#Chapter 2: Beyond Betrayal

Hannah's POV

My eyes burned as tears formed behind them, but I was too furious to cry.

For a moment, I was frozen in place and unable to move.

My spine was stiff, my heart beating against my rib cage while my breath was painfully caught in my lungs.

Sebastian and I grew up together. I was Alpha's daughter. He was the Beta's son.

Even though we were not fated mates, we always knew we would mark each other as chosen mates.

Sebastian's promised that he'd treat me like his queen for the rest of his life. Now I knew that his promises were empty.

My breath came back in a painful whoosh and I shoved the door open. Disrupting their moment with a low growl.

Sebastian stepped back from their embrace and at least had the good sense to look flustered. He held up a hand as if to stop my forward motion towards them.

My eyes bore into his and then flicked briefly to Molly.

I felt a sense of pure rage, even more than I thought was possible when I noticed that Molly still seemed relatively calm. It was as if she was confident in the moment...as if she was almost expecting it.

She probably planned this. To secure her place in the pack. To take everything from me as her own.

I'd consider this more later. For now, I needed to let out my rage on my cheating husband.

"How could you?" My voice burned through the room as I demanded answers.

Sebastian took a tentative step toward me. "It's not what it looks like...I was just helping her."

He sounded so weak in that moment that I couldn't believe he could even call himself my alpha.

"Helping her, what? Achieve an orgasm? You liar?"

"I'm not lying!" He blinked slowly, and waved his hand in the direction of Molly. "She wasn't feeling well."

"Don't deny something that is as obvious as the full moon. At least give me credit for what I saw with my own eyes, Sebastian."

He reached out a hand as if to grab my arm but I stepped back and snatched it away.

"Don't touch me!" My fury blazed hotter by the moment. "You're a lying, cheating, asshole."

"Don't talk to me like that!" That was when he took two steps forward and was now face to face with me, his wolf eyes glowing as he unleashed on me, "When Bash disappeared, you left me. You were drowning in grief, obsessed with finding him.  Since he's been back, all you do is still trying to win him back. Day after day it's all about him and never about me. Of course I would find someone else!"

His voice came down an octave now, but he continued to spear me with his cruelty, "Molly loves me. She's gentle, caring, understanding. She pays attention to what I'm feeling and she's a great mother. She doesn't make me feel like I come second to a child who doesn't even want us!"

The words hit me like a ton of bricks. The words stung and the total weight of his betrayal was finally clear to me. This wasn't just a fling. He fell in love with Molly.

I felt as if I'd been punched. There was nothing on earth that he could have said in that moment that would have hurt worse.

A big part of me wanted to run away. The fear, overwhelm and disappointment was almost too much to bear. But growping up as an alpha daughter, I've learned to face everything with a strong heart.

I took a deep breath and stood taller.

"If Molly is so great, let's make it public then. Let's announce to the pack that our bond is broken. Tell everyone about your love for this little omega tramp. And we get a divorce tomorrow."

"That's not going to happen. Our pack can't survive that type of scandal." He shook his head as if I had completely lost my mind.

I didn't fail to notice that Molly's posture had shifted in that moment and her expression had turned cold and tight on her face. It was only for a moment, but I'd caught it.

"Oh really? Since when are you worried about the pack's reputation? Where was your sense of loyalty and responsibility when you were fucking her? You are the cheater. You should leave the pack after we reject each other!"

Sebastian's anger raged and I could feel his wolf pushing just beneath the surface.

"What do you mean? I leave my pack? "

I let out a mirthless laugh. "I was the alpha's daughter. That's the only reason you're the alpha now."

We grew up together, fell in love and inherited the pack from my parents. Now thinking back, all the memories started to hurt.

Sebastian fired back, "All those years you searched for our son, I was the one keeping it all together. The pack respects me as their alpha!"

I fell into silence.

"Replacing an alpha requires a vote. You can't find someone who can win me in this pack. In MY pack," Sebastian laughed out loud. "If we get an divorce, you will be the one who needs to leave the pack and Bash will stay with us. This about it."

Those words were another gut punch. It hurt and maybe, just maybe it hurt so much because I feared it was true.

The fiery passion I'd been raging with since the second I walked into the room burned out a little as I thought of Bash and my father's pack. My heart hurt and I knew it was a battle I might not win.

I swallowed down my pride and took a step back. "Then Molly leaves, immediately. Maybe only one visit allowed each month. Then we can probably...work things out, just the two of us."

This is the last concession I was able to make.

At this, Molly dropped to her knees and crawled forward to kneel at my feet.

"Please, my Luna. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me," Her voice craked beautifully. Perfectly. Like she'd rehearsed it. "My old pack was horrible. They won't take me back. Please don't send me away."

I stared down at her. This woman who had been moaning my husband's name ten seconds ago was now kneeling at my feet with tears streaming down her face.

Her words made me feel physically sick to my stomach.

I know it well now this whole acting is not meant to win my empathy, but my husband's.

Sebastian bent down and helped her up. Gently. Carefully. The way you handle something precious.

"She's not leaving, Hannah." His voice was quiet now. Final. "She can't go back to that horrible pack where everyone bullied her. Besides...our son can't live without her. Not even a day."

I recoiled as the harsh truth burst loose inside my heart.

He didn't even want to try for us.

He just wanted it all.

He wanted the power of the pack. He wanted his loyal wife and the power that came from her ancestry. He wanted his slut omega side piece and he wanted us to raise our son together. And, most of all, he wanted me to stay quiet about it.

Disbelief, rage, pain, and utter devastation coursed through my body.

I raised my hand and slapped him hard across the face.