark her because she knew I was his. She had moved into my place first.

Tatiana was shaking, her hand falling away from her mouth. She rubbed her eyes hard to get rid of the tears.

"Percival, don't you want to mark me?? I'm the one carrying your child!" She gestured wildly toward me. "Her? Why her? She's just a damn child!" The sadness in her voice showed that her heart was breaking.

Now I get it-he gave her his food out of kindness.

But unfortunately, I'm the one he wanted.

Percival bowed his head. "She's my mate, Tatiana. My real mate. You're just carrying my baby. It was a mistake that happened one night and could have been avoided-" The last part was cut off, and his eyes narrowed suspiciously at her. What he said was meant to hurt. I could tell it was supposed to stab her right in the heart. He clenched his teeth when she talked about me, and now he was paying her back.

She took a few steps forward and glared at me. I watched with interest. This was my spot. I didn't feel like I belonged here, but I didn't think her heart was really broken-it was just her pride. Even wolves don't fall in love after just one night. That wolf longs for their mate who's out there in the world.

"You'd choose her over me and your baby?!" She asked, leaving it open whether he would mark me over the mother of his baby. Her voice shook with a low growl from her chest.

Percival's fiery gaze was too much for her to handle, and he let out a growl that silenced her. It was clear she was jealous.

"Tatiana, stand down. This pack isn't yours. You don't have any rank here. Don't even think about attacking anyone, not like this! If you try, you'll be killed immediately. Edeline's wolf won't tolerate it," he growled. I bowed my head at the sound of his growl. That's the power of an alpha growl.

As he stood up, he kept going. His hard glare made her take a few cautious steps back.

"You and I both know there's a 50% chance you'll miscarry or have a stillborn baby!" He said, his voice sharp. "Now that I have a mate here, the chance is even smaller! You have a mate out there somewhere; you just haven't found him yet. People like us don't always connect well with the moon." His words hurt her deeply, but for me...

No matter how harsh it sounded, it gave me hope. If the pregnancy didn't work out, we could be together. She would be out of our lives for good. I'd have to trust him, though. So far, he's been honest with me. If she wasn't around, would I be with him? I wasn't sure.

Her gaze turned icy. "We'll see what my father thinks about that." She turned on her heel with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.

Percival's anger gave me a rush of excitement. My wolf purred with satisfaction at how strong her mate was. My wolf even planned to go after Tatiana herself.

He gave me a quick, apologetic glance. "Edeline, I'm sorry. Now, you are fully aware of everything... Please, think about what I said." I didn't respond. I stayed silent, just listening and absorbing everything he said.

He leaned down and kissed the top of my head, then took off, leaping into the air as he shifted. His big wolf howled and chased after Tatiana, proving a point. My excitement shifted as I watched him move so quickly.

Whether he is still in the womb or out in the world, he would make sure she knew her place. If the baby survived, it wouldn't mind a bit of roughness. But despite everything, I found myself hoping for things to work out our way, even if it made me seem heartless. My thoughts extended even to the baby's life. I was being too hard on myself. I was hurting, and I wanted what I wanted. She wouldn't take my place. She couldn't take my place. Yet, I knew I couldn't stay with him if he had that baby. It would be too much. I'd have to move on, even though it would destroy me.

Am I truly Percival's mate, destined to be the next Luna? Or am I just a rejected she-wolf, or something else entirely that I haven't figured out yet? Despite the pain I'm in, I know I need to find out who I am and stop waiting for him. But the wolf within me will always choose her mate, and right now, my wolf is urging me to get rid of Tatiana. 

Should I?