From Banished Luna To Supreme Queen

Kiera's POV:

Helping my mate Dominic Evans secure his place as Alpha of the Crescent Pack had cost me my dignity. Every day brought fresh humiliation, and barely half a bowl of cold oatmeal was all I had to keep me going.

Among the omegas who suffered alongside me, nobody thought he deserved my loyalty. "If he could send you to the Nocturne Pack and leave you living like this, he wasn't worth loving in the first place."

With a shake of my head, I replied, "He isn't like that."

Dawn was creeping into the sky before I finished shoveling snow that night.

By the time I stumbled back to my quarters, my whole body hurt. A letter lay at my door, bearing my sister Thalia Mitchell's signature.

Her false accusation that I'd poisoned her had led Dominic to banish me to the Nocturne Pack three years ago. Hearing from her again was the last thing I'd expected.

Unfolding the letter, I read her message. "I've found my true love. My fiancé spoils me every chance he gets. Before I fall asleep each night, he comforts me and says he couldn't bear to live without me. I've never doubted how much he loves me. A day doesn't pass without him reminding me that he needs me. I hope you'll be happy for me."

Relief mingled with the envy and bitterness that tightened my chest.

Perhaps her happiness meant we could finally put the resentment between us to rest.

My twentieth birthday arrived three days afterward.

A messenger came from Dominic with orders for me to return to the Crescent Pack.

For a moment, I doubted what I'd heard. Not once in three years had he asked me to come home until now. Surely that meant he'd missed me.

After traveling all night, I reached the bedroom we'd once shared and eased the door open, full of hope.

A narrow gap revealed him crouching before a woman in the late stages of pregnancy. His palm lay gently against her belly, and the tenderness in his eyes was unlike anything I'd ever seen from him.

Then I recognized my sister, Thalia.

Smiling down at him, she asked, "Isn't Kiera due back today? Shouldn't you have gone to meet her?"

His reply came without hesitation. "I'd rather be here with you. The baby's nearly here. Don't worry about her. You've got more important things to think about."

"Could our baby be the next heir to the Crescent Pack, Dominic?" she asked quietly.

Only then did I understand who she'd meant in her letter. Her so-called fiancé was my mate.

In my hand, I held the wedding ring he'd slipped onto my finger all those years ago.

Three years of hardship had left me too thin to wear it anymore.

It no longer belonged on my finger, and I no longer seemed to belong beside him.

Before my eyes, Thalia reached for his hand with a smile. He brought it to her swollen belly and drew her close. Their closeness was unmistakable.

There was no denying his betrayal.

Moments earlier, I'd been imagining a fresh start with Dominic and wondering whether I could make peace with Thalia. Now I knew neither could happen.

Turning away, I tried to get out before the tears came. This wasn't where I could let myself cry. They couldn't be allowed to watch me fall apart.

"Stop right there, Kiera."

From behind me came his voice, backed by the force of an Alpha's command.

So he knew I was there.

Weakness swept through my legs at once, but I made myself move.

Within a few strides, he reached me and seized my wrist with enough force to make me fear he'd crack the bones.

His grip pulled me around to face the anger in his eyes. Taking a deep breath, I struggled to contain the hurt before it overwhelmed me.

"You've had three years to learn some manners, and this is how you act? Is that your idea of being a Luna? Without Thalia pleading your case, you'd have stayed there for another few years until you learned your lesson!"

A laugh escaped me as I stared at him.

"She pleaded my case?" I asked. "Was that so I could come home and see the lovely life you've made together? So I could stand by while she carries your child? Be honest, Dominic. You wanted me here so you could rub my face in it."

A frown tightened his face. "Where are you getting this nonsense?"

"Nonsense? That's what you call it?" I refused to look away. "For three years, you never once asked me to come home. Then you finally sent for me, and I came running because I thought you wanted to see me. Instead, I walked into our bedroom and found you doting on another woman!"

For a moment, he looked as though he might answer, but nothing came.

"Did the promises you made to me stop meaning anything to you?"

By the end, I was screaming, and my voice had gone raw.

His frown deepened as he stared back at me. "Nobody's taken your place," he replied impatiently. "Being away for three years doesn't change the fact that you're my Luna. Can't you stop making a fuss?"

"If that's true, tell me you wanted me home because you missed me. I want to hear you say it."

No answer came from him.

During those three years, staying alive in the Nocturne Pack had taken everything I had.

To them, I was the disgrace of the Crescent Pack, a worthless Luna whose own Alpha had thrown her away.

Mud from their boots had ended up on my tongue. When they spat alcohol onto the ground, I cleaned it up on my knees. Belts had lashed my back as I crawled through snow that chilled me to the bone.

What was that position worth? Nothing but a title remained, and even that had been hollow for years.

Suddenly, I understood with a cold certainty. There was nothing left to fool myself about.

"There's something I need from you, Dominic." Pulling my hand out of his grip, I spoke without raising my voice. "I'm home now, and I want our mate bond broken."

The change in him was immediate. His pupils tightened, and anger darkened his face.

He stayed silent for a long moment before leaning in until I could feel his breath. "Let me make myself clear, Kiera. Our mate bond isn't being severed. Don't pretend you've forgotten how you became Luna. Enough with the tantrum."

His reprimand almost made me laugh.

After betraying me for three years, he somehow thought he could make me the one at fault.

My mother had paid with her life so I could have him as my mate.

"Please, Dominic," Thalia pleaded softly from behind him. "Don't be angry with Kiera. After all those years on her own, can you blame her for being upset? I'm the one at fault here. None of this would've happened if I'd kept my distance..."

Her hand came toward me in an apparent offer of peace, but the smugness in her eyes gave her away.

That helpless act had worked three years ago, when she'd made everyone believe I'd poisoned her.

This time, I knew better than to trust it.

With barely a touch, I pushed her offered hand away.

Somehow, that sent her stumbling backward.

A shriek left her as she lost her footing and struck the floor hard.

Blood spread rapidly through the white fabric between her legs, forming a red stain.

For an instant, the hall went utterly quiet.

Her next scream broke the silence. "Dominic, please... Save my baby..."