A Genealogist's Broken Pact

For five years, I served as the chief bloodline genealogist for my fated mate, Alpha Travis Valerius of the Scarlet Sun Syndicate. And for the fifth year, he gave the credit for an alliance I had secured to someone else.

As always, a wave of calm washed over me through our powerful mate bond—his attempt to soothe me. "This is for the future of the entire pack, Aveline. Just wait a little longer. Wait until we've consolidated all the ancient packs, until our syndicate is the most powerful on the East Coast. I promise, you will be the only Luna standing by my side."

At twenty-one, I was a fool, willing to offer up my loyalty and my suppressed inner wolf for the future of what he called "us." Now, at twenty-eight, years of toiling in the shadows and endless compromises had eroded the last scraps of love and patience I had for him.

I packed up my research lab, surrendered my ambition of becoming a legend in the syndicate, and finally, I walked away.

Travis, I'm done waiting.

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1

At the Scarlet Sun Syndicate's victory celebration on the East Coast of North America, city lights glittered outside the floor-to-ceiling windows. Inside, the air crackled with palpable energy. The East Coast’s most elite wolves moved through the room, their tailored suits and sharp gazes a thin veneer over the predators lurking within.

Travis stood in the spotlight. A natural-born Alpha, his golden eyes had once captivated me, just as they had compelled countless other she-wolves to submit. He scanned the room and announced that Corinne, the daughter of the Sterling Ridge pack's Alpha, would serve as the chairwoman of the newly formed high council.

I gripped my martini glass so tightly my knuckles turned white. A moment later, the crowd rose to their feet in a thunderous ovation.

I had been researching bloodlines for him for five years. It was the year our unspoken agreement—five years of my service in exchange for the Luna title—was set to expire.

My fated mate, the leader of this syndicate, had just given the position he had personally promised me to another woman. In a single moment, he had installed her on a throne of power, shoving me off an invisible cliff.

Corinne, dressed in a blood-red haute couture gown, descended gracefully from the stage. The crisp click of her high heels on the polished marble announced her arrival as she headed straight for me.

"Oh my god, Aveline, I am so, so sorry," she said, her bright blue eyes wide with a practiced innocence that proved her talent for political theater far surpassed her understanding of bloodline pacts.

"I never thought I'd get this seat," she said with a dramatic sigh.

Then, Travis strode over, one hand casually tucked into his suit pocket. He declared proudly, "Victors don't need to apologize, Corinne."

He paused, his gaze sweeping past me without a second glance.

"Aveline, she's not familiar with the ancient pacts. You'll need to show her the ropes. You know how important this merger is to the pack. We'll find another opportunity for you."

The two of them stood before me, a perfect power couple.

Travis's arm hovered protectively behind Corinne, whose smile was dazzling. Their scents—his potent musk and her cloying perfume—intertwined, heralding a new power dynamic.

I stared into Travis's eyes, searching for any flicker of guilt or remorse in their golden depths. I found nothing.

He had completely forgotten what happened that winter five years ago, when his syndicate was on the verge of collapse and desperate to absorb a new pack. For him, I had given up my right to inherit the leadership of my own family's pack, bringing all my loyalty and talent to serve under him.

If I helped him make the Scarlet Sun Syndicate the most powerful alliance in North America within five years, he promised I would be his one and only Luna, with power equal to his own. Otherwise, I would forever be just a tool in his shadow.

Driven by that promise, I deciphered one forbidden bloodline archive after another for him, facilitating one thorny pack merger after another.

I had gambled everything on it. And at the final moment of our final year, Travis had shattered all my hopes with a single appointment.

I realized this wasn't a fairytale, and there would be no happy ending for me. I couldn't give the Scarlet Sun Syndicate another five years. And my grandmother, far away on the Northwest Coast of North America, was growing old, her time running out.

There won't be a next time, Travis.

Camera flashes exploded in our direction. I took a step back, forcing the most elegant smile I could manage.

"Congratulations to you both." I paused, letting the silence hang in the air, then finished with pointed sarcasm, "Your union is truly a blessing for all our packs."