Selena’s POV

On the sixth anniversary of our mating bond, I went to Cole’s office with two gifts to surprise him.

Alpha Cole Hale had been obsessed for months with a limited-edition Lycan Venator, it was the most expensive car in the werewolf territories. So I pulled every string I could, and called in debts just to get it for him. The keys were inside a black velvet box.

In my other hand was something far more precious. It was a pregnancy test with two clear lines. We had a pup to continue the Hale bloodline.

A wide smile was on my face when I walked into his office without knocking.

I wish I hadn’t. Because what I saw shattered everything.

Cole wasn’t alone.

He was with my best friend, Lydia.

Lydia sat on his desk like it belonged to her. Her blouse was open, her hair tousled, her lips swollen. She trailed her fingers lazily over his chest while he stood between her knees, his tie undone and his hand gripping her thigh possessively. My wolf could smell the scent of their arousal that was thick in the air.

My heart slammed against my ribs as my wolf screamed in pain inside me.

My best friend.

My mate.

For a moment, I couldn’t even breathe. The shock rooted me to the floor.

Lydia, the same woman who had stood beside me in the delivery room when Nora, my daughter, was born.

Lydia, the Beta’s cousin and my daughter’s godmother, and now she was in my mate’s arms, moaning into his mouth.

The betrayal hit harder than anything.

My chest tightened painfully as tears welled up in my eyes. I wanted to scream, to shift, to tear her off him, but I couldn’t move. I stood frozen in the doorway, the gifts trembling in my hands.

Then Cole’s phone rang. He groaned in irritation and pulled away from Lydia’s lips to answer it, but his hand stayed right where it was on her thigh.

“What the hell do you want now?” he snapped into the phone. “I paid you to keep quiet. Don’t push me.”

Lydia pouted as she traced circles on his chest.

“I already gave you enough money for the transplant,” Cole hissed. “You know how much I’ve spent to bury this.”

The word struck me like a blade. Transplant?

My stomach turned. I strained to hear the other voice, but couldn’t.

“I already paid you,” Cole continued furiously. “You gave the heart to Lydia, not to Nora. Nora is dead now, so why are you calling me?”

The ground tilted beneath me.

What did he mean?

My daughter’s heart was given to Lydia?

No. That wasn’t possible.

I couldn’t process it. My ears rang. My heart pounded so hard I could barely think.

Cole’s voice dropped to a threatening tone as he used his Alpha voice. “If this leaks, I’ll destroy you, Healer. Don’t ever call me again.”

When he hung up, Lydia smiled, resting her hand over his heart.

“I still can’t believe you did that for me,” she whispered, but it was loud enough for my enhanced hearing to catch. “You gave me her heart, Cole.”

He kissed her wrist with adoration in his eyes. “I told you, Lydia. I would do anything for you. Selena was too stupid to even notice. She signed the authorization herself. I told her it was for a pack alliance agreement, and she didn’t even read it.”

A choked gasp escaped me, but Lydia’s giggle covered it.

My legs trembled. His words echoed through my skull.

Two months ago, when the pack healer called to say a heart had become available, it felt like a miracle. Nora had been on the waiting list for three years. She had a rare defect, something that only affected one in a million werewolves. I remembered falling to my knees in relief when they told me there was a perfect match.

“We have a perfect match, Luna Selena,” the healer had said.

I prayed. I thanked the Moon Goddess for answering at last.

Two days later, Nora died on the operating table.

Cole told me it was a complication. He blamed the healers, and I believed him.

But it wasn’t an accident. He murdered our daughter.

He stole her heart for his lover.

Lydia had always complained about her weak heart, something that could be treated easily with medicine and magic. But she was lazy, and reckless. She ignored her treatments, then whined about the pain.

And now I understood why she hadn’t been at Nora’s funeral.

My best friend. The Beta’s cousin. My mate’s lover. My child’s godmother—and her killer.

I trusted her with my life, and she let me sob in her arms… while my daughter’s heart beat inside her chest.

Selena’s POV

Lydia leaned in closer to Cole, her voice dropping. “But Cole… what if Selena finds out? Aren’t you worried about what she might do?”

Cole chuckled coldly and smugly. “Selena? Please. She’s nothing without me. She cut her pack off for me, and now she has no one. She’s powerless. If she dares misbehave, I’ll cast her out as a rogue where she belongs.”

Lydia giggled.

The gift box slipped from my hands, landing on the floor quietly, but neither of them noticed as they were moaning into each other’s mouths.

Lydia was there the night Nora had her first heart attack.

She stayed up with me at the healer’s clinic, brought me food when I forgot to eat. She told me Nora was the light in her life.

A bitter laugh caught in my throat as I remembered her words. “Nora lives on inside me.”

She hadn’t been lying.

Tears blurred my vision as I stumbled back, struggling to breathe. My wolf whimpered in agony. My world had shattered in a single moment.

I picked up the gift from the floor, tears running down my face as I walked out without making any sound.

By the time I reached the living room, my legs gave out, and I collapsed on the couch as I began sobbing.

The tears wouldn’t stop. My chest hurt, and my throat burned. That was when my phone buzzed.

It was a picture on Instagram, posted by Lydia.

It was a photo of Lydia smiling beside a man as his hand gently cradled her belly.

His face wasn’t visible, but I recognized that watch instantly. I had gotten it for Cole at our last year’s mating anniversary.

His hand cradled her belly affectionately. “Our little pup (kiss emoji)”

I stared at the screen until my eyes blurred.

That was my mate, and that was my daughter’s heart, beating inside my best friend’s chest, my mate’s mistress.

I smashed the gift box against the wall and screamed until my throat burned. My wolf howled in pain, thrashing inside me.

My stomach twisted. I ran to the bathroom and threw up until my throat stung.

I wanted to claw my skin off. I sat on the cold tile, shaking as tears ran down my face.

This was my fault. I should have read the contract. I should have checked what I was signing, but I had trusted Cole blindly.

My hands shook as I clenched my fists tightly.

Cole had called me a nobody. He thought I had nobody.

But he was so wrong.

I reached for my phone and dialed a number I swore never to call again.

“Hello, Father. I’m ready to marry whoever you want me to. Come and pick me up in five days, after I finalize my divorce.” I said, trying to keep my voice from shaking.

“Divorce? I thought you were hopelessly in love with Alpha Cole Hale. Why the sudden change of heart?”

“He killed my daughter,” I replied. “And I want him to pay.”

My father’s voice sharpened. “I warned you, Cole was never worthy of you. He doesn’t deserve the dirt under your feet.”

I released a bitter laugh. “I know that now. And he’ll know it too, soon enough.”

My father’s tone hardened. “Then come home, Selena. Your brothers have been waiting. And Cole will learn what it means to make an enemy of the Ashfords.”

A tear slipped down my cheek at the thought of my five brothers. They were overprotective, loud, and violent. But they had always loved me, and I had thrown them all away for Cole.

They warned me. All five of them.

They told me he was scum, and I screamed at them to shut up.

I slammed the door in my father’s face the day I chose Cole.

“Tell them I’m coming home,” I whispered.

I hung up and looked around the house one last time.

In five days, I would be gone, but I will make Cole pay.

He took my daughter’s heart to save his mistress. Now I’ll rip out his world, piece by piece. That wasn’t just a threat. It was a mother’s vow.

Cole would finally understand what happened when you crossed an Ashford.

Because my father wasn’t just any man. He was Magnus Ashford, the Alpha of the Silvercrest Pack, the most powerful pack in America.

Selena’s POV

I didn’t wait. As soon as I hung up with my father, I grabbed the first suitcase I could find and dragged it to the bedroom. My hands shook, but I forced myself to focus.

There was no time to think, because if I stopped or slowed down, I would probably fall apart from the weight of what I had just learned.

I opened drawers, pulled out clothes without any care, and stuffed them into suitcases.

As I folded a dress, my hands froze. It was the one Nora had loved. “Mommy, you look like a princess in this.” My chest tightened, and I swallowed hard. Tears welled up in my eyes, but I blinked them back. Not now.

As I shoved another shirt into the suitcase, the door opened.

“Selena?” Cole asked from behind me. “What are you doing?”

I snapped the suitcase shut and turned to face him with a fake smile on my face.

“I’m just rearranging my closet,” I said lightly.

His eyes narrowed slightly as he scanned the messy room. He opened his mouth, but another voice cut in.

“Hey, Selena.”

I froze as my stomach twisted. Lydia’s voice. I hadn’t realized that Cole had come in with her.

My eyes glanced to her chest before I could stop myself, to the place where my daughter’s heart was beating. I had to resist the urge to lunge at her, to shift and claw the heart out of her.

I clenched my fists so tightly that my nails pierced into my palms. My daughter’s heart was beating inside her chest, and she had the audacity to stand in my bedroom, smiling at me.

I said nothing. If I opened my mouth, I would scream in rage. My wolf snarled inside me, begging to be released.

Then I noticed the bags. There were two designer suitcases behind Cole.

I furrowed my eyebrows.

Cole noticed where I was looking, and before I could ask, he smiled as if he had good news. “Lydia is going to be staying with us for a while.”

I blinked at him. “What?”

Before Cole could explain, Lydia interrupted with a little laugh, stepping closer. “Didn’t you hear? I’m pregnant.”

Her hand moved to cover her belly with a wide smile as if she was expecting me to gasp and squeal and hug her.

Instead, I raised an eyebrow. “And?”

Her smile faltered. For a moment, her mask cracked, and I saw the flicker of surprise at my cold reaction. She recovered quickly, her lower lip trembled as she tried to look sad. “I thought you would be happy for me, Selena. I mean… after everything we’ve been through.”

Happy? The word burned through me. What was I supposed to be happy about? The fact that she had ripped away everything from me.

Before I could speak, Cole’s voice cut in, sharp with anger. “Selena, what the hell is wrong with you? She’s your best friend. You should be happy for her. Instead you’re acting jealous and bitter.”

I turned slowly to him with a sneer on my face. Jealous? Bitter?

“Jealous?” I repeated, my voice was cold and icy. “Why on earth would I be jealous?”

His eyes flashed as his wolf surfaced. “Because she’s having a pup, and you—” He stopped himself, but the damage was done. His words pierced through me like silver.

Because I lost mine. Because he killed mine.

I took a deep breath, trying to stay calm and not explode. “Then tell me, Cole.” I pointed at Lydia. “Why is she moving here? Why does she suddenly need to live in this house? Why can’t she stay at the pack house?”

He stepped closer, clenching his jaw. “Because she shouldn’t be alone right now. She needs us. She needs help. That pup needs support.”

“Us?” I asked softly.

“Yes,” Lydia chimed in quietly, trying to sound pitiful. “It’s just until things settle down. I thought you, of all people, would understand.”

Cole nodded. “Exactly. She needs support. She’s part of this pack, Selena. And your best friend.”

I snorted in sarcasm. “She’s not my pack, and she’s most definitely not my best friend.” I spat.

Lydia flinched, and Cole frowned.

“Why are you jealous of her happiness, Selena? Instead of celebrating with her, you’re acting like this.” He pointed toward me with disgust. “Do you hear yourself? It’s pathetic.”

Pathetic.

The word sliced through me, but I didn’t flinch.

I tilted my head, glancing between the two of them with a bitter smile on my lips.

“With the way you’re acting, I have to ask, Cole,” I asked bitterly, “is it your pup?”

The room went silent.

Cole’s jaw twitched. Lydia’s eyes widened in mock shock.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Cole snapped, his Alpha command bleeding into his tone. “Of course it’s not mine.”

“Really?” I lifted an eyebrow. “Then why is she moving in with us? Why are you getting so defensive?”

“She’s alone, Selena!” Cole growled. “She has no one else, and she’s carrying a pup. What kind of monster would turn her away?”

What kind of monster would kill his own daughter? I asked myself.

The words echoed in my head, but I didn’t let them slip out.

Instead, I turned back to the suitcase and deliberately zipped it closed. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I would like to finish rearranging my closet.”

Cole murmured something to Lydia, and together they walked out of the room.

The moment they were gone, my smile fell. My hands shook as I gripped the suitcase. My wolf whimpered, broken and betrayed.