The Alpha's Secret Heir He Publicly Denied

For four years, I never told him no. His needs were demanding, except during my cycle or when he was away on pack business. Almost every night, we were together.

In the past, like when he’d been gone for a week on an Alpha’s retreat, I wouldn’t have expected to sleep at all that night. But back then, I was happy, even blissful. Only in those intimate moments did I feel like the Alpha actually cared about me.

Normally, I was always afraid of making him angry. Yet, behind closed doors, a part of me secretly wanted to provoke him. When he was angry, he became someone entirely different from his usual stoic, commanding self.

Once, we had a disagreement. I fled and spent a week with my best friend in the New York Pack, refusing to return to the Munoz territory. Eventually, Alpha Damien came to pick me up. That day, in a lavish penthouse suite, he coldly loosened his belt with one hand and pressed me against the expansive floor-to-ceiling windows. I cried until my voice was raw, yet he wouldn’t stop. In the end, he practically growled in my ear, “Laura Sanders, if you pull this running-away stunt again, you’ll regret it.”

There’s something twisted about me because his cold demeanor and hints of anger always managed to hit a nerve. I liked that I could drive him to lose control because of me.

But now… my body feels like it’s shut down. It’s a still pond, just like my heart. I pulled away from his embrace. “Alpha Damien, let’s break the mate bond.”

I looked at him calmly, then let out a self-deprecating laugh. We’ve had a pup together, and yet now I’m only able to talk about separating. All we have is an unmarked bond. We don’t even have a public ceremony.

Initially, he looked surprised, then his voice turned serious. “Because I clarified the rumors in the werewolf media?”

I wanted to tell him it wasn’t just about the rumors. If it were only that, I might have found a hundred reasons to console myself. But he denied our pup’s existence. These past days, every time I closed my eyes, I saw Isabela’s sad and confused gaze. I couldn’t accept it.

“Yes.”

“You know that was just something I said to deal with the press,” Alpha Damien said, his tone distant but firm. “I’m the Alpha; I don’t have time to placate you over such a minor issue.”

I tried to keep my gaze steady, but my hands at my sides wouldn’t stop trembling. My eyes felt like they were being stabbed with needles, but I held back the tears.

“I don’t need your reassurance.”

“I’m serious.”

“The previous arrangement can be annulled. I just want Isabela.”

Alpha Damien’s eyes flickered with a hint of sarcasm.

“You’re using Isabela to force me to acknowledge you and her publicly?”

“No…”

“I’ve told you, that’s not possible. At least not in the near future.”

He cut me off sharply, his alpha tone making the air feel heavy. “Laura Sanders, there are many things I can indulge you in, but this is not up for discussion.”

He looked down at me as if I were a complete stranger. The room was set at a perfect constant temperature, but I felt an overwhelming chill. It seeped into my bones, making me shiver.

Before bonding, a friend in the pack had discreetly expressed concern for me. Yet, I was filled with naive courage, utterly fearless. “Even if Alpha Damien is made of stone, so what?” I had said. “One day, water will wear it down.”

But now, I want to give up. I want to be the free-flowing water, not a drop confined under an eave forever.

“Think it over tonight, and when you’ve made up your mind, move back into the Alpha’s quarters,” he said, leaving the guest room. The door shut with a heavy thud, different from his usual stoic demeanor.

I pulled up the covers and closed my eyes. In a few days, Gamma Brayden Munoz will return from his retreat in the South. It was he who had endorsed my bond with Alpha Damien all those years ago. As long as he agrees, I can leave with Isabela.

The Munoz Pack has always preferred male heirs over female pups. Luna Aura hardly ever looked at Isabela. In her mind, she’s chosen her ideal mate for Alpha Damien, which naturally makes her detest me. Now that I want to take my pup and leave, it probably suits them just fine.

My wolf stirred faintly in the back of my mind, a low whimper of resignation. She’d been quiet for so long, her voice almost forgotten, but now she echoed my pain. *He’ll regret this,* she whispered, though I wasn’t so sure.

I turned my face into the pillow, muffling the sob that threatened to escape. The bond between us still lingered, a faint pull in my chest, but it felt cold now, like a chain rather than a lifeline. I’d been the mate of the Alpha of the Munoz Pack, but I’d never truly been his Luna. Not in the way that mattered.

And now, I wasn’t sure I wanted to be.