Beautiful Betrayal

Azerbel had waited a whole year for her mate to come home.

When Guerero finally appeared in the distance, she should have been the happiest woman in the Hellfire Pack.

Instead, something inside her whispered that something was wrong.

"I see them!"

Luna Lorraine grabbed Azerbel's hand.

Azerbel quickly looked toward the road.

The returning warriors were coming.

Families crowded around the entrance of the pack, but no one moved yet. After months of fear and uncertainty, everyone seemed afraid to believe their loved ones were truly coming home.

Tears already filled Lorraine's eyes.

Azerbel squeezed her hand.

"I see them too, Mom."

Calling Lorraine Mom still touched something deep inside Azerbel.

Before coming to Hellfire, she had known what it was like to have no real family or home. Lorraine had changed that when she welcomed Azerbel into her life.

Then Azerbel found Guerero.

Her mate.

The man chosen for her by the Moon Goddess.

They had barely begun discovering what it meant to belong to each other when war took him away.

For one long year, Azerbel had waited for him.

Now he was finally coming home.

"There!" Azerbel pointed ahead. "It's Guerero!"

Her heart jumped.

Guerero rode at the front of the returning warriors.

Tall. Strong.

Alive.

For a moment, that was enough.

Relief rushed through Azerbel so strongly that tears burned her eyes.

Every prayer had been answered.

Every lonely night had been worth it.

She wanted to run to him and throw herself into his arms.

But she didn't.

Something about him stopped her.

Even from a distance, Guerero seemed different.

He didn't look like a man rushing home to the woman he loved.

Azerbel pushed the thought away.

A year was a long time. War could exhaust anyone.

Besides, she knew what he had promised her.

His letters had kept her going while he was gone.

I'm coming home.

Wait for me.

And she had.

Today, there would be no more letters.

No more waiting.

No more wondering whether her mate was alive.

Guerero was home.

The warriors finally reached the pack entrance.

The crowd became silent.

Then Guerero dismounted his horse.

Azerbel's breath caught.

She waited for his eyes to find hers.

They didn't.

Guerero walked straight past her.

Azerbel's smile disappeared.

For a second, she wondered if he somehow hadn't seen her.

But she was standing beside his parents.

There was no way he could have missed her.

Still, Guerero didn't stop.

He went directly to Alpha Dave.

"My mission is complete."

His voice was calm and controlled.

Almost cold.

Alpha Dave smiled proudly and pulled his son into a hug.

"I'm proud of you."

Cheers exploded around them.

The silence vanished as families rushed toward the returning warriors. Children cried in their parents' arms. Mates held each other tightly. Laughter and happy tears filled the pack entrance.

Everyone seemed to be getting the reunion they had dreamed about.

Except Azerbel.

"Mother!"

Guerero's voice rose above the noise.

Lorraine released Azerbel's hand and hurried to her son.

"I missed you. I missed you so much."

She wrapped her arms around Guerero as tears ran down her face.

Guerero hugged his mother.

Then he smiled.

Azerbel's chest tightened.

That was the smile she remembered.

The smile she had imagined for an entire year.

Surely he would come to her next.

She waited.

Guerero spoke to his parents.

He greeted others.

But he never looked for her.

Azerbel tried to ignore the cold feeling spreading through her chest.

Maybe he was overwhelmed.

Maybe he was exhausted.

Maybe there were things about the war she didn't understand.

There had to be an explanation.

Because she was his mate.

She was the woman who had waited for him.

The woman who had read his letters again and again whenever missing him became unbearable.

The woman who was supposed to stand beside him one day as Luna of Hellfire.

He couldn't have forgotten all of that.

As the crowd began to settle, Azerbel finally stepped forward.

"Guerero."

He turned.

For the first time since arriving, his eyes truly met hers.

Azerbel's heart squeezed.

She didn't care that people were watching anymore.

She opened her arms.

After a whole year, she only wanted to hold her mate.

Guerero stepped back.

Azerbel froze.

It was only one step.

But it hurt more than if he had said something cruel.

Her arms remained raised for a second before she slowly lowered them.

Heat rushed into her face.

Around them, families were still celebrating. Mates were holding each other after months apart.

And Guerero wouldn't even let her touch him.

He gave her a small nod.

No smile.

No warmth.

Nothing.

"I... I'm so happy to see you."

Azerbel hated how weak her voice sounded.

She stepped back toward Lorraine before the tears burning her eyes could fall.

"I'm happy to be back," Guerero replied.

That was all.

Not I missed you.

Not I've been waiting for this too.

Just four cold words.

Azerbel forced herself to look at him.

For one brief moment, something changed in Guerero's eyes.

Pain.

Maybe guilt.

Maybe regret.

Then he looked away.

Azerbel's hurt slowly mixed with confusion.

What had happened during the war?

Why was he treating her like a stranger?

Before she could ask, Guerero reached behind him.

He took someone's hand.

Azerbel stopped breathing.

A woman stepped forward.

Until that moment, Azerbel hadn't noticed her. From the second Guerero appeared, he had been the only person she could see.

Now Azerbel couldn't look anywhere else.

The woman had long red hair, bright blue eyes, and a beautiful face. She stood beside Guerero with quiet confidence.

But Azerbel barely noticed her beauty.

Her attention dropped to their joined hands.

Guerero was holding the woman's hand firmly.

Not casually.

Not like someone he barely knew.

His fingers remained wrapped around hers as he brought her closer to his family.

Azerbel felt something inside her crack.

"Father. Mother," Guerero said.

His voice was still painfully calm.

"This is the woman I mentioned in my letter."

Azerbel stared at him.

A letter?

What letter?

She remembered every letter Guerero had sent her during the past year.

She remembered his handwriting.

The stories he had shared.

His promises.

The dreams they had talked about.

She had read those letters so many times that some of his words were almost burned into her memory.

But Guerero had never mentioned another woman.

Not once.

Azerbel looked at Lorraine.

Then Alpha Dave.

Their expressions made her blood run cold.

They looked shocked too.

They didn't know who this woman was.

So what letter was Guerero talking about?

And who had received it?

Azerbel swallowed the lump forming in her throat.

Her gaze returned to Guerero.

He still hadn't released the woman's hand.

"Who..."

Her voice nearly failed her.

She looked at their joined hands one last time.

Then she forced herself to meet Guerero's eyes.

"Who is she?"