Chapter 1 – Belladonna The Rejected Luna

Belladonna

Bella stood in the shower in the Luna’s suite, allowing the warm water to wash over her. She was pleasantly exhausted, Parker had left her suite; he was off to a mating ball in another state. She had four days now, where he wasn’t going to be there inside the pack.

She was his Luna; had been for eight years now, but she was bound to him not by her choice, had been chosen for him by her own Alpha and Luna; just to get rid of her, and she knew it.

She was the youngest child of her father, and unwanted and shunned; a bastard child not born of his Mate bond, and that was why she was hated by the Luna in her home pack.

This allianced mating, that she’d been bound to at just 19 years of age. It was, she believed, her father’s Luna’s way of getting rid of her from their pack, once and for all. The only solace she had was that there was a detailed mating alliance. That did not allow for Parker to bring harm to her.

Parker came to her room, the Luna’s suite every other night to bed her, and though the s*x was good, more than good, damned near on amazing at times, she had to admit, because he wasn’t just a man that came and took what he wanted.

No, he was a man that enjoyed s*x, enjoyed knowing he pleased the woman in his bed, even if she had been sold to him. Parker could spend hours in her bed, touching and tasting her, sometimes all night long. He was not a terrible Mate to her, but he was indifferent most of the time.

She had been given to him to stop a war between their two packs, had been Marked and Mated by him, taken as his Chosen Luna, with full view of rejecting her one-day down the line. She didn’t actually mean anything to him.

He didn’t love her, and she didn’t love him. She could enjoy him being in her bed because of the Mate Bond, enjoyed it a lot, and had been known to scream with pleasure at him having his way with her. He could be utterly insatiable at times, and a part of Bella craved him; as his Mate she loved his every touch. She actually enjoyed her heat when it came, just once a year, spent seven glorious days being mated by him, and the s*x; all rough I’ve just got to have alpha-blooded needs on the surface.

Screamed in utter bliss that week multiple times a day and half all night, but it was the only time he never got out of her bed and slept in his suite.

Every time always ended the same way. The moment he couldn’t scent her heat anymore, he was up and gone from her suite. Eight years of it; nothing had changed for him. Just three days ago, her heat had ended, and he’d left in the middle of the night. She’d not even known, she had been exhausted by them mating furiously that last time, and she had slept like the dead. Then she’d woken up on her own because her heat was over.

This morning, him in her bed for a few hours before the sun rose. It was because he was going away for a mating ball and would be gone for four days. The pack he was visiting was in another state, 12 hours away, unaffiliated to him but a good opportunity for his wolves to pair up.

There was nothing unusual about him being gone for four days, seeing as how far away that pack was, sometimes it was five full days. That was nice for her, he wasn’t one to tax his wolves, and so they stopped overnight on the way there or back if necessary. Not that he informed her of his doings, she just learned it over the years.

Parker didn’t think that he was required to tell her his movements, she was only his Mate and Luna, due to the mating alliance that they had. It didn’t bother her at all, it just meant she had four days to herself this week. He always liked to have s*x before he left and when he got back as well, something about he had an alpha-blooded s*x drive that he needed to sate on a regular basis.

She didn’t argue about it, she had it too, there was no need to either, they both got all the tingly mate bond goodness in that bed of hers. And it was always in her bed. She’d never even seen inside the Alpha Suite; that was not a place for her to be.

Bella dressed for the day and headed downstairs, to get herself some breakfast, where she saw him and his unit all heading across the foyer and out the front door of the packhouse to leave. He nodded to her, but never said goodbye to her. No one here thought anything about it, they all knew she had been given to him. Was not his Goddess-Gifted Mate.

Though the pack here was nice to her, they didn’t treat her badly at all, that had been a surprise to her, and she herself was nice to all of them. She actually liked the pack, and it seemed the pack actually liked her. Looked to her for advice even. She did her Luna duties as was required of her.

She had been sent here against her will, but actually found that she fitted in better inside this pack than her own home pack. She had respect here from this pack, from Parker to a certain degree, she thought.

She’d learned how to be a Luna to this pack, and attended to all of those duties that Parker had tasked her with, when she’d first been brought here. She had even been allowed to study with his pack’s doctor in the hospital, and now, eight years later she herself was a good doctor.

Bella specialized in the delivery of pups, and looking after the she-wolves in labour, using her Luna Calm to help them settle when fully distressed, and things got a bit on the hairy side. She’d not lost a single pup or she-wolf in the past eight years of assisting and then delivering on her own.

She was a fully registered doctor with this pack, and one day when she left, she would be a doctor for another pack somewhere else. That was the goal. Though what the really crazy thing was, was that six months after she went into heat herself, there was always an explosion of pups within the pack.

It hadn’t gone unnoticed by the pack’s doctor, her mentor Annette, she shook her head and had stated “It’s you, you know.” They often laughed and joked about it. Annette had already chuckled just yesterday about getting supplies ready for pups to be born in a few months’ time.

Bella had just snorted and shaken her own head, they were currently going through that now, that heat she’d had last week was completely unexpected and out of the blue, her second one for this year. Had not been expected at all.

Annette’s theory only made Bella shake her head, she thought it was just a coincidence was all. She’d not gotten pregnant once in the past eight years of having a heat once a year.

A part of her was glad of it as well, knowing that there was a clause in her mating alliance that stated all pups she had while still bonded to Parker, were to be given to him. When he found his Goddess-Gifted Mate and rejected her, she had to leave them behind for him to raise. They were his heirs. It was not something she wanted to happen.

She knew that Parker would make her give them up as well. He followed all his alliance dealings to the letter. She also knew it was a clause he’d written into their mating alliance himself. He wasn’t willing to relinquish any child to her, he would be claiming all of them as his heirs. She might be their mother if she ever birthed any pups, but she had no rights to them; that was how she looked at that clause.

She saw him sometimes looking at her, in the weeks after her heat, assessing her, she knew, listening for a heartbeat of a pup. He wanted an heir and she, being Alpha-blooded like he was, their pup would be a pure-blooded heir for this pack. There were no pups, even though she wasn’t on birth control of any kind, he wouldn’t allow it. He was hoping for a pup between them and she knew it.

Belladonna

Bella thought there was no pup simply because she didn’t want one and her wolf certainly didn’t want one to a Mate that was not her Fated or that was how it felt to Bella. Neither of them were at all interested in having a pup with a Mate that was going to, at some point in time, whether it be in the near or far future, reject them for his Goddess-Gifted when she came along.

Why would anyone want to do that when they knew that their Alpha Mate would be sending them away, pretty much just tossing them out of his pack and without their pups, making them sever their kind bond to however many pups they had and loved. No she-wolf she knew would agree with that, it was insane; and neither she nor Freya, her wolf, were interested in that happening to them.

Parker had made a few comments over the years about it, and she’d stared at him, stated simply, “Maybe, Selena doesn’t want us to have a pup, Parker.”

To which he’d retort, “And maybe you’re infertile.” Sounding a bit on the angry side about it.

“Could well be,” she’d nodded at him simply. She’d not taken offense to his words.

Though she wasn’t infertile. She’d been tested a few years back along with himself after that very comment. She’d thought he’d gone away and thought about his own words, and maybe come to the conclusion that one of them was infertile.

So they’d both been tested at his request, and they were both fine and capable of conceiving a pup, apparently. It just wasn’t meant to be as far as she was concerned, and she was honestly glad of it.

Though during her heats, Parker knotted her every time he came, and she him back, liked the bloody feeling of it as much as he did, and she knew it. She understood that being knotted to one’s Mate kind of made you feel whole, that it was part of the mate bond as well.

He had in fact knotted her this morning, had looked right down at her while still knotted to her and sighed softly, contentedly. She knew he liked the feeling of being knotted to her. All wolves did unless they weren’t their Mate.

His blue eyes had looked into her blue ones, and he’d murmured softly as he’d looked down at her, a gentle smile on his face, “An heir would be nice, don’t you think Belladonna.” He hadn’t said it in months, and she’d been a little surprised to hear him bring it once more, she had thought he’d give up on that thought, though the way he said her name softly, almost sounded like he cared at that moment. She knew better though, he never shortened her name like everyone else inside the pack did. He was the only one to call her Belladonna, and she was certain that he did it, to remind himself she was his Chosen Mate.

“I guess it would.” She’d answered him. It was all she ever said on the subject of a pup between them.

She’d only ever actually said ‘no’ once, and it had set him and his beast off into a fit of rage. She’d not really understood that. He didn’t love her, she knew that. But she’d never dared to say it again. Because his anger over her declining to even think it was a good idea, had filtered into the pack.

The pack had been on edge over his foul mood, and she’d seen him stomping around and grating out orders at everyone. He’d been cranky about it for over a week. So now she stated she guessed it would be, instead of telling him no she didn’t want one with him. To save the pack from his temper was all, something he had, but she rarely saw, the pack rarely saw, and she had a feeling he tried not to lose it for no reason at all. The pack did like him, respect him and were happy with him as their Alpha.

Sometimes she wondered what that war with her home pack had been all about. She didn’t recall there being a war, perse, there had been a full threat of one, that much she did know. Though her father and Parker had probably not wanted that war and tried everything to stop it before it got started. She’d not been privy to that and during those two days everyone had been sequestered to their homes. Though she did know there had been a wolfen force at the border of the pack.

She shook off her thoughts, she didn’t need a trip down memory lane, that was a long time ago. She ate her breakfast in the dining room as she always did, smiled at the wolves in here eating as well. Chuckled as a boy of six climbed up onto the seat next to her and tugged on her arm “Luna, mummy’s going to have her baby today.”

“Is she now?” she’d smiled down at him.

“Yes, daddy took her to the hospital just a minute ago.”

Bella smiled at him “Are you excited to meet your little sister Franky?” she asked him.

“Yes.” He smiled big up at her “Aunty Becky is watching me.”

Bella looked up to find Rebekah his aunt walking this way. She was heavily pregnant herself. “Daisy just went into labour, Luna.” Rebekah told her as she walked over to her.

“I just heard; Franky’s excited.” She ruffled his blond hair. “How are you doing today, Becky?”

“Alright, will you be going to the hospital soon?” Becky asked.

“Yes, right after breakfast. Everything will be fine with your sister; I’ve not lost a pup yet and am not about to start today.” She reassured Becky.

Bella had gone into heat six months ago. This was going to be a busy week here inside the pack. Her last heat had been very unexpected. Had come in the middle of the night, out of nowhere and Parker had not been in the pack for it either. That first night had been agony locked in her suite, unable to sate the needs from her heat.

But he’d come back in short order, when he’d been informed she was in heat, and she’d been on him the moment he’d walked into her suite, practically ripped his pants off him and shoved him down all alpha aggression, and she ridden the hell out of him with all she’d had right by the suites’ entry door.

He hadn’t cared, had enjoyed it himself, enjoyed all her heats while they lasted. He got to have s*x for hours every day and half the nights as well, it was all rough and raw, both their alpha-blooded needs in full swing. They were both very aggressive about getting what they wanted during her heats. It was kind of unavoidable, she thought. Just their bloodlines.

She pulled herself from her thoughts and made her way to the pack’s hospital, pulled on her scrubs. Today she was wearing soft blue scrubs with sloths all over them; she thought they were cute.

The pack hospital had, had a uniform when she’d arrived in this pack, black scrubs, she’d gotten rid of them, thought they were very unfriendly, and some of the pack’s children who’d never been in the hospital before had shied away from the nurses and doctors on their first visit.

Now all the nurses and doctors wore fun scrubs with patterns all over them, some even tailored them to the seasons. It had helped the children relax and be comfortable. They did have a standard uniform for after war or pack attacks, when their wolves were grieving the loss of loved ones. Simple respectful scrubs that were mint green and white.

Despite being brought here as a Chosen Mate and Luna, Parker did expect her to attend all Luna duties, and she did them well. He couldn’t fault her on that. He didn’t have any complaints, and had actually told her she made a good Luna to his pack.

That had been just a few years back. She’d just smiled and nodded, accepted the compliment from him, they were few and far between, had told him in return, “I like the pack members, they’re nice to me.” and they were. “I’ll always do my best for them, Parker.”

The Lustrous Moon was a much nicer pack to her than her home pack had been.

Belladonna

It was a long four days inside the pack. Bella had delivered 17 pups over those days, she had lived inside the pack hospital itself, slept in her office, on the couch in there so she didn’t have to make the trip from the Luna suite to the hospital, which took 20 minutes at a casual stroll, it was closer to the pack’s town than the packhouse, and she understood that was because it had been built to cater to the majority of the pack who lived in the town not the packhouse.

Parker was due home today around lunchtime, and she knew that the moment he was finished initiating his new pack members into his pack, and allocating them homes if they needed it, he was going to want to go right to her room and have s*x.

He couldn’t go more than two days without s*x on any normal given week here inside the pack. With the exception of that one week, he’d been angry. He’d stayed away from her that week; not brought his anger into her bed. But when he had crawled into bed, Goddess she’d never thought he was going to stop eating her out. Gotten multiples from him, several in fact, before she fallen asleep and woke up alone.

This was how it had been for the past eight years. She, however, was actually very tired today, exhausted, she would say, had pulled an all-nighter last night and had yet to get any sleep. Bella had delivered three pups in the past 7 hours, and Annette had delivered two herself.

Bella had received a text from him just as she was sitting down at her desk in her Luna’s office, “I’ll be home in a few hours.” It had read. Bella had frowned down at it, a little confused as to why he’d sent it. He’d never done that before.

---