A Perfumer's Scent of Lies

I looked up. “How long have you two been together?”

Juliana smirked, her voice filled with victorious glee. “Three years. You know, Grayson was born powerful, and I'm so fragile. It was only a matter of time before he was drawn to me.”

She leaned closer, whispering in my ear, “I bet you didn't know—our first time was in the very sanctuary you prepared for your bonding ceremony.”

I bit my lip hard, forcing myself to suppress the rage of my inner wolf. If I hadn't, I might have lunged at her right then and there and torn her to pieces.

Sensing my restraint, she grew bolder. “He felt guilty then. That's why he gave you access to the Group's treasury. And you—” she let out a soft laugh, “—you actually thought it was proof of his love. How absurd.”

“A year ago, when you miscarried and nearly bled to death, you had your assistants searching everywhere for him. They couldn’t find him, remember?” She tilted her head, a vicious glint in her eyes. “Guess where he was? In my bed. So if you know what’s good for you, you’ll disappear on your own and return the title of future Luna to its rightful owner—me.”

Her every word was a fresh cut. Memories came flooding back—the pain of losing my child that day had been so unbearable I had almost lost my life. My assistants had searched everywhere for Grayson, desperate to bring him back to me. But he was nowhere to be found.

Now I knew why.

My vision blurred.

Seeing my composure finally crack, Juliana reveled in her victory. She planted her hands on her hips and declared, “Next weekend, Grayson and I will be co-hosting a baby shower. You should come and watch—see how a real heir is introduced to the Pack. You never even had that chance, did you?”

She left, humming a little tune, while I collapsed in the shadows of the dim hallway, crying until darkness claimed me.

When I woke up, it was the next day.

Grayson was sitting by my bed. The moment I opened my eyes, he pulled me into his arms. “Elara, you’re awake! What happened? Why did you faint?”

“You know, Grayson,” I murmured, a bitter smile on my lips. “Sometimes I really envy Juliana.”

His expression froze. “What?”

“At least she’ll have a child of her own soon. If I… if I’d only been able to have our pup sooner, maybe things would have been different.”

Panic flashed across his face. “Why are you suddenly saying this? Has someone been filling your head with nonsense?”

“You don't need a pup to prove anything,” he rushed to assure me. “I will never leave you.”

I said nothing. I just looked at him.

Growing more and more desperate, Grayson shot up from his chair, yanked open the door, and summoned all his top executives over the internal comms system. “Get every female executive I’ve had contact with in here. Now!”

Before long, four or five impeccably dressed women walked into the room.

Grayson turned to them. “Tell your future Luna the nature of our interactions over the past few days.”

The first to speak was the finance director. “Three days ago, President Grayson accompanied Miss Elara to the medical center. I saw him then.”

The second was the Group’s chief nutritionist. “A few days ago, President Grayson consulted me about Miss Elara’s diet.”

The third was the head designer. “Yesterday, President Grayson summoned me to have a new evening gown custom-made for Miss Elara.”

One by one, they answered, and with each response, the tension in Grayson's shoulders eased. Every interaction, he had proven, was centered around me.

He let out a breath, as if this pathetic display had proven his fidelity.

And I just watched the performance unfold, unmoved.

Then, when silence fell, I finally spoke. “What about Juliana? She was here yesterday too, wasn't she?”

His entire body went rigid. “Juliana?” He feigned confusion. “Why bring her up? You know I’m just taking care of a helpless human.”

His denial was swift, but his voice trembled, strained and unnatural.