My Alpha Left Me Bleeding to Protect His Mistress

I clutched the amulet in my palm as I waited for Scott to return from his meeting. My heart hammered against my ribs, each beat echoing the doubt that had taken root since my conversation with Rebecca. When the door finally opened, I didn't waste time with pleasantries.

"What is this?" I asked, opening my hand to reveal the silver pendant.

Scott's expression flickered—surprise, then calculation. "Where did you get that?"

"It was delivered to your office. 'Alpha Eyes Only.'" My voice trembled despite my efforts to stay calm. "Rebecca seems to think it's a gift from you."

He took the amulet from my palm, his fingers brushing mine in a way that once would have comforted me. Now it felt like a manipulation.

"Vivian," he said, his voice dropping to that gentle tone he used when he thought I was being unreasonable. "This is a sensitive pack matter."

"Pack matter?" I repeated. "Rebecca says you're planning to sneak her into the Western Territory with me."

His eyes hardened slightly before he mastered his expression. "Rebecca is... unwell. She's been having delusions since we were young."

"Delusions?" I stepped closer, my wolf stirring restlessly. "She seemed very clear about your plans."

"Enough!" Scott's voice suddenly shifted, deepening with the unmistakable resonance of an Alpha command. The weight of his authority pressed against me like a physical force. "You're being paranoid, Vivian."

My knees weakened as his aura expanded, filling the room with his dominance. "I'm just trying to understand—"

"You should trust me," he continued, his Alpha tone vibrating through my bones. "After everything I've sacrificed for you—giving up our home, our pack, our life here—the least you can do is show some gratitude instead of these baseless accusations."

I struggled to breathe against the pressure of his command. My wolf whimpered, instinctively submitting to her Alpha even as confusion tore through us both.

"I—I'm sorry," I whispered, hating how easily he could make me doubt myself.

---

Three days later, Scott appeared in our bedroom with a wrapped package. "Peace offering," he said, his smile not quite reaching his eyes.

I accepted it cautiously, unwrapping the elegant box to find a set of luxurious bath oils. The bottles were beautiful—crystal with silver caps—but as I lifted them, a familiar scent wafted up.

Lavender.

My stomach clenched. My signature scent had always been vanilla and sandalwood—a combination Scott claimed to love. Yet here he was, offering me lavender-scented oils.

"You've always said how much you enjoy lavender," he said, watching me closely.

I forced a smile, though my wolf growled in recognition of the lie. "Thank you. It's... thoughtful."

He kissed my forehead, oblivious to the way I flinched. "Use it tonight. I have some calls to make about the relocation."

As he left, I held the bottle up to the light. The purple liquid caught the sunlight, beautiful and poisonous in its symbolism. Rebecca's scent. He'd bought her favorite fragrance for me.

---

The rain came down in sheets as we gathered for the mandatory pack run. As Luna, I stood beside Scott, both of us already stripped down for the shift.

"Remember," Scott addressed the pack, "we run as one tonight. No exceptions."

I nodded, though my skin prickled with unease. Rebecca stood at the edge of the clearing, wrapped in a hooded cloak despite the summer heat.

"Ready?" Scott squeezed my hand before shifting.

The transformation rippled through the pack—bones cracking, bodies contorting as human forms gave way to wolves. I welcomed the familiar burn of my own shift, my white fur emerging as my human form receded.

We ran as a pack through the forest, rain soaking our fur, mud splattering our paws. The freedom of the run usually brought me joy, but tonight I felt hollow, my paws heavy with doubt.

A cry cut through the pounding rain—human, not wolf.

Scott immediately broke formation, veering sharply toward the sound. The pack followed instinctively, but I held back, watching as he shifted back to human form in one fluid motion.

Rebecca lay crumpled on the ground, her ankle twisted at an awkward angle. Scott knelt beside her, rain plastering his dark hair to his forehead as he gently examined her injury.

"I'm fine," she protested weakly. "Just slipped in the mud."

"Nonsense," Scott said tenderly. "You could have broken it."

Without hesitation, he removed his expensive cloak—the one I'd given him for our fifth anniversary—and wrapped it around her shoulders. Then, still naked and vulnerable in the pouring rain, he knelt in the mud to cradle her ankle.

"Let me see," he murmured, his fingers tracing her skin with a gentleness I'd never experienced.

My wolf whined as we watched from the shadows, invisible in our white fur. Scott had never knelt for me, never tended to me with such raw, desperate tenderness.

"Can you stand?" he asked Rebecca.

She tried, wincing dramatically. Without hesitation, Scott swept her into his arms, carrying her toward the pack house as she nestled against his chest.

Not once did he look back for his Luna, still standing in the rain.