Chapter 35
Now, I was nothing more than a nuisance standing in the way of his “true mate.”
He wouldn’t exile me from the pack because it wasn’t convenient for him, so I’d handle it myself.
Leaving the Alpha’s office, I stepped onto the winding dirt path, the night’s chill biting through my thin coat like the fangs of an unseen predator. The moon hung high, casting a ghostly silver sheen over the towering pines. My wolf stirred uneasily inside me, restless from the cold–or maybe it was something else, something that scraped raw against my chest.
I waited. Five long hours.
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Finally, when the last light in the building blinked out, Ronan emerged. The heavy scent of authority clung to him–pine, musk, and something darker. A scent that once meant home, now nothing more than a suffocating reminder.
He turned his head slightly, murmuring something to Maven, the Beta’s daughter, before striding in my direction.
Without hesitation, he wrapped me in his arms, his warmth pressing into me like a demand, an unspoken expectation for me to melt against him.
“Luna, how long have you been out here? You should’ve come inside.”
His voice carried that Alpha weight, command woven into every syllable, meant to pull submission from my bones. But I
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wasn’t that woman anymore.
“It’s nothing” I murmured, my tone even. “I just brought you dinner, but your assistant told me you’d already eaten.”
His golden eyes flickered–something unreadable, hesitation maybe… or guilt?
“You’re not in great shape lately. Don’t do this again, alright? I’d hate for you to wear yourself out.”
Liar. You wouldn’t.
“Oh, Dario dropped off some medicine for you. You were running low, weren’t you?”
I took the pills from his outstretched hand, stuffing them into my purse without a word.
His embrace used to feel like safety, like an
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anchor in stormy seas.
Now?
It was a cage disguised as comfort.
The moment we got home, he was all over me, his hands pressing me against the couch, the same hunger, the same routine- but this time, something inside me rebelled.
I placed my hands against his chest, stopping him.
A flicker of irritation flashed across his face, but he kept his composure. An Alpha’s anger was always a dangerous thing, but he wasn’t reckless enough to bare his teeth at me. Not yet.
“What’s the issue? Isn’t this what you wanted? To give me an heir?”
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To keep your position secure. To keep me bound to you.
“I don’t feel well tonight. Maybe another time”
His jaw tightened, his wolf’s presence flashing in his gaze, a sharp golden flicker of frustration.
He didn’t push. He just turned and stormed off to the bathroom.
A moment later, his phone buzzed on the table.
Maven’s sweet, flirtatious voice filled the room.
I picked up the device, my fingers steady, calculated.
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Maven’s birthday. That was all it took to unlock it.
The screen changed, switching over to another system.
One app.
One contact.
“Spicy Kitty.“”
I opened the chat.
Her profile picture stared back at me- Maven, draped in black, sleek and confident, eyes sharp with amusement.
Their messages flooded the screen, a trail of whispered confessions and late–night rendezvous.
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My wolf bared her teeth inside me, the sting of betrayal curling in my gut.
“Hey Alpha, meet me on the rooftop?”
“Sure, darling.”
“What about your car, Ethan? I’ve never done that before. Just outside your den.”
“You scared of getting caught? Guess I’ll play the hero for you then.”
“Ethan, I want to be on the pack expansion project…”
“Easy. Just show me what you’re working
with.”
I scrolled through his contracts, the weight of every decision, every calculated move,
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sinking like stones in my chest.
Every agreement. Every deal. Every signature.
All in her name.
He had bought her gifts–not cheap human. trinkets, but enchanted moonstones, bonded to werewolves to deepen their connection.
And all of it? Purchased under the pack’s
name.
His love wasn’t subtle. It never had been.
I picked up the jewelry receipts.
He once claimed they were auction pieces. He once said they were for me.
Lies wrapped in silver and gold.
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Every time I saved money for him, every time I held back from asking for more, it had only made it easier for him to spend it on her.
I laughed. Not because it was funny.
Because I had never felt more pathetic.
Pulling out my phone, I called a lawyer.
“I need to discuss severance. Financial aspects. You free?”
I wouldn’t let him walk away unscathed.
I didn’t sleep that night.
The sun rose.
I washed my face, erased the exhaustion from my skin, and waited.
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My phone rang.
Ronan’s confused voice crackled through the speaker.
“Lilah, what the hell did you sign up for?”
I pressed the phone to my chest for a moment, steadying myself, my wolf huffing softly in the back of my mind.
“Oh, just some beauty treatments. Didn’t think you’d care.”
“You have a meeting today, don’t you? Anyway, go ahead. I’m fine.”
He didn’t question it.
He just wrapped his arms around me, whispered against my ear.
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“You’re the most beautiful thing that’s ever happened to me.”
I smiled.
Beautiful. Not valued. Not cherished. Just admired, like a prized possession.
“I’m getting you a gift later,” he added, “How’s that sound?”
“Great. I’ll be waiting.”
The second he left, a driver arrived with a package.
Five years. Five years, he had arranged for this exact breakfast to be delivered to me, at this exact time, from this exact place.
Not because he loved me.
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Because he didn’t want the effort of making it himself.
An Alpha with too much power to cook.
A mate too entitled to learn something so simple.
I threw the meal into the trash.
This little masquerade?
It was ending soon.
At the lawyer’s office, discussions moved fast.
“Give me two days, he said, scanning over the files.
I handed him the records–evidence of every
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gift, every expense, every selfish indulgence Ronan had ever purchased for Maven under the pack’s name.
We set a plan.
And then I left.
Ronan’s packhouse was alive with celebration, his warriors howling in victory, champagne spraying across the hall.
He stood in the center, grinning, shielding Maven from the mess like a gallant lover.
I recognized the suit.
Midnight black, silver embroidery.
My anniversary gift.
I turned on my heel, marched to the
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company, and found him standing before a
crowd.
The murmurs were loud.
“Maven is practically our Luna now.”
“Come on, you’ve seen how Ethan parades her around. She’s got the title already!”
I clapped, my laugh slicing through the air like a blade.
Ronan turned, stunned.
“What are you doing here?”
I shrugged. “Just giving out bonuses. What else would I be doing?”
Maven strutted over, contract in hand, her smirk infuriatingly smug.
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“Yes, Lilah. Your Alpha is such a generous man!”
“Pays for my apartment and everything.”
I didn’t argue. Didn’t lash out.
I just looked at Ronan.
“It’s normal. No need to be upset.”
“After all, you give what you give. Not everyone is that lucky!”
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