"Mrs. Matthews, once the experiment begins, you’ll need to assume a new identity and never see Alpha Weaver again. Are you certain you want to proceed?" The healer’s voice was calm, but her eyes bore into Jamie’s, searching for any hesitation. Jamie’s resolve was unshakable as she clutched her phone, the screen displaying the damning video—Aden Weaver, the Alpha of the Weaver Pack, and Cielo Moreno, an Omega, entwined on what used to be her bed. "I’m certain," Jamie replied, her voice steady despite the storm raging inside her. The healer nodded and slid a contract across the table. Jamie didn’t hesitate, signing her name at the bottom.

Her hand drifted to her stomach, where a life she had only just discovered was growing. But the explicit video had arrived just hours after she’d learned the news. The sight of Aden’s ring, the sound of his voice—there was no denying it. He had betrayed her. Again. A cold numbness settled over her as she hailed a cab to the pack’s clinic, her decision firm.

By the time she left the clinic, night had fallen. Jamie walked the streets of New York, her abdomen throbbing with a pain that mirrored the ache in her chest. She barely registered the car screeching to a halt beside her until a voice called out, "Luna Jamie, are you alright? Let me take you to the clinic!" It was Mason, a Delta from the Weaver Pack. She shook her head, forcing a smile. "Just a sprained ankle. I’ll be fine." Mason hesitated but nodded, watching her limp away.

Perhaps seeking some semblance of comfort, Jamie dialed Aden’s number, but it went unanswered. She let out a bitter laugh, the sound hollow in the empty street. She endured the pain alone, dragging herself to the packhouse. Just as she reached the door, Aden appeared, his tall, muscular frame silhouetted in the moonlight. His face was etched with concern as he pulled her into a tight embrace. "Jamie, I missed your call earlier. What happened? You scared me!" His voice was pleading, but the rumpled state of his clothes, the lipstick smudge on his neck, told a different story. Jamie’s eyes flickered over him, then dropped to the ground. "Just a sprain. I know you’re busy." When she met his gaze again, Aden’s guilt was almost palpable. "I’m so sorry, Jamie. My phone died during a meeting… I promise, it won’t happen again." *Next time?* Jamie thought bitterly. There would be no next time.

Inside the packhouse, Aden settled her onto the sofa, his hands warm against her cold skin. "Jamie, hang tight for a moment!" He rushed to the kitchen to make coffee but soon became engrossed with his phone. Only after the coffee had boiled dry did he snap back, knocking the pot to the floor in his haste. Jamie entered the kitchen, her eyes drawn to the phone screen—a sultry picture of black stockings. Aden ignored the mess, quickly pocketing the phone, then cleaned up before sidling up to her. "I got distracted. Never mind, I’ll order takeout. What are you in the mood for? But I can’t stay tonight. Will you be alright on your own?" As Aden received the picture, Jamie got the same one, along with snippets of their chat. The sender—Cielo—taunted her: "Do you know what kind of stockings Alpha Aden likes? Knowing you, you’d never let him indulge. Tonight, he’s mine again." Jamie didn’t respond, instead saving all the messages and photos. "It’s fine. You go ahead. I’ll wait for you to come back."

As always, Jamie adjusted Aden’s shirt collar, though her tears were cold this time. But Aden was too eager to leave for yet another meeting to notice any shift in her demeanor. Soon, she was alone in the packhouse. She retreated to her room, painfully packing her things. In just two weeks, she would vanish from Aden’s life forever, leaving all the betrayal and deceit behind.

Aden didn’t come home that night. Jamie’s phone buzzed relentlessly. Cielo sent detailed accounts of their encounters, making sure Jamie knew. "Do you know how relentless Alpha Aden is? Seven times in one night! My back’s killing me, and he still couldn’t let me go." "These kinds of toys, bet you’ve never tried them with him?" "Alpha Aden says you’re like a puppet in bed, always passive and dull, unlike me, who drives him wild." "Jamie, you’re thirty. No Alpha likes an older body. Why not step aside? He’s been tired of you for ages." Jamie read each message, her heart freezing, while the pain in her abdomen brought her cruel clarity.

Jamie Matthews sat cross-legged on the floor of her room in the Weaver packhouse, a stack of old photographs scattered before her. Each image was a snapshot of a different time, a different version of her and Aden Weaver. She traced a finger over the edges of one photo, her mind drifting back to when they were just pups. Aden’s parents had divorced when he was young, and Jamie had been his constant, his anchor through the storm. She remembered the way he’d cling to her after his father, the Alpha, had left the packhouse for good, his small frame trembling with the weight of it all.

Then came the collapse of her own family. Her parents, overwhelmed by debts they couldn’t repay, had chosen the river over the shame of failure. Jamie, barely an adult, had been left to face the aftermath alone. It was Aden, the future Alpha of the Weaver pack, who had stepped in. He’d claimed her as his future Luna, shielding her from the creditors who’d come snarling at the packhouse doors, demanding payment. Back then, his eyes had been clear, his resolve unshakable. He’d stood between her and the world, his Alpha aura radiating authority as he’d snarled at the intruders to leave his mate alone.

But that Aden seemed like a distant memory now. Jamie picked up another photo, this one of the two of them at a pack gathering, his arm slung around her shoulders, his smile wide and carefree. She stared at it for a moment before tossing it into the fireplace. The flames licked hungrily at the edges, devouring the image. One by one, she fed the photos to the fire, her laughter bitter as she watched the memories turn to ash. It was almost poetic, she thought, how something so beautiful could be destroyed so easily.

When the last photo was gone, she slipped the ring from her finger—a pink diamond, a symbol of their bond, of the mate bond Aden had sworn would last forever. She held it over the flames for a moment before letting it drop. The stone caught the light one last time before it was swallowed by the fire. She watched until it was nothing but embers.

It was nearly dawn when Aden finally returned, his scent thick with the acrid tang of betrayal. He wrapped his arms around her from behind, his body pressing into hers as though he could merge them into one. Jamie stiffened, her stomach churning with disgust. She wanted to shove him away, to scream at him, but her body refused to move. Instead, she stood there, frozen, as he buried his face in her neck and murmured, “Jamie, I missed you so much. I’m exhausted. Just let me hold you for a bit.”

Seven times. That was how many times he’d been with Cielo Moreno last night. Jamie’s wolf whimpered in the back of her mind, a sound of pain and betrayal. She swallowed hard, forcing down the bile that rose in her throat. Aden must have felt her tension because he pulled back slightly, his hands moving to her shoulders as he asked, “Are you feeling unwell?”

Jamie stepped out of his reach, her voice cold. “I’m fine. I already took some medicine.”

Aden nodded, relief flickering across his face. Just then, his phone buzzed on the nightstand. He glanced at it, then back at Jamie. “You should rest. I need to take this.”

Jamie arched a brow, her tone sharp. “Is there something you can’t say in front of me?”

He hesitated, then sighed. “I just didn’t want to disturb you. But if you’d prefer, I’ll put it on speaker.” He tapped the screen, and Cielo’s voice filled the room, sweet and syrupy.

“Mr. Weaver, I’m so sorry to bother you. I just wanted to confirm your flight is booked for tonight.”

“Got it. Next time, if it’s not urgent, just send a message.”

When the call ended, Aden turned back to Jamie, his expression softening. He reached out to pinch her cheek, a gesture that once would have made her smile. “It’s December,” he said. “The perfect time to see the snow in the Alps. Don’t you want to come with me?”

Jamie shook her head. “You know I’m allergic to cold air.”

Aden’s face fell, his brows furrowing in apology. “I’m sorry. I’ve been so busy lately, I forgot.”

Forgot. In the ten years they’d been together, Aden had never forgotten. Jamie’s wolf growled low in her mind, a sound of warning, of hurt. She tried to pull away, but Aden’s eyes caught on her bare ring finger.

“Jamie, where’s your ring?”

She thought of the ring now sitting in the ashes of the fireplace. “It felt too flashy,” she lied. “I put it away.”

“Flashy?” Aden chuckled, his tone light, as though he hadn’t just shattered her world. “I just wanted to give you the best. When I get back, I’ll get you a bigger one, okay?”

Jamie forced a smile, her voice flat. “Thank you, Aden.”

He seemed to relax at her response, his shoulders dropping as he leaned in to kiss her forehead. “Get some rest,” he murmured before heading for the door.

As it clicked shut behind him, Jamie sank to the floor, her wolf’s whimpers echoing in her mind. She stared at the ashes in the fireplace, the remnants of everything they’d been. And for the first time, she allowed herself to wonder if she’d ever truly been his Luna—or if she’d just been a placeholder all along.