Ashley’s POV
"You’re serious… Vicki?! " I covered my mouth with a trembling hand, my eyes turning red.
I sat in the wolf pack hospital office, still unable to believe what Vicki had just told me.
"Yes, Ashley! You’re pregnant. Definitely." My best friend Vicki hugged me tightly and said again with certainty.
I shook my head as tears finally spilled over. The Moon Goddess knew how long I had been hoping for this.
As an Omega chosen to be the pack’s Luna, it was like a common girl being picked as a princess. I became that lucky girl only because my father was good friends with the former Alpha of the Blackwood Pack.
But that didn’t mean the pack accepted me. I had no pack of my own, no transformation, and my past title was nothing but a shadow. People were waiting for me to fail, watching eagerly for the moment I embarrassed myself.
I knew our marriage wasn’t based on love. It was just an act of charity.
For the past three years, I tried my best to be the Luna this pack needed — and the mate he never asked for but desperately required. I hosted ceremonies, managed the medical center, settled disputes, protected the pups, and stood by his side at every pack meeting. At the same time, I secretly used my artistic talent to help the pack earn more money. Every time I wanted to tell Brian about my work, he would always leave in a hurry for pack matters.
Thanks to our efforts, the pack had risen to become the second strongest on the East Coast. But then the terrible thing happened — I couldn’t get pregnant.
Even though I proved that an Omega could be an excellent Luna, the fact that I hadn’t gotten pregnant erased all of it.
Every time I walked through the pack hall, I could hear the whispers:
"A weak Omega who can’t even get pregnant."
"I bet the Alpha will announce a new Luna soon."
Brian had never publicly defended me, which was why I was so worried about those words. I was afraid he would really take away my Luna position for the sake of an heir. But I wasn’t worried about the title. Over the past three years, ever since he carried me out of my father’s pool of blood, my feelings for him had grown deeper. I wanted to be his true love, not just a political partner.
Thinking of this, I quickly said goodbye to Vicki. I couldn’t wait to tell Brian this shocking good news.
I gently touched my flat stomach — I believed Brian would finally fall in love with me.
But when I arrived at the pack office, a familiar woman’s voice made my heart nearly stop.
"Brian… I know I shouldn’t have come back." Silvia’s voice was weak and full of pain. "But I… I don’t want to die with regrets."
Silvia — the woman who existed before I came to the Blackwood Pack. Brian’s true fated mate. Three years ago, she was badly injured protecting Brian from rogue wolves. Her heart and wolf spirit were both severely damaged, and then she suddenly disappeared.
"Don’t say that!" Brian’s domineering voice was filled with a gentleness I had never heard in three years. "What did the healer say? Is there really no other way?"
"My wolf spirit is too badly damaged." Silvia sobbed softly. "That time, to save you, the rogue wolf’s claws not only injured my heart but also tore my wolf spirit. Brian, I only have six months left."
I heard the sound of a chair moving. I could imagine Brian standing up to comfort her, and it felt like a knife twisting in my heart.
"These past three years, I’ve regretted it every day," Silvia continued. "I should have stayed. I should have become your Luna and given you an heir. But I was too scared… scared you would be disappointed seeing me so weak."
"Silvia…" Brian’s voice softened. "No! It’s my fault. I was bound by my father’s last wish! But for the past three years, my heart has been searching for you. I would never be disappointed in you!"
"No, Brian, it’s not your fault." Silvia’s voice grew even weaker. "I know Ashley is a good girl. I know you were fulfilling your promise to her father. But… but I really want to experience what it feels like to be your real wife, even if it’s only for six months."
Something inside my chest shattered. I clutched the test report tightly. The paper proving I was pregnant now felt bitterly ironic.
"I’ll take care of this," Brian said firmly. "Ashley will understand. She knows our marriage was only… fulfilling a promise."
"I don’t want to hurt her, Brian," Silvia said. "I don’t need the Luna title. I just want… to register our marriage with the council…"
"I know," Brian interrupted her. "And the Luna position should have been yours from the beginning."
Temporary replacement… Those four words stabbed into my heart like a dagger. So in his eyes, my three years of effort, my contributions to the pack, and my love for him meant nothing.
I heard footsteps heading toward the door. I panicked and tried to leave, but the test report slipped from my shaking hands and fell to the floor with a crisp sound.
The door was yanked open instantly. Brian stood there. His expression changed from surprise to familiar indifference. "How much did you hear?"
I looked at him — the man I had loved for three years — then at Silvia behind him. She was pale and frail, but still beautiful.
I bit my lip and touched my stomach again. "Everything."
"Good. Then I don’t have to bother explaining it to you," Brian said coldly.
"Don’t you want to hear my answer?" I looked at him stubbornly. Seeing the disgust in Brian’s eyes, my heart shrank. But then I thought of my child — in the wolf pack, illegitimate children always faced discrimination.
"I refuse your decision," I said firmly.
Brian’s expression shifted from shock to deeper indifference. Being rejected in front of Silvia clearly angered him.
"You’re such a disappointment, Ashley!" His voice was filled with long-suppressed impatience. "I know what you’re worried about — you have no pack protection and you’re afraid of losing your comfortable life, right? I can give you a blank check right now. If you don’t even have this much compassion, then you’re truly hopeless. You’re cold, selfish, and unreasonable. You don’t deserve any love."
His words lashed at me like whips, but the cruelest part was yet to come.
"This is exactly why your father died — because he had a weak, useless, and selfish daughter like you! You couldn’t protect him at all, so he had to fight the rogue wolves alone!"
My mind went blank. How could he say that? My father was killed by rogue wolves, and he knew how close I was to breaking down after his death. He was the one who suddenly appeared, carried me away, and brought me to the Blackwood Pack.
Back then, he held me and said, "You will be my Luna. The Luna of one of the strongest packs on the East Coast. No one will ever bully you again."
I once looked at his handsome side profile and strong jaw, thinking I had found a reason to keep living. I thought that was the beginning of my happiness. Now I understood — his gentleness was only out of obligation.
The floor beneath my feet felt like it had been pulled away.
"I agree to the divorce," I heard my own voice, terrifyingly calm. "No, I reject your mark." Only by fully rejecting the mark could two werewolves truly separate.
Anger flared in Brian’s eyes. "Enough! Are you trying to reject the mark to make me feel guilty? I won’t let you succeed. This is my final decision."
With that, he helped Silvia and left.
I could no longer hold myself up. I slid down the cold cabinet door and collapsed onto the floor.
How ironic. I thought tonight would be the turning point where Brian finally fell in love with me. Instead, it became the most humiliating moment of my life.
Tears flowed down again. My heart felt like it had shattered into a million pieces. I trembled as I placed my hand over my stomach once more — there was a little life here. I remembered what Vicki said at the hospital: "Ashley, you don’t have a strong wolf spirit. Emotional ups and downs will affect the baby’s safety."
I couldn’t break down. I would never accept Brian’s ridiculous demand. I was fully capable of raising my child alone.
Brian thought I was a parasite on the pack, but every penny I spent came from my own art work. The income I had saved over these three years was more than enough for me and my child to live a decent life.
Since Brian wanted Silvia, I would take my child and leave the pack.
"Baby, don’t be afraid," I whispered, gently stroking my stomach. My voice shook but was full of determination. "Mommy will protect you, no matter what. We don’t need anyone’s pity."
