novelxo Chapter 1
As Alpha, he married me only because he had to.
But I went ahead and fell in love with him.
What’s worse, I have only six months to live.
I don’t want to die. And I don’t want to fight.
But he won’t let me go....
“Didn’t your family come with you, Ms. Rathborn?”
I frown. I’m just getting a routine physical and some bloodwork. Why would I need someone to accompany me?
What’s more, family... what family do I have?
My mother died during the last pack war. My dad, in a bid for peace, pledged me to Alpha Aaron when I was thirteen. I left
Chapter 1
everything and everyone I knew and grew up in Aaron’s
mansion.
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Agron was tolerant of me as a kid. He was even kind. I
resented him for tearing my family oport, but as I grew older, I
came to love him. I love him as a female loves a man.
On my eighteenth birthday, we were married
What should’ve been the greatest day of my life marked the
start of years of disappointment.
Aaron never wanted to marry me.
He only ever saw me as his enemy.
My wolf never manifested-and that might be the greatest travesty of all, because what good is a wolf who doesn’t have
one?
I’ve been groomed and raised to be a luna. As Aaron’s wife, that’s what I should be. But who would ever follow me? A lowly
human.
I won’t give up hope though.
My father is an Alpha. My mom came from a long, powerful line of wolves. Their pack ruled the southern region for
centuries.
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I have to believe that my wolf will surface. Someday.
Just like I have to believe that Aaron will one day love me.
It’s why I’m here. At a pack-sanctioned physician, but one
outside of Aaron’s packlands.
I’m getting a second opinion.
Because I want to have a baby.
And though Aaron claims me... without a wolf, he will never
mate with me.
If I’m pregnant though, that will change everything.
“Doctor,” I say as he stares at me. “I didn’t know I needed to
bring anyone. I’m just here for a checkup.”
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I’m not quite sure what his expression is. Uncomfortable maybe? It’s a small community of shifters in these parts, maybe he’s
worried Aaron will be angry that he’s treating me.
I realize that I’m a bit slow to shift. And I’ve done the research, there are examples of ‘late bloomers’ so to speak. There is still a
chance-”
Doctor Henley frowns. He slides a stack of papers across the
desk to me. “These are the results of your lab tests.”
I flip through the file, but I’m not sure what I’m seeing. I’ve
been dizzy lately, and a little nauseous.
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My heart beat doubles. Joy spreads through me and my eyes fill with tears. “Did it happen? Am I pregnant?”
I can imagine a little boy with Aaron’s dark eyes. A little girl with his perfect smile.
“Uh, no.” He tugs the collar of his shirt.
“Oh.”
I’m disappointed, but not entirely surprised. Wolves only enter an estrus cycle once per year. And for that one week, Aaron
avoids me like the plague.
“Luna Leah,” he says softly, and I’m touched that he honors me with the title. No one in Aaron’s pack does. “You... have
cancer.”
I hear the words but they don’t really compute.
I’m twenty-three.
Too young for a serious disease. And as a wolf... I wouldn’t get
sick. I’d be able to regenerate.
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“Perhaps this is why your wolf has never
surfaced,” he says quietly.
“W-what?”
“The cancer. You have an aggressive
form of liver cancer. It likely metastasized from a different region. You’re in the advanced stages now...”
I swear it’s like I’m hearing his words from someone else’s body. This can’t possibly be happening.
I lean forward. “Is this some kind of joke?”
I’ve lived among Aaron’s pack for a decade and I’m still an outsider. They think nothing of pranking me or making“Are you still
paying the blood debt?” he asks.
I flush. Even though it’s common knowledge that I was pledged to Alpha Aaron, it’s still kind of embarrassing to literally be bled
as a form of reparation for his pack’s grievances.
“Yes.” I nod.
“How frequently?”
“Once a month. Aaron’s physician draws my blood.”
“Those offerings need to stop. You can’t afford to weaken your body further.”
patching up wounds and delivering babies. For the most part, wolves are incredibly healthy. We don’t succumb to things like
cancer. You’ll need to seek treatments outside of this facility. And you’ll need to do it quickly