"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.