After My Alpha Chose His Mistress

The morning sun streamed through the curtains as I stared at my reflection in the vanity mirror. Dark circles shadowed my eyes, evidence of a sleepless night spent replaying Nathan's words in my mind. Three years of believing in a lie. Three years of making excuses for an unmarked neck. Three years of loving a mate who never truly wanted me.

Lyra paced restlessly within me. *Confront him. We deserve the truth.*

'I know,' I whispered, fingers tracing the spot where a mate mark should have been.

I found Nathan in the breakfast room, casually reading reports while sipping coffee. The sight of his composed demeanor ignited something fierce within me. How dare he sit there so calmly after what I'd discovered?

'Nathan,' I said, my voice steadier than I expected. 'We need to talk about what I heard last night.'

He glanced up, annoyance flickering across his features before settling into practiced concern. 'You seem upset, Sophia.'

'I heard you,' I pressed on. 'In the mind-link. You told Rebecca you never had a weak wolf. That our bond was just political.'

Nathan's expression hardened. He set down his coffee cup with deliberate precision. 'Mind-links can be unreliable during sleep. You misheard.'

'I know what I heard.'

'Do you?' He stood, his Alpha aura expanding to fill the room. 'Or are you letting insecurities cloud your judgment?'

Lyra growled. *He's twisting everything.*

'You were with her yesterday,' I insisted. 'I saw you.'

'I explained that situation.' His voice dropped into the unmistakable resonance of an Alpha command. 'This conversation is finished, Sophia.'

The weight of his tone pressed against me, making it difficult to breathe. This was the first time he'd ever used his Alpha voice on me. The realization stung worse than his denial.

'Yes, Alpha,' I managed, the words bitter on my tongue.

He nodded curtly. 'I have meetings all day. Don't wait up.'

As he strode past me, not even bothering to touch my shoulder or kiss my cheek as he once might have, I felt something inside me crack further.

I wandered through the pack house in a daze, eventually finding myself in the great hall where pack photos lined the walls. Generations of marked Lunas stood proudly beside their Alphas. I was the anomaly—the unmarked Luna with no pups to show for three years of mating.

'Admiring what you'll never have?'

I turned to find Eleanor Sterling, Nathan's mother and former Luna, watching me with thinly veiled contempt.

'Good morning, Eleanor,' I said softly.

She circled me like a predator assessing wounded prey. 'Three years, and still no heir. The pack whispers, you know.'

'Nathan's condition—'

'Is that what you still believe?' She laughed, the sound sharp as breaking glass. 'How convenient for him.'

Hope flared briefly. 'Then you know he's been lying?'

'What I know,' she said, stepping closer, 'is that a true Luna would have secured her position by now. A true Luna would have given this pack an heir. Instead, we have you—unmarked, barren, and now spreading vicious rumors about your Alpha.'

'They're not rumors. I saw him with Rebecca.'

Eleanor's eyes narrowed. 'An Alpha has certain privileges. Your duty is to support him, not question him. Your failure to provide an heir has forced him to seek... alternatives.'

'Alternatives?' I echoed, disbelieving.

'The pack must continue. If you cannot fulfill your role, perhaps another will.' She adjusted her perfectly styled hair. 'Clean yourself up. You look disgraceful.'

She swept away, leaving me trembling with a mixture of rage and humiliation.

That evening, Nathan called a pack gathering to discuss territory matters. I took my place beside his empty chair, the Luna's seat a painful reminder of my precarious position.

Rebecca entered last, commanding attention in a dress that hugged every curve. She carried a shawl draped artfully over one arm—the source of the cloying perfume that had recently permeated Nathan's office.

As the meeting progressed, she made a show of placing her scented shawl across Nathan's desk, her fingers lingering possessively on the wood. Nathan didn't stop her. Instead, he leaned closer when she whispered in his ear, their intimacy on display for everyone—especially me.

After the gathering, I collected Nathan's jacket, which reeked of Rebecca's perfume. Another Luna duty—laundering my mate's clothes after he'd been with another woman.

As I scrubbed at the fabric, trying to remove her scent, Lyra's anguish merged with my own.

*We can't live like this,* she whimpered.

I stared at my raw, soap-burned hands. 'No,' I whispered. 'We can't.'

Something had to change. And if Nathan wouldn't give me the truth, I would find it myself—no matter the cost.