Alpha Begged, Luna Walked Chapter 01

Alpha Begged, Luna Walked Chapter 01

The moment I found a pair of underwear in Magnus Vancroft’s pocket that didn’t belong to me, I decided to end what we’d spent ten years pretending was a bond.

When I left, I took only one thing, an urn.

I even cleaned up the mess he’d made with Eden Farrow and issued a public statement.

“There is no third party between Alpha Magnus and me, because there was never a mate bond between us to begin with. I fabricated the affair out of jealousy. I owe Miss Farrow an apology.”

He saw it and called me, satisfied.

“See? Was that so hard?”

A pause,then magnanimous, “As a reward, I’ll make time for the prenatal appointment.”

My hand tightened around the phone.

“But I need to take Eden hunting first. She’s been down lately,needs fresh air. So reschedule the appointment. I’ll go with you when I’m back.”

I hung up.

“Not necessary.”

Ten years of waiting had taught me exactly how little his “I’ll be there” was worth.

If he’d looked at me,really looked,he would have noticed the background wasn’t our home anymore.

“Miss Greer.” A soft knock. “Your procedure is ready.”

Afterward, I went to the pack witch.

Ten years ago, Magnus had knelt beside my mother’s deathbed in this very cottage. The witch had witnessed it. He’d sworn by the Moon herself, “I will love Nova for the rest of my life. I will never let her suffer.”

Ten years later, I had just emptied his child from my body.

The witch handed me the crystal ball. “Your Alpha didn’t come with you? You both agreed to retrieve this together.”

She was old. She didn’t follow pack gossip. She didn’t know about Eden Farrow.

She touched the crystal, and an image surfaced.

Magnus. Twenty-two. Looking at me like I was the only light in the sky.

“Tell me, dear Miss Greer,my future fated mate,how will you and I spend these ten years?”

We’d asked each other that question, sealed our answers in the crystal, and promised to return together a decade later and listen.

I came alone.

I smiled and spoke my answer into the glass.

“Year one. You bought me a silver ring with your first hunting commission. I wore it every day.”

Ten years on my finger. It cost less than the pendant Eden wore, the one he’d given her last solstice. A thousand times less.

My voice tremb1ed. “Year four. The pack was growing. You mated me to give me security. A beach ceremony—you spent so much. I loved it.”

What really happened, he kept delaying. Too busy. Always too busy. We never had a ceremony. No moonlight. No elders. Just ten years of almost.

I kept smiling. Tears slid down my cheeks anyway.

“Year eight. Our first pup. Everyone was waiting for him. He looked just like you.”

Our pup was born blue,slient,cold.

“Year ten. I’m pregn@nt again. Our child wanted a little sister.”

I was pregn@nt. He’d asked me to carry Eden’s child. Eden wanted one, he said, but her career couldn’t afford the time off.

“Every day with you has been a gift.”

Every day with him had felt like drowning.

The witch sealed my words. “If you are so happy, why can’t you stop crying?”

I wiped my face and forced my lips into something that might pass for a smile.

“Because I’m saying goodbye.”

The witch was old, but her eyes were sharp. She saw everything.

“He doesn’t know what you asked him,” she said softly. “Ten years ago.”

The crystal shifted.

I watched my eighteen-year-old self look up at the boy who’d just promised me forever.

“Magnus. Ten years from now,you’ll be an Alpha by then, won’t you?”

She tilted her head.

“So here’s my question. In all those years, in this bond of ours,what’s the most important thing?”

She answered before he could.

“I think it’s loyalty.”

“If you ever betray me, I’ll leave. And I’ll never come back.”