Chapter 1

I couldn't tear my eyes away from my phone, even though the week-old thermal spa video cut through me like a knife.

The she-wolf in the video was Grace Miller, an Omega who had only joined the pack a year ago.

My mate, Jack Thorne, had claimed she had a knack for sales and sent her to the border to oversee the pack's trading posts.

I remembered the day the video was posted. I had sensed Jack marking territory thousands of miles away.

At the time, my heart ached for him as he labored through the harsh northern cold.

Just then, my wolf stirred in my mind.

"Could Grace have doctored the video? Was it meant to come between you two?" she asked in confusion.

Yes… Jack loved me so much. How could he possibly betray me?

He would have risked his life for me. Maybe this really was nothing more than a cruel trap.

…

Late that night, the villa's doors creaked open. Jack had returned from his patrol.

Exhaustion was etched across his face, but the instant he saw me, his eyes lit up. He hurried over and held me tightly from behind, his face nuzzling against my neck.

"Ivy, I missed you so much," he murmured, his voice rough with longing.

The familiar scent of cedar enveloped me, and a sudden rush of warmth stirred in my chest.

A beat later, Jack reached into his coat and pulled out a velvet box. He opened it, revealing a pair of sapphire earrings.

It was the very pair I couldn't stop admiring when we went shopping last time.

As he fastened them onto my ears, he said, "My Luna, you deserve the finest things in the world. I'm going to shower. I smell of the road."

Having said that, he kissed my forehead and headed for the bathroom.

While Jack showered, I started unpacking his luggage.

Inside the innermost pocket of his suitcase, my fingers brushed against a crumpled receipt. It was from a lingerie store in the pack's territory.

The receipt was dated the day before Jack left for his patrol on the northern border, and the item was a provocatively revealing custom lace set. Moreover, it wasn't my size.

Then, it hit me.

The day before Jack left for patrol, he had announced before the pack's council of Elders that Grace's stellar performance at the border trading post had earned her special permission to return to the headquarters. On top of that, she was to receive the Sales Rep of the Year award.

Under the guise of honoring her, he had brought that she-wolf back from the border.

Then, Jack brought Grace to my private thermal spa, with the lingerie he had bought in advance, and turned the "award ceremony" into something utterly filthy.

All at once, a chill ran through me, and my blood went cold.

On the clothes he had just removed, I caught a faint trace of floral perfume, layered with a subtle hint of minerals.

As it turned out, Jack's so-called "marking territory" had been nothing more than a ruse. He carried out his official duties only to cover up his affair.

Those three years of love and devotion, and every grand vow and promise he had made, all turned into a cruel joke in that instant.