My Daughter Died Because of My Cheating Mate

Lilith stepped forward, her voice gentle but carrying sarcasm. "Seraphina, my dear Farrow died suddenly of illness. I was devastated, and I needed Alpha Orion’s support. Please don’t be angry," she said, her tone soft and soothing. Yet her eyes betrayed a different message, one of unspoken dominance. "He will always choose me. With me, he's always there."

I met her gaze, my expression impassive. "Oh, your Alpha is so good to you," I replied flatly, concealing the storm of emotions roiling inside me.

Upon hearing that, Orion’s frown deepened, irritation flaring in his eyes. "Look, can you be reasonable? Farrow's death has already made Lilith very upset, and here you are, being sarcastic?" His voice was sharp, cutting through the fragile peace of the cemetery.

His eagerness to defend Lilith stung, but I merely glanced at him, refusing to let him see how deeply his words wounded me. Without a word, I pushed past Orion’s shoulder and walked away, each step a battle to maintain my composure.

As I distanced myself from them, I could sense Orion’s confusion. This was the first time I had confronted him and Lilith without tears or accusations. I was calm. It was as if my grief had turned my heart into a rock.

Moments later, I heard footsteps behind me. Orion caught up to me, his voice a whisper of exasperation. "Isn’t this all because I didn’t meet you and Lyra at the border? Why are you so angry with me for so long? You're being petty!"

His words were a cruel twist of the knife as if I were to blame for the distance growing between us. "Well, it's all my fault," I replied, my voice cold and detached, not even bothering to look at him.

At that moment, Orion seemed taken aback by my indifference. For a moment, his frustration gave way to a softer tone as he tried to explain. "Farrow's death was a big blow to Lilith. I was worried she might do something drastic if she was left alone, so I went to her. Is Lyra upset with me? I'll make it up to her when I get back. She's such a good girl; she’ll forgive me, right?"

If he had cared at all for our family, he would have known the horror that had befallen our daughter. But his world revolved around Lilith, and he hadn’t even noticed our daughter's death. "You don’t have a chance anymore," I said quietly, resuming my walk, my heart heavy with the finality of my words.

Orion reached out, his hand gripping my arm in desperation. "Why is there no chance? Okay, okay, I promise I’ll never do that again. You don’t have to be so mad about this, alright?"

For the first time, he seemed willing to lower his pride, to make amends. But his promises were too little, too late. If Lyra had survived the ambush, perhaps I could have found it within myself to forgive him. But now, the possibility of forgiveness has died with her.

"Let’s find a time to end this miserable mateship as soon as possible," I said, shaking off his hand with finality. My voice was firm, my resolve unshakable. I walked away without looking back, the weight of my decision settling over me like a shroud.

As I left, I could feel Orion watching me, a sense of something lost dawning on him. He frowned as he called his Beta.

"Beta Herbert," he said, his voice tinged with urgency, "prepare the most beautiful doll you can find and have it delivered to the pack house for my daughter. Ask her to help persuade her mother not to be angry with me."

His words were hollow, a desperate attempt to mend what was broken. But I was done waiting for him to realize everything. There was no doll, no apology, that could ever bridge the brokenness that had formed between us.