From Barren Mate to Pregnant Queen novel · Chapter 1 of 24
Chapter 1: The Moon Stone
I waited eight years to become Luna.
Eight years since the night I met Bautista Olmos by Lake Puelo.
I was eighteen, and my wolf howled inside my chest for the first time.
Fated mate, the pack elder said.
The Goddess had decided it.
But the Alpha of Piedra Blanca couldn't mark his mate until the pack accepted her as Luna.
The pack didn't accept me.
I was the daughter of a fallen beta, with no money and no land.
And I was, according to the pack physician, barren.
"A minor obstacle," Bautista would tell me, kissing my forehead. "The day you become my Luna, none of that will matter."
That April morning finally came.
I woke in the Moon House, with the sun streaming through the forest windows, and my wolf awake inside me, restless, purring.
My white dress hung on the door.
A braid of firebush flowers waited for me on the bed.
I was happy.
I had spent the night before in Bautista's arms, as the rite demands, beneath the stars of the plateau.
My whole body still remembered his warmth.
I dressed with trembling hands.
I stepped out onto the Moon Stone at ten.
The entire pack was gathered.
Two hundred wolves in a circle, in human form, dressed in white and gray.
At the center, on the flat rock where Lunas have been crowned for three hundred years, Bautista waited.
Tall, black-haired, broad-shouldered, eyes the color of ice.
Thirty years old.
The youngest Alpha in the history of Piedra Blanca.
My mate.
At his side stood his mother, Rosalba, in a black long-sleeved dress with the silver necklace of the old Lunas around her throat.
And on the other side, a little behind, in a blue dress with her hands clasped over her belly, my Omega assistant.
Candela Ugarte.
Twenty-four years old.
The girl I had taught to read tracks, to cook with herbs, to not be afraid of the older wolves.
She smiled at me.
A strange, tense smile.
I climbed onto the Stone with my heart pounding in my throat.
Bautista took my hands.
His were cold.
"Ailén Cárdenas," he said, in a loud, clear, Alpha voice. "Today what began eight years ago is completed."
The pack held its breath.
"But the Goddess has taught me something." He let go of my hands. "And I have a duty to say it in front of everyone."
A chill ran down the back of my neck.
"I, Bautista Olmos, Alpha of Piedra Blanca, reject you, Ailén Cárdenas, as mate and as Luna."
The world stopped.
I didn't hear anyone breathe.
My wolf let out a howl of pain so sharp that I fell to my knees.
The bond snapped inside me with a physical tear, a cord of fire ripped from my flesh.
"What...?", I managed to say.
"You're barren." His voice didn't waver. "A Luna must produce heirs. You can't. And the pack can't wait another eight years."
"Bautista..."
"I reject this bond."
"Last night..."
"Last night was a goodbye."
I tried to stand.
I couldn't.
The pain was breaking my chest.
Then I saw him turn toward Candela.
He held out his hand.
She took it.
She climbed onto the Stone with short steps, eyes lowered.
Bautista pulled her to him, put a hand on the back of her neck, and kissed her.
In front of two hundred wolves.
In front of me.
The pack murmured.
Then, one by one, they began to applaud.
A timid applause at first, then steady, as if they had always known what was going to happen.
"We already bonded," Bautista said, pressing his forehead to hers. "Three months ago. And Candela is carrying my child."
Rosalba raised her arms.
"The new Luna of Piedra Blanca!"
The wolves cheered.
I stayed on my knees on the rock, voiceless, breathless.
I watched the man I had waited eight years for kiss the girl I had taught everything.
Something dark opened up inside me.
I didn't cry.
I stood up.
Slowly.
I brushed off my knees.
I looked at Candela, who didn't dare raise her face.
"You're a bitch," I told her.
She flinched.
I turned toward Bautista.
"I'm leaving. You'll never see me again."
"You're not going anywhere," Rosalba said, behind me.
The old Luna's voice was cold as iron.
"You know too much about this pack, girl. You know about the Stone, about the Rite, about the gift of the Lunas." She signaled to two warriors. "And the gift of the Lunas does not leave Piedra Blanca."
The warriors advanced.
"What are you doing?", a voice shouted from the crowd.
"Take her to the silver cell," Rosalba ordered. "Tonight we begin the transfer rite."
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