My Husband's Love Was a Lie,So I Made Him Lose Me Forever

They say the written word never lies. So how could all this love, overflowing from every page, be nothing but a lie?

I tore through the pages one by one, ripping without mercy.

My gaze caught on an ornate wooden box. Something compelled me to open it.

A delicate portrait of a woman, all soft curves and coy beauty, had been tucked carefully into a hidden compartment. Along the edge, in small, unassuming script, were the words:

"I wish to be the sparrow nesting in the eaves, so that morning and evening, we may always be together."

"The fifth of October. The year we were mated."

I sank to the floor, my vision blurring before I could stop it.

That was one moon cycle after our Mating Ceremony. His heart had already strayed by then.

I was a fool. A complete and utter fool.

The dishes on the table had been reheated again and again. I waved my hand, signaling Aria to clear them away.

"I'm tired. Help me to bed."

Aria stared at me in disbelief. "My Lady, aren't you going to wait for the Alpha? He promised he'd make it back in time to take you to the northern ridge. The moonblossoms along the old trail."

I shook my head and began undressing without another word.

Alaric wasn't coming back.

The next morning, the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was Alaric kneeling at the side of the bed, his face heavy with guilt. The scent of cedar and cold iron clung to him, sharper than usual, layered with something restless underneath.

"Selene, I'm sorry. I lost track of time yesterday. I broke my promise..."

I stared at him for a long time, unblinking.

Who would have believed it? The Alpha who cut through Moon Council politics without flinching, who ordered wolves' fates decided with a nod, on his knees before me over a broken date.

A mate like that. Anyone would find it impossible to stay angry.

When I said nothing, he grabbed my hand and pressed it against his own body, urging me to hit him.

"If you're upset, take it out on me. Hit me until you feel better, all right?"

I shook my head, my voice flat. "I'm not upset. I just think it's a shame. The moonblossoms in full bloom. I never got to see them."

Relief flooded his face. He lifted my hand to his lips and pressed a deep, lingering kiss against my fingers.

"Silly girl. There'll be plenty of chances. I promise I'll take you. I swear it."

Then he hurried off to the pack hall. There was business with the enforcers that couldn't wait, there was always business that couldn't wait. The heavy den doors closed behind him and two patrol wolves fell into step at his back, their footsteps fading down the stone path.

I watched his retreating figure, straight-backed and sure, and sat there motionless for a long time.

Alaric. There is no "plenty of chances" for us. Not anymore.

After Alaric left, I sent someone to bring Vesper from the hidden nesting den.

She arrived with one hand braced against the small of her back, walking at a leisurely pace. The enforcer who'd driven her stood by the vehicle until I nodded for him to go. When she reached me, she met my gaze without a flicker of fear. A faint trace of jasmine and copper drifted from her, threaded with something too sweet, almost cloying. My wolf stirred uneasily at the edge of my awareness, hackles lifting at a scent it could not place.

"Selene Moonthorn. So you did recognize me yesterday."

I looked her over, head to toe.

A willowy frame, a face no bigger than the palm of a hand. A classic beauty from the southern border packs.

I'd made inquiries in private. Three days after our Mating Ceremony, Alaric had been dispatched south to manage storm-ravaged packlands, the Blackmoor bloodline coordinating relief runs through the devastated territories, half aid, half resource consolidation. That was where his entanglement with Vesper began.

He'd been caught in the floodwaters pulling survivors from a collapsed structure. Delirious with fever, he mistook her for me. One reckless night, and he took her innocence.

Afterward, pitying her as an orphan with no pack in the world, he brought her back to Blackmoor territory. Installed her in the hidden nesting den. Spent every day at her side.

When I followed him there that day, I saw how exquisitely the place had been furnished. Every detail chosen with care. Alaric must have loved her deeply.

A bitter ache spread through my chest.

Vesper noticed the look on my face. Satisfaction crept across hers.

"Selene Moonthorn. Everyone says Alaric adores you. But the way I see it, you're the most pitiful woman alive."