The Alpha Who Threw Me Away for a Fake Pregnancy

My husband came home from three months at war, climbed out of the lead SUV in front of the entire pack, and pulled a pregnant stranger down from the passenger seat before he ever looked at me.

"That's my Alpha's pup," the woman whispered, pressing both hands to her swollen belly. She said it loud enough for the front row to hear. "Ronan gave me his pup."

I had stood on this porch for two years as Luna of the Ironwood pack. I had funded Ronan's army with my father's dowry, brokered the treaties that kept the eastern packs off our throats, and gone to his bed every night he was home. I knew exactly how long he had been gone, and I knew exactly what that belly meant.

"The scouts signaled his approach an hour ago," Elder Alden had murmured beside me when the dust first rose on the dirt road. He had told me to smile. He had told me my mate was home.

Now Alden's staff froze halfway to the ground.

Ronan wore the same tactical combat jacket he'd left in. Dirt streaked his boots. A fresh scar cut a red line across his left cheek. He kept his arm wrapped around the woman's waist as he guided her toward the concrete steps, and he still hadn't met my eyes.

"Ronan." I came down the first two steps. I expected him to flinch. I expected the old scent of pine and rain. "Who is she."

He didn't answer me. He answered the crowd.

"Elders," he announced, his voice carrying across the courtyard packed with our people. "This is Mira."

The young woman shivered in a thin white cotton dress, autumn wind cutting straight through it. Up close her tears looked rehearsed, but the belly was real enough to stop the gossip in the square cold.

Cold air rushed into my lungs. A sharp spasm wracked my chest.

I backed up, my hand finding the wooden doorframe. My nails dug violently into the grain. A jagged splinter pierced my index finger. I welcomed the sting. It kept me grounded.

"Alpha," Elder Alden barked. "Explain this."

Ronan wrapped his arm around the woman's waist. He guided her toward the concrete steps.

"Elders," Ronan announced, his voice carrying over the quiet courtyard. "This is Mira."