My Alpha's Heart Belongs Elsewhere

Lianna

A week before the mating ceremony, I found a small velvet box on my bed. My heart fluttered, and my lips curved into a smile when I opened it. Inside was a gold ring engraved with the cursive "Lia". It was a name Axl, my mate, and future Alpha of Greyland Pack, called me after our first meeting.

Axl and I had been inseparable after finding out that we were mates. We couldn't wait for the mating ceremony to be eternally bonded. I closed my eyes, put the ring on my finger, and imagined Axl placing it while reciting his vows. My heart soared with joy, and I giggled, but my ringing phone interrupted my imagination.

It was Axl. I immediately picked up, expecting to hear something sweet. Instead, his voice was slurred, drunken, and heavy.

"Lia... you gotta... come get me. The run... we went too far."

My stomach sank. Axl was drunk again. Tonight, he had his bachelor's party. He celebrated it with his closest friends, all males. The tradition was to drink and run wild as a final run of singlehood. But it looked like they had drunk more than run.

Irritated, I hurriedly grabbed my jacket and car keys. Axl loved to drink, and this was not the first time he overindulged. But I couldn't get angry because we were close to getting mated and living together.

When I arrived at the forest clearing where they had been running, I rushed to find Axl. But I froze when I spotted him. Axl was standing not with his closest friends but beside the only woman in the party. They were so close to each other and holding hands.

Then, I heard him murmur with a soft and affectionate voice into her ears, "Lia, I knew you'd come. You had never stopped caring for me."

I blinked with confusion. Lia? Wasn't I Lia? My heart started pounding and raced when the moonlight struck the woman's fingers. She was wearing a gold ring exactly like mine.

"Axl?" My voice trembled as I walked toward him. “What is this?”

He barely looked at me. He looked like he didn't hear me at all. Axl was lost and fixated on the woman beside him. Then, his eyes darted from me and the other woman.

"Lia... why... why are there two of you?" Axl asked, looking confused.

The imposter smiled with her eyes gleaming with amusement. She was tall with flowing brunette hair, an hourglass body, and an angelic face. But her lips smirked like a devil enjoying what was happening.

"Axl, you're drunk," she said softly with slight mockery as she turned to me. “Looks like you brought the wrong Lia to the party.”

My chest tightened, my mind reeling as I stared at her. Who was she? Why was she acting like he belonged to her?

"Lianna..." a friend interrupted as he approached me. He looked nervous and unsure. "Axl just had a lot of drinks. He doesn't even know what he is doing. I think you should take him home."

“Who is she?” I asked, my voice barely whispering while still looking at the woman smiling and flirting with Axl.

The woman rolled her eyes and chuckled, making my blood boil.

"Oh, don't worry, Lianna," she said with a wide smile. "I'm pretty sure I was born and named Lia. I'm the real Lia. Aren't I, Axl?"

Axl swayed, blinking at her and then at me. He smiled while saying, "Yeah. You... you're my Lia."

My heart broke into a thousand pieces. My hands trembled as I looked at the ring, I received two hours ago. I thought it was a symbol of his love for me, but now it meant nothing.

“What the hell is going on, Axl? Explain, now!" I demanded with a shaky voice.

But before he could respond, the woman removed the ring on her finger. She tossed it at me with a smirk.

"Here! It doesn't matter if I handed it to you. He'll just give it back to me anyway," she said.

My hands shook as I caught the ring. I looked at Axl, praying he would say something that would make sense to all of this. But instead, his eyes furrowed and darkened.

"Give it back! It's hers! It's for my Lia!" Axl growled like an animal protecting its cubs.

I felt like an intruder and an imposter. It punched me into my gut, and I stepped back. My chest tightened, and I almost couldn't breathe.

"Axl... what are you saying?" I asked, almost pleading with him to make me feel alright.

Axl moved forward, reaching toward me. He was slow and swaying but looked so dangerously furious. He grabbed my wrist and gripped it so hard it hurt.

"Give her the ring! Don't make me say it twice!" Axl yelled.

Tears blurred my vision as the realization that he was no longer the man I loved hit me. I slowly unclenched my fist and let the ring fall. Axl hurriedly picked it up and dropped to one knee in front of the other Lia.

"Lia, will you be mine?" he said softly, full of love.

My world shattered at the sight of Axl proposing to another woman. I couldn't take it anymore, so I ran. Simultaneously, Axl fell face-first and hit his head on the ground with a loud thud. He passed out before the other woman could even answer. Everybody gasped with worry and tried to help him to stand. But he was so wasted that he snored and couldn't wake up.

"Lianna! Lianna!" his friend called at me as I ran towards my car.

I didn't look back, ignoring his call. I didn't care what happened to Axl. All I wanted now was to be away from all of them. I needed to breathe, to think, and to cry.

"How could Axl propose to another woman named Lia?" I muttered hoping to calm me down while I let out a loud cry.