Chapter 2

I don't know how I drove back to the packhouse.

I pushed the front door open. The warm hall lights were on. I stood in the doorway like a ghost, frozen.

I didn't know how to face this yet. I didn't know how to rip off their perfect masks.

Voices came from the dining room.

Arthur walked out of the kitchen, holding a steaming bowl of herbal soup. Mia sat at the dining table in silk pajamas, looking sweet and innocent.

"Drink it while it's hot, Mia," Arthur said softly. "The pack doctor said these herbs are good for your postpartum recovery. I brewed it for three hours."

It was such a normal scene. So normal that it had played out in this house almost every day for the last two years.

Ever since Arthur brought Mia here, claiming she wanted to carry our pup, I felt nothing but gratitude and guilt toward her.

I knew how much IVF and pregnancy hurt. Plus, carrying an Alpha's pup drained an Omega's energy and could permanently damage her wolf.

So, whenever Arthur doted on her, I never stopped him. I encouraged it.

To give her a better life, and to pay the massive legal and medical fees, I became the pack's ultimate bankroll.

I fought on the front lines like a madwoman. I negotiated for the pack. I expanded our territory. I secured three lucrative silver mines.

I used my blood money to buy the ultimate luxuries and the most expensive supplements. I gave Mia the best of everything before I ever took anything for myself.

Even after a bloody day on the battlefield, I would drag my exhausted body to the market to buy her fresh groceries.

I remembered one late night during Mia's third trimester.

I came home covered in blood and mud after putting down a border rebellion.

I looked into the living room. Arthur had finished his easy Alpha paperwork. He was sitting on the plush couch with Mia leaning against his chest. He had his ear pressed against her pregnant belly, eyes closed, smiling as he listened to the baby kick.

What did I do?

I stood in the shadows, feeling dirty and unworthy to ruin their moment. I thought it was beautiful. I thought he was just excited for our baby. I thought he was going to be the best dad in the world.

Now, looking back, that was just a cozy moment for their little family of three.

And I was just their funder. The blind idiot providing the mansion, the money, and the Luna status.

I squeezed my eyes shut, nausea clawing up my throat.

I reached out and shut the front door.

Click.

Arthur jumped away from Mia like he'd been electrocuted.

It was fast, but my wolf saw it.

He turned to me, flashing that natural, gentle smile. "You're home, baby?"

Every little detail I had willfully ignored over the years flooded my brain.

I remembered the day Leo was born. When the pup opened his eyes, they were the exact same brown as Mia's.

Arthur's eyes are gold. Mine are blue.

I had a moment of doubt back then. But I loved that baby so much. He was my heir, the pup I waited five years for. So, I brainwashed myself. I told myself genetics were weird. I made excuses for them.

The DNA report in my pocket felt like a boulder.

All my love, all my guilt, all my blood and sweat... was it all just a disgusting scam?

There was no surrogacy.

He was just fucking this Omega behind my back while I thought we were doing IVF!

"Serena?" Arthur walked toward me. "Weren't you at the southern mines? How did you get back so fast? Is everything handled?"

I looked at his handsome face.

The face I loved to my core. The man I literally took a silver bullet for.

Now, I just wanted to throw up.