Chapter 1That morning, I noticed Iris, our pack attendant, had a split lip.
Then my mate, Alpha Alarion, leaned down to kiss me.
I smiled and turned away playfully, pretending nothing was wrong.
Until my eyes caught the marks scattered across his collarbone.
My breath stopped.
Those weren't ordinary scratches.
They were another she-wolf's bite marks. Another wolf's claw marks.
Marks only a wolf could leave.
I should have scented the betrayal before I ever saw it.
But my wolf had been silent for months. Ever since we lost our pup.
The Alpha who had stood beside me for seven years.
The man who had sworn before the Moon Goddess that I was his mate.
He was betraying our sacred mate bond.
---
I kept smiling as I watched him leave for the pack offices.
I kept smiling as I closed the door behind him.
Only when the lock clicked did my expression collapse.
After Alarion left, my world tilted.
The sun outside was bright, the pack territory alive with morning activity, but my heart felt trapped beneath an iron fist.
From the living room came Iris's quiet humming as she cleaned.
Once, I would have found it comforting.
Now all I could see was her split lip.
And the scent of another wolf lingering on my mate.
My phone chimed.
A message from Alarion.
Babe, made it to the office.
Want anything special for dinner?
I'll bring it home tonight.
Why aren't you answering, my mate?
Earth to my Luna. Leave a message after the beep.
Beep...
I stared at the screen.
I wanted to believe him.
I wanted to believe my mate bond couldn't be broken so easily.
But the marks on his throat kept flashing through my mind.
My wolf should have sensed the deception.
She should have recognized another female's scent on him.
But she remained quiet.
Broken.
Buried beneath the grief of losing our pup.
That evening, when Alarion told me he was working late, I called him.
Like always, he answered immediately.
"Solene?"
I made a small sound.
His Alpha voice flowed through the phone—the same voice that once made my wolf feel safe.
Now it felt empty.
"Missing me?"
I almost answered.
Then I heard it.
A sound so faint another person might have missed it.
A woman's muffled whimper.
My stomach twisted.
My chest tightened.
"Where are you?"
A pause.
Then concern entered his voice.
"Still at the office. What's wrong? Did you forget your healer's medicine again?"
I closed my eyes.
After everything, he still chose to lie.
"Can you come home instead?"
"I can't leave right now, baby. Be good. I'll return as soon as I'm finished."
"Okay."
I forced my voice steady.
"Go back to work."
"Sweet dreams, love. Don't wait for me."
The call ended.
He was lying to me.
My Alpha was comforting his mistress while answering his mate's call.
I lowered the phone.
Silent tears slid down my face.
And for the first time in months, my wolf stirred.
Not with power.
Not with fury.
But with a broken howl that tore through my soul.
Chapter 2
Alarion didn't return to our den until past midnight.
The scent of another wolf still lingered faintly around him.
I noticed.
My wolf noticed.
But neither of us said a word.
As we lay in bed, he reached for my hand.
Once, that touch would have calmed the storm inside me.
Tonight, I quietly slipped my fingers away.
Just as I was drifting into an uneasy sleep, his phone buzzed in the darkness.
"Solene..."
I kept my eyes closed, pretending not to hear.
He reached for the phone beside him and answered in a low voice.
"I told you not to call when I'm in my den."
A pause.
Then a woman's trembling voice came through the speaker.
"But I'm scared..."
"Please, Alpha..."
My chest tightened.
Not because I didn't know.
Because I did.
He hesitated.
Only for a second.
Then he turned toward me and gently shook my shoulder.
"Solene."
I forced myself not to move.
"There's a pack emergency at the offices. I need to go."
His fingers brushed against my arm.
"Get some rest."
Half-asleep, I made a soft sound.
He leaned down and pressed his lips against my forehead.
The same lips that had kissed another she-wolf.
Then he dressed quickly and left.
The den fell silent.
I opened my eyes.
Slowly, I walked to the window.
His black SUV raced down the long driveway, disappearing beyond the trees of our territory.
The taillights faded.
The engine disappeared.
And I stood there alone.
---
Alarion returned at dawn.
He brought white lilies and breakfast from the pack kitchens.
A peace offering.
A lie wrapped in flowers.
"You're back?"
He leaned against the doorway, a familiar smile on his face.
His arm slipped around my waist.
His scent surrounded me.
The scent that once made my wolf feel safe.
"Was worried you'd forget your healer's medicine," he murmured.
"I came back to keep you company."
His fingers brushed through my hair.
"Did you sleep well?"
I nodded.
Quietly, I sipped my water.
"It got too late," he explained.
"I stayed at the offices so I wouldn't wake you."
I looked at him.
The Alpha who had once sworn I was his only mate.
The Alpha who now lied without hesitation.
I didn't call out his lie.
I didn't ask where he had really been.
Because the truth no longer needed his confession.
After he left for the pack offices, I picked up the lilies.
And threw them into the trash.
An older pack member passing by stopped beside the bin.
"Such beautiful flowers. Why throw them away? What a waste."
I looked at the white petals for a moment.
Then smiled.
"Yes."
"What a waste."
When Iris arrived to tend the den, my wolf noticed something before I did.
Satisfaction.
It rolled off her in waves.
She smiled at me.
A sweet, innocent smile.
The kind she had perfected after spending a year pretending to serve my family.
I returned it with my usual smile.
The moment I turned away and closed the door, my expression disappeared.
My chest tightened.
My mate was breaking our sacred bond with the she-wolf he'd brought into our den.
And it hadn't started recently.
It had been happening for at least a year.
A year of lies.
A year of betrayal.
And I had been blind to every sign.
Chapter 3
After my appointment with the pack healer, I didn't return to the den.
I drove straight to the pack offices.
Not to confront him.
Not yet.
I needed the truth first.
Using the spare key, I opened Alarion's SUV in the underground garage.
His Alpha vehicle.
The place where he thought no one would ever look.
I accessed the security footage.
Most of it had been erased.
Except for this morning.
He hadn't deleted it yet.
On his way to the pack offices, Alarion had taken a call.
It was Rook.
His Beta.
His oldest friend.
"Alpha, I've sent Iris her monthly compensation."
"Good."
Alarion's voice was calm.
"Check her place tonight. She mentioned an issue yesterday."
"Will do."
A pause.
"Also... she's asking for the necklace you were planning to give Solene."
Rook hesitated.
"Should I—"
Alarion's voice turned cold.
"Tell her she can have anything else."
"Not Solene's."
"Give her the other necklace from the auction. Add fifty thousand as compensation."
A pause.
"And remind her—if she's going to pretend to be my Luna's attendant, she needs to act like one."
"No more mistakes in front of my mate."
Rook let out a frustrated breath.
"Alpha, I still don't understand."
"Why bring another she-wolf into your own den?"
"You know Solene is still recovering."
"Her wolf is still dormant."
His voice sharpened.
"And you're risking everything by doing this under the same roof."
"If she finds out, you're finished."
Silence.
Then Alarion spoke.
"She won't."
His voice was calm.
Certain.
"She'll never know."
Sitting alone in the dark garage, I stared at his face on the screen.
My Alpha.
My mate.
The wolf who had sworn before the Moon Goddess that I was his.
He looked so calm.
So certain.
Something inside me cracked.
Not because I discovered the betrayal.
I already knew.
Because I finally understood the truth.
Everyone knew.
His Beta.
His pack officers.
Maybe the entire territory.
They all knew what Alarion was doing.
And they all let their Luna live inside a lie.
The recording continued playing.
But I couldn't hear another word.
My hands went numb.
Cold spread through my entire body.
Before leaving, I placed a small recorder beneath the passenger seat.
Then I closed the door.
And walked away.
---
When Alarion called, I told him I was having dinner at Matthias's den.
Matthias.
The wolf who had once cared for me before Alarion became my mate.
Before I gave my heart to my Alpha.
Alarion went silent for a moment.
Then—
"I want to come with you."
His voice was calm.
But his Alpha instinct betrayed him.
A faint growl slipped through the bond.
"You know it makes me uneasy."
"Knowing you once cared for another wolf."
I almost laughed.
The irony was almost cruel.
"Please, Solene. Let me come."
"Maybe next time," I said softly.
"I have to go. He's already here to pick me up."
Silence.
Then his voice lowered.
"Fine."
"But knowing you're spending tonight with him..."
He stopped.
I smiled.
A bitter, empty smile.
"Alarion."
"I don't return to wolves who have already hurt me."
The bond between us trembled.
Whether I meant Matthias.
Or him.
For one brief second, panic flashed through our Mate Bond.
Alarion felt it.
And he understood.
Even though he knew I was talking about Matthias, his own guilt answered first.
After a moment, he rushed to speak.
Almost like he was trying to convince himself.
"Solene, don't worry."
"We'll be together forever."
"I swear it."
"I can't live without you."
His voice softened.
"Just like I promised when we completed our mating bond..."
"Through every moon."
"Through every season."
"I will love you forever."
But his words only cut deeper.
He swore he couldn't live without me.
Yet he was the one destroying the bond that tied our souls together.
The irony almost made me laugh.
Over the phone, he started telling me stories.
Old memories.
Little jokes.
Anything to make me smile.
I listened quietly.
"Solene?"
His voice changed.
Careful.
Worried.
"Are you upset?"
"Did I do something wrong?"
I closed my eyes.
"No."
A pause.
"I just watched something with a sad ending."
He exhaled in relief.
Immediately, his tone softened.
"Don't watch things like that alone anymore."
"Wait until I come home."
"We'll watch together."
I smiled.
Not because I believed him.
I stared through the window at the endless line of trees surrounding our territory.
The forest where our pack had promised forever.
The place where our bond had begun.
The future?
There was no future left.
Not for us.
