Chapter 1The night before our Luna ceremony, I found out my Alpha mate knocked up some omega.
He was reviewing the guest scroll like it was routine Pack business. Then he dropped it:
"I screwed up years back when I was running border patrols. Got her pregnant. She had no Pack to return to, so yeah, they're at the estate. Her and the boy."
I froze.
When I finally spoke, my voice cracked. "What about us? What the hell have we been doing for three years? What about our Bond?"
"I fucked up."
He lit a cigarette, his voice ice-cold. "Ceremony's tomorrow. Your call."
My hand moved to my stomach.
I was pregnant. Carrying his heir.
But he didn't know that yet.
And after tonight? He never would.
---
The truth slammed into me so hard I couldn't breathe. My chest felt like it was being crushed.
"Some omega I ran into before you. Down at the border zones." His voice was completely flat. "She's clueless about our Pack law. Got nowhere to go. So yeah, she's staying at the estate with the kid. Keeps things simple."
I turned around slowly.
He stood there under the dim study lights, black tactical jacket fitting him like armor.
Same Alpha I'd been crazy about for three years.
But his face? Stone cold. Made my blood run ice.
"So all those times you said you had 'patrol duty'..."
"Went to check on them." Zero hesitation. "Blackthorn blood doesn't get abandoned. She's decent with the kid. Kid doesn't cause trouble."
Each word was a knife twisting deeper.
Three years.
So many nights.
He could've sent them to another Pack. Could've rejected our Bond.
But no—he chose door number three. Kept us both dangling like puppets on strings.
A sharp cramp hit low in my belly.
I pressed my hand there without thinking.
His eyes locked onto my hand. Frowned.
"You look like hell." He moved toward me, reaching for my face.
I jerked back hard—my back slammed into the cold stone wall.
"Don't touch me!"
His hand froze mid-air.
Then his encrypted phone started buzzing.
He glanced at it. Swiped to decline.
Buzzed again. Declined again.
Third time, he let out an annoyed breath and picked up.
A woman's voice spilled through—crying, thick border accent:
"Roarke... the boy's burning up... he keeps crying for you... please just come..."
He pressed his fingers to his temples. "I'll send the Pack healer over."
Hung up.
Looked at me. Softened his voice—barely.
"She panics over every little thing. Kid's too young. Always some drama."
I didn't say anything. Just stared.
Three years of this exact scene.
His phone going off at all hours.
Me always being the understanding mate: "Go ahead, babe. Pack business comes first."
Turns out some of those late nights, those missed full moons, those blown-off hunting runs—
He was playing Alpha daddy somewhere else.
A laugh ripped out of me. Tears poured down my face.
"Take me to meet them."
He went completely still.
Long, heavy silence.
Then my phone lit up. On speaker—blasting through the dead-quiet room:
[Marlowe honey! Your dad already sent out all the ceremony invitations! Everyone's talking about how you're marrying the most powerful Alpha in the territory—girl, you're so lucky!]
Chapter 2
That cheerful voice sliced right through me.
I swallowed the tears. [I gotta go. Talk later.]
Hung up.
His cold voice cut through the silence.
"Invitations are out. The clearing's set up. Bond marks are ready." He paused. "I gave you everything a Luna could want."
I stared up at him. "So what—you think I should just smile and let you mark me? Stand there at the ceremony like I don't know there's another omega and your kid living in my house?"
"I'm not forcing anything." He walked to the window, wouldn't even look at me. "I told you. Your choice."
"Just think it through first. Three years together. The Pack we built. Your dad waiting to see you become Luna. The whole territory expecting this." His voice was so calm it made me sick.
"You really wanna burn it all down... because of them?"
I wanted to scream. Wanted to laugh. Couldn't do either.
"They're not some problem you can manage, Roarke. That's your blood. Your unmarked son. Real wolves with real lives."
He turned around. His face was a blank wall.
Like I was being dramatic over nothing.
"So what do you want from me?" His tone was flat. "Want me to send them off tonight? Drop them at some neutral zone where you'll never see them again?"
My throat closed up.
My heart was pounding so hard it hurt.
He made it sound like he was being reasonable.
"You're my fated mate. I'll give you everything I've got."
Except loyalty.
Except a future that didn't have another omega and another heir lurking in the shadows.
I laughed.
"Get the hell out."
He froze. "Marlowe—"
"I SAID GET OUT!"
I grabbed the first thing I could reach and launched it at his head.
He didn't move.
It clipped his temple. Blood welled up instantly.
"You're not thinking straight. Whatever you say right now, whatever you decide—you're gonna regret it."
"I'll come back later."
The door closed softly behind him.
I slid down the wall, legs giving out.
The hollow ache in my chest felt like it was being ripped wider with every breath.
Three years. Everything I believed in. Everything I thought we were building together—
All of it was a lie.
My phone buzzed. Uncle Magnus from back home.
I took a shaky breath and picked up. "Uncle Magnus?"
His voice was heavy. "Sweetheart, I know I shouldn't be the one telling you this, but I can't stand watching your dad pretend anymore. Marlowe... he's dying."
The world tilted.
"What... what are you talking about?"
"His wolf's gone. Bloodline sickness. Nothing the healers can do. He didn't want you to know—didn't want you stressed with the pup coming. He's been holding on just to see you become Luna."
The phone slipped from my hand.
I crumbled.
Cried until my body had nothing left.
When I finally stopped shaking, I picked up my phone with numb fingers. Pressed Roarke's number.
I forced the words out, voice raw and hollow:
"The ceremony's still on."
Chapter 3
When I saw Dad, I didn't tell him anything.
Just sat there like always. Listened to him go on about Luna ceremony traditions, what herbs to take after the pup comes, how to handle the shift after giving birth...
His voice had that warm, protective tone. But underneath? It felt like he was saying goodbye.
I nodded along. Said "okay" and "I will."
Rubbed his shoulders. Helped sort through the ceremonial gifts he'd been collecting for years.
Sunlight poured through the old den windows. Just like any other afternoon.
But when I got up for water, I caught myself in the mirror—
Just two days. And I looked like I'd aged ten years.
Before the ceremony, I told Roarke I wanted to meet them.
He said okay.
We drove out to the estate on Pack territory. Armed patrols everywhere.
My stomach dropped.
This wasn't some "temporary shelter."
At the gates, wolves in tactical gear nodded. "Alpha."
Inside, everything was set up like a permanent home. Furniture. Kids' toys scattered around. Her scent marking every corner.
This was his other life.
Then I saw her.
Standing at the bottom of the stairs—young, soft in that omega way. But she looked scared.
"Roarke..." Her voice was breathy. Thick border accent.
He grunted.
Then his tone shifted. Annoyed. "Why are you barefoot again? I told you the stone floors are cold."
"I heard the car..." She bit her lip. Twisted her hands. "I got worried..."
"This is Marlowe." He didn't explain who I was. Didn't introduce her either.
She glanced up. Gave me this timid little look. "Miss Marlowe... I'm Nyx."
Behind her, a teenage boy stood in the shadows. Thirteen or fourteen. Had Roarke's amber eyes. His sharp jaw.
He stared at me. Cold as ice.
Roarke waved him over. "Cassian, come here."
The kid walked over slowly. No expression. "Father."
Roarke turned to the housekeeper. "Sable, get her slippers."
Nyx's eyes went wide. But she stayed frozen.
The housekeeper brought slippers. Roarke gestured for her to put them on.
I just stood there.
He'd been taking care of her. Like she was his omega. Like this was her house.
It hit me like ice water.
Three years. All that trust I'd built up? Gone.
His tone with her was annoyed—like she was some burden. But the way he looked after her? Pure instinct. Years of it.
The answer was obvious the second I walked in.
If I let him mark me, I'd just be another fool in his game.
I sat for maybe three minutes. Then stood up. "I'm leaving."
He stood too. "I'll walk you out."
We passed through the hall. One of his enforcers stopped him about border patrol.
Left me alone with her and the kid.
Maybe she didn't know. Maybe Roarke kept her in the dark too.
No point making it worse.
I turned to go.
But she stepped in front of me. Voice still soft—but with poison underneath.
"I heard your dad's been sending ceremony invitations all over the territory..."
She let out this delicate little laugh.
"How embarrassing. Imagine being that clueless..." Her eyes went wide, fake-innocent. "Oh! You probably didn't know either, right? That you're just... well..."
She trailed off. Smiled sweetly.
"That you're the mistress?"
SLAP!
I didn't hold back.
Her head snapped to the side. Red handprint bloomed instantly. Tears welled up.
"You... you hit me?!"
I stepped closer. Looked her dead in the eye.
"Say one more word about my father—"
I leaned in.
"—and I'll make sure you regret it."
Footsteps behind me.
