Mated by the Moon, Betrayed by the Heart

After I accidentally consumed the mystical pearl meant for Ashlee, an Omega and the Alpha's first love, my world came crashing down.

The man I thought was fated mate, Alexander, the cold and ruthless Alpha, did not hesitate to order his younger brother, Roger, to retrieve the pearl from my body by any means necessary.

I laid helplessly on the cold steel table, my vision blurred from the pain of the incision as Roger mind-link echoed through, "Brother, I have found it."

While holding the precious purple pearl in his hand, he added, "I will bring her back to apologize to Ashlee immediately."

Before I could even catch my breath, Alexander's cold voice reverberated through the link, reaching me like ice. "Good. Hurry back and take care of her wound so she will not die."

His words lacked emotion, as though I were nothing more than a tool.

In that moment, the excruciating pain in my heart drowned out the agony from my wound. The truth was undeniable.

Alexander had never truly loved me. I had always been a stand-in, a placeholder for the one he truly desired, Ashlee.

Since that day, I had made a decision to break the ties that bound us and set him free to be with his lover, Ashlee, whom he clearly cherished above all else.

But before I could act on my decision, Alexander sought me out. His once cold eyes softened, his voice, which had always been a command, trembled with uncertainty.

"Stay, please," he whispered.

*

Roger Munoz, who had returned from studying abroad, had always been a figure of cold authority.

Also, as the Alpha’s younger brother and an expert healer in our Pack, he was someone whose orders I could not refuse. So, when he suddenly brought me to his clinic, I did not question him.

But deep inside, I knew something was terribly wrong.

The moment I came to my senses, I found myself lying helplessly on the cold steel table. My vision blurred as the pain from the incision surged through my body, sharp and unrelenting.

The scent of my own blood filled the air, mingling with my tears. Panic set in as I croaked, "What are you doing?"

Roger, with his devilish smirk, glanced down at me, eyes dark and soulless. "What else? Of course, cutting you open to take what you accidentally swallowed. That is Alpha’s order."

The words hit me harder than any physical wound. The Alpha, Alexander Munoz, who was my mate, was the one who had ordered that.

He cold-heartedly had commanded his brother to cut me open for the sake of a pearl that belonged to his first love, an Omega named Ashlee Parks.

Soon, the sting of betrayal seared through my heart, a far deeper wound than the one Roger had inflicted on my body.

For two years, I had been by Alexander's side as his Luna, believing in the bond that tied us together. I had thought I held a place of honor beside him, that our mate bond meant something sacred.

But for Ashlee’s pearl, he was willing to have me torn apart, without a second thought for my well-being.

As Roger continued his grotesque task, his voice broke the silence, cold and unfeeling. "Ruby, be sensible. Just divorce and get out.

“Now that Ashlee is back, my brother will marry her sooner or later. If you are smart, you should step aside."

I forced out a weak, sarcastic smile, while my heart was heavy with the undeniable truth.

I knew since then if Alexander had never truly loved me, even if I was his fated mate.

I had always been a stand-in, a shadow of the one he truly desired, Ashlee.

Even though as an outsider to the Graycrest Pack, I had not known the full extent of the relationship between Ashlee and Alexander, I had heard many whispers, the gossip that floated through the pack like wildfire.

It was not until after we were bonded that I learned how deeply he had once cared for her.

But for years, I had hoped that he would forget her, that our bond would be enough to fill the space she had once occupied in his heart.

However, those pearl events shattered my hopes. It turned out I had been living in a lie, blinded by a love that was never real.

Suddenly, Roger’s mind-link echoed through my head, intentionally letting me hear the conversation. “Brother, I have found it.”

He added while holding up the precious purple pearl slick with my blood, “I will bring her back to apologize to Ashlee immediately.”

Before I could catch my breath, Alexander's cold voice resonated through the link, freezing me to the core. “Good. Hurry back and take care of her wound so she will not die.”

His words were devoid of emotion, as though I were nothing more than a tool, something to be discarded after serving its purpose.

Before meeting Alexander, my life had been simpler, though still tied to pack politics.

I was the daughter of the Alpha of the Warcrest Pack, and my parents had never intended for me to be drawn back into my mother’s original pack.

But fate had a way of weaving intricate threads.

At Alexander’s sixteen birthday banquet, the mate bond between us flared with intensity, stronger than anything I had ever imagined. It felt like we were two souls destined to be inseparable.

Despite my father’s reluctance to let me go, Alexander and I grew closer. We courted for a year, getting to know each other, until we married on my sixteenth birthday.

The bond between us felt unbreakable then, and I was lulled into a false sense of security.

I never expected the betrayal that would follow, that I should make room for Ashlee, the Omega who had reclaimed her place in his heart.

I managed to whisper to Roger, sarcasm dripping from my voice, “Are you done admiring that insignificant pearl?”

Roger’s psycho-like grin twisted in disgust. “I think I was too kind to use painkillers on you. Next time, my brother asks me to take care of you, I will be much crueler.”

His words stung, but they were a reflection of the pack’s cruelty.

*

After finishing the operation, we went back to the Munoz family Manor.

As we arrived, Roger impatiently opened the back door of the car and sneered, “Hurry up, get out.”

I forced myself to stand, though my legs trembled under the weight of my pain. I nearly collapsed as I stepped out, the wound in my stomach throbbing with every movement.

Within moments, Richard Weaver, the loyal butler, rushed out of the manor once he saw my condition, his face filled with concern.

With his help, I managed to take small, painful steps toward the manor. Every step felt like an eternity.

Cold sweat dripped from my forehead, but the sting of betrayal hurt far worse than the physical pain.

“Thank you, Richard,” I whispered softly, my voice shaking. “But you can let me go now. I do not want you to get scolded by Alex.”

Richard, the only person in the manor who had been kind to me, nodded reluctantly. He understood the dynamics of the house far too well.

Alexander would scold him if he showed me too much kindness. And I could not bear to see someone else punished because of me.

Finally, we arrived at the bedroom where Alexander and I had once shared countless nights together, our sanctuary in the Graycrest Pack.

But that day, the room felt like a foreign place.

The moment the door creaked open; I froze in the doorway.

There, lying on the bed that once belonged to us, was Ashlee, comfortably settled into the space that was once mine.

The sight of her on the bed with Alexander was surreal, like I had stepped into a nightmare that I could not wake from.

The two of them, completely immersed in their own world, laughed softly, oblivious to the fact that I was standing right there, watching them.

They had forgotten everything about me, forgotten my existence.

Richard who stood beside me drew their attention by coughing, reminding them that they were not alone.

Their heads turned in unison, as if waking from a dream.

When Ashlee’s eyes met mine for the first time, I saw an unmistakable flash of disgust on her face.

But just as quickly as it appeared, the look faded, replaced by a faint, calculated smile that I could not quite read.

After that, Roger handed the pearl to Ashlee, who joyfully accepted it as if it were the most precious thing in the world. Then, he sat casually on the plush sofa, as if waiting for the next scene.

With an unsettling smile, Ashlee began to play with the pearl, rolling it between her fingers while leaning on Alexander’s bare chest, as if to flaunt the intimacy they shared.

At first, I did not understand the significance of the pearl. Why was that ordinary-looking object worth tearing me apart for?

But Ashlee, sensing my confusion, explained without any prompting.

"Thank you for returning it to me, Ruby," she said sweetly, her voice laced with a poisonous kindness. "This pearl may mean nothing to you, but it’s very important to me."

My eyes were glued to the small, shimmering object she played with so carelessly.

Important? How could something so small hold such power over my fate?

She smiled wider, glancing at Roger as if to include him in the shared secret. "I do not know what I would have done if this pearl was lost, after all... it contains Alex's promise to marry me when I return from the academy."

My mind reeled as her words began to sink in. A promise?

I was left speechless as the truth unraveled in front of me like a cruel joke.

Actually, when Alexander's parents discovered the relationship, they were furious. An Alpha could never marry an Omega, especially not one outside of his mate bond.

As a result, his parents had taken drastic measures, sending Ashlee away under the guise of attending a prestigious academy for shifters abroad. And Roger, Alexander’s ever-loyal brother, had been sent to the same academy to ensure she stayed away.

But before Ashlee left three years ago, they had planted their promise inside the magical pearl that Ashlee had acquired from a witch.

As long as the pearl remained with Alexander, their promise would endure. Only if he threw it away would their bond be broken, signaling his choice to move on.

The fact that Alexander was willing to cut me open to retrieve the pearl meant that their relationship was far from over.

“So, you two will get married?" Roger asked casually as he bit into a cupcake sitting on the nightstand, the scene feeling more surreal by the second.

Seeing the cupcake, a wave of nausea swept over me.

How could I forget? The cupcakes, the ones Alexander had always made for me. Or at least, I thought they were for me.

But that day, it hit me like a blade, since the cupcakes had always been for Ashlee. Alexander had been baking them in preparation for her return, wanting to surprise her.

However, I innocently had eaten one, since it was my favorite treat.

I never imagined that in doing so, I had consumed something meant for her, something that set the whole horrific chain of events in motion.

Ashlee smiled, pleased with herself, as she replied to Roger, "Of course we will. Right, Lex?"

Her voice was filled with smug satisfaction, and my stomach twisted as I watched her place the pearl on Alexander’s chest.

He had been avoiding eye contact with me the entire time, but then his eyes flickered towards mine, a familiar displeased expression darkening his face.

"Sure," he replied briefly, his voice hollow.

Then, with his eyes finally locked on mine, he frowned and spoke in the stern, commanding tone I had grown all too accustomed to. "Since you now know about the pearl, apologize to Ashlee immediately."