The Marchioness Strikes Back,His Mistress Picked the Wrong Woman

I returned to the capital with the Elder Luna Queen after a sacred pilgrimage to the Greyveil Sanctuary.

My carriage was blocked halfway by a delicate-looking she-wolf with a swollen belly.

I beg the Pack Heir's bonded mate to grant me and my pup a place in the den. I ask for no title, but the baby in my womb is the Heir's own flesh and blood. He cannot be left out in the cold.

The Pack Heir of the Shadowmere bloodline had been mated three years without producing an heir of his own. And now, out of nowhere, someone claimed to be carrying his pup.

The woman trembled as though she might collapse at any moment, the very picture of helplessness.

"The Heir is away from the capital. If his mate mistreats us, if she lets his own flesh and blood be cast aside, does she not fear he'll come home and sever the bond?"

Sever our bond? This woman was clever, I'd give her that. But she'd gotten one thing wrong.

I was not someone the Pack Heir of the Shadowmere bloodline could cast aside.

"Please, I beg the Heir's mate to show mercy. Save me."

My carriage had been stopped in the middle of the road. The woman's wailing outside shattered the quiet rest I'd been trying to take.

I had just returned to the capital with the Elder Luna Queen from our pilgrimage to the Greyveil Sanctuary. I'd left the palace and was heading back to the Shadowmere Pack Estate when, right at the gates, a woman's sobbing brought my carriage to a halt.

She had a coquettish face, dressed plainly, with only a single moonstone pin in her hair, and a belly round and heavy with pup. Tears glistened in her eyes as she stared at the carriage, looking so pitiful that passing wolves had already stopped to gawk. Her scent drifted through the curtain before I saw her clearly: honeysuckle and warm milk, and beneath it a thread of something overripe, like bruised peaches left too long in the sun. My wolf stirred, uneasy, though I couldn't yet say why.

Through the curtain of the carriage, she watched me sit motionless inside and threw herself to the ground, baring her throat in desperate submission. "My Luna, please, give Celeste Thornwell a place to belong."

"The pup I carry is the Heir's flesh and blood. I am alone in this world. I need no title for myself, but the baby in my womb is the Heir's only child. He cannot go unrecognized."

"My Luna has been mated to the Heir for years without bearing a pup. Surely you would not stand by and watch the Shadowmere bloodline die out? I beg you, show mercy."

"The pack healer said I'm carrying a boy. If I'm allowed into the pack, once the pup is born, he can be registered under your name. He'll call you Mother."

"I want nothing for myself. But as a mother, I have to fight for my child."

"The Heir's mate has never borne a pup, so naturally she wouldn't understand a mother's heart."

I watched the tears stream down her face, but there it was, that faint glint of triumph in her eyes. How quaint. These little tricks.

"If you truly wanted nothing, why make such a spectacle of stopping my carriage in the middle of the road?"

"If you wanted a title, you could have come to the estate and discussed it properly. There are ways. So why drag this out for the whole pack to see?"

"You're using that pup in your belly as leverage to force me into letting you through those gates. Isn't that right?"

The woman called Celeste shook her head frantically, cradling her belly. "No, my Luna, Celeste knows nothing of such things. It was the Heir who looked after Celeste all along."

"Before he left the capital, the Heir promised he would give Celeste a proper place when he returned. But the date has passed and he hasn't come back. My time is nearly here, and I'm terrified."

"I beg the Heir's mate to be generous. Give this pup a birthright."

"The baby I carry is the Heir's firstborn son. He cannot be left outside the Shadowmere Pack."

"Unless my Luna, unable to bear pups herself, refuses to let any other she-wolf give the Heir an heir. Do you mean to let the Shadowmere bloodline end?"

Her words set the gathered wolves buzzing, low murmurs rippling through the crowd like hackles rising along a spine.

"Well, it's true. The Heir's been mated for years and there's still no pup. His mate, not so much as a whisper of a pregnancy."

"You can't just let the Shadowmere name die out."

"I heard the Heir's mate hasn't even presented him with a chosen companion. Jealous type, if you ask me."

"A she-wolf ought to know her place in the pack. With jealousy like that, how can she serve as Luna? Look at this poor girl, she's about ready to whelp."

Celeste dabbed at her tears, stealing a glance toward the carriage from the corner of her eye.

Nana Ashwick, the old nursemaid at her side, stepped forward. The sour undertone of stale dried herbs and tallow rolled off her in waves as she raised her voice for the crowd. "Bonded mate of Ferris Shadowmere, bearing pups for your mate is a she-wolf's most basic duty. You can't conceive yourself, haven't produced a single pup in years, and now our mistress carries the heir's flesh and blood. You ought to be on your knees baring your throat in gratitude, welcoming her through those gates with full ceremony."

"She's delicate. The young master never lets anyone cause our mistress the slightest distress. You stand there ignoring her, leaving her to kneel in the dirt. If something happens to the pup because of you, can you bear that responsibility?"

Whispers rippled through the crowd. I signaled Rosalind to draw back the curtain, then fixed a cold stare on the beautiful woman kneeling below the carriage. Something in her scent nagged at me. Honeysuckle and warm milk, sweet enough on the surface, but beneath it a thread of something overripe, like bruised peaches left too long in the sun. My wolf stirred, uneasy, hackles prickling along the back of my awareness. "How far along are you?"

Celeste answered with a demure blush. "This humble she-wolf was taken in by the heir nine moon cycles ago. The pup in my womb is eight moons along."

I looked at her with undisguised contempt. "So for nine moon cycles, the heir hasn't brought you into the pack estate. Why is that? Is your bloodline too shameful to speak of? Or is the pup not his?"

"If he truly treasured you, why would he keep you hidden away as a secret mate?"

The crowd murmured in agreement. It was a fair point. If a wolf truly cherished a she-wolf, he would have brought her before the pack and given her a proper bond long ago. Why wait until she was nearly due?

Celeste's eyes brimmed over, and she wept aloud. "Only because Celeste had to observe three years of mourning for her late father and could not take a mate during that time. That is the only reason it has been delayed. Celeste's virtue is beyond reproach. I am not that kind of she-wolf."

"Why must you humiliate me, my lady? Is it simply because I come from a lesser pack that I must be a she-wolf of loose morals? What do you take common wolves like us for?"

"She's right. This is too much."

"Just because she's the heir's bonded mate, she thinks she can look down on everyone?"

"So high and mighty, and she can't even carry a single pup. The heir ought to sever the bond and be done with it."

The crowd's mood shifted, fed by Celeste's words, turning hostile toward me. Wolves always resented those of ancient bloodline. Now that someone had made this about high-born versus common, they were all too eager to see the privileged brought low.

Celeste wiped her tears again and spoke. "Now that the three years of mourning are complete, Celeste finally dares to come before my lady and beg entry into the pack. The heir's firstborn pup cannot be born outside these walls. If the pup were, the child's legitimacy would forever be questioned. Surely that would only invite ridicule."

Heads nodded throughout the crowd.

Rosalind looked ready to breathe fire. "What a shameless little fox! My lady, say the word and I'll drag her out of here. She can't even find the right pack to grovel at, and here she is running her filthy mouth."

I motioned for Rosalind to pull the curtain aside fully. My face, half-veiled behind gauze, appeared before the onlookers.

I stepped down from the carriage, slow and deliberate, and came to a stop before her. My wolf pressed close to the surface, watchful, reading the air. Every instinct told me this woman's distress was performance, but the crowd couldn't smell what I smelled. Nana Ashwick took one look at the veil covering my face and let a sneer curl across her lips. "So that's why the Luna won't let our mistress through the gates. Afraid that once a younger, prettier she-wolf moves in, she'll steal whatever affection the heir has left for you."

"You are a few years older than our mistress, after all. Males prefer a pretty young thing in their den. That's just the way of the world. Every pack has its share of bonded mates and kept wolves. Why cling so stubbornly to something you've already lost?"

Celeste shuffled forward on her knees until she was right at my feet. She tilted her face upward, lovely as carved jade, and gazed at me. "I beg my lady's mercy."

The moment the words left her lips, she tugged the hem of my skirt from an angle no one else could see, then threw herself backward. Her hands flew to her stomach and she screamed, "My lady, please, spare my pup! Don't kick my stomach!"

Agony twisted her features. She crumpled to the ground, both hands pressed tight over her belly, tears streaming down her face.

Nana Ashwick shrieked. "Mistress! What happened to you?!"

Then she whipped around and glared at me, eyes blazing. "Even if you are the heir's bonded mate, that gives you no right to lay hands on a she-wolf carrying young! She's about to whelp! You strike now, and you'll be killing two lives. Is that what you want?!"

"The Pack Heir isn't in the territory. You think you can act this brazen without consequence? You don't think he'll come back and settle the score?"

Settle the score with me? If he didn't come looking for me first, I'd be looking for him. Keeping a secret mate, dragging the Shadowmere name through the mud. The heir to the Shadowmere Pack, stooping to something so disgraceful.

Rosalind charged forward and slapped Nana Ashwick clean across the face. The crack rang out sharp and loud. "Insolent old hag! How dare you speak to my Luna that way. How dare you slander her."

Nana Ashwick shrieked. "You dare strike me? Mistress, you must stand up for this old servant! Have the Pack Heir cast out this vicious she-wolf at once!"

"Otherwise, once you enter the pack estate, who knows what torments she'll put you through."

I let out a cold laugh. "Have the heir cast me out? My status is not something the heir has the authority to revoke."

Celeste bit her lip and stared at me. Something in her scent shifted, that honeysuckle sweetness thickening until the bruised-peach undertone bled through, cloying and deliberate. "If my Luna wishes to beat or kill someone, direct it at me. Why strike my nursemaid? Are you truly not afraid the heir will punish you when he returns?"

"Cruel as you are, the mating bond may have been ordained by the Alpha King, but if you harm the heir's pup, he can still sever the bond all the same."

I smiled. "Miss Thornwell puts on quite the performance. Perhaps she should join the traveling minstrel troupe."

"If the heir wants to champion your cause, by all means, send him to me. I won't run from it."

The crowd of onlookers grew indignant, their collective unease pressing in like the low rumble before a storm. "You've gone too far! Just because her rank is lower than yours, she deserves to be humiliated?"

"Exactly! She's seven or eight moons along, about to deliver. A kick like that could kill her!"

"She knows the Alpha King's decree protects her from being cast aside, so she acts without fear."

Celeste straightened up, trembling, and looked at me through her tears. "I know my station is lowly. I came specifically to beg my Luna's mercy. I never imagined she would try to end my life."

"The heir told me that while he was away from the territory, no matter what I had to do, I was to protect myself at all costs. Even if it meant overstepping."

"Since that's how it is, my Luna, don't blame me."

Celeste rose to her feet with Nana Ashwick's help and shouted, "Guards!"

Several armed pack warriors emerged from behind her, their eyes hard and their stances wide. Celeste pointed at me. "Bind her. I want to see whether the heir, once he learns his own bonded mate tried to murder his pup, will sever the bond or not."

I jabbed a finger at my own nose. "Sever the bond with me? Does the heir have the nerve? Tell him to try."

The lead warrior approached with a stony face. "My Luna, why must you bully a helpless she-wolf?"

"The heir gave orders. No one, not even his bonded mate, is to mistreat his chosen companion. Forgive the offense."

He moved to seize me. My wolf went still inside my chest, not with fear but with something colder. Something that tasted like warning.

Rosalind threw herself in front of me. "You wouldn't dare! Do you have any idea who my Luna is?"

The warrior shoved Rosalind aside. "Doesn't matter who she is. She's wronged the heir's companion, and she'll kneel and apologize for it."

Nana Ashwick clutched her swollen, reddened cheek and screeched, "Warrior! This vicious she-wolf can't bear pups yet still clings to the position of Luna, tormenting our mistress!"

"Once the mistress delivers the heir's firstborn son, she'll surely be elevated to honored mate or equal Luna. Then it's the mistress who'll be the true lady of the pack!"

"A barren she-wolf like her should be thrown out of the estate. Go on, hit her! The mistress will answer for it."

Celeste spoke in that soft, fragile voice of hers. "My Luna, even someone as high and mighty as you must own up to her wrongs. Just apologize to Nana, and we can put this behind us."

I let out a cold laugh. "Apologize to her? You think either of you are worthy of that?"

Celeste sighed. "If that's how you want it, I can't help you." She shot Nana Ashwick a look. The old woman lunged forward and struck me hard across the face.

The sting bloomed hot and instant. Around us, the air changed. I could feel the gathered wolves draw back half a step, could smell the sharp spike of shock cutting through the crowd like iron through still water.

"Forgive me, my Luna. This old servant is petty by nature. You don't beat the dog without checking who its master is. Since you hit me first, it's only fair I return the favor."

Celeste nodded. "Nana raised me from infancy. She is like a mother to me. For your lady to strike her is the same as insulting my elder. She took a slap from your mistress, so now they're even. When the heir returns, we'll call the matter settled."

Nana Ashwick spat on the ground. "You were so pleased with yourself a moment ago, weren't you? Humiliating my lady like that. Now you'll kneel and bare your throat to her, and welcome her into the estate with proper respect. From now on, you'll be sisters, nothing more."

Rosalind snarled, the sound ripping from deep in her chest, more wolf than woman. "You? You're nothing. How dare you demand our Luna bare her throat to anyone."

A guard was already moving. His boot caught Rosalind square in the chest and sent her sprawling. Then he seized my wrist, dragged me in front of Celeste, and shoved me down. "Kneel."

I looked up at him, cold and unblinking. "You forget yourself. What gives you the right to lay a hand on me?"

The words had barely left my mouth when something slammed into the backs of my knees. They buckled, and I crashed onto the cobblestone with a crack that shot white-hot pain through every bone in my body.

The guard pressed the flat of a silver-edged blade against my spine. The metal seared through the fabric, a thin line of heat that made my wolf recoil deep inside me, pressing herself small and silent against the pain. "Apologize to the lady."

Celeste stood before me. Her embroidered slippers were exquisite, each stitch immaculate. They might as well have been a taunt.

Rosalind clutched her injured chest and tried to lunge forward, but Celeste's wolves pinned her down. "Shut your mouth. A low-ranked she-wolf has no business running it in front of our lady."

Celeste's voice drifted down from above me, soft as silk. "My lady, all you need to do is apologize. I won't hold it against you."

"Or is it that you look down on me? That you think I'm some shameful unbonded mate not fit to be seen?"

The guard roared. "I'll count to three. If you haven't bowed your head to the ground by then, I won't be gentle about it."

I kept my chin raised. He counted, loud enough for every wolf on the street to hear. "One. Two. Three."

Then he brought the pommel of his blade down hard against the back of my skull. My forehead slammed into the stone pavement with a sickening crack.

Blood ran down from my hairline. Rosalind screamed, sobbing. "My Luna! Have you all lost your minds? Our mistress isn't the heir's bonded mate! You have the wrong person!"

Celeste laughed. "Oh? Now you won't even claim your own title?"

"My lady, it's only a couple of bows. Surely you're not frightened?" Her voice dropped low. "You were so proud of yourself just a moment ago."

"Once I bear the heir's pup, even the position of his bonded mate will be mine."

"Honestly, how has someone as foolish as you survived this long? The seat of Luna Shadowmere, wasted on someone like you. What a pity."

"The day I enter the pack estate as the true Luna, I'll have you kneel before me and serve me in deference as a concubine. Just the thought of it makes me smile."

She straightened up. "My lady, you still owe one more bow."

"This one is for the pup in my belly. After all, you did kick him earlier."

When I lifted my head, the passersby flinched. My hair had come loose from its pins, and the blood from my forehead was matted into the dark strands, making the sight all the worse. Somewhere beneath the copper scent of my own blood, I could barely catch my own scent anymore. The moonflower had gone faint, buried under iron and pain.

"Moon Goddess, she's bleeding. This is going too far."

"She's the heir's bonded mate, for pity's sake. If someone dies over this, there'll be hell to pay."

"Exactly. That unbonded she-wolf has some nerve."

Celeste only glanced at the guard. He pressed harder. I clenched my teeth and braced against the stone. "You wouldn't dare. I am the Alpha's..."

Hoofbeats cut through the air. A column of riders reined to a halt before us, the scent of road dust and distant pine rolling ahead of them. "What is going on here?"

I looked up. Ferris Shadowmere sat high in the saddle, surveying the scene, his traveling cloak still powdered with the grit of the northern roads. He had only just returned to the capital. The dry cedar bark and copper of his scent hit me before his gaze did, and my wolf went very still.

The instant Celeste saw him, she threw herself forward. Ferris swung down from his horse and caught her. "Celeste. What are you doing out here?"

Celeste crumpled against him, tears streaming down her face like rain on pear blossoms. "My lord, your bonded mate tried to beat our pup to death."

"She kicked me in the stomach too. It hurts so badly now. You have to stand up for me and our child." Celeste clutched at Ferris, her voice pitched to carry across the gathered wolves.

Charles Ironwood, Elder of Ceremonies, sucked in a sharp breath from behind the heir. "Whoever dares harm the heir's pup must be severely punished! Everyone knows how difficult it's been for the heir to produce an offspring. The heir's bonded mate has gone too far with her jealousy."

Ferris walked toward me. I was still on my knees, pinned down by the guards.

He glanced at me once, his lip curling in disgust. "What are you dressed like? You look nothing like the heir's mate."

I had just returned from my sacred pilgrimage to the Greyveil Sanctuary, still wearing plain pilgrim's robes. The simplicity of my appearance only deepened his contempt.

Celeste burrowed into his arms. "My lord, I was so frightened. She truly meant to kill me. Our pup and I nearly never saw you again."

Ferris looked down at me. "Wretched woman." Then he drove his foot into my body. I fell backward, and the veil slipped from my face.

Celeste let out a little gasp and pressed closer to Ferris. "No wonder you don't care for the heir's mate. Look at her. She looks even older than you."

"A wolf as handsome and distinguished as the heir, saddled with a woman her age? How could she possibly be a match?"

But Ferris had seen my face. His eyes went wide. The color drained from his skin, and his knees hit the ground with a crack.