Tears streamed down my face as the pain gnawed at my heart. In the flickering light of the flames, I watched my mate, Alpha Balor, desperately clutching Susan—his mistress, his so-called "true love"—as they hurried away. Not once did he look back to check on me, even though I was fighting for my life.

“At least for our... child...” I gasped, my voice barely audible through the thick smoke that made it hard to breathe. Before I lost consciousness, the last image burned into my mind: my mate, holding another shewolf, completely ignoring me as they escaped the inferno.

“You’ve broken a few ribs, Luna. And…” The doctor’s words hit me like a sledgehammer. “I’m sorry to say, you’ve lost the baby.”

“If you’d been brought in just twenty minutes earlier,” the doctor continued, “we could’ve saved it.”

Tears blurred my vision as the crushing weight of the loss hit me. My baby—gone.

Later that night.

“Can you make dinner for Susan?” My mate’s voice snapped me back to reality. I looked up, heart breaking as I lay there, mourning the child I would never hold. His words struck like a blow. “Susan doesn’t want the chef’s food,” he added. “She wants your lamb soup.”

I could hardly breathe as the cruel absurdity of it sank in.

Susan stood nearby, cold and composed, her voice dripping with disdain. “The last sauce you made had too much chili. I don’t know if you were trying to kill my baby—”

“Wait, what?” My head spun as I walked towards her. “What do you mean, baby?”

“Help!” Susan screamed, acting as if I was about to attack her.

In an instant, Alpha Balor shoved me aside with brutal force.

“How dare you lay a hand on her?”

Days later, I dialed a number I never thought I’d call.

“Alpha Damian Brooks, I’ve made up my mind. I want to join your pack.”

....

Trinity’s POV

When a fire, which was started by the new intern, Susan, engulfed the company, I screamed my mate's name. But he was rather occupied in tending to Susan, his assistant, who was already safe.

I was broken to the bones as I watched this happen, and panic enveloped me. While trying to save others, I'd been left behind in these rising flames.

I looked to my left and found a window. But the way down was over a hundred feet. Below, I could see him, Alpha Balor of Nightshade Pack, his arms wrapped around Susan.

Seeing that my life was in my hands and the fire was already in the room, I jumped.

I crashed into a pile of burning cars and my body seemed to explode.

I screamed and cried as I rolled out of the burning cars.

In the corner of my eyes, I saw Alpha Balor jump into his SUV with Susan in his arms.

"Balor!" I cried with my last strength.

All I got was a weary glance as he drove away.

Two hours later, I woke up in the hospital. A doctor approached me and gave me a rundown of my state.

"You broke some ribs, Luna Trinity. And... I'm sorry to say this, you also lost your pregnancy."

Tears fell from my eyes as pain sat deep in my heart.

"Notwithstanding the burn wounds, if you had been brought just twenty minutes earlier,” said the doctor, “it'd have been saved. It's only a miracle that you still breathe."

"How did I get here then?" I whispered through my tears.

"Your Wolf walked all the way to our hospital, covered in blood and burn wounds. She collapsed. And you were found in her place."

Just then, the door burst open and a nurse ran in. "The Alpha's here!" she said, fear written all over her face.

"He must be here to see the Luna," the doctor said and smiled gently at me.

The nurse almost grabbed him by the hand. "I don't think so, doctor… please come."

"The Luna might not make it if I leave her!" he said.

The nurse wasn't having it. "He demands your urgent attention now. In his mansion. You know how ruthless Alpha Balor can be!"

"Go," I said to the doctor, even though I wept silently. I'd been mated to Alpha Balor for four years and we were about to have the official mating ceremony. Only for this to happen. Was this how unbelievably little he cared for me?

Seeing that the hospital was saturated with thousands of people needing treatment, I forced myself up and staggered home.

I crashed into my bed, bandages wrapped all over my body.

I could hear Susan moaning upstairs as the doctor tended to her mild wounds. Once a while, I heard Balor's soft voice comforting Susan. For over two hours, the doctor wasn't allowed to leave.

I cried until my eyes burned. An hour into midnight, Balor walked into my room and casually asked if I was alright.

I ground my teeth, my wolf growling in anger.

"Can you make dinner for two?" he said and I sharply looked up, his words hitting me like a punch. "Susan doesn't want to eat the chef's food," he continued, "she wants your lamb soup. I'm sure you can do that."

"Balor..." I finally breathed. "You see..."

He punched the air. "Oh come on, Trinity, don't begin with this pity game. I'm not blind. I saw you take that clean jump after saving everyone. You're a hero, yeah, yeah. But come back to reality now. Get up and fulfil your Luna duties. The Nightshade Pack is going through a rough time now, don't make it any harder."

He walked out, banging the door. He went straight back to Susan's room.

I forced myself to my feet and began the cooking. An excruciating hour later, I served the meal, walked into the shower to clean myself.

"Already done?" Balor walked into the room and admired the meal. "Doesn't look as good as always but can suffice," he mumbled.

He stared at me, then asked, "Oh come on, are you still angry I didn't leave a dying woman to come save you? When it was clear you could save yourself?"

I didn't answer him as I rummaged through my dresses.

"Fine, stop crying now." He grabbed a first aid box, mumbling. "What could you do without me, Trinity?"

As he reluctantly dabbed around my wounds, he had a disgusted face.

Yeah, for these years I'd been silently suffering on my own, what could I do without him?

I do not want this fake love anymore, I thought.

*

I woke up covered in sweat and blood. My wounds hurt like hell.

Alpha Balor barged into my room. "What the hell, it's 7 in the morning. Susan's already out even though she's wounded. Why are you still in bed?"

I stared at him and got flashes of the years when he'd been the best lover anyone could have. Susan had then come along, a "Gamma orphan" from another pack, and everything had changed.

Balor, seeing I couldn't move, sighed. "Jesus, you always make me have to care for you. I'm taking you to the hospital."

Just before we stepped into his car, Susan came running downstairs. "Are you leaving, Balor?" she whimpered, a clearly fake hurt expression on her face.

Balor's soft expression toward me immediately changed. "Come back inside for just a minute, Trinity. Susan really needs your lamb soup. It helps her relax. Come, please. It won't last long."

Trinity's POV

As I prepared the soup, the pain in my ribs returned and I broke down in tears. As I sobbed, the door creaked open.

"How's it coming up?" Susan said, her voice laced with spite and mockery.

"What do you want?" I asked, my jaws tightening as my wolf threatened to surface.

Susan stood straight. "The last sauce you made had quite a lot of chilli. I don't know if it was your plan to kill my baby—"

"Wait, what?" My ears rang. "What do you mean baby?"

Susan, realizing what she'd said, stepped back and covered her mouth. I covered the space between us, my insides boiling.

"How did you get pregnant, Susan?" I asked, grabbing her by the dress. "Was it the Alpha?"

"Help!"

The next moment, the Alpha burst into the room and violently pushed me away.

“How dare you lay hands on her? What has come over you?”

“What has come over me?” I asked, struggling to keep my voice even. I watched with horror as he gently kissed Susan's neck where I had held her.

He turned to me, his voice raised. “I treat you with so much love, respect and care. Yet all you do is find ways to embarrass and disgrace the important people around me.”

Just as he was speaking, I unbuttoned my dress to reveal the bandages that were around my body, holding my ribs together.

Susan cringed in disgust. The Alpha spat and crunched his nose.

Tears ran down my face as I said, "Alpha, this is what I got because I sacrificed myself to save everyone in your company. I have endured so much ill treatment from you. I loved you even when you didn't care. Yet all you do is treat me like this?"

“Don't start this…” said the Alpha.

“You offer to take me to the hospital, sir.” I wasn't done. “And when Susan comes along, you're all over her. How am I supposed to feel about it? Do you know how painful these wounds are?”

“Hey Trinity!” Susan shrieked and burst out in tears which surprised me.

The next moment, she came to hug me. Then she whispered, “Don't fucking tell him I'm pregnant, I beg you.”

Then aloud: “I'm so sorry for all the pain I've caused you, Trinity. I had no idea it made things a little… uncomfortable for you two. I'd leave the packhouse for good. Maybe that —”

“Silence,” I snapped, unwilling to condone her lies.

“As you will, my queen.” She bowed and lowered her eyes.

I was stunned by this dashing pretense. How could she be so manipulative!

Alpha Balor stepped between us and held my shoulders softly, examining my wounds. He had a repentant look.

“This has been wrong for me, Trinity. I promise dearly to make it up to you.”

His voice was thick with feigned love and forced concern. Then he commanded a guard to drive me to the hospital.

The doctor stared at me for a long time and asked, “Are you aware you're pregnant?”

I blinked rapidly. “I think there's a mistake somewhere. The second doctor confirmed that I lost my baby during the fall.”

He pointed to a section on the screen. “That moving thing, Luna, is your baby. You never lost it.”

“You must not let anyone know about this, sir, not even the Alpha,” I said, my heart beating fast.

The doctor nodded. “Assured. But may I ask why? I mean, birthing an heir for the Alpha is one of the greatest things an Alpha would desire.”

I scoffed and gave no answer. For the rest of my stay, Balor didn't visit. And when I was discharged, he bought me a necklace made of emerald crystals and a cake I was allergic to.

“I know this is your favorite,” he said as he kissed my forehead.

The scent belonging to Susan clung to him and this broke my spirit again. Even when I was bedridden, he was with Susan?

I gently nudged him off but he held me tight. He walked me into a room where a party was being thrown to celebrate the anniversary of him meeting Susan.

I stood at the entrance, shocked. I turned to the Alpha and forced myself to remain calm. For four years, only once had he celebrated our mating bond.

Now this?

I nodded slightly and wished Susan and Balor congratulations. When I tried to move to my room, Balor said, “I also want to use this gathering to deeply apologize to Trinity for not being as present as I should be for her.”

He called that just “not being present”? Sleeping with another woman, abandoning me on several occasions — he called that not being present?

Later that evening, he told me I'd go with him to an all-important conference meeting.

“It's a conference meant for Alphas and their Lunas,” he said with a proud smile. “And you, beautiful, are the only one best to be beside me.”

My heart fluttered for a moment at this, and I almost believed he was speaking out of genuine love for me.

I hated it that a part of me still tethered to him.

But when the conference time arrived and I walked down to the Alpha's car in my best dress, I saw a sight that made my blood turn cold.

Trinity's POV

The spot where I was entitled to sit was occupied by…

“Susan?” I said, a cold washing down my spine as she turned to her cellphone.

Balor groaned. “You can just sit at the back, come on. Don't make this harder than it is. We're running late.”

I didn't move a muscle. I had a place and I was going to sit there.

Balor in anger tossed his credit card at me. “Book yourself a cab then. Go, Philip.”

I stood there, watching as the cars cruised out of the mansion. Left behind like a pile of dirt.

After a long while, I stepped on the card and got into my own car. Arriving at the conference, I was stopped by the bouncers.

“Only Lunas are allowed.”

“If you know Alpha Balor, you should know I'm his Luna!” I snapped, even though I could no longer believe this myself.

The guard frowned and consulted his list. “Alpha Balor filled in a Luna already.”

I shrugged. “Of course, that's my name.” What the hell was the matter with him?

“Are you Susan Rocks?”

It felt like I'd been punched. Had it gotten to the point where she'd take my place even on formal occasions?

The next moment, I saw Balor run out to the front door, panting. “What are you doing here?”

My jaws ground against each other as I glared at him. The feeling of hatred quickly replaced the ounces of love I had left for him.

“Susan, your Luna?” I asked.

“I just had to fill something in,” he snapped. “I pray, don't create a scene here, Trinity. If you insist on doing so, you can as well as stay outside. Your voice could be heard from the hall upstairs!”

I was stunned to speechlessness. My fingertips felt painful as my claws shot out for a millisecond.

“On second thought, come in,” he said.

After a moment of silent contemplation, I quietly agreed. From his expression, he was surprised at how calm I was. Some years ago, I'd have begun to tear the room apart with fiery jealousy.

Seated around the table were about eighteen Alphas from all the packs in the Region. Nestled beside them were their shimmering Lunas. I envied how they felt. Why was my story different? Why was Susan, a mere office assistant to the Alpha, sitting in my place?

I saw her pick up a glass of sparkling water, her eyes on me, lined with hidden mockery.

During the meeting, I was heavily distracted by Balor touching Susan's legs under the table. It was difficult to breathe.

“Do you have two Lunas?” an Alpha jokingly asked Balor.

“And what does that question mean?” Balor retorted, slamming on the table.

“I just wondered why —”

“Shove that wonder up your ass,” Balor barked. “I can't have you discredit the woman I love. Susan—uh— Trinity, fuck, Trinity is and shall remain my Luna.”

The tension in the hall was thick.

“Every day, I shower her with love and gifts. I name streets after her and I etch her name in the lips of every wolf in my pack.”

‘Stop taking his lies!’ my wolf screamed for the first time in a long while. ‘Why does he enjoy dragging you in the freaking mud?’

From beside me, Susan giggled.

Balor turned to me, his eyes two globes of fiery threat if I didn't comply. “Isn't that right, Trinity?”

I choked on water and started coughing. Balor, angry that his question was left unanswered, didn't attend to me.

“Is this how you love her?” the first Alpha sneered.

Balor was on his feet and grabbed my arm. “Come on, let's get the hell out of here. Susan, come with us.”

I was half dragged out of the hall. Once outside, Balor began to brawl. “You did that choking bullshit on purpose! It was so obvious. Get in the car fast.”

“I came in mine,” I said but he didn't take that.

Susan sat at the backseat, and during the silent ride home, Balor suddenly stopped the car.

“It just occurred to me that there's a family meeting —”

“And you want me to step down, yeah?” I asked, fury making me tremble.

“I love you because you're intelligent.” He allowed a tight smile, barely shielding his willingness to hurt me. “I'll drop Celine along the way.”

I came down from the car and they drove off. Again, I was in the middle of the road, clueless. Then I decided to follow them. In a cab, I tracked them with their scents.

I realized that they were heading for an underground hotel, where Balor would, again, spend the night with a woman that was not his Mate.

A woman that was not me.