My name was Eris Lavender. I had been married to Silas Cross, Alpha of the Silvercrest Pack, for ten years.

We seemed like a strong pair, and everyone envied me because of it. He treated me well in public, spoke softly to me in private, and made sure my needs were always met.

Silas Cross was the perfect Alpha mate anyone would have wished to have.

That's what everyone thought. That’s what I also thought. But things were actually different from the truth.

That morning, I only went to his pack office because I had forgotten my phone charger on his table. The guards let me through as they smiled at me, greeting me with the respect of a Luna.

As I went closer, I noticed that Silas’s office door was slightly open, just enough for voices to slip through.

"Eris doesn’t know about any of it," Silas said. "And she doesn’t need to."

I paused. I wasn’t even trying to listen. I was just close enough to hear.

Cody, his Beta, sounded tense.

"Silas… you used her mother’s heart to save Elara Stone’s sister. You didn’t tell Eris the truth about how her mother died. You let her believe it was natural."

My mother…?

My hand stilled on the doorknob as the name hit me.

Elara Stone.

Elara, Silas’s first love. Elara, the woman my ex-fiancé left me for. Elara, the one Silas always managed to slip into conversations when he thought I wouldn’t notice.

My chest tightened. I leaned in carefully, letting the shadows hide me.

"Her mother was dying already. The doctor said there was no chance for her to live," Silas said. "And Elara needed me. Her family needed me. I did what I had to do."

"So you chose Elara over your own mate," Cody shot back.

Silas didn’t hesitate.

"I will always choose Elara," he said. "Elara and her family helped me when I was at my lowest, and this was the only way I could repay her. Besides, I paid that debt of life by marrying Eris. I’ve done enough."

My stomach twisted. I felt like I might throw up.

Cody’s voice dropped. "And if she finds out?"

Silas didn’t even sound worried. "Then I’ll just end everything for us. I’ve spent ten years pretending, enduring, and tolerating Eris. She can’t even give me a child, maybe we’re not meant to be together."

I just stood there, feeling everything inside me go very, very quiet.

Ten years. Ten years of believing I was loved, protected, and finally chosen.

But it seemed that in all those years, I had just been a placeholder.

I stepped back from the door, careful not to make a sound. There were no tears, no collapse, no confrontation. I simply turned away, walked out of the pack house with steady steps, got into my car, and drove.

It wasn’t until I reached the woods that my hands began to shake. I stepped out of the car, bent forward slightly, and released a single sharp breath. Not a sob. Not even a gasp. Just a release of everything sitting heavy in my chest.

Then the pain struck. Deep and sudden in my abdomen.

That was when I remembered the test from that morning. I had been planning to surprise Silas about being pregnant during dinner that night. We had been trying for so long, and I imagined how happy he would be after knowing this.

But it seemed that I had been expecting too much.

I placed my hand over my stomach, and for a brief moment, a small warmth flickered in my chest. A new life. My child. Something pure that belonged to me alone.

But the warmth faded just as quickly when the truth followed.

Silas would never want this child.

The realization was heavy, like something pressing straight through my ribs. My vision blurred. I tried to step back toward the car, but my legs felt weak.

The ground tilted, rushing up to meet me. I reached out for something, anything, but there was nothing to hold onto.

Everything slipped into darkness.

****

I woke to bright hospital lights and the sharp, sterile smell of disinfectant. My head hammered with a dull pain, and a nurse was bending over my arm, adjusting the IV line.

I tried to lift myself, but a strong hand closed around mine before I could move.

Silas sat at the foot of the bed. He looked drained, his face pale and his eyes rimmed red as if he had not slept. He leaned forward, and his voice came out tight.

"Eris, why were you alone in the woods? You scared me."

There was a tremor in it, like fear, but not the kind that comes from losing someone. It was the kind that comes from losing control.

He brought my fingers to his lips and kissed them, then my knuckles, and then my forehead.

"Don’t ever do that again," he whispered. "I can’t lose you."

The performance was perfect. Every movement, every soft word, fit the image of a man desperate and devoted.

I let him have the scene. I let him think his show had convinced me. I forced a small, tired smile that read as confusion rather than accusation and said, "I won’t."

Relief washed over his face, and he tightened his grip on my hand as if that would anchor him.

But the truth sat under my ribs like a stone, and I held it there.

He had taken my mother from me.

He had married me because it suited him.

He would discard me the moment I became inconvenient.

All of that was clear as daylight now, and the grief for what I had lost mixed with a cold clarity that felt like new bone setting inside me.

Silas told me he would be leaving for a summit with the Northern Council, a routine exchange between packs that the Alphas called diplomacy.

“Three days,” he said as he ran a hand through my hair in that practiced, gentle way. “I’ll call every night.”

He kissed my forehead and I smiled back, performing the role I had perfected.

I watched the convoy drive through the pack gates with its tinted windows and uniformed guards, and when the last vehicle disappeared I turned away and headed straight for the security wing of the Alpha residence.

I had been watching him for weeks, noticing the small habits he never thought mattered.

He tapped his thumb twice before entering a code, he forgot to switch camera feeds when he rushed, and people always stepped aside because no one wanted to test an Alpha’s domain.

Those gaps were all I needed.

The workstation in his office was still logged in when I arrived, his profile active on the screen as if he had only stepped out for a moment.

I sat in his chair, inhaled to steady myself, and opened the internal network. The medical archives were where they always were.

My mother’s file appeared immediately.

The diagnosis made my stomach drop: Critical organ failure.

The resolution line showed that the transplant had been approved through Alpha authorization.

Beneath it the recipient’s name was listed. Lyria Stone, Elara’s sister.

I sat with my hands on the desk until the truth settled. I did not break down in tears. Instead, something inside me narrowed until it was all focused.

My mother had not simply died of illness, her body had been taken to save someone else. Although her condition was terminal, she should still be able to live a few more months to a year.

If Silas didn't take her organs out, my mother won't die prematurely.

I leaned back in Silas’s leather chair and looked around the office that had once felt like the center of my life.

I clenched my fist and thought of how my mother had always treated Silas like a son. Silas had said Elara’s family had helped him when he was at his lowest, but he did not know that it had been my mother working behind the scenes.

She had done it quietly and without wanting recognition because kindness had been who she was.

But I was not my mother. I would not be kind in return.

A life for a life was the rule I would follow. He would regret what he had done.

I began collecting evidence immediately. I took screenshots, saved files, exported logs, and stored everything on a secure drive that could not be traced back to me.

I made multiple backups, organized the documents, and hid them where no one would look unless they already suspected betrayal.

When I finished, I logged out and restored the workspace exactly as it had been, leaving no sign that anyone had been there.

My first stop after that was a well-known law firm. The attorney looked up in surprise when I walked in without an appointment.

“You did not schedule—” he started.

“I need separation papers drafted and provisional custody,” I interrupted, placing the drive on his desk. “Everything you need is here.”

He hesitated. “Ma’am, this could provoke the Alpha.”

“It should,” I said. My eyes were red from holding in what I had learned but I did not let them water. “Draft it and hold it. Do not file until I give the order.”

He took the drive, plugged it in, and his face went serious as he scrolled.

“This is substantial. Financial manipulation, unauthorized medical authorization, misuse of pack resources.” He nodded when I repeated my instruction. “I will hold the documents until you say go.”

I left without small talk and went to the clinic on the edge of the Outlier Quarters. The clinic was small and discreet, the kind of place that did favors for wolves who fell through the cracks.

Doctor Riven, an old friend from college who had chosen to work where the city met the wild, waited outside smoking. He looked up when I approached and did not hide his surprise.

“You are really doing this?” he asked.

“Yes,” I replied.

He crushed the cigarette under his heel and shifted his weight.

“You sure? Once the bond is severed, you cannot form it with that same mate again. For the child, the bond matters.”

“I am sure,” I said. I handed him the plan and the evidence I carried. “I need a clean break. I want them to believe I am gone.”

He studied my face for a long moment and then led me inside to a sterile examination room. He worked quietly at the base of my neck where the mate bond could be released with a controlled procedure.

Before he began, he asked softly, “Are you certain? This is permanent.”

“My mother helped him in silence,” I said, meeting his eyes. “He repaid her with betrayal. I am not my mother. He will regret it.”

I sat in the waiting room with one hand resting on my lap, the other slowly rubbing my stomach.

The clinic was quiet except for the soft beeping of machines and the television playing softly in the corner. I was not paying attention to it at first, until I heard a familiar name.

“Silas Cross of the Silvercrest Pack and model Elara Stone spotted at an exclusive auction,” the anchor said.

I looked up. The screen showed Silas and Elara standing close together, quite intimate.

Elara's hand rested lightly on Silas' arm, while Silas looked at her the way a man looked at his wife, full of affection and longing.

They looked like a married couple.

“They look so good together,” I overheard someone beside me say. “They’re the perfect pair!”

“That’s true. I heard they’re secretly married.”

“Really? Gosh, that’s so sweet!”

I kept my eyes on the screen, then lowered my head. I sneered.

Silas had told me this was a business trip. But nothing about what I was seeing looked like business. It looked like two people preparing to walk down the aisle.

I inhaled slowly. I wouldn’t let this matter affect me and my baby.

A nurse stepped out from the hallway. “Ms. Lavender? The doctor is ready for you.”

I stood and followed her inside. The doctor greeted me with a soft smile.

“Any pain or discomfort since your last visit?” she asked.

“No,” I answered. I kept my voice steady. “Just a bit more tired.”

“That is normal,” she nodded. “Let’s check on the baby.”

The gel felt cold against my skin, but I stayed still. The monitor lit up, and I saw the tiny form I had memorized from earlier visits. Then the heartbeat filled the room.

It was steady, strong, and alive.

The doctor nodded. “Everything looks perfect. Your baby is growing well.”

Relief eased the tightness in my chest. I didn’t grow emotional, but something inside me settled. The doctor handed me the printed ultrasound picture. I held it carefully.

This was what mattered now.

After leaving the clinic, I drove straight to Silverstone Enterprises. Seeing the name, I realized Silas had combined his with Elara’s.

No wonder he would rather work than spend time with me.

The lobby was busy. People moved quickly, talking quietly. When the receptionist saw me, her expression shifted.

“Mrs. Cross,” she said carefully. “I’m sorry, but you can’t go in right now.”

“Why not?” I asked, keeping my voice calm even as my pulse quickened.

She hesitated. “Mr. Cross has an important visitor. He requested not to be disturbed.”

I blinked. I didn’t even know Silas was back from his trip.

“I am his wife. Surely he wouldn’t mind,” I said.

She looked uneasy. “I know, ma’am. But he left strict instructions.”

I looked at her, and seeing that she wouldn’t hesitate to block me, I turned away.

But I did not leave.

I walked down the hallway to the hidden staircase that led directly to his office floor. It didn’t take me long to get there.

His office was empty. But from the private room beside it, I heard muffled sounds.

The door was slightly open. I stopped and looked inside.

Silas stood near the bed. Elara was in his arms. They were kissing, slow and familiar. His hand rested on her waist.

She smiled against his mouth.

"The baby is growing well. Can you feel it move?" She asked.

Silas touched her belly and chuckled. "How could it already move if it's only a few weeks old?"

Something inside me went silent.

I lifted my phone. My hands did not shake. I took a picture. Then another.

I placed my resignation letter on his desk and walked out.

In the car, I opened a dummy account and sent the photos to Elara’s husband.

I typed, “Is this your wife?”

My ex-fiancé, Lawrence, had cheated on me and chosen Elara. Now Elara was here to take my husband again.

But I wasn’t letting her have him this time.

At home, I gathered everything Silas had ever given me and placed them in a pile on the living room floor.

I lit a match. The flames spread slowly, then grew, swallowing every trace of him. All the memories we shared, the love I thought would last forever, were now being reduced to ashes.

As I watched the fire climb, my phone chimed. A notification.

Silas and Elara were at a bar now. Lights. Drinks. Bodies pressed close. Elara had posted the photos, captioned:

“The best night with the best man.”

I chuckled and liked it. I hearted every picture and tagged Silas openly. I felt no fear. No hesitation.

Minutes later, Silas called.

“Eris, it’s not what you’re thinking,” he said.

The background was noisy, and I heard Elara’s voice calling for him.

“Really? Then what is that? A friendly picture?” I asked, watching the flames climb higher.

“It was just a dare between friends. It didn’t mean anything. You know that.”

“Of course,” I replied calmly, walking out of the house as it burned.

“I knew you’d understand. I’ll come home tonight. I heard you went to the hospital. Are you si—”

I ended the call and threw the phone into the fire, letting it burn to ash.

Outside, the sky was darkening. Sirens were beginning to scream in the distance.

I placed my hand on my stomach.

And then—

I felt the first sharp pain.