The Alpha's Dirty Little Secret No More

For five years, my fated mate, Alpha Killian, has used my body to survive his ruts. He’s never marked me.

For five years, I’ve choked down suppressants to hide our bond from the world.

Until tonight. Tonight, when he was finished, he told me to be at the full moon ceremony.

I thought he was finally ready to claim me. To make me his Luna.

But he just smirked and told me he was mating Vivian.

The daughter of an Alpha. A pureblood.

And me? I was nothing more than his dirty little secret. The cure for his rut.

He walked away. I wiped my tears, went back to my apartment, and threw out all my suppressants.

My best friend thought I’d lost my mind. She asked if I was declaring war on the Alpha.

I shook my head.

No. I'm erasing him.

Then, I accepted Alpha Adrian’s invitation. Alpha Adrian. A rival from Europe.

In seven days, I would leave forever.

My fated mate slept with me for five years. I thought he was finally going to mark me, but instead, he chose to mate with another powerful she-wolf.

I lay on the tangled sheets, my body aching.

Killian sat on the edge of the bed, his back to me. Red scratches covered his broad shoulders. I'd put them there.

His long fingers brushed the back of my neck. Right over my scent gland.

My breath hitched.

Five years.

Every time he lost control during his rut, he took me. He used our bond to soothe his inner beast.

But he never bit down. Never gave me the mark that should be mine.

Today felt different. His fingers lingered there.

"Be at the full moon ceremony tomorrow," Killian commanded, his hand dropping away.

My heart hammered against my ribs.

The full moon ceremony was the pack’s most sacred ritual. Was he inviting me to finally make me his Luna?

Hope surged through me. This was it. Everything I had ever wanted.

But the passion in his eyes was gone.

Killian stood and walked to the closet, pulling on an expensive, tailor-made suit.

When he turned back, the wild desire was gone. All that was left was the cold, calculating Alpha.

"I need you to manage the press," he said, his back still to me. "I'm announcing my mating to Vivian."

Ice flooded my veins.

A mating? Vivian?

She was the daughter of an Alpha. A pureblood. Everything I wasn't.

"What do you mean?" I whispered.

He looked at me like I was a stranger, a cruel smirk on his lips.

"Freya," he scoffed. "You didn't actually think I'd make you my Luna just because of some twist of fate, did you?"

His words were a silver knife twisting in my heart.

"This," he gestured to our ruined bed, "is all we are. You're a convenience. A warm body for when the rut takes me."

I wanted to scream, but the words were stuck in my throat.

"Vivian is the right choice. She has the bloodline, the connections. She brings power to the pack."

"What about all these years…?"

"You?" He paused, a cruel sneer twisting his lips. "Just do your job. You'll be well compensated."

The door slammed shut.

The room was filled with our mingled scents, and I was all alone.

I sat on the bed and stared at myself in the mirror.

The skin on my neck was still smooth.

He was right. I was just a tool to satisfy his instincts.

Rain began to patter against the window.

I got dressed and walked out into the stormy night.

Back in my apartment, I ripped open the drawer and stared at the bottle of suppressants.

Fifty thousand dollars a bottle, designed to mask the connection between Mates.

For five years, I’ve used it to hide his scent on me. To hide him.

Not anymore.

"God, are you crazy?" my best friend, Maya, stared as I tossed the bottle into the trash. "Do you know how much that costs?"

"I don't need it anymore."

My voice was terrifyingly calm.

"Freya, are you sure? Are you declaring war on the Alpha? Without the suppressants, everyone in the pack will smell the bond between you and…"

"I'm not just leaving him," I cut her off. "I'm rejecting the Bond."

Maya gasped, her eyes wide with shock. "You're what?"

I pulled out my phone and found an email buried in my spam folder.

From a pack in Lyon, France. An Alpha named Adrian.

He’d been trying to hire me as his personal consultant for a long time.

I hit reply.

"Alpha Adrian, I accept your offer."

Sent.

Maya gasped. "You're leaving?"

"I am." I locked my phone, the screen going black. "Get my passport," I said, my voice ice. "In seven days, this pack will be a memory."