False Bond, True Mate Claim

The whispers started before I even made it home from the pack house.

"Did you see her face when he walked away?"

"Seven years, and he couldn't even finish the ceremony."

"Maybe she really isn't Luna material after all."

The cruel words followed me through the corridors like poison, each comment a fresh wound on my already shattered pride. I kept my chin up, my ceremonial robes flowing behind me with what dignity I could muster, but inside, my wolf was howling in agony.

By morning, the damage was complete.

I discovered it when I tried to access the pack's internal systems to check my scheduled influencer collaborations. My login credentials were invalid. My profile—gone. Seven years of pack contributions, community events, social media campaigns that had boosted our pack's reputation across the region—all of it wiped clean as if I'd never existed.

My hands trembled as I called the pack administrative office.

"I'm sorry, but we have no record of an Andrea Hill in our current member registry," the receptionist said, her voice professionally neutral but tinged with something that sounded almost like pity.

"That's impossible. I've been a member since—"

"Perhaps you should speak with Beta Reed about any... status changes."

The line went dead.

Marcus Reed. Felix's loyal Beta who'd stood in the shadows during last night's humiliation, watching his Alpha abandon his mate without lifting a finger to intervene. Of course he'd be the one to execute this final insult.

I found him in his office, methodically shredding documents. He didn't look up when I entered.

"Marcus." My voice came out steadier than I felt. "I want to know why my pack records have been deleted."

He finally raised his eyes, and I saw no warmth there—only cold calculation. "Alpha Felix felt it was... cleaner this way. Given the circumstances."

"Circumstances?" The word tasted bitter. "You mean his public abandonment of our mate bond?"

"I mean his decision to pursue other options." Marcus's tone was matter-of-fact, as if we were discussing pack supply orders rather than the destruction of my entire life. "The pack needs stability. Uncertainty about leadership creates... problems."

"So you erase me instead of addressing his betrayal?"

Marcus shrugged. "History is written by those in power, Andrea. You might want to remember that."

I left his office with my hands clenched into fists, my wolf snarling for blood. But I had bigger battles to fight than Marcus Reed's cowardice.

That afternoon, I placed a call I should have made years ago.

"Grandfather." My voice broke slightly as Alpha Edmund Hill's familiar rumble came through the phone.

"Andrea, darling. What's wrong?"

The concern in his voice nearly undid me. In halting words, I told him everything—Felix's betrayal, the false Luna mark, Reina's manipulations, and last night's public humiliation. With each revelation, the silence on the other end grew more ominous.

When I finished, the quiet stretched so long I wondered if the connection had dropped.

"Grandfather?"

"That worthless piece of filth." His voice was deadly calm, the tone that had made him one of the most feared Alphas in Europe. "A false Luna mark. Sacred bonds defiled for political convenience."

"I don't know what to do," I whispered. "They've erased me from the pack records. I have nowhere to go."

"You have somewhere to go." His voice gentled. "You always have a place with me in London. But first, I have something to tell you."

I waited, sensing the weight of what was coming.

"Maxwell Alexander has been inquiring about your status for years, Andrea. The Alpha of Black Moon Pack. Every few months, he asks if you're... available."

My breath caught. Maxwell Alexander—I remembered him from pack summits, a powerful Alpha with an aura that commanded respect from every wolf in the room. Tall, imposing, with eyes that seemed to see straight through pretense.

"He's been asking about me?"

"For seven years, darling. I always told him you were mated, but he never stopped asking. A good Alpha doesn't pursue another's mate, but he made it clear that if circumstances ever changed..."

Seven years. The same length as my relationship with Felix.

"What are you suggesting?"

"A political alliance. Your union with Maxwell would strengthen both our packs, and you'd have the protection of one of the most powerful Alphas on the continent. But more than that..." He paused. "I think he genuinely cares for you, Andrea. The way he asks about you, the concern in his voice—it's not political."

I closed my eyes, my mind reeling. After Felix's betrayal, the idea of trusting another mate seemed impossible. But Maxwell had waited seven years, respecting my bond even when it was built on lies.

"I need time to think," I said finally.

"Of course. But while you're thinking, perhaps you should consider how to handle the... Reina situation."

I smiled for the first time in days, cold and sharp. "Already working on it, Grandfather."

That evening, I opened my laptop and began typing. If they wanted to erase me, they'd learn that some wolves bite back harder when cornered.

Reina Porter was about to discover exactly what happened when someone underestimated a desperate she-wolf with nothing left to lose.