Banished Luna: The Mate He Sacrificed Returned To Rule

Kiera's POV:

Something cold settled over Dominic's features. The edge in his tone left no room for misunderstanding. "Kiera, if you do this, don't come crying to me when you regret it."

My resolve nearly cracked beneath the weight of everything I was feeling. I swallowed hard and refused to let those emotions control me. "Sign it."

Regret had no place in me anymore.

During my years at Nocturne Pack, the memory of Dominic had been the only thing that kept me alive.

When their boots crushed against my face, when lashes tore my flesh until blood ran down my body, when they made me kneel in freezing snow and scrub spilled wine until I could no longer feel my hands, I survived by convincing myself that someday it would all end.

I imagined returning to Dominic. In my mind, he would pull me into his arms, kiss me as though he had spent every day longing for my return, and whisper that he loved me. He would see everything I had endured and murmur, "You've been through so much."

I had given him every ounce of love I possessed, only to discover that none of it had mattered to him.

If my devotion meant nothing in his eyes, then I would no longer leave it in his hands.

Dominic grabbed the pen and pressed it against the paper. A moment later, his signature was sprawled across the agreement. "Fine. I'll sign it. But unless I allow it, our mate bond cannot be broken."

Pain twisted through me as I watched his hand move. Yet somehow, every line he wrote also felt like a weight being lifted from my chest.

I reclaimed the document and held it tightly. "I won't change my mind. Be at the altar tomorrow."

I turned before he could say anything else and left without looking back.

Thalia's delicate voice reached me from the room behind. "Dominic... Kiera is clearly hurt. Shouldn't you go after her?"

There was not even a hint of concern in Dominic's reply. "No. She's acting out. She knows she can't survive without me."

"But..."

"Enough. Where would an omega who cannot even shift go after leaving Crescent Pack? There's no way she'd go back to the Nocturne Pack and become their slave again."

He sounded completely convinced. "She won't really break the bond. I know her."

I stopped outside the corner, every word reaching me clearly.

So that was why he had not followed. He genuinely believed I couldn't exist without him.

A hollow, bitter smile touched my lips. Then I continued walking.

Once I reached the house, I opened a bottle of wine and drank until there was nothing left. Eventually, I stumbled into bed.

The alcohol did little more than blur the memories haunting me. Thalia resting against him. Dominic feeding her slices of apple. His hand spread protectively over the curve of her pregnant stomach.

I wanted those images erased. I wanted him erased.

When morning came, I awoke to warmth pressed against my back.

My eyes snapped open. An arm was secured around my waist. A broad palm rested against my lower abdomen, its heat seeping through the fabric.

Dominic had come back sometime during the night. He was asleep behind me, his breathing slow and even, each exhale brushing against the back of my neck.

My body stiffened as memories of our past surged through me.

The first time I saw Dominic had been at the altar in Crescent Pack. He had arrived covered in blood, hunted by enemies who had chased him all the way to our territory.

My mother had hidden him and saved him. She paid for that choice with her life. As she lay dying, she took my hand and placed it in his. "Dominic, take care of my daughter."

He had agreed. Kneeling beside her lifeless body, he clasped my fingers and looked into my eyes. "Kiera, I'll protect you for the rest of my life."

Back then, I had trusted every word. I had believed we would grow old together. I had imagined a life filled with the affection and loyalty I had always wanted from him. Instead, he had given those things to another woman.

My phone suddenly buzzed beside me. The screen illuminated with a new email from an unfamiliar sender. I picked it up and opened the email.

My breath caught. Photo after photo appeared across the screen.

The first showed Dominic escorting Thalia into the obstetrics department, his arm around her waist as he bent close to murmur something beside her ear.

The next captured them walking through a park. Thalia's arm was intertwined with his, her rounded stomach clearly visible.

Another image showed them attending a prenatal yoga session. Dominic was positioned behind her, both hands steadying her waist as she struggled to maintain her balance.

There were more. So many more. The photographs followed her pregnancy from its earliest days all the way into her eighth month.

For three years, while I had been gone, Dominic had remained beside another woman.

A crushing ache spread through my chest. Tears blurred the screen before spilling freely down my cheeks.

I suddenly sat upright and struck him across the face.

The slap rang through the bedroom. Dominic woke instantly.

His muscles tightened, his instincts kicking in as though he expected an attack.

But when he saw the tears streaming down my face, the tension left his body, replaced by a deep frown.

He reached toward me. "Did you have a nightmare? Come back to bed. Get some more sleep."

I recoiled from his touch. When I spoke, my voice was strangely steady. "We're going to the altar now. We'll find an elder and have our mate bond severed."

His features immediately darkened. "Kiera..."

I thrust my phone toward him. The photographs remained open. "Is Thalia's baby yours?"

His eyes moved across the screen, and his expression became impossible to read.

My voice shook despite every effort to remain composed. "Answer me. Tell me if Thalia is carrying your child."

Rather than respond, he took the phone from my hand and placed it aside. "Stop with the tantrum. You don't get to ask that."

Something inside me collapsed.

Even now, after everything, he still treated my pain as another childish outburst.

I stared directly into his eyes. "Dominic, I'm asking you for the last time. Is Thalia's baby yours?"