Rejected by the Alpha, Claimed by the King

I drove to the overlook on autopilot, my hands gripping the steering wheel so tightly my knuckles went white. The scenic viewpoint overlooked the valley where Silverpine Pack lands stretched for miles, dotted with the warm lights of pack homes beginning to glow in the dusk. It had always seemed beautiful to me. Tonight it looked like a lie.

My phone felt like a weapon in my hand as I pulled up Celine Matthews' number. The school directory listed it under "Homeroom Contact Information." How convenient.

She answered on the third ring, her voice dripping with false sweetness. "Hello?"

"This is Emery Peterson," I said, and my wolf pushed forward, making my voice carry an edge that bordered on a growl. "Kasen's mother. And Alpha Edward's mate."

A pause. Then a soft, knowing laugh that made my skin crawl. "Oh. Mrs. Peterson. How can I help you?"

"You can start by explaining the Cartier bracelet on your wrist."

The silence stretched just long enough for her mask to slip. When she spoke again, the sugary teacher voice had vanished, replaced by something sharp and cold. "It was a gift. From a generous parent who appreciates my dedication to his son's education."

"Fifteen thousand dollars is quite an appreciation." My wolf snarled inside my chest, and static crackled through the phone connection—a peculiarity of werewolf emotion bleeding into technology. "Along with the leased Mercedes. The tuition payments for your niece. The consulting fees to your shell company."

Her breath hitched. Good. Let her squirm.

"I don't know what you think you know—"

"I know everything, Celine." Her first name tasted like poison on my tongue. "I know about the dinners at hotels two towns over. The weekend conferences that weren't on the school calendar. The vanilla perfume Edward comes home wearing when he claims he's been in pack council meetings."

She laughed then, a sound so full of venom it could have killed. "If you were enough of a woman for him, he wouldn't be buying me jewelry, would he? Maybe if you gave him what he actually needs instead of playing the boring, dutiful Luna, he wouldn't have to come to me."

My wolf roared, and I felt my eyes flash amber even though no one was there to see it. The phone crackled louder, and I heard her gasp on the other end.

"I give him what a boring Luna can't," she continued, emboldened by my silence. "Excitement. Admiration. A woman who doesn't make demands or expect him to be anything but the powerful Alpha he is."

Something inside me shifted then. The hurt receded, replaced by a cold, crystalline clarity that felt like ice water in my veins. My wolf settled, still furious but focused now. Predatory.

"Let me make something very clear to you, Celine." My voice dropped, losing all traces of emotion, becoming the voice of Luna—the voice that commanded respect whether wolves wanted to give it or not. "You have violated the ethics code for educators by soliciting and accepting bribes from a parent. That's a human law violation. You have also knowingly pursued a mated werewolf, which violates pack law. You may not understand what that means, being human, but you're about to learn."

"You can't prove—"

"I'm recording this call. Thank you for the confession."

I heard her sharp intake of breath, but I'd already ended the call.

My hands were steady now as I forwarded the recording to my encrypted cloud storage. Then I sat there in my car, watching the valley lights twinkle like nothing had changed, and let myself feel the full weight of what I'd just confirmed.

Edward had betrayed our mate bond. Not just with his body, but with his resources, his time, his loyalty—everything that was supposed to be sacred between us. And he'd done it with our son's teacher, someone who saw Kasen every day, who had access to our child while conducting an affair with his father.

The violation went deeper than infidelity. It was a corruption of everything pack bonds were supposed to protect.

My phone buzzed. A text from Samira: "Eleanor called me. Are you okay? Where are you?"

I typed back: "Overlook. Can you meet me at the storage unit on Route 9? The one outside pack lands. One hour. Bring your laptop."

Her response came immediately: "I'll be there."

I started the engine, but before I pulled away, I looked at myself in the rearview mirror one more time. My eyes were still faintly amber, my wolf so close to the surface I could feel her fur rippling beneath my skin.

"We're done being quiet," I whispered to her. To myself. To the Luna I'd buried for ten years.

She answered with a sound that was half-growl, half-promise.

It was time to collect evidence. And then it would be time to make them both pay.