Broken

Three years earlier, beneath the ancient mating oaks, silver beams had filtered through the canopy, bathing the sacred circle in ethereal light. Draven Blackthorn, Alpha King of the Blackthorn Pack, had stood before Elara Vance, his golden eyes burning with unrestrained hunger and devotion. Childhood sweethearts turned fated mates, they had shared stolen kisses and whispered promises since their pup days.

On that sacred night, the Moon Goddess had sealed their bond with a surge of power and blessed their reunion.

“I choose you, Elara,” Draven had growled against her lips, his strong hands cradling her face with surprising tenderness. “Not only because the Goddess willed it, but because I have loved you since we were pups chasing fireflies. You are my Luna. My everything.”

Elara had given him everything that night, her body, her soul, her promising career at the Shifter Genetics Research Institute. She had walked away from late nights studying hybrid fertility and half-blood genetics without regret, all for the dream of building a family with the man she loved.

“I’ll give you the world,” she had whispered, tracing the fresh mate mark on his neck. “Even if it costs me everything.” Elara added.

Now, on their third wedding anniversary, that dream lay in ruins.

Elara moved through the private chambers, the emerald gown hugging her curves, her dark waves cascading softly over one shoulder and in her hands rested a small velvet box tied with silk ribbon, containing the custom cufflinks engraved with their entwined initials and a tiny wolf paw.

She had prepared his favourite meal with herbs from the northern meadows and chilled a bottle of aged lunar wine.

Tonight was meant to fix the growing distance between them, to remind him of the love they once shared so deeply and to push past the pain of her empty womb. She pushed open the heavy oak door to their private chambers in the Blackthorn Pack Hall, a soft smile on her lips but immediately as she stepped in, the smile died instantly.

Low, guttural moans echoed from the bedroom. The unmistakable scent of another female, thick, cloying, pure-blood mixed with Draven's musk.

Elara's wolf stirred, whining in pain, but she forced her legs forward. There, on their sacred mating bed, she caught Draven, thrusting into Selene Alfred with desperate hunger. Selene's head was thrown back, her manicured nails digging into his back as she cried out his name in exaggerated ecstasy.

“Draven… yes… give me what that barren half-breed never could.” Selene’s voice dripped with venomous triumph as she moaned the words.

Draven let out a deep, guttural groan as if her cruel taunt only fueled his desire. The rhythmic slap of flesh filled the room as he drove into her harder, faster, lost in the heat of the moment.

Elara’s wolf let out a sharp, stabbing whine inside her chest. Her stomach plummeted violently. The small velvet box slipped from her trembling fingers and thudded softly onto the marble floor, the silk ribbon unraveling like a broken vow.

Draven froze the instant he sensed her presence. His golden eyes snapped wide with shock. For one agonizing heartbeat, he remained buried inside Selene, as though torn between guilt and lingering pleasure, before he finally pulled away with jerky, frantic movements. He yanked on his pants, his face flushed, breath ragged.

“Elara…” His voice came out rough and hoarse, laced with shock and the faint shadow of guilt.

Selene, however, didn’t bother covering herself. She lounged back shamelessly against the pillows, a slow, evil smile curving her lips as she met Elara’s gaze. One possessive hand slid over her slightly rounded belly. “Oh, look who finally decided to play the devoted wife on your precious anniversary,” she purred, her tone dripping with mock sympathy. “Too bad you couldn’t give him the pure-blood heir the pack needs. I’m already carrying his pup, the future Alpha you failed to provide.” Her smile sharpened. “You half-breed.” The words landed like silver bullets to the chest.

Elara’s breath caught, her chest tightening.

For three years she had endured endless injections, painful rituals, and humiliating tests at the pack healers, all in a desperate attempt to conceive a pure-blood heir for the Alpha King. All while Draven held her at night and whispered that it didn’t matter, that he loved her anyway.

Apparently, it mattered enough for this.

Before Elara could find her voice and before Draven could reach for her, she turned and rushed out of the bedroom, the weight of betrayal crushing her.

Draven chased after her immediately, still half-dressed, his voice cracking with desperation. “Elara, wait! It’s not what you think…”

Elara got the sitting room, running into Draven's parents, Elder Thorne and Luna Mira strode in, along with a few of Selene's giggling friends who had clearly been waiting for this spectacle, their expressions cold in confusion but as they saw Draven right behind her they smiled evilly while Elder Thorne’s brought out a crisp rejection papers, already unfolded and sealed.

Elara frowned, her fingers tightening at her sides.“...What is this?”

“It’s a…” Luna Mira began, but Draven cut in sharply.

“Don’t do this, Mother. Let me talk to her.”

Luna Mira’s gaze hardened.“She’s already found out, hasn’t she, son? So what exactly is left to hide?” She folded her arms, her voice turning glacial. “We tolerated you for Draven's sake, Elara. But this ends now. Sign the rejection papers and spare us the embarrassment of a diluted bloodline sitting on the throne.”

Elara’s confusion deepened, unease creeping into her chest.“Hide what?” she asked, her voice quieter now, searching their faces. “What aren’t you telling me?”

The silence told her everything.

Her breath hitched. “You all knew?” she whispered, the realization striking like a blow. “You knew what’s been going on between Selene and Draven… and none of you said a word?”

“Elara, I can explain…” Draven stepped forward, desperation edging his voice.

“Enough.” Elder Thorne silenced him with a sharp gesture, his eyes never leaving Elara. They swept over her with contempt. “Disgraceful,” he spat. “A half-human mongrel like you was never worthy of my son.”

Elara flinched, but he continued, merciless.

“Look at you…weak blood, barren, clinging to a title you could never fulfill.” His lip curled as he gestured toward the doorway. “But Selene…” All eyes turned.

Selene had entered without a sound, draped in a silk robe.

“....she carries the future of our pack.”

A ripple of laughter broke from her friends.

“Failed Luna,” one of them sneered. “All those treatments, and not a single pup. Pathetic.”

Luna Mira’s lips curved faintly, her expression cold with finality. “We indulged this farce for the sake of the mate bond and Draven’s foolish attachment. But tonight, it ends.” She stepped closer, her voice dropping, low and cutting. “So sign the papers, Elara. Spare this family the humiliation of weakness on the throne.”

Elara’s gaze fell to the documents in Elder Thorne’s grip. The ink was still fresh. The seals prepared and waiting.

The timing. The papers. Selene’s dramatic pregnancy reveal…All of it orchestrated for this exact moment when her guard would be at its lowest. On their anniversary night.

“You planned this,” Elara said quietly, her voice steady despite the earthquake tearing through her chest. “All of you. You waited until tonight so it would hurt the most.”

Selene glided forward, coming to stand beside Draven. Her smile widened, sweet on the surface, venom underneath as she tilted her head with practiced innocence.

“Planned?” she echoed lightly. “Oh, Elara, don’t be so dramatic. I simply came to discuss the pack’s future with the Alpha. One thing led to another… and well, nature took its course.” Her hand slid possessively onto Draven's arm.

“A real Luna would understand that an Alpha needs strong heirs,” she continued softly. “You’ve tried for three years with all those humiliating treatments and still produced nothing but disappointment.” A pause as her smile sharpened. “I’m only doing what’s best for the pack… and for Draven.” Her sweetness curdled, the triumph in her eyes impossible to hide.

Elara’s hands trembled, but she lifted her chin. Inside her, her wolf howled, furious, feral, demanding blood. It clawed at her restraint, urging her to shift, to tear, to destroy but she held it back.

She had always been the reasonable one. The patient one. The one who gave. She had given everything, her pride, her time, her body for the dream of building a family with the boy she’d loved since childhood. She had been the one who sacrificed.

Not anymore.

“Draven,” she said quietly, her voice steady despite the shattering inside her. “I want to end our mate bond. Tonight.”

Draven's composure cracked. Panic flickered in his golden eyes as he reached for her.

“Elara, don’t be ridiculous. This is a mistake and you’re upset. You’re letting emotions get the better of you.” He stepped closer, his voice softening into something almost familiar. “We grew up together,” he pressed. “I care about you. Breaking the bond… it would damage both our wolves. You know that. The instincts alone could tear us apart.” His hand hovered near her arm, hesitant, like he remembered the girl she used to be.

“Come on, love,” he murmured. “We’ll fix this. I’ll send Selene away.”

The words sounded right but they felt empty because Elara could see it now, the truth beneath the surface, the choice he had already made and it wasn’t her.

Selene’s smirk faltered for the briefest second while Elara looked at the man she had loved since she was twelve, the boy who had shared his first hunt with her, who had promised her the world on their mating night and she felt nothing but cold emptiness.

“No,” she whispered. “I’m done sacrificing everything for a love that was never enough for you.” Her voice was cold and final.

Elara signed the papers without hesitation. Then she turned away from his outstretched hand and walked toward the room to gather what little remained of her life. Her heel crushed the gift box beneath her step. The anniversary wine sat unopened but the humiliation was far from over.

Behind her, Draven called her name.

She didn’t look back.

As she stepped into the hallway, Selene’s circle of friends pure-blood she-wolves who had always envied her were already waiting. Summoned the moment the bedroom doors opened. Their laughter cut through the air as they nicked her.

“Oh, look! The failed Luna,” one sneered, stepping into Elara’s path. “Pathetic half-breed.”

Another circled closer, nose wrinkling in mock disgust. “Throw her out already. Selene will give this pack the strong, pure heirs it deserves while this diluted mutt rots.”

Before Elara could respond, the guards moved in at Elder Thorne’s silent command. Their grip was firm as they seized her arms. Elara was too heartbroken and weak to fight against their grasp.

Her belongings had already been gathered and reduced to a single suitcase. It was tossed carelessly onto the gravel drive outside.

The emerald gown she wore, once chosen with care for this perfect day, now felt like a cruel mockery.

“Remove her from the Alpha’s residence,” Luna Mira ordered coldly from the doorway. “She is no longer welcome here.”

The guards pushed her forward and she stumbled out.

Selene’s friends followed, their taunts rising with every step.

“Enjoy the streets, barren bitch!”

“Selene is the real Luna now!”

Behind her, Draven's voice cracked through the chaos.

“Elara! Stop this madness! Come back!”

She didn’t look back.

The heavy pack house doors slammed shut behind her, cutting off the laughter, the cruelty, the suffocating scent of betrayal.

Silence rushed in as Elara stood alone on the cold gravel, with nothing but the clothes on her back and the fading, fraying mate bond pulsing painfully in her chest.

Tears burned behind her eyes though sherefused to let them fall.

Not here and not for them.

That night, as she walked away from the only home she had known for three years toward the distant glow of city lights and the research career she had abandoned, Elara made a silent vow to the Moon Goddess and to herself that she would rebuild. She would rise on her own terms and she would never again allow another Alphaking or otherwise to break her.

And one day… Draven, his family, Selene and every single one of them who cast her aside like nothing, would regret it with every beat of their treacherous hearts.