Abandoned by False Mate

The Luna council meeting had ended two hours early—something about a scheduling conflict with the neighboring pack's representatives. I should have been relieved. These meetings always drained me, filled with endless discussions about pack alliances and territorial disputes that seemed to go in circles. Instead, as I walked through the familiar corridors of the packhouse, an odd restlessness gnawed at me.

My heels clicked against the polished marble floors, the sound echoing in the unusually quiet hallways. Most pack members would be at their afternoon duties, but the silence felt different today—heavier, more oppressive. I quickened my pace toward Zachary's office, thinking I might surprise him with an early return. Maybe we could finally have that conversation about expanding the pack's community programs, something I'd been trying to discuss for weeks.

The scent hit me first.

I froze three steps from Zachary's office door, my hand halfway to the brass handle. That floral perfume—expensive, cloying, artificial—mixed with something else. Something that made my wolf, Luna, whimper deep inside my chest. The scent was wrong, invasive, where it shouldn't be.

My fingers trembled as I turned the handle, pushing the door open just wide enough to peer inside.

The world tilted.

Zachary stood behind his massive oak desk, but he wasn't alone. Andrea Lane, the Beta's daughter, was pressed against him, her arms wrapped around his neck, her lips moving against his in a kiss that spoke of familiarity, of possession. But it wasn't the kiss that shattered something fundamental inside me.

It was the mark.

There, on the curve of Andrea's neck where it met her shoulder, was the unmistakable impression of canine teeth. Zachary's mark. Dark, healed, permanent. The mate mark that every Luna was supposed to bear, the sacred bond that I had been told would come 'when the time was right,' when our connection 'deepened naturally.'

The mark I had never received.

A strangled sound escaped my throat—half gasp, half sob. They broke apart instantly, Zachary's golden eyes meeting mine across the room. For a moment, no one moved. The afternoon sunlight streaming through the tall windows seemed to mock the scene, illuminating every detail I wished I could unsee.

"Sophie." Zachary's voice was steady, almost businesslike. No surprise, no guilt, no scrambling for explanations. Just my name, spoken like an inconvenience.

Andrea turned slowly, and the smile that spread across her face was triumphant, predatory. She didn't step away from Zachary. Instead, she tilted her head slightly, making sure the mark was clearly visible, like a badge of honor.

"Hello, Sophie," she purred, her voice dripping with false sweetness. "You're back early."

I stepped fully into the office, my legs somehow still functioning despite the trembling that had started in my hands and was spreading through my entire body. "What is this?" My voice came out smaller than I intended, barely above a whisper.

Zachary straightened his tie with deliberate calm. "Close the door, Sophie. We need to talk."

I obeyed automatically, my Luna training taking over even as my world crumbled. The soft click of the door closing felt like a death knell.

"Three years," I said, finding my voice. "Three years, Zachary. I've been your mate for three years, and you—" I gestured helplessly at Andrea, who was now perched on the edge of his desk like she belonged there.

"Our ceremony was necessary for pack stability," Zachary said, his tone matter-of-fact. "The pack needed to see their Alpha mated to maintain order and confidence. You understood your role."

"My role?" The words tasted bitter. "I thought I was your mate. Your actual mate."

Andrea laughed, a sound like breaking glass. "Oh, sweet Sophie. Did you really think he'd choose someone unmarked? Someone who couldn't even properly bond with her Alpha?" She touched the mark on her neck possessively. "I've been his chosen mate for over a year now. His real mate."

The room spun. I gripped the back of a leather chair to steady myself. "A year?"

"Fourteen months, to be precise," Andrea continued, clearly enjoying my devastation. "While you were playing dress-up as Luna, planning your little charity events and design projects, Zachary was with me. Marking me. Claiming me."

I looked at Zachary, searching his face for some sign that this was a nightmare, that the man I'd shared a bed with, planned a future with, felt something—anything—for me. His expression was cold, distant, like he was discussing pack finances.

"Why?" The question broke from me like a physical wound.

For the first time, something flickered in Zachary's eyes. "You were perfect for the public role, Sophie. Gentle, well-bred, beloved by the pack. But Andrea..." He glanced at her with something that might have been affection. "Andrea understands what it means to be truly mated to an Alpha."

My phone buzzed against my hip, the sound jarring in the suffocating silence. I ignored it, but it buzzed again. And again.

With shaking hands, I pulled it out. Twelve missed calls from Mia, the pack healer. My blood turned to ice.

"I have to—" I started, but the phone rang again. This time, I answered.

"Sophie?" Mia's voice was thick with tears. "Oh, goddess, Sophie, I've been trying to reach you for hours. It's your grandmother. Eleanor... she's gone."

The phone slipped from my numb fingers, clattering to the floor.