His Defiant Luna and the Secret Pregnancy

Joseline POV:

On the night of the full moon, in the side hall of the Moon Temple.

"Smile, Joseline. You are about to become the mate of the most powerful Alpha in America, Hayward Kennedy. Even if his wolf soul is slumbering, he's no different from a dead man."

My stepmother, Jordan Adkins, leaned against the doorframe, her arms crossed over her chest. Her gaze swept over my wedding dress as if she were a merchant inspecting livestock.

The cold silk robe scraped against my skin. The hem was embroidered with silver-threaded moon patterns, worth a fortune. This was the grand ceremony to become the Luna. I was being traded as a bargaining chip to the leader of the wolf pack, even though I did not consent. Rather than becoming Luna, I felt more like a sacrifice.

Two maids I didn't know were pulling tight the laces at my back, cinching my waist until the air caught in my throat. Each tug was a reminder of the gilded cage closing in around me.

I stared at my reflection in the ornate mirror. My face was pale, my eyes hollow, like a life-sized doll-exquisite and empty.

"Where is Dangelo?" I asked. "He said he would definitely take me away."

Jordan let out a cold laugh. "Your little Alpha boyfriend? He's probably busy celebrating your good fortune right now. Look out the window." Her words stung like poison darts.

I pushed the maids aside, rushed to the massive floor-to-ceiling window, and ripped open the heavy velvet curtains.

My heart stopped. There, in the manicured garden below, I saw Dangelo Kennedy-the man who was supposed to be my support, my escape. He was holding my half-sister, Chloe Holland, tightly in his arms. They were embracing in the sunlight.

Chloe seemed to sense my gaze. She glanced provocatively toward the window, then rose onto her toes and pressed a possessive kiss to his lips.

Dangelo did not push her away. He lowered his head, whispering intimately against her ear, making her laugh. That bright, tinkling laugh felt like it could pierce my eardrums.

I watched these two betrayers coldly. From the bottom of my heart, a bitter mockery rose up. I felt that from this moment on, I could only rely on myself to plan the road ahead.

Jordan walked up behind me. Her reflection smiled with satisfaction at my expression. "See? You have no choice but to accept this wedding. Dangelo is just Hayward's cousin, an Alpha who will always live in his shadow. With him, you will never get your father's company back."

I slowly turned away from the window. I looked at Jordan, my voice steady and dead. "When does the ceremony start?"

She blinked, surprised by my quick surrender, then a victorious smile spread across her face. "Right now."

I was led downstairs, through the long stone corridor, to the main hall of the Moon Temple. The Pack's Elders and core members were already gathered there. The air was thick with ancient tradition and the scent of old wood and power. They said this was an ancient ritual, binding two souls together under the watch of the Moon Goddess.

I approached the enormous altar, where the Alpha leader of the Sterling Pack, Hayward Kennedy, lay still. His eyes were closed, his face pale, like a fallen god carved from marble. He had been ambushed by a pack of Rogues using silver poison one month ago, which had caused his wolf soul to slumber. He himself was trapped within, unable to awaken. The doctors said he would never wake. Even so, a pure Alpha aura radiated from him, like a sealed lamp. This was my husband-a living ghost.

An Elder began to chant in a low, guttural language. The torches in the hall flickered, and the power of the Moon Goddess gathered in the air, witnessing the binding.

I saw Dangelo and Chloe hurry in late, standing in the crowd. A flicker of guilt crossed Dangelo's eyes, quickly swallowed by greed. Chloe's face wore a smug expression.

They thought I was finished. They thought I would be a pathetic widow, bound to a sleeping Alpha, while Dangelo, after betraying me, might try to seize control of the Pack. I could not let them succeed.

The Elder turned his gaze to me, his voice solemn. "Joseline Holland, do you willingly bind your life to Alpha Hayward Kennedy, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"

Every eye in the hall was on me. I took a deep breath, lifted my chin, and met Dangelo's and Chloe's eyes. In our original plan, I was supposed to reject this wedding as he wished, and then he would walk out of the crowd and take me away.

But now, I changed my mind. My voice was not loud, but it echoed in the silent hall. "I do."

I saw Dangelo's expression crack instantly. I added, "I do, as Hayward Kennedy's lawful and only mate. The Luna of the Sterling Pack."

The Elder nodded, took an obsidian ritual dagger from the wooden box beside the altar, and made a small, swift cut on my fingertip.

A drop of blood welled up. The Elder guided my hand, letting the crimson bead fall onto Hayward's pale lips.

When my blood touched his skin, a faint golden light flickered across his body, like fragments of moonlight spreading along his form, vanishing too quickly-I almost thought it was my imagination.

Then I saw his finger move. But no one else noticed. A wolf's roar exploded in my ears, the sound echoing deep within my soul, making my heart almost stop.

Could that drop of blood, this ritual, have accidentally awakened part of his wolf soul? Was this the Moon Goddess or a twist of the fated bond? I felt startled and uncertain.

"The ritual is complete," the Elder announced. "The Moon Goddess has witnessed your union."

I felt an invisible chain lock around my soul-a cold, unbreakable connection between me and the sleeping man on the bed. It was a mate binding, the will of the Moon Goddess.

The crowd dispersed, leaving only me, Hayward, and an older woman in a housekeeper's uniform in the vast room.

All that remained in the air was a dull, stifling atmosphere. I stood by the bed, looking at my husband. This man was even more scheming than Dangelo. I stared carefully at his face, suspecting that he might open his eyes at any moment.

But no matter what Hayward would be like when he woke-whether he rejected me or hated me-I had to survive in this world of wolves.