The Surrogate Luna Chapter 03

The Surrogate Luna Chapter 03

Four days later, it was time for my final follow-up appointment.

For the first time since we’d been together, Aiden offered to drive me there himself.

But after only fifteen minutes on the road, he turned into my father’s packhouse instead of the pack hospital.

Once the car came to a stop, he looked over at me.

“We’re here, babe.”

I glanced outside before answering calmly.

“This isn’t the pack hospital.”

“We can move your appointment to another day.”

He reached over and took my hand. His voice was steady, leaving little room for discussion.

“Tonight’s the family reunion dinner.”

“We’re family, Rebecca. It’s time to let the past stay in the past.”

“This is still your pack, and they’re still your family. You can’t keep avoiding them forever.”

Family.

The word tightened something deep inside my chest.

I still remembered the day Kristina moved into the packhouse.

She had taken my bedroom without hesitation.

Then she had thrown the ring Mom left me into the toilet.

Everyone had told me to stop making a fuss. To be generous.

Only Aiden had stood up for me.

He had stayed by my side, gripping my hand tightly.

His gaze had been colder than winter.

“Touch Rebecca’s things again. I will destroy you.”

After we became mates, he had returned everything I’d lost.

Twice over.

“If your family and your pack won’t love you,” he’d said, “then I will.”

“And if you never want to come back here again, you won’t have to.”

Now it felt as though someone had driven a knife straight through my chest.

I looked at him, barely able to raise my voice above a whisper.

“I’m not going.”

“Did you forget? Mom and I were thrown out of the Carter family a long time ago.”

“We’re not part of this family anymore.”

“We don’t even have the right to inherit anything.”

A slight frown creased his forehead.

The gentleness in his expression disappeared.

“Rebecca, quit acting like a child.”

“You’re going to be a mother soon. It’s time to grow up and let go of old grudges.”

I looked at him as though I’d never met him before.

The man who had once stood between me and every hardship was now asking me to face the very people who had destroyed my mother and me.

Disappointment washed over me.

After a long silence, I finally nodded.

“Fine. Let’s go.”

I no longer had the strength to argue.

The moment we walked through the front door, every eye in the room landed on me.

Some looked amused. Some looked contemptuous. Others openly mocked me.

Kristina stood among the crowd in an elegant dress.

Her eyes swept over my still-flat stomach before a victorious smile crept across her face.

“Well, look who came.”

“I honestly thought you’d rather die than come back to this packhouse.”

She proudly held up an ultrasound image.

“Guess what, sis? My mate got me pregnant too.”

“It’s a boy.”

“Our pack finally has its heir.”

I didn’t respond.

I simply watched as everyone rushed over to congratulate her.

Before long, the whispers spread through the room.

“Kristina’s far too kind. That bastard stole seventeen years of her life, and she still treats her so nicely.”

“Considering her mother’s a homewrecker, what else would you expect from her daughter?”

“She doesn’t even have a job. She just spends Aiden’s money. She’s nothing but a gold digger.”

Kristina’s eyes quickly filled with tears.

“Sis, I know you’ve always hated me for taking your place.”

“If my being here upsets you that much… I can leave. I can disappear forever.”

I caught the satisfaction hidden beneath her pitiful expression.

She was waiting for me to lose control.

Instead, I met her eyes and said only one word.

“Move.”

Kristina froze for a split second.

Then tears immediately rolled down her cheeks.