Escape from My Mate's Test-Tube Lie

Everybody knows I'm the she-wolf who stood by Logan Reed, the wild wolf who clawed his way through three years of ruin. They say he treasures me more than life itself, like I'm the moonlight guiding him through his darkest nights.

But now, his sworn enemy, Ryan Donovan, sips his brandy and eyes me with a mocking glint. "So, you want me to help you fake your death to slip away from him? That's a big risk, Sophie. What's in it for me?"

I keep my voice steady, rough but calm, like I'm haggling over a burger order at my old street stand. "What you've always wanted-half of Reed Industries, under my name."

His eyes widen, but I'm not done. "One condition: before I disappear, you arrange an operation to unbind the pup in my belly."

My words hit like a gut punch. Ryan freezes, the smugness draining from his face, replaced by raw shock. "You're out of your mind! Logan's been cozying up to some new she-wolf-word is, it's his old fiancée, Olivia Grant, fallen from grace and slinging drinks now. But everyone in the elite pack has a side piece they dote on. She's no threat to your place as his mate. Why do you care?"

Why do I care?

My lashes flutter as the memory of last night crashes over me-my mother, Ruth, bleeding out car accident site, screaming in agony until her heart gave out. The pain twists my chest like a blade.

"If you're not in, I'll find someone else," I say, my voice icy as I stand to leave.

Ryan scrambles, pulling out a transfer agreement. "Eight hundred million! The money's hitting your account soon. I'll set up the accident to fake your death. As for the operation..."

I sign the papers with a flick of my wrist and head for the door. Just as I grip the handle, Ryan's voice stops me, heavy with curiosity. "That pup... it's yours too. How can you go through with it?"

His question slams into me, ripping open the raw wound in my heart. I freeze, my face paling, but I don't answer. I shove the door open and walk out.

The elevator doors close, and my composure crumbles. Three years ago, when Reed Industries went under and Logan's parents were killed, he was hunted, wounded, and left for dead in the slums. That's where I found him-me, the she-wolf scraping by with my mute mother, flipping burgers at a street cart. I saved him.

When Reed Industries clawed its way back to the top, we threw a lavish banquet. Some spoiled she-wolf mocked the lingering scent of grease on me, and Logan didn't hesitate-he cut her nose clean off. All because I was scared to form a sacred bond, he proposed ninety-nine times, chipping away at my fears until I believed in him. Even Mom, tears in her eyes, signed for me to say yes.

For three years as his mate, he spoiled me like I was the only star in his sky. His pack brothers used to tease, "Good thing Sophie doesn't want the stars, or Logan would've built a rocket by now!"

I thought that happiness was mine forever.

Then, six months ago, I caught him kissing Olivia Grant in a private club. When I confronted him, his gorgeous features stayed shadowed, his low, husky voice infuriatingly calm. "Sophie, in our circle, sometimes you crave a new taste."

Tears burned my eyes. "Let's break the bond."

He laughed like it was a joke, his lips curling with possessive menace. "My mate, I'll never let you go. You're mine."

I sent him three proposals to unbind us. The first time, he came home drunk, locked me in our bedroom, burning through ten bottles of lube. The second time, Reed Industries strong-armed every lawyer in the pack to refuse my case. The third time, I drafted the papers myself, but on my way to him, my car crashed.

When I woke, the healer told me I was five weeks pregnant.

I touched my belly and gave in. Logan went back to acting like the wolf who adored me. Olivia vanished from his side. "Just a meaningless fling," he said, feeding me peeled green grapes with a cold smirk.

But during Mom's heart surgery, he pulled every healer in the pack away for his "meaningless fling," leaving Mom to die on the table.

I broke. Stumbling to find him, I overheard the truth outside his hospital room-a truth that shattered my soul.

"Logan, it's just cramps," Olivia's voice was soft, her eyes misty. "You don't need to make a fuss. Today's Ruth's surgery. Shouldn't you be with Sophie? She's carrying a pup..."

Her words trailed off, but they detonated in my head. Logan's icy gaze softened as he pulled Olivia close. "If Sophie wasn't so hard to breed, you wouldn't have had to donate your egg for our test-tube pup to keep her tied to me. The Reed pack owes you."

"As for Ruth," he added, "I arranged the best healers. Don't worry. Today, I'm all yours."

Olivia squealed, throwing herself into his arms.

Outside, I was frozen, trembling, my world collapsing. The pup I'd nurtured for four months... it was theirs? His devotion was just a ploy to make me carry a pup with no blood tie to me?

Logan, you heartless wolf.

My heart cracked, and I staggered away. Escorting Mom's body, draped in white, to the morgue, I passed Logan whispering sweet nothings to Olivia. She glanced my way, but he covered her eyes, his voice cold. "A corpse. Filthy."

Each word stabbed my heart.

I was done loving him.

The elevator dings at the ground floor, a text confirming five hundred million snapping me out of my memories. I wipe my tears and step out.

Before I can steady myself, a cold gun barrel presses against the back of my head. Logan's low, gravelly voice growls, "My mate, you're sneaking off to meet my worst rival. I need an explanation."

Bitterness and rage churn in me. He hates betrayal too, does he? He, who knew Olivia's brother killed my father in a drunken crash, who knew her family's power got him off scot-free. He, who knew Olivia spread lies about me in high school, targeted me, threatened to kill my mom, and drove me to drop out despite my grades.

Yet he chose her.

Anger gives way to exhaustion. I meet his eyes, my voice flat. "No explanation."

He falters, his gaze catching my pale face and red-rimmed eyes. His expression softens, and he tosses the gun to his bodyguard. "I was kidding."

He pulls me into his arms, his voice dripping with tenderness. "I know my mate loves me most. You came to Donovan Industries to make me jealous for not being there when Ruth passed, right? It's my fault, baby. To make it up, I've planned a grand ceremony for Ruth. Let's go together."

My eyes land on the hickey on his neck, and a cold laugh echoes in my mind. I want to scream that he doesn't deserve to atone, but I stay silent, following him to the car.

I just want to send Mom off quietly.

As for Logan? I'm done with him forever.