I was Alpha Adrian's secret for eight years.

It took his grandfather’s centennial birthday for him to finally bring our son, Gale, and me home to the pack.

He swore the pack Elders had finally given us their blessing.

Our son, buzzing with excitement, bounced on the bed, clutching the champion’s medal from his junior fighting tournament.

He’d fought tooth and nail to win it, just to make his father proud.

But the moment we set foot on the Blackwood Manor grounds, we saw him.

Adrian, with his arms wrapped around a blonde she-wolf, kissing her deeply.

Adrian introduced her with a smile. "My mate, Sophia"

Our son, Gale, rushed forward to confront him, stabbing a finger toward the seemingly perfect bite mark on my neck.

"That's the mark Dad gave Mom! You all see it!"

But the pack’s Head Elder stepped forward.

After a cursory glance, he let out a cold sneer.

"A clever trick of blood magic," he said with contempt. "It can mimic a scent, but it lacks the soul-deep connection of a true mate bond. Any experienced wolf can see through it."

I turned to Adrian, my body frozen stiff.

He turned away from me, gently stroking the real mark on Sophia's neck, which glowed with a silvery, moonlit light.

"The Blackwood pack will not accept a half-blood who can’t even shift" he said. "The only one fit to stand by my side is Sophia."

I looked at him, and a bitter laugh escaped me.

To think I had suppressed my own Royal Alpha blood for a man like this.

I was Alpha Adrian's secret for eight years.

It wasn't until I walked in on him kissing his first love that I learned the mating mark he gave me was a fake.

I touched the back of my neck in disbelief.

"Eight years! You lied to me for eight whole years?!"

Everyone’s eyes were on me, but I could only see Adrian's expressionless face.

The face I had kissed countless times, the one I thought I would spend my life with.

"What is this, then?" I ripped my collar open, revealing the delicate, crescent-shaped bite mark. "What the hell is this?"

"Don't cause a scene, Elena," Adrian's voice was terrifyingly calm.

Causing a scene?

A disbelieving gasp escaped me, and I staggered back.

For eight years, I had suppressed my own Royal Alpha blood, turned down a career I dreamed of, and cut myself off from my friends, all because he kept insisting, "The time isn't right."

"I'm causing a scene?" My voice trembled. "You're the one who made a fool of me!"

I walked toward him, needing an explanation, needing him to say this was all a misunderstanding.

But Adrian pushed me away, his touch cold and dismissive.

Like he was shoving away a stranger, a nuisance.

"That's enough. It's time for you to go."

That push was crueler than any words.

The whispers around us erupted into a storm of murmurs.

"Poor woman. Used as a replacement and didn't even know it."

"Did she really think the Blackwood pack would want an outsider as their Luna?"

"Look at the kid. He's not a pureblood. Just a mutt."

Every word was a knife, twisting in my heart.

"Adrian, please tell me this isn't real," my voice broke into a sob. "We have Gale. We're a family!"

"A family?" Sophia suddenly spoke, her voice sickeningly sweet. She glided in front of me, a victor's smile on her face. "My dear Elena, haven't you figured it out yet?"

She stroked the true mark on her own neck, the one that glowed with silver light.

"That little trinket on your neck," she said, pointing at me with a perfectly manicured nail, "cost Adrian a hundred thousand dollars. He bought it from some decrepit Blood-Sorceress."

"It was forged in a full-moon ritual using Adrian's own blood. It doesn't just mimic a mark's scent; its true purpose was to cloud your senses and dull your instincts, trapping you in an illusion of love."

One hundred thousand dollars.

He spent a hundred thousand dollars to weave the perfect lie.

"You've lived in that lie for eight years," Sophia's smile widened. "The pack's entire inner circle knew the truth. You were the only fool kept in the dark."

She lifted her chin smugly. "See the difference? A real mark pulses with the heartbeat, glows softly when a mate is near. And yours? It's nothing more than a scar left by dead magic."

My legs started to give out.

"No... that's impossible..."

"Mommy?" Gale's timid voice cut through the noise. He was clutching his medal, his small face pale. "Is what Dad said... true? Is the mark a fake?"

He walked cautiously toward Adrian, looking up at the Alpha he had called 'Dad' for eight years.

"Dad, tell me it's not true." Gale’s eyes were filled with hope, the pure, innocent trust a child has for his father.

Adrian looked down at him, his eyes empty of any warmth.

"Let go." He roughly shook off the small hand clutching his trousers.

Gale stumbled backward, his small body slamming hard into a cold stone pillar.

"Ah!" The boy cried out in pain.

The medal clattered to the ground.

That medal was the proof of how amazing he was—proof he’d earned by training for three months, even competing with an injured arm, all so his 'dad' would see him shine.

Sophia sauntered over in her high heels.

She glanced down at the gold medal on the floor, and then, with a deliberate, cruel slowness, she brought her heel down and stomped on it.

A sharp crack echoed as the medal split in two.

"Little mutt," she sneered, "you will never be worthy of the Blackwood pack."

She ground the shattered medal under her heel, her eyes gleaming with malice. "Just like your mother. Both of you, shameless fakes."

"No!" Gale cried, scrambling for it. "That's mine!"

Seeing my son humiliated like this, something inside me snapped.

I lunged forward to protect him.

But before I could reach him, a cold hand clamped down on my shoulder.

"Elena."

Victoria’s voice was like ice, each syllable laced with the authority of her rank.

Adrian’s mother, the former Luna of the Blackwood pack, stood elegantly behind me.

She walked toward the broken medal, her gaze filled with disgust.

"You shouldn't have brought this mutt to defile our sacred gathering."

With a disdainful kick, she sent the broken medal flying toward a trash can in the corner of the garden. "We don't welcome things of inferior blood here."

"No!" Gale let out a heart-wrenching scream.

He stumbled toward the trash can, his small hands digging frantically through the filth. "That's mine… I trained for three months for that…"

His voice was choked with sobs, tears streaming down his face.

I saw the bandage on his arm begin to soak with fresh blood.

For that medal, he had trained late into the night, refusing to stop even when he was hurt.

After every session, he would ask me, "Mommy, will Dad be proud of me?"

And I always said, "Of course, baby. Dad will see how amazing you are."

"He is your grandson!" I screamed at Victoria, my voice raw.

"I have no such embarrassing grandson," Victoria scoffed. "A half-blood, worthy of the Blackwood name? Don't make me laugh."

"Please…" Gale cried, pulling the broken pieces from the trash. "It's my most precious thing… Please don't throw it away…"

Seeing my eight-year-old son kneeling by the garbage, my heart felt like it was being ripped from my chest.

The royal blood I had suppressed for eight years began to boil, a powerful Alpha aura leaking from me, raw and uncontrolled.

"Gale, don't cry. Come to Mommy." I tried to go to him, but Victoria blocked my path.

"Elena, control your whelp."

"Poor little thing," Sophia cooed, walking up to me.

"Still daydreaming." She suddenly gave me a hard shove.

I stumbled back, my spine slamming against the sharp edge of the stone steps.

A searing pain shot through me.

"Mommy!" Seeing me hurt, Gale dropped the broken medal and ran toward me without a second thought. "Mommy, are you okay?"

He was already weak from Adrian shoving him into the pillar.

He was running so fast now that his little face was flushed red.

"I'm okay, baby, I'm okay…" I reached out for him.

But Gale's foot slipped.

Time seemed to stand still.

I saw his small body falling toward the stone steps, I saw the terror in his eyes, and I heard my own desperate scream.

"NO—"

A sickening CRACK echoed as his head slammed into the sharp corner of a step.

Blood gushed out instantly, staining the white stone red.

"Gale!" I scrambled to him and pulled him into my arms.

My hands were immediately covered in warm blood.

"It's okay, baby, Mommy's here…" But there was so much blood.

His little face was turning pale as paper.

"Adrian! Call the pack doctor!" I screamed, my voice thick with tears.

Adrian just stood there, watching it all unfold with a detached expression.

"Stop the act, Elena."

Act?

I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"Your son is bleeding!" I shrieked hysterically.

"He's a werewolf. He has regenerative abilities. He's not going to die," Adrian’s voice was chillingly calm. "Did you really think a stunt like this would win you any sympathy?"

Regenerative ability?

Gale had never shifted, never awakened his wolf.

He didn't have strong regenerative abilities!

I didn't have time to explain.

I tried to pick Gale up and run, but two pack warriors blocked my way.

"Get out of my way! He needs a doctor!"

"Ma'am, please calm down," one of them said, his face a blank mask. "Don't disturb the ceremony."

I looked back at Adrian.

He was kneeling in front of Sophia, gently fixing a strand of her hair that the wind had misplaced.

He was completely ignoring his dying son.

"Mommy…" Gale's voice was a faint whisper.

He struggled to lift his small hand, still clutching the broken pieces of his medal.

Blood dripped from between his fingers, stark and horrifying in the moonlight.

He tried to open his eyes, looking at me with confusion and hurt.

"Mommy… I just wanted Dad… to see I was strong…"

With those words, his eyes fluttered shut, his small body going limp.

The small body in my arms was growing colder.

I shoved the two warriors aside with all my strength.

"Get out of my way!" Desperation gave me a power I never knew I had.

I scooped Gale up and ran for the main gate like a madwoman.

He felt lighter in my arms, his breathing growing fainter.

A horrifying trail of crimson marked my path on the ground.

"Hang on, baby. Mommy's taking you to a doctor."

I reached the parking lot, fumbling to open the car door.

I jammed the key in the ignition and twisted.

Nothing.

"No, no, no…" I twisted the key again and again.

The engine just made a choked, clicking sound before falling silent.

Someone had tampered with my car.

An image of Sophia’s triumphant face flashed in my mind.

"That bitch!" I cursed, picking Gale up and running back.

I needed to borrow a car.

I needed to beg someone for help.

But as I reached the garden entrance, I saw a sight that shattered my heart.

Adrian was kneeling before Sophia, gently wiping a tear from the corner of her eye.

"It's okay, don't be scared," his voice was softer than I had ever heard it. "That crazy woman won't bother you again."

"Adrian, I'm begging you!" I dropped to my knees in front of him.

Gale was unconscious in my arms, his face as white as a sheet. "Save him! He's your blood! He's called you Dad for eight years!"

Tears blurred my vision, but I could clearly see that Adrian didn't even glance down at Gale.

"That's enough, Elena. Your act is pathetic."

I was holding my dying son, sobbing my heart out on the ground.

He called it an act?

"He's dying!" My voice shattered. "He's only eight!"

"A child of my bloodline doesn't die so easily," Adrian said, standing up and dusting off his pants. "I know you're jealous of me and Sophia, but you don't have to resort to such vicious lies."

"Ma'am, I'll take you." A young voice spoke up.

Adrian's Beta, Tyler, was suddenly beside me.

Without asking for permission, he gently took Gale from my arms.

"Quick! Get in the car!"

The car sped through the night.

I held my son tightly, feeling his life slipping away.

His body was getting colder, his breathing shallower.

"Faster, please, go faster!"

"I'm already at top speed," Tyler’s voice was tense. "Hang on, we're almost there."

But of all the terrible luck, we got into a car crash right in front of the emergency room.

"Luna, I'll handle the accident! You get Gale to a doctor! I promised the Alpha I'd take care of—"

"Doctor! Help!" Gale was a dead weight in my arms.

I didn't hear the rest of what Tyler said.

I just grabbed my bloody son and ran inside.

The heavy doors swung shut.

The red light above the door lit up.

I collapsed onto a cold chair, my hands covered in my son's blood.

It was still warm, as if he had just been talking in my arms moments ago.

Suddenly, Adrian's voice echoed in my head through the mind link.

I took a deep breath and answered.

"Elena, where are you?" His tone was rushed, as if he wanted to calm me down quickly. "I know you're angry. I didn't expect my mother to do that. But trust me, this is just a temporary measure!"

"A temporary measure?" my voice was a hoarse whisper.

"For the good of the pack, I need to mate with Sophia. But I swear to you, my heart is only with you. Once I've secured my position as Alpha…"

The good of the pack?

My son was fighting for his life, and he was talking about the pack?

"Your son is dying!"

"Enough! Stop threatening me with that. He has werewolf blood, his healing is strong enough. There's no way he's in any real danger!"

I heard a door open on his end.

Adrian, in his arrogance, hadn't even bothered to close the mind link.

"Darling, did that crazy woman give you any more trouble?" Sophia's sweet voice dripped with venom.

"No, my love," Adrian’s voice was gentle.

"You're so clever, fooling her with that fake mark for so long," Sophia giggled. "If I hadn't needed time to clean up my own mess in Europe, you wouldn't have been stuck playing house with her for so long."

Playing house.

There it was again.

"Elena was just a substitute I found while you were away," Adrian's breathing grew heavy, as if he was lost in Sophia's kisses. "Now that I've gotten what I needed from her, it's time to get rid of her."

"What about the little wolf pup? Won't you feel guilty if he actually dies?" Sophia's voice was closer now.

"Guilty about what?" Adrian scoffed. "He's just a mutt. He's not a threat. This is all just a game Elena is playing."

Tears streamed down my face as I cut the link.

I couldn't listen anymore.

Eight years.

My entire eight-year union was an elaborate, carefully planned lie.

Everything I had given up for him meant nothing.

I was just a substitute, a plaything.

And my son, the boy who asked me every day, "When is Daddy coming home?" was nothing but a "mutt" to him.

The emergency room doors opened.

A doctor took off his mask and walked toward me, his eyes full of apology.

"I'm so sorry. We did everything we could. The child lost too much blood, and… he didn't have a werewolf's regenerative abilities…"

A primal howl of pure agony tore from my throat.

The next second, I threw myself onto Gale's cold, still body.

For eight long years, my Gale had lived like a rogue, never accepted by his father's pack.

I just wanted to hear him call me 'Mommy' one more time.

But now, he just lay there.

His sweet face was colorless, so quiet, as if he had never been in this world at all.

Fueled by overwhelming grief and rage, the ancient seal that had suppressed my power for eight years shattered into dust.

A primal and pure Alpha power erupted from me, so immense that every werewolf in the hospital felt it and dropped to their knees in terror.

I held Gale and cried all night.

When the sun rose, I shakily called my father to handle Gale's arrangements.

Then, I went home, clutching Gale's last belongings.

The broken medal I’d fished from the trash, and his favorite stuffed toy.

The moment I pushed open the door, the cloying, tangled scents of Adrian and Sophia hit me like a physical blow.

They dared…

On the night my son died, in our home, they were celebrating their victory.