Rejecting a Cheating Mate

I stumbled through the front door of our apartment, my legs barely supporting me. The Porsche—our future pack house—gleamed in my mind's eye, now Bridget's trophy. My hands trembled as I dropped my purse on the entryway table, Lily whimpering inside me.

*He betrayed us,* she whispered. *All this time...*

I moved through our home in a daze, touching familiar objects that now felt like strangers. Five years of shared dreams, of pinching pennies and denying ourselves even simple pleasures. Five years of believing we were building something together.

"We need to save every dollar," Daniel had said just last month when I'd suggested we finally replace our worn-out couch. "Pack houses don't pay for themselves, Aurelia."

Yet somehow he'd found eighty thousand dollars for Bridget's car.

I drifted into our shared office space, where our financial documents were kept. Maybe there was an explanation. Maybe—

A folder on his desk caught my eye. It wasn't where I'd left it yesterday.

My fingers hesitated before opening it. Part of me already knew what I'd find.

Credit card statements. Hotel receipts. Jewelry store invoices.

All in Bridget's name.

All paid for with our money.

My vision blurred as I flipped through page after page of evidence. Dinners at restaurants where Daniel had told me we couldn't afford to eat. Weekend getaways to places he'd claimed were "too expensive for our budget." A necklace from Cartier that cost more than three months of my salary.

Every receipt, every statement was a knife twisting in my chest.

"You've been lecturing me about unnecessary expenses for years," I whispered to the empty room, "while spending our money on her."

Lily growled, no longer whimpering but angry. *Confront him. Now.*

I gathered the evidence in shaking hands and waited for Daniel to return home.

---

The door opened just after seven. Daniel walked in, his Beta badge gleaming on his jacket lapel—a position I now wondered if he'd earned honestly.

"We need to talk," I said, my voice steadier than I expected.

He sighed, loosening his tie. "About what, Aurelia? I've had a long day."

I laid out the papers on our coffee table. "About these."

Daniel glanced at them, his expression barely changing. "Ah. You found those."

"You've been living a double life," I said, fighting to keep my voice from breaking. "All while telling me we needed to save every penny for our future."

He sat down, not on the couch beside me but in the armchair across from me—creating distance between us.

"You're overreacting," he said coolly. "These are pack expenses."

"Pack expenses?" I picked up a hotel receipt from the Bellagio in Las Vegas. "In Vegas? For two?"

"Successful Betas need to network with promising pack members," he replied smoothly. "Bridget has potential. I'm mentoring her."

"By buying her jewelry and taking her to five-star hotels?" My voice rose despite my efforts to control it.

Daniel's eyes hardened. "You don't understand pack politics, Aurelia. These are investments in our future."

"Our future?" I laughed bitterly. "Or yours and Bridget's?"

"This is exactly why I didn't tell you," he said, standing up dismissively. "You're being emotional instead of rational."

I stood too, gathering my courage. "I want a formal mate rejection ceremony."

The words hung in the air between us. Daniel's face registered shock for just a moment before it transformed into amusement.

"A rejection ceremony?" He laughed, the sound cutting through me like glass. "Don't be ridiculous, Aurelia."

"I'm serious," I insisted, though my heart hammered against my ribs.

Daniel shook his head, his smile patronizing. "You're throwing a tantrum. You'll come to your senses."

"You stole our money," I said. "You're having an affair. How can you not see—"

"I'm a Beta," he interrupted coldly. "Where would you be without me? Who would want you? You'd be nothing but an Omega in this pack."

His words hit their mark, striking at insecurities he'd carefully cultivated over our years together.

"You depend on me," he continued, his voice gentler now but no less manipulative. "On my position. On my connections. Without our mate bond, where would you go? What would you do?"

I stared at him, this stranger wearing my mate's face.

"You'll feel better tomorrow," he said dismissively, turning away. "This is just one of your episodes. You'll come to your senses when you realize how much you need me."

As he walked away, leaving me standing alone with the evidence of his betrayal spread before me, something inside me hardened.

Lily's voice rose within me, stronger than before.

*We don't need him,* she growled. *We never did.*