New life after My Alpha Cheated

Chapter 2

A blast of music filled the silence on Aldric’s end, lingering for a moment before he sighed deeply.

"Selene, not this again." His voice carried quiet exasperation, the same tone he always used when he didn’t want to deal with me.

I froze, my heart pounding. What did he mean by not this again? He was the one who had broken another promise, yet somehow, I was the unreasonable one for feeling hurt?

Anger flared in my chest, and I snapped before I could stop myself. "I know exactly where you are and what you’re doing, Aldric! You think I can’t see? Seraphine practically parades it all over the pack network! Maybe you should tell her to stop posting those pictures if you don’t want everyone to find out!"

With that, I hung up, my hands shaking as I turned my phone on silent.

I had never felt so humiliated. Seraphine had made sure everyone in the pack saw them together, yet Aldric acted like I was being unreasonable, like I was the problem.

I stalked over to the closet and yanked it open. As I grabbed my suitcase from the top shelf, my eyes landed on a small red gift bag, hidden behind the cases. My heart clenched. I had bought it just last week, a customized leather field kit, perfect for Aldric’s next expedition. It was deep navy, the exact color of the midnight sky he loved.

I shoved it aside, feeling a wave of bitterness. There would be no more gifts, no more trying to make things better.

Quickly, I packed my clothes and the few personal items I had brought into Aldric’s villa. I was determined to leave tonight. It didn’t matter if I had nowhere to go—anywhere was better than here, in this hollow house that wasn’t truly mine.

It took hours to gather everything. When I finished, I called a taxi and left without looking back.

---

It had been years since I’d last stepped foot in this apartment. My parents had given it to me after I secured my position as a researcher at the Silverclaw Institute. It was modest but enough for me. Back then, I chose to stay here rather than move into Aldric’s estate, wanting to keep my independence.

But as time passed, Aldric insisted it would be easier if we lived together. His home had the space, the amenities, and more importantly, it allowed us to be seen as the future of the Silverclaw Pack—Alpha and Luna. After all, who would question the mate bond between us if we were under one roof?

It seemed so logical at the time. How could I have known that moving in with him would be the beginning of our slow unraveling?

As I set my suitcase down in the old living room, I felt a wave of exhaustion hit me. I barely had the energy to pull off the plastic covers that had protected the furniture while I was away. With little thought, I collapsed onto the bare mattress, not bothering to unpack.

Even after all this time together, we had never felt further apart. How had things gone so wrong?

---

The next morning, the shrill sound of my phone alarm dragged me from sleep. Groaning, I reached over and saw a string of messages from Aldric.

*Selene, stop being dramatic. It was a last-minute meeting. Seraphine needed help with negotiations for her family’s trade contract.*

*We’re not children anymore. Come back once you’ve calmed down.*

His words lit a fire in my chest.

*Dramatic?* I seethed as I tossed the phone onto the bed and stormed into the kitchen. Grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge, I paced back and forth, trying to shake off the anger boiling inside me.

The word *childish* echoed in my mind. Was I really overreacting? Was I being unreasonable for wanting my mate to choose me for once?

I couldn’t count how many times Aldric had canceled our plans—postponing outings, skipping dinners with his family, all because Seraphine had called for him. She was always in need of *something*, always requiring his attention.

I thought back to the night she called him, sobbing over a horror movie. *A horror movie,* of all things! My lupine hearing picked up her pitiful voice over the phone, begging Aldric to comfort her. She wasn’t even alone. Her staff was there around the clock.

But that hadn’t stopped him. He had changed out of his pajamas without hesitation, telling me, “Seraphine needs me, Selene. I have to go.”

I tried to argue with him that night, but he only sighed, his patience running thin. “I’ve told you before, there’s nothing between us,” he said. “You’re being unreasonable.”

I had pushed further, trying to make him see how much it hurt me, but his response had been cold. "If your mind is already made up," he had said, "then what’s the point of convincing you otherwise?"

He had left, every time. Taking his own car, dismissing the chauffeur, and driving straight to Seraphine.

And the next day, without fail, Aldric would pull some grand romantic gesture—an extravagant dinner, a surprise gift—and I would forgive him. We would fall back into the rhythm of our relationship, pretending everything was fine.

But the cycle never broke. And the more we repeated it, the more I realized that our bond was weakening, that Aldric was slipping away from me.

He thought I couldn’t see it, but I wasn’t blind. I wasn’t stupid.

The truth was, I had allowed myself to be swept along, to keep forgiving him because I loved him. But now, I finally understood why I needed to stop.

And that’s why this time, I wasn’t going to fall for him again.

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