Chapter 2

Allene’s POV

  I paced to and fro in my chambers as I waited for Leonard to return.

  It was past ten at night, the pack’s curfew hour. Leonard had arrived hours ago. I had gone to invite him to the rooftop, where I had arranged a modest dinner.

  I couldn’t let our fifth mating anniversary—an occasion that should have been grand—turn into nothing.

  It was supposed to be a big day.

  Even if Leonard acted as though he hadn’t seen the messages I sent him or the keys to the private hotel booking I had carefully arranged.

  But his guards had stopped me at his door, claiming he was with an important visitor.

  At that hour and past curfew.

  The unease I felt refused to settle, and I couldn’t help wondering if he was still with them.

  When I could no longer bear it, I left my chambers and headed toward Leonard’s.

  We were mates and were meant to share one room, just like his parents did. But Leonard had refused. Even intimacy with him was always forced and reluctant. He only came to me during the days of consummation, and even then, it was once or twice a month at best. Sex to him was a chore.

  Today was the consummation date for this month.

  That was why I was trying so hard to spend the night with him.

  Five years had passed and I was tired of the whispers.

  Tired of the rumors about me being barren.

  I wasn’t halfway down the hallway leading out of my chambers when I heard voices coming from my mother-in-law’s room.

  I tried to ignore it and keep walking.

  But I stopped when I heard my name.

  My mother-in-law despised me because of my lowly status. She had always resented the Alpha Council’s decree that bound her son to me, a union forced as a reward for my parents dying in her stead while protecting her.

  So why was my name on her lips now and at this hour of the night?

  Overcome by curiosity, I tiptoed toward her chambers and froze outside the door, listening to the conversation inside. Her voice was sharp, angry and paired with another voice I didn’t need help identifying. The Alpha’s.

  “She cannot be crowned as my son’s Luna,” my mother-in-law snapped. “She’s far too lowly. Jessica is already pregnant for Leonard. She’s the beta’s daughter. Her pups are meant to be my son’s heirs. That omega girl is barren. Just send her away, Darius. What are you even protecting her for?”

  My father-in-law sighed.

  “The Alpha Council decreed the marriage,” he replied calmly. “Leonard cannot reject her without risking being ousted from the council before he’s even coronated as Alpha.”

  A pause.

  “I’ve already told Leonard to mate Jessica,” he continued. “Once that is complete, I’ll convince the omega girl to accept becoming his first mate. She’s an orphan. She has nowhere else to go. Remaining in the pack and being acknowledged as Leonard’s first mate or concubine, should be more than enough for her. She has no other choice than to accept, afterall what other means does she have for survival if not for us?”

  Bile clawed up my throat.

  I forced myself to swallow it down.

  For so long, I had believed my father-in-law treated me better than his Luna because he acknowledged me as his daughter-in-law.

  All this time, he had only been protecting his son.

  A sharp pain tore through my chest, stealing the strength from my legs. I lost my footing and fell to the floor with a dull thud.

  The sound echoed in the corridor.

  Inside the chamber, footsteps rushed toward the door.

  Panicked, I forced myself up and stumbled away, just as the door began to open, revealing that i was about to be discovered.

  I crawled toward Leonard’s door, forcing myself to keep moving even when my body begged me to stop.

  He was with Jessica and they were having sex.

  And this wasn’t the first time.

  A tear burned at the corner of my eye, threatening to fall, but I held it back. I needed to hear it from the horse’s mouth.

  For years, I had remained silent about his infidelity. As mates, it was impossible not to know.

  The bond we shared made it painfully clear. Each time Leonard was with another woman, his mark on my neck burned hotter, as though it was branding the betrayal into my skin.

  For Five years.

  Five years of patience. Of endurance. Of sacrificing everything I was and everything I had for the good of the pack, without reward or appreciation.

  Even the clothes on my body did not reflect that I was his mate. They were the dresses I had inherited from my late parents. Except for a few outfits Leonard’s father had once bought me for public events—so I wouldn’t embarrass him or the pack—I had nothing of my own.

  How could they, after all I had endured, plan to silence me like this?

  A kitchen Luna and nanny for Leonard and Jessica’s future pups.

  Because that was what it meant.

  An Alpha was not allowed two mates. One would be the mate. The other—a concubine or breeder.

  And I was already barren.

  Of what use would I be in such a position?

  It was nothing but a ruse to trap me in the pack, to keep me from leaving so the Alpha Council would see nothing wrong when Leonard eventually married Jessica.

  The thought sounded unreal. Laughable even.

  And yet it was happening and to me!.

  When I reached the hallway leading to Leonard’s chambers, I forced myself to stand and walk. Crawling any further would only invite more humiliation from servants, guards and anyone who might see me.

  “Luna Allene!” a guard called sharply, rushing forward to block my path.

  “The Alpha is currently in an important meeting,” he said quickly. “I advise you return later.”

  I rolled my eyes, anger burning through me.

  The same lie be told all the time.

  Did they think I was foolish enough not to know? Each time I was told Leonard had an important visitor, his mark burned, and the mate bond tore through me. Those had been proof that he was being affectionate with another wolf who wasn’t me.

  I ignored the guard and kept walking.

  Before, I would have stopped. I would have turned back to my chambers.

  This time, it didn’t even cross my mind.

  I pushed the door open to find out Leonard and Jessica were exactly where I expected them to be—naked and tangled together on the bed. A bed he had never invited me to before .

  Leonard’s gaze lifted and locked onto mine.

  “I’m sorry, Alpha,” the guard stammered behind me. “I tried to stop her, but she didn’t—”

  Leonard silenced him with a flick of his hand.

  “Allene,” he called, his voice calm and casual as though nothing was wrong.

  As though he hadn’t shattered me for years.

  I had kept quiet for half a decade, despite knowing about his betrayal. Was catching him red-handed still not enough to earn even a hint of remorse?

  “What brings you here?” he asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

  Unbothered, I exhaled slowly.

  “I came here,” I said, my voice steady despite everything breaking inside me, “to reject you, Leonard Amari.”

  And for the first time in five years, the words felt like freedom.