The Discarded Luna’s Second Chance

Chapter 8

"Let me help you get ready." Celeste's voice floated through my bedroom door like poisoned honey. "Such an important day for the pack."

She entered without waiting for permission, carrying a jewelry box and wearing that practiced smile. Morning light caught her blonde curls as she approached my vanity where I struggled with a necklace clasp, my swollen belly making everything difficult.

"Here." Her fingers replaced mine, surprisingly gentle against my neck. "You need to look perfect today. Weston's been talking about you constantly at the office—how brilliant you were with O'Brien, how you're exceeding everyone's expectations."

The words dripped sweetness, but underneath I heard it.

The barely leashed fury, desperation clawing through her perfect facade.

"Has he?" I watched her reflection. "Strange. He rarely mentioned me before."

"Things change eventually." Her hands moved to arrange my hair, each touch precise. "He seems quite... invested in you suddenly. Even asked me for advice about anniversary gifts yesterday. For after the wedding, of course."

"Anniversary gifts? We're not even married yet."

"But you will be. Soon." Her grip on my hair tightened fractionally. "Right after the precious little baby arrives. The whole pack's talking about it—their Alpha, finally settling down with his chosen woman."

"Chosen." I let the word hang. "Interesting way to describe an infamous heat accident."

Her hands stilled. "Is that what you think you were?"

"Isn't that what everyone thought?" I turned to face her directly. "Until recently?"

"People's opinions evolve. Weston's ones certainly have." She selected a pearl earring, holding it to my ear. "He watches you constantly now. Like you're something precious he just discovered."

"When did you become so invested in another woman's mate, Celeste?"

That made her mask slip. For one perfect second, rage transformed her features into something monstrous. Then she recovered, her laugh tinkling like broken glass.

"Mate? Oh Harper, but he isn’t your mate. He hasn’t actually marked you." She fastened the earring with unnecessary force. "Yet. Of course. For now you’re a fiancée carrying his child."

"That will change after the labor."

"Of course it will." She moved to the other earring, her breath warm against my cheek. "Though until then, you're rather... vulnerable, aren't you? A pregnant she-wolf without mate's protection from whatever—or whoever—might wish you harm."

"Is it a threat?"

"Threat?" Her eyes widened in practiced shock. "I'm concerned for you, sister. For the pack heir you're carrying. For our Alpha's peace of mind. This child means everything to everyone."

She stepped back to admire her work. I rose, smoothing the front of my dress.

"You know," I said lightly, as if sharing sisterly advice, "you should wear your best today—something that’ll catch the eye of someone in Alpha Kieran’s delegation. Could be your chance to find your own mate."

"My own mate?” Her smile sharpened. "Father expecting I’d catch Alpha Kieran’s eye himself. Not merely his lieutenants."

"I’m sure Father expects many things," I said, fastening the necklace at last.

She held my gaze a beat too long, then turned toward the door. "Wear blue," she tossed over her shoulder. “It brings out your eyes.”

The door clicked shut behind her while I stared at my reflection, mind spinning.

In the past timeline, she indeed had caught Kieran's attention at this very meeting. They'd mated within six months.

And eighteen months later, Kieran was dead.

* * *

The reception hall thrummed with calculated energy. Pack members positioned themselves strategically while Wolfhart’s delegation filed in—sharp-suited wolves who moved like weapons.

"The Wolfhart Pack's growth has been remarkable," someone murmured.

"Alpha Kieran doesn't do anything by halves," another replied.

My mind churned with possibilities. Could I change Kieran's fate this time? In the past, I'd been powerless, beaten down, invisible. But now...

"Harper." Weston's voice cut through my thoughts. "There's someone I want you to meet properly."

He strode through the crowd from the main entrance with a figure behind him backlit by afternoon sun. "I mentioned you two knew each other as children. Alpha Kieran, here is my future Luna."

When they finally reached me, the whole world vanished.

Kieran stood before me—towering height of lethal grace and power, his presence making the air itself feel electric. The skinny boy I'd known had transformed into something otherworldly.

Midnight-black hair fell across his forehead, framing a face that belonged in dark fantasies—all sharp angles and devastating beauty.

But it was his eyes that destroyed me.

Dark amber I still remember locked onto mine. The moment our gazes collided felt like the lightning struck. Heat exploded through my veins like wildfire, the pull toward him slammed into me with crushing force and I can hear my wolf howling recognition:

MATE. OUR TRUE MATE. HE'S OURS.

I saw the same shock detonate across his features, his pupils dilating, his entire body going rigid. His wolf answered mine, the connection sparking between us like live wire.

But how? This hadn't happened before. It couldn't happen. In the past timeline, Kieran had mated with—

The bite mark.

Back then, Weston had already marked me by this meeting. Ava had been born prematurely, and he'd claimed me officially two weeks before today.

That's why I couldn't recognize Kieran as my true mate then—I'd already been bound to another.

One avoided fall. One change. And fate had shifted everything.

But I couldn't have him. Not now. Not with Ava inside me, not with justice undelivered, not with revenge still burning in my bones.

The silence stretched between the three of us, taut as a drawn bow. Kieran and I remained locked in each other's gaze while the mate bond screamed for completion, demanding we close the distance, demanding we claim what was ours.

"Is everything alright?" Weston's voice shattered the moment, confused by the tension.

"She's..." Kieran's voice had deepened to gravel and smoke.

"Oh, it's nothing." I forced a laugh that came out breathless. "Just impressed how the skinny boy I remember became such an impressive Alpha."

Kieran didn't even smile at my pathetic attempt to joke off the tension. His eyes fixed on Weston's possessive hand at my waist, on my swollen belly carrying another Alpha's child.

And I saw something dark and violent flickered across his face before he controlled it.