MATED TO THE SECRET ALPHA-Chapter 254: Chaos In The Pack

The Luna is pregnant!"

The news somehow managed to spread through the pack like wildfire in a dry summer forest—fueled by fear, awe, and a thousand unanswered questions.

No one knew who said it first. Maybe it was one of the healers who passed by the corridor where Reana had collapsed. Maybe a guard overheard the word "child" when Kira cried out. Or maybe...more likely... It was the demon god himself.

By nightfall, the entire Black Moon Pack was buzzing. Angry.

"Alpha Snow’s heir?" whispered a young warrior. "What does that mean to our pack?"

"No. It means she’s betrayed us," growled another. "Carrying the blood of the Dark Snow Pack after all they did to us?"

In every corner of the pack, divided opinions rose like steam from boiling waters.

Many clenched their fists and gritted their teeth in fury, utterly disappointed in the shame and disrespect the Luna had brought to the pack.

She was supposed to mate in the pack; the Black Moon Pack had eligible men. She made the pack members work their bones off, promising to mate one of them, yet she took her womb – the sacred vessel of the future Alpha heir, and offered it to an outsider. A traitor. The one whom the moon goddess scorned. The one whom the people’s curses were upon; Alpha Snow.

"She has spit on our traditions," an old woman growled in a gathering of the older generation. "She may be the Luna, but her actions are disgraceful, and a disgraced Luna cannot remain our leader!"

"Worse," another spat, eyes burning with resentment. "She chose love over duty."

"Our young men did everything she told them to, just to be worthy in her eyes. They worked like never before in their lives, breaking their backs for her, only for her to turn around and slap them in the face with this scandal. This is preposterous!"

But for every voice that condemned her, a few rose to defend her, starting with Mirian.

"They loved each other," she said. "We all saw it. What kind of people are we, if we hate a child for being born of love?"

"Of course, Mirian, you’ll support her, after all, you’re mated to one of the Dark Snows," one of the servants couldn’t hide her jealousy, even though her tone was gripping with thick disdain.

Which servant wasn’t jealous of Mirian? She had two powerful men fighting over her. Clearly, both men loved her and without a doubt, she would be treated right by them.

Before, when Mirian was just a servant with no hope for a bright future, they liked her, listened to her and treated her as their leader, but now?

It was no longer just admiration. It was envy, tangled with bitterness and hatred.

"Careful with your words," Mirian said coldly, her spine straightening like a blade. "You speak like one who forgets what it means to be loyal to your Luna."

The servant snorted. "Loyalty isn’t blindness. We’re allowed to be angry and disappointed, and right now, everyone in the pack disdains the Luna."

"She was everything to this pack," Mirian shot back. "She sacrificed everything for us. Now that she needs the pack the most, you turn on her like wild dogs?"

She continued without giving anyone the chance to retort.

"Luna Reana risked her life for this pack. We owe her more than accusations. As for Ryder, even though you all hate him now, there was a time he selflessly defended this pack, protected Luna Reana, and brought us honor." she continued. "He’s the reason we have enough supplies for winter. How could you lots be so ungrateful?"

The girls fell silent for a moment, but the anger on their faces didn’t diminish.

Mirian rose to her feet, "If this is how you’re going to throw the first stones at Luna Reana, I cease to be one of you. And watch me be the first to point you out if she ever needs a list of betrayers." With that, she stormed off.

...

The elder council was worse.

"The people are on the verge of fracturing," Elder Collins said, pouring himself a goblet of wine. "The girl has gone too far."

He didn’t address her as the Luna this time, he called her ’the girl’.

"She has always gone too far, you people refused to see it!" Elder Thomas snapped. He was hyperventilating as if he was directly involved in the chaos.

Xavier’s death was still fresh in his mind and he still blamed Reana for his son’s death, and now that he’d finally seen an opportunity to strike back, he wouldn’t hold back.

"You all are taking this matter too far." Elder Jaxson sighed. "We haven’t even confirmed it."

"What’s there to confirm?" Elder Thomas barked, his voice echoing sharply off the stone walls. "The entire pack heard Kira’s scream! The girl collapsed in the corridor, and our best healer ran out crying about a child. What do you think that means? A cold? A stomach bug?"

Elder Jaxson’s jaw tensed. "I’m saying we shouldn’t leap to conclusions without confirmation from the Luna herself."

"She won’t say a word. Guilty people don’t speak. They hide away. If she had any respect for us, for this council, she would’ve come here by now," Elder Collins added bitterly. "Instead, she hides in her chambers while the pack burns with unrest."

"Because she’s terrified," muttered Elder Maaya. Her tone was soft, but her eyes held a quiet warning. "She knows what this means. She knows how deep the betrayal cuts." 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Thomas scoffed. "If she was afraid of betraying us, she wouldn’t have spread her legs for that accursed devil."

"Mind your tongue!" Elder Maaya hissed and Elder Jaxson bared his teeth.

"I will not!" Thomas slammed his goblet down. Wine splashed onto the table, staining the old oak like blood. "My son died because of her. And now she has the audacity to carry the seed of the very pack that tore us apart? I will not watch this council grovel to a child who spits on our traditions!"

There was silence for a long moment, thick and suffocating.

Elder Beth finally spoke, his voice cold as steel. "So what do you suggest? A public trial? Stripping her of her Luna title? Tossing her into the dungeons until the child is born?"

Another Elder shrugged. "Wouldn’t be the worst idea."

"No," Elder Maaya said firmly. "We need to be careful. If we push too hard, we risk turning the people’s unrest into a full rebellion. Luna still has loyal followers and there are still the Dark Snow Pack members present." She paused, "if we as much as force her, we won’t just be fighting her loyalists. We’ll be facing a war from the Dark Snows."

Jaxson stood slowly. "The pack is splitting already. One wrong move, and we’ll fall apart before we can even decide where we stand."

He looked at each of them.

"We need to bring her in. Quietly. Speak with her. Confirm the pregnancy. Confirm the father. Then decide what the consequences will be."

"And if she refuses?" Thomas asked.

"Then she makes her choice," Jaxson said grimly. "And the pack will make theirs."

"Do you remember how she was defending him weeks ago? Do you recall how the moon goddess was angry and Reana refused to consult the oracle?" Thomas refused to relent.

The elders frowned, thinking.

That was right, at the last elder council, after the temple was attacked, the Luna didn’t let the oracle be consulted. Now that they thought about it, it finally made sense.

"She was protecting him?" Elder Collins furrowed his brows.

"What else?" Elder Thomas snorted. "Disaster started happening when the accursed Alpha brought himself to our doorstep. What more explanation do you have for that?"

...

Meanwhile, a figure, who’d been leaning into the door, eavesdropping, left after hearing all that was said.

Rushing through the complicated corridors of the pack house, the figure stopped by a door, knocked once and entered.

Inside, Kira, Mirian, Beta Thane, and Zeta Tara turned their heads.

The figure took off the disguise.

It was Ophilia.