Alpha’s Regret After His Pregnant Luna Left novel Chapter 116

(Audrey’s POV)

I sat beside Arthur in his sleek black Maybach as we sped toward the Wolf Medical Center. “Do you really think she tried to kill herself?” I asked, breaking the tense silence.

Arthur’s knuckles were white on the steering wheel. “I don’t know what to think anymore.”

His confusion was understandable. In the span of a few days, his pack had been rocked by scandal, his father exposed as having an affair with his stepsister, and now his stepmother had apparently attempted suicide. The tangled web of Moonstone Pack relationships was almost darkly comedic.

We arrived at the medical center in record time. Victoria and Richard were already in the waiting area outside the intensive care unit. Victoria’s eyes were red-rimmed, her makeup strategically smudged to highlight her distress. Richard looked haggard, his usually immaculate appearance disheveled.

Victoria’s face contorted with rage when she spotted me. “What is SHE doing here?” she spat, her wolf eyes flashing. “Come to gloat over what you’ve caused?”

I kept my expression neutral, though my wolf bristled inside me. “I haven’t caused anything, Victoria.”

“You leaked that video!” Victoria accused, her voice rising hysterically. “And now my mother tried to kill herself because of the shame and humiliation!”

Arthur stepped between us, his Alpha presence flaring. “I brought Audrey here,” he stated firmly. “She’s still my marked mate.”

Victoria’s eyes filled with fresh tears as she turned to Arthur. “How could you? After everything she’s done to our family? Mom trusted you, Arthur! She loved you like her own son, and now you bring the wolf who destroyed her reputation to her deathbed?”

She was playing the devastated daughter role perfectly, I had to admit. If I hadn’t known her true nature, I might have almost believed her performance.

Richard placed a hand on Victoria’s shoulder. “Arthur, I understand your… attachment to Audrey, but this is a private family matter. Your stepmother is fighting for her life.”

“Because of her,” I said, nodding toward Victoria. “And you. The pack forums aren’t outraged by some false accusation-they’re reacting to actual footage of you two together.”

Richard’s face darkened. “You have no right to judge us. You’re not even true Moonstone Pack blood.”

“Enough,” Arthur cut in, his voice cold enough to freeze the air around us. “The situation is absurd enough without you two blaming Audrey for the consequences of your own actions.”

Victoria’s expression shifted, desperation replacing anger. “It wasn’t what it looked like in that video! We were… drugged. Someone slipped an aphrodisiac into our drinks at that party.”

I nearly laughed out loud. An aphrodisiac? That was the best explanation she could fabricate? My wolf rolled her eyes inside me.

If Victoria only knew that Arthur had been aware of her relationship with his father for some time. His face showed nothing but disgust as he looked at them.

Victoria reached out, touching Arthur’s jacket sleeve imploringly. The subtle scent of her and Richard’s mingled wolves drifted from her skin.

Arthur’s nostrils flared. He removed his jacket with quick, precise movements, folding it carefully before dropping it into a nearby biochemical waste bin.

“Don’t touch me again,” he said quietly, the controlled calmness of his voice more frightening than any shout.

Victoria paled, taking a step back. “Arthur, please-“

“You claimed Katherine killed my mother,” he interrupted, his gaze boring into Victoria. “That she pushed her down the stairs to become my father’s mate. Was that true?”

Victoria glanced nervously at Richard before shaking her head vigorously. “No! I made that up. I was angry and humiliated when Audrey confronted us at the Pack Council Office. I wanted to hurt her in return.”

Richard nodded solemnly in agreement. “Think about it, son. If Katherine had really killed your mother, would we have waited five years after her death to form a mate bond? We were both grieving. The bond formed naturally, over time.”

His explanation sounded rehearsed, like a story they had perfected over the years. I could almost see them practicing it to explain away the uncomfortable five-year gap between Arthur’s mother’s death and Richard’s mate bonding with Katherine.

Before Arthur could respond, Dr. Marcus Thompson emerged from the treatment room, his white coat immaculate despite the crisis. I recognized him from my days as a pack healer-he was one of the best silver poisoning specialists in the territories.

“Alpha Moonstone,” he greeted Arthur with a respectful nod. “Your stepmother is stable. We were able to purge most of the silver from her system before it could cause permanent damage to her wolf.”

Arthur’s shoulders relaxed slightly. “She’ll recover?”

“Yes,” Dr. Thompson confirmed. “She ingested a significant amount of silver, but she was found quickly. Another hour and the outcome would have been very different.”

She gestured feebly to her flat stomach.” I hemorrhaged after giving birth to Victoria and lost my fertility. Why would I want to be a Luna when I can’t even provide an heir for the pack?”

Her logic seemed sound on the surface-a scheming she-wolf would typically want to cement her position by bearing pups. But I knew from Elder William that Katherine’s barrenness was precisely why she had been so desperate to secure her position through other means.

“I tried to end my life because I couldn’t bear the thought of you believing those horrible things about me,” Katherine whispered, a single tear sliding dramatically down her cheek. “And because I lost you, Arthur. After Richard’s betrayal with Victoria-my own daughter!-you were all the family I had left. When you stopped visiting, stopped taking my calls…”

She trailed off, her performance perfectly calibrated to pull at Arthur’s sense of duty and family loyalty. I watched his face carefully, recognizing the conflict in his expression.

Katherine had raised him since he was eight years old. Despite knowing she might be manipulating him, those bonds of pack and family ran deep. Wolves were, by nature, loyal to their pack members. Katherine was using that loyalty against him now.

I’d seen enough. Without a word, I slipped out of the room, leaving Arthur to deal with his stepmother’s emotional manipulation. I needed distance from the Moonstone Pack’s tangled web of lies and betrayal.

At home, I brewed some healing herbs tea, finding comfort in the familiar ritual. The aromatic steam helped clear my head as I contemplated what I’d witnessed. Katherine’s “suicide attempt” was clearly designed to redirect sympathy toward her and away from the scandal. The question was: would Arthur see through it?

I was adding honey to my tea when a strange scratching noise came from my front door. Cora’s senses immediately heightened, every muscle tensing.

Moving cautiously toward the door, I tried to peer through the peephole, but it was covered with something dark. My heart raced as I debated what to do. My territory house was secluded-a scream would go unheard.

I took a deep breath and opened the door a crack, then recoiled in horror.

Blood was splashed across my doorway and pooled on the floor-fresh, dark red, with a distinct wolf scent that I didn’t recognize. The metallic smell hit my nostrils, making my stomach turn.

I tried to slam the door shut, but a hand-female, slender, with manicured nails-stopped it.

“Scared, Luna?” a taunting female voice asked from the shadows. The voice was unfamiliar but carried a tone of malicious amusement.