After My Alpha Chose Betrayal Over Me

Three years had passed since that night—the night I'd made the gravest mistake of my life by forgiving Alexander. Three years of watching Madison parade her growing belly through our pack house, of enduring her smug smiles across the dining hall, of feeling Alexander's touch grow increasingly mechanical on the rare occasions he still came to our bed.

And now, he was missing.

"Luna Isabella, he's two days overdue," Marcus reported, his face tight with concern. "The Silver Lake Pack confirmed he left their territory on schedule after the alliance meeting."

I nodded, keeping my expression neutral despite the cold dread pooling in my stomach. "And there's been no communication through the pack link?"

"Nothing," Marcus confirmed. "We've sent scouts along the main routes, but..."

But they'd found nothing. I already knew this. Just as I knew something was terribly wrong. The mate bond between Alexander and me had grown painfully thin over the years, a gossamer thread where once there had been an unbreakable rope. Yet even through that weakened connection, I could feel his life force flickering like a candle in the wind.

"I'm going to find him," I announced, rising from my seat at the council table.

The room erupted in protests.

"Luna, the northern territories are crawling with rogues—"

"It's too dangerous—"

"Let the warriors handle this—"

I silenced them with a raised hand, channeling every ounce of Luna authority I possessed. "I can track him through our bond. Weak as it may be, it's still there."

What I didn't say was that part of me wondered if Alexander had simply chosen not to return. If he'd finally decided to abandon his Luna for his mistress and their pups. The thought made my wolf whimper in pain.

Hours later, I led a small guard party of four trusted warriors into the dense northern forests. The late autumn air bit at my skin, carrying the scent of pine and approaching snow. I closed my eyes, focusing on that tenuous thread connecting me to Alexander. It pulled me northeast, away from the main trails and deeper into rogue territory.

"Luna, these tracks suggest a large rogue party moved through here recently," said Liam, our best tracker, crouching to examine disturbed earth and broken twigs.

My heart clenched. Had Alexander been ambushed? Despite everything, the thought of him injured or worse sent panic coursing through me.

"We continue," I ordered, pressing forward.

The terrain grew treacherous as we followed a narrow path alongside a rushing stream. Moss-covered rocks glistened with moisture in the filtered sunlight. I stepped carefully, but my foot slipped on a patch of slick moss. Pain shot through my leg as it scraped against a jagged edge, and I barely suppressed a cry.

"Luna!" The guards rushed to my side as I clutched my calf, feeling warm blood seep between my fingers.

"It's just a cut," I insisted, though the gash was deep and throbbing. "Bind it quickly. We need to keep moving."

One of the guards, Elena, expertly wrapped my leg with a field bandage. "You should shift," she suggested. "Your wolf would heal this faster."

I shook my head. "I need to stay human to follow the bond."

The truth was more complicated. My wolf had grown increasingly distant since Madison's announcement three years ago. She retreated deeper within me with each passing day of Alexander's betrayal, and I feared that if I called on her now, she might refuse to return to human form. Her pain was too raw, too overwhelming.

We pressed on, my injured leg protesting with each step. The mate bond pulled me forward like a compass needle, growing slightly stronger as the afternoon waned. The forest thickened around us, ancient pines towering overhead. My breath came in ragged gasps as exhaustion and blood loss took their toll.

Finally, as the sun began to set, I collapsed beneath a pair of massive pines, my strength depleted.

"Luna, we must rest," Elena insisted, concern etching her features.

I started to protest when a scent carried on the evening breeze stopped the words in my throat. My nostrils flared, taking in the unmistakable blend of scents—Alexander's woodsy, dominant aroma intertwined with the softer, milky scent of young pups.

Madison's pups.

My wolf howled in agony within me as the final pieces clicked into place. The dread I'd been fighting transformed into a terrible certainty that would forever change my life.