After My Alpha Chose His Mistress Over Our Son

The morning air bit at my skin as I ran alongside the pack, my wolf—Luna—keeping perfect pace with the others. These runs had always been my sanctuary, a time when rank mattered less than the pure joy of movement. Today felt different. The pack moved with unusual tension, glancing toward Daxton's massive black wolf form at the front. I pressed my palm against my sternum, a habit I'd developed to contain the unease that had been growing for weeks.

And then he stopped.

Daxton's wolf halted so abruptly that the entire pack stuttered to a standstill, a ripple of confusion passing through hundreds of wolves. I shifted back to human form, as did the others, the collective energy of the pack vibrating with uncertainty. Daxton stood tall, his Alpha aura pulsing with an intensity I'd never felt before—raw, desperate, almost feral.

'I've lied to all of you,' he announced, his Alpha tone reverberating through the clearing. The words hit me like ice water. 'I've lived a lie, and I will not do it anymore. Not when my wolf is dying. Not when I have so little time left.'

Murmurs rippled through the crowd. I stepped forward, confusion and fear warring within me. 'Daxton, what are you—'

His eyes found mine, and what I saw there made my blood freeze. There was no love, no regret—only cold, calculated cruelty.

'You,' he snarled, pointing at me. 'You were never my true Luna. You were a substitute, a placeholder. My wolf has always belonged to another. Angelina Bishop is my chosen mate. She always has been. You were just... convenient. A body to warm my bed until I could have what I really wanted.'

The words tore through me like claws, shredding every memory, every moment I thought we'd shared. I stood frozen as hundreds of eyes turned to me, some pitying, others gleeful at my downfall. My wolf whimpered inside me, the pain of rejection cutting deeper than any physical wound.

'I don't believe you,' I whispered, but even as I spoke, I felt something cracking inside me. 'You cared for me when—'

'Care?' He laughed, the sound sharp and ugly. 'I cared for what you could do for me. For the pack image you projected. But you were never her. Never what I truly wanted.'

I refused to break in front of him, in front of them all. 'If that's true,' I said, my voice steadier than I felt, 'then release me from our bond. Let me go.'

His smile was vicious. 'Oh, I'm going to do more than that. I'm going to show you exactly what you are to me.'

He grabbed my arm, his grip bruising as he dragged me away from the pack, toward the isolated warehouse at the edge of our territory. The cold air seemed to turn to ice against my skin as he shoved me inside the dark, empty space and locked the heavy door behind me.

'You'll stay here until you learn your place,' he growled through the door. 'Until you're ready to accept what you really are—nothing. Less than nothing. A cheap substitute for a real Luna.'

I pounded against the door, my fists bloody, my voice hoarse from screaming. But the warehouse was too far from the pack houses, and the walls too thick. No one could hear me as the temperature dropped and the darkness closed in.

Hours later, I heard it—the sound of water rushing in from the lower chamber. The rogue attack had breached our borders, and the warehouse was flooding. I scrambled to find a way out, the freezing water rising past my knees, then my waist, as panic clawed at my throat. Just as I thought I couldn't hold on any longer, the door burst open. Lower-ranking wolves I barely knew pulled me out, their faces grim as they carried me to the healing ward.

And there, on a small cot, lay Joey. My beautiful boy. Still. Lifeless. The healers avoided my eyes as they told me he'd been found near the pack borders, the victim of a tragic accident.

I collapsed beside him, my heart shattering as I touched his cold face. 'No, no, no... Joey, please...'

Then Daxton appeared in the doorway, his face a mask of false concern. Behind him stood Angelina, her eyes gleaming with triumph. 'I'm sorry, Luna,' he said, his voice carrying through a pack-wide mind-link. 'But we have evidence that Lucille has been unfaithful. And her negligence led to this tragedy. She failed as a mother. She failed as a Luna. She failed me.'