Chapter 1<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve agreed to marry that unconscious Alpha Maximus Thane, to replace your dear illegitimate daughter,\u201d I told my alpha father. \u201cI knew Maurine couldn\u2019t bear the idea of being Luna to a cursed man. So I\u2019m offering myself as a substitute.\u201d<\/p>\n
He exhaled sharply, then his shoulders began to relax. Then he nodded.<\/p>\n
I knew he would agree. He always gave Maurine everything.<\/p>\n
My mother had died from heartbreak when she found out my father had a secret family. Since then, I\u2019ve hated him. Hated them, especially Maurine who had stolen everything from me.<\/p>\n
Perhaps, that was why I had grown to love Lucas, my wolf knight\u2026 because he was all I had. All I believed in.<\/p>\n
Until recently.<\/p>\n
Lucas was supposed to be my protector. But when the vampires attacked, he didn\u2019t hesitate. He ran to her, to Maurine. He left me bleeding on the ground when he was supposed to protect me, body broken, soul shattered. And he never looked back.<\/p>\n
I also knew he hid his true identity as a powerful alpha. He pretended to be a normal wolf knight, all to get closer to Maurine.<\/p>\n
So I made my choice. If love meant being second best, then I chose the silence of a poisoned Alpha over the noise of a love that was never mine.<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t say goodbye. By the time Lucas came looking for me\u2026<\/p>\n
I was already gone.<\/p>\n
\u2014<\/p>\n
Rebecca\u2019s POV<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve agreed to marry Alpha Maximus Thane.\u201d<\/p>\n
The words were ice on my mouth.<\/p>\n
My father, Alpha Rowan Aethon, froze at the edge of the war table, the scent of freshly inked scrolls and burning cedar hanging in the air. His head lifted slowly, disbelief painting his features.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t be serious,\u201d he finally said, gaze narrowing.<\/p>\n
But I was. I had never been more serious in my life.<\/p>\n
Alpha Maximus Thane, heir to the prestigious Thane Pack. Powerful, feared, admired\u2014until he turned twenty-four and was poisoned by vampire blood laced with shadowroot. He collapsed mid-run during a hunt, and he hadn\u2019t opened his eyes since.<\/p>\n
No healer, no witch, not even the Moon Priests could wake him. Only his royal wolf blood kept his body from rotting\u2014kept him alive, like some cruel, eternal sleep.<\/p>\n
No one wanted to be his Luna. Who would? Mating with a sleeping corpse? Tying your wolf to someone who may never even look at you?<\/p>\n
But I volunteered. And I had my reasons.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Thane Pack has been demanding the ceremony,\u201d I reminded him. \u201cYou\u2019re Alpha. You know they won\u2019t wait forever.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey wanted Maurine,\u201d he said stiffly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m aware,\u201d I said coolly. \u201cBut Maurine can\u2019t bear the idea of being Luna to a cursed man. So I\u2019m offering myself as a substitute.\u201d<\/p>\n
He exhaled sharply, then\u2014like the calculating wolf he was\u2014his shoulders began to relax. \u201cThis\u2026 might work. It settles the alliance. They get a Luna. We secure our northern border. I\u2019ll start planning the wedding at once. We\u2019ll need\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI want payment.\u201d My voice sliced through his.<\/p>\n
He paused, turning back to me. \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked him dead in the eye. \u201cYou\u2019re offering me as a replacement. That\u2019s not love\u2014it\u2019s convenience. So if I\u2019m going to marry a man in a deep slumber to protect your little favorite illegitimate daughter, I want compensation.\u201d<\/p>\n
His brow furrowed. \u201cRebecca, don\u2019t be dramatic\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI want half the treasury.\u201d I stepped forward, my voice flat. \u201cNot just the ceremonial Luna dowry. Half of the pack\u2019s gold. Including your personal vault.\u201d<\/p>\n
His nostrils flared. \u201cThat would drain me dry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stared at me like he didn\u2019t recognize me. Like I hadn\u2019t always been the daughter he kept at arm\u2019s length, the one who grew up in the shadows of his shame.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd,\u201d I added, turning away from him and already walking toward the door, \u201cI want you to reassign Lucas.\u201d<\/p>\n
He blinked. \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy wolf knight. I want you to assign him to Maurine. He\u2019ll guard her now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re giving up Lucas?\u201d he asked, stunned. \u201cYou once told me you wanted to mate him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t,\u201d I said without turning back. \u201cNot anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t call after me. Not as my heels echoed against the marble. Not as the heavy wooden door shut behind me.<\/p>\n
But I knew he would agree. He always gave Maurine everything. He could give me this one thing.<\/p>\n
My mother had died from heartbreak when she found out my father had a secret family. That he\u2019d taken another woman while still mated to her. The betrayal broke her\u2014drove her wolf mad. She died screaming, foaming at the mouth. I watched it all.<\/p>\n
Since then, I\u2019ve hated him. Hated them, especially Maurine who had stolen everything from me.<\/p>\n
Perhaps, that was why I had grown to love Lucas\u2026 because he was all I had. All I believed in.<\/p>\n
Until recently.<\/p>\n
It was past midnight by the time I returned to my house in the outer edge of the Aethon territory, the moon casting long silver streaks through the trees.<\/p>\n
Most wolves lived near the Pack Heart, close to the patrol barracks and the war fields.<\/p>\n
I preferred the distance. Distance didn\u2019t lie.<\/p>\n
But as I approached the side hallway leading to the guest quarters, I heard something\u2014soft panting. Guttural. Rhythmic.<\/p>\n
I paused. The scent hit me next. Longing. Heat. Like a wolf in rut.<\/p>\n
It was Lucas. The door was cracked open. I should\u2019ve walked past. I should\u2019ve respected the boundaries. I should\u2019ve\u2026 But I didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
I leaned in, just enough to see through the gap. And it shattered me.<\/p>\n
He was on the edge of the bed, shirtless, sweat clinging to his body like moonlight to steel. His hand moved fast over his length, eyes half-lidded. A photo clenched in his free hand.<\/p>\n
Not just any photo. It was her\u2014Maurine.<\/p>\n
He softly called her name, slow and sweet, like a prayer.<\/p>\n
My heart dropped so fast I forgot to breathe. My wolf whimpered inside me. Weak. Betrayed.<\/p>\n
I couldn\u2019t move. Couldn\u2019t look away. Lucas. My Lucas. The one I had chosen three years ago from a lineup of elite Wolf Knights. He wasn\u2019t just strong\u2014he was silent, composed, disciplined.<\/p>\n
He stood at the far end of the line\u2014silent, still, and unreadable.<\/p>\n
While the other Wolf Knights shifted proudly under the weight of their armor, chests puffed and eyes gleaming with ambition, he simply stood like a statue carved from storm-forged stone. Not a single twitch. Not a hint of arrogance. His presence didn\u2019t need to shout to be felt\u2014it commanded the space around him like gravity. And above all, he was the most good-looking man I had ever laid my eyes on.<\/p>\n
I\u2019d flirted with him shamelessly. Dressed in silks that barely covered my skin. Drenched myself in the perfume that made male wolves go wild. I\u2019d even faked almost slipping near the cliffs. Or pretended getting attacked by leopards in the woods.<\/p>\n
He never touched me. He never gave in.<\/p>\n
I thought it was honor. Turns out it was disinterest.<\/p>\n
And then\u2014his phone buzzed. He picked it up without hesitation.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah,\u201d he said, his tone suddenly different. Commanding. Smooth. Alpha-like.<\/p>\n
I froze.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been pretending to be Rebecca\u2019s wolf knight for years,\u201d he said. \u201cYou think I\u2019d give up like that? I need to make sure Maurine\u2019s safe. Rebecca\u2019s the only way to get Maurine close.\u201d<\/p>\n
A pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, she has no idea. She thinks she\u2019s seducing me. Pathetic.\u201d<\/p>\n
My knees weakened. What in the Moon Goddess\u2019s grace am I hearing?<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s not even worth a strand of Maurine\u2019s hair. Maurine is the key, you know that. I\u2019m pretty sure she\u2019s the she-wolf in the seer\u2019s golden glass ball.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was the blow that broke me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll stay close until Maurine realizes that. Take care of my pack, the Silvana Pack, while I am away. Understood?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silvana. That pack? They were myth. Shadows. A pack whispered about in rogue circles. Their lands were hidden beyond mountain passes. Unregistered. Unmapped. Their wolves\u2026 different.<\/p>\n
Cold. Ruthless. And Lucas\u2026 Lucas was their Alpha?<\/p>\n
My blood burned. I should\u2019ve walked away. Should\u2019ve screamed. Should\u2019ve howled into the forest like my mother once did before she died, heart split open by my father\u2019s betrayal.<\/p>\n
Instead, I kicked open the door.<\/p>\n
When My Alpha Ex-Husband Came Looking for Me by Mark Twain 1 Chapter 1 \u201cI\u2019ve agreed to marry that unconscious […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23869","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-unclaimed-luna-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23869","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23869"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23869\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23869"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23869"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23869"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}