Alpha’s Pregnant Luna - Chapter 9: Chapter 9

ALPHA Frankie
Since I became the Alpha King, my only aim apart from protecting and ruling my pack was to find a mate. A worthy Luna who will stand by my side and rule with me. The pressure the elders mounted in me was only a secondary part of my dilemma in looking for a mate and a Luna. I have promised myself countless times that I would never put pressure on my mate to be the perfect Luna queen; instead, I’d lovingly teach her.
It wasn’t easy seeing everyone finding their mate so easily while mine seemed like I was searching for a pin under a haystack. It was definitely hard to be an Alpha without a Luna. If it wasn’t the random jabs from the council of elders, It was always the christening of new pups I get invited to every season. It’s like a repetitive circle, Visit them, bless the new pup, and watch them stylishly pray that I get a mate soon. I’ve seen it play out too many times.
My throne is threatened daily and the biggest threat to it is my brother who has somehow luckily found himself a Luna who will soon probably bear a child for him giving him an excuse to clamor harder for the throne. I don’t know why Xayden feels like my downfall would be his most significant victory, and I’m not giving him an opportunity to find out if it will be or not. I used to like him, but he became a beast overnight, and I wasn’t going to let him push me around. I am a king, and he wouldn’t treat me like I am a lesser wolf.
My solution to my problem finally came. The mate I spent my life looking for suddenly appears in my life and not just alone but with a baby inside of her. My mate has already been marked by another alpha even though now the bond is broken, it doesn’t change the fact the she’s pregnant for him. She’s the one I’ve been looking for all my life but she is pregnant with another male’s child! How am I supposed to take a pregnant woman to be my Luna? What do we do to the child even if she picks me over the baby’s father? What do we do when we have our pups, and my true blood is chosen to succeed me? Then it would be a case of Xayden and me again. A never-ending circle of badblood.
I had more problems than my own inner battles though. The council of elders might not accept her as my Luna because she’s pregnant and because she had been previously mated. They might down right refuse her and tell me to reject her instantly without even blinking a eye. Easy for them to say when I am the one who bared the brunt of not having a mate for years. What if they do not accept her even if I accept her?
The preparations for crowning the Luna chosen for me have probably begun. Renee, who has always been nothing but a sister to me is probably excited at the prospect of being my Luna. She’s not my mate and I really feel bad for her that she might have to go through an heartbreak when everyone finds out I have found my mate. I’ve known Renee for as long as I have known Hawke, her brother and my Beta. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt but she knew she still has a mate yet she allowed the elders to push her, the idea of being the Luna Queen sounded too amazing to her and she’s willing to let go of her own happiness for it.
I’ve always cherished the girl like I cherished her brother. She is smart, beautiful and definitely strong enough to be a Luna. And of course, I won’t deny the fact that I know Renee has always had a thing for me. She blushes when I come around and bats her eyelashes at me. I only find her adorable. Nothing more. She might have a crush on me but that doesn’t make me her mate. And I’ve only seen Renee as a sister and she would be nothing more.
It was the smacking of my mate’s lips that drew me out of the pit of my thoughts that I put myself into. She’s licking another stray ice cream off her lips, and she’s still enjoying stuffing her face with food. I wish the whole thing was this simple, just me and my mate on an island living our best life without any throne drama. The reality is that my people would always need me, My responsibility was to the Werewolf realm first before any other thing. When I was being crowned, I took an oath to love and put my people first. I wasn’t going to back out but I will find a way to put my mate on the same scale of balance.
I took advantage of her distraction to take in her appearance. She looked shabby. Too shabby and disoriented. Her frame was so frail that it made me think she might snap into two if not handled with care. For one, I knew that this isn’t the body of a person who is on a diet to lose weight. She looked starved, and I’m guessing that explains why she’s eating with so much gluttony. The hospital overalls are usually oversized, but they look worse on her body. And I didn’t miss the healing bruises and fading scars on her hands as she raised the spoon to her lips. What exactly has this woman been through?
This ugly sight of her made my heart break into pieces. Who could have done this to my mate? And what could have happened to her to make her look this way? The thought of her suffering a great deal from someone, probably her previous mate, didn’t sit well with me. Nobody deserves to be treated this way, like garbage. I can see it in the way she backs away from me sometimes and flinch at my every movement that she doesn’t trust me yet. She doesn’t even look like she can she can help a fly right now, yet she’s not willing to tell me anything.
I don’t want to scare her any more than she was right now, so I just dwell on my own thoughts.
After years of asking the moon goddess to let me find my mate, she sends me a second chance mate who has probably gone through a lot in the hands of her previous mate. Of all the things she could give to me, she gave me a second chance mate, instead of a direct mate. I wished we met first and I made her fall in love with me. It would have made perfect sense.
How am I supposed to earn her trust now? What are the things I will not have to do because her past mate did it, and it hurt her? I have to struggle and beat every record that her previous mate set, good or bad. But how do I convince her that I won’t be like him? That I won’t treat her in whatever way he had treated her? How do I prove to her that as her mate and the Alpha King, I will protect her and cherish her like an Alpha should cherish his Luna?
I don’t know how but it all feels like hard work. A whole lot of hard work. Damn! Why do things have to be this complicated for me?
My cell phone ringing in my pocket is the next thing that jerked me out of my thoughts and startled the girl scooping the ice cream into her mouth like a little child. I don’t have to look at the caller ID to know that’s it’s my Beta calling. I looked away from my mate and answered the phone.
“Where are you?” Hawke asked immediately. I answered. That’s when I realized that I hadn’t told him about the whole situation yet. He would probably be stressed too and his emotions jumbled all over the place. I walked away from my mate a bit and I walked to the window side before leaning on it while i watched her from the corner of my eyes.
“You know what? Never mind. The preparations for the crowing of the Luna have begun; have you found her yet?” He asked hopefully and I took a deep breath. The earlier I started saying it, the more believable it gets and I might be able to convince the council of elders to stop the preparation till my mate is ready.
“Yes,” I answered.
“Good. Hurry up so we can—-wait, what!!!!???” He whisper-yelled and I almost choked on laughter. This was a serious case but Hawke’s reaction to major things would always be a tiebreaker for me. Hawke’s shocked voice pierced through my ears. He obviously didn’t hear it first, and when he understood, it seemed like I would go dead from the way he shouted.
“I said yes. Yes, I found my mate”. I repeated. In my head, I pictured Hawke’s face dropping with surprise and shock. I know he must be so surprised now at the shocking revelation because his voice began to crack as he began to shoot questions at me.
“Where did you find her? How does she look? Is she a wolf? Is she human? No, never mind! Where is she? She has to come for the crowning!!!”. He yelled at the end and I took another glance at my mate, No she wasn’t ready for crowning, and considering all she has been through, the last thing I want to do is to rush her into things., I wanted her to do it based on her decisions.
“She can’t come” I broke it to him and I waited for his reaction. My mate was coming first before anything else including the council of elders or the crowning ceremony.
“What do you mean she can’t come?” His voice already dropped an octave lower with disappointment.
“Look, Hawke, the whole situation is complicated. She’s at the hospital currently, and I’m with her.”
“Why is she there? Did she get hurt?” I didn’t miss the worry in Hawke’s voice. He seems sincere, and I feel guilty for thinking he knows about the arrangement of his sister being the Luna chosen for me.
“She seems abused Hawke, I don’t know what happened to her, but she’s not fit to be crowned anytime soon. She needs treatment”.
“Abused? How?”
“I really don’t know, Hawke. I’m trying to find out. Until then, she can’t be seen by the elders.”
I could hear Hawke’s tired sigh over the phone.
“We have to stop the crowning preparations then. You have found your mate, and she has to be your Luna. I’ll stop the preparations and let them know that the Alpha has found his mate.”
“No!”. I said immediately. I can’t tell them anything yet. I need to be in control of the situation and know more about my mate before I make announcements. For now, no one needs to know.
“Don’t tell anyone anything. Anything at all. There are a few things I need to get done first”.
“But what do I tell the elders? You know how scary they can be,” Hawke grumbled.
“Tell them anything! Anything at all. Stall them if you can till I have control of the whole situation. I’ll be in touch soon.”
“Yes, Alpha. I’ll do my best. I hope she gets well soon. And Alpha? Congratulations on finding your mate”.
With that, Hawke ended the call.
I chuckled bitterly; the congratulatory words should make me feel so satisfied. I’ve longed to hear them for so long, but now I don’t even feel the need to be congratulated because this is nothing like I imagined or bargained for, definitely not how I envisioned myself getting a mate and a Luna.
Whatever it takes, I have to stall around for time until I have fully grasped the situation.