Betrayed by the Blood Shadow's Alpha

I never doubted Nicholas Pendle's love for me. We'd been bonded as mates for five years, and in all that time, he had adored me with a devotion that bordered on worship.Until today.Scrolling through his Facebook, I stumbled upon a post that stopped my breath.Chanelle Ringard had shared a photo of herself in a lace dress. Her caption read: [What should I do if my mate is always unsatisfied?]Nicholas had always kept his distance from other she-wolves. But on this post—this one—he'd clicked like.I was frozen in place, confused. And before I could say anything, Nicholas slid his arm around me."Chanelle's in charge of selling lingerie," he said smoothly. "If she makes you uncomfortable, I'll delete her right now."His voice was calm and reassuring. The doubt in my chest slowly faded. After all, from childhood to now, there had never been another she-wolf by his side but me.My wolf, Aya, said proudly in my mind, Nicholas even cut off all his business ties with female Alphas—fo

A few werewolves nearby rushed to defend Chanelle."Alpha, please don't be angry," one said quickly. "Chanelle's just upset—her mate dumped her last night, and she's been emotional ever since."Another chimed in, half whispering, half gossiping, "I heard they spent the whole night together, and then he went off messing around with another she-wolf."Chanelle sniffled loudly, grabbing a tissue from a male assistant and dabbing at her eyes."All male werewolves are the same—worthless!" she cried, before burying her head against the werewolf's chest, her gesture deliberate, taunting.Nicholas looked calm, but his stiff shoulders betrayed him."The cup didn't hit you, did it?" he asked, turning to check me over carefully. Only after confirming I was fine did he call over his assistant. "Take Luna out for a walk."He adjusted my collar tenderly, the picture of a devoted mate. "I've got a special gift for you later at noon," he said to me.But as he passed Chanelle, his voice turne

The next few days, I carried on with Nicholas the way I always had—calm, composed, pretending nothing had changed.But whenever he tried to touch me, I refused.I told no one in the pack about my plan. Quietly, I began erasing every trace of myself from the Blood Shadow archives. Each record, each mention—gone. Then I kept up the act, following him to the office like any other day."Baby," he said one night, wrapping his arm around my waist, his lips brushing my neck. "You never liked coming to work with me before. Aren't you tired doing this every day now?"My whole body stiffened. I could still picture those same lips pressed against Chanelle's skin, and a wave of nausea rose in my throat.Aya's voice echoed in my mind, sharp and contemptuous. 'He's not worried about us being tired. He just doesn't want us interrupting his little rendezvous with Chanelle.'"Lately," he continued, oblivious, "the elders have been pushing us to have a pup soon."I smiled faintly. "Sure.""But

Nicholas pushed Chanelle off his body and reached for his jacket."No," he said flatly. "Something's wrong with Julie tonight. I need to go home. Get some rest."Chanelle's face twisted with fury. "Julie, Julie—do you care that much about that old wolf? If you love her so much, then why did you come to me?"Nicholas sighed, exasperated. Watching her cry made him soften, almost against his will, and he was about to console her when his phone rang.His assistant's voice came through, urgent and trembling. "Alpha! Did you pick up Luna yourself?"Nicholas froze. "What do you mean? Five hours ago, I told you to get her.""I did, Alpha," the assistant said, close to tears. "I went straight there after your message, but she wasn't in the car. I thought maybe she got delayed, so I waited. She never showed up."I even checked with the housekeeper, Biji. She said Luna Julie never came home."He immediately sensed me, but suddenly realized that he couldn't sense me anymore. It could onl

Fame, power, wealth—even the title of Alpha. Nicholas could give them all up. None of it mattered anymore.All he wanted to know was where Julie had gone.Even if they were no longer bound as mates, he only wished to stay near her, to see her happy.Mandy smiled faintly. "I'm sorry, Alpha. Luna never told me where she went. She just asked me to wish you and Chanelle happiness—and to tell you she hopes you have a pup soon."The words struck him like a blow. His whole body seemed to lose its strength. He gave a hollow laugh, one after another."Julie… without you, how could I ever be happy? You know better than anyone—there's only you. Chanelle… she was never anything more than a mistake," he muttered as he clutched at his hair, pulling until his scalp burned."Julie, I was wrong! I was wrong! I'm sorry…"When Mandy told me all this, I was in the royal capital, attending a meeting with the Alphas of the surrounding packs.Watching Nicholas's tears through the recording, all I fel