Rise Of The Betrayed Omega

**Stella's POV** They say a mate can sense betrayal through the bond. They're wrong. I felt nothing when my husband touched another woman. Nothing when my daughter learned to call someone else mommy. I felt nothing until I heard him say he was leaving me. --- "I hope I look nice," I whisper to my reflection, even though I already know the answer. I don't. The lingerie cost me two weeks of cleaning jobs, but it can't hide the stretch marks or the exhaustion in my eyes. I stand in front of the full-length mirror in my mate and I's bedroom, smoothing my hands down the pale pink silk of the lingerie I bought three months ago. It cost me two weeks of cleaning jobs to afford it, but I told myself it would be worth it. Tonight is my birthday. Twenty-five years old. Six years of marriage. And Cole has never once celebrated with me. But tonight will be different. It has to be. I adjust the thin straps, trying to ignore how exposed I feel. The silk barely covers anything,

**Stella's POV** 'Because you're not enough, Stella,' Cole's voice replays over and over in my head. The words echo in my head, bouncing around like they're looking for somewhere to land and make sense. "Cole, please." I step toward him, my hands reaching out. "Please don't do this. We can fix whatever is wrong. I can be better. Just tell me what you need—" "What I need is a divorce." Cole's voice is flat, and emotionless. "No." The word tears from my throat. "No, Cole. Think about Maya and Noah. They need both their parents. They need a family—" "They'll have a family." Sabrina's voice cuts through my pleading like a knife. She slides off the desk and walks toward Maya, placing a possessive hand on my daughter's shoulder. "A real family. With a Luna who actually knows how to act like one." My stomach twists. "Cole, please. Let's talk about this. Just you and me. Alone." "There's nothing to talk about." He crosses his arms, looking at me like I'm a problem he's tired

**Stella's POV** My hands grip the blanket tighter. "What kind of rules?" "First," Cole says, holding up one finger like he's reading from a business contract, "you will step down as Luna." For a moment, I just stare at him. Then, before I can stop myself, I laugh. It's not a happy sound. It's harsh and bitter and breaks in the middle. "Step down as Luna?" I repeat. "Cole, I haven't been Luna in years. Sabrina runs the pack as your beta.... She organizes the events. She handles disputes and training sessions and everything else a Luna is supposed to do." My voice rises. "I just carry the title. That's all I've ever been to you—a title on paper." His jaw tightens. "Then it should be easy for you to give it up." "Easy?" The word tastes like ash. "You want me to officially hand over the one thing that proves I matter in this pack? The one thing that says I'm more than just—" My voice cracks. "More than just nothing?" "You are nothing, Stella." He says it so calmly, so m

**Stella's POV** Cold. That's the first thing I feel when consciousness returns. "Awww," I groan in pain while I try to open my eyes, but my lids feel like they're made of lead. Everything hurts—my chest, my head, my throat. Even breathing sends sharp pains through my ribs. 'Stella.' Piper's voice is weak, distant. 'Stella, wake up. We're in danger.' Danger? I force my eyes open. The sky above me is gray, heavy with clouds. Tall pine trees surround me, it blocks out most of the light. Where am I? I try to sit up and immediately regret it. Pain explodes through my body, and I collapse back onto the ground with a choked gasp. "She's awake Alpha." I hear a familiar male voice speak. I turn my head slowly, my neck protesting the movement. That's when I see Cole standing a few feet away, with his arms crossed. Behind him, at least a dozen pack warriors form a semicircle, their expressions carefully neutral. "Cole..." My voice comes out as a rasp. "What's happeni

**Stella's POV** "She is not stupid Peter. The alliance can still be fixed," my mother says desperately. "If Stella goes back, if she apologizes—" "He banished me," I interrupt. "He said if I ever set foot on his territory again, he'll kill me." The color drains from my mother's face. Peter's jaw clenches. "Then you've doomed us all," he says quietly. "What?" I stare at him. "What do you mean?" "Alpha Cole Grant has no reason to leave us alone now. No treaty binding him. Nothing stopping him from absorbing our pack into his." Peter's hands are shaking—from rage or fear, I can't tell. "By the end of the month, Crescent Hollow Pack will cease to exist. And it will be your fault." "No—" I shake my head. "No, there has to be another way—" "There is." He straightens. "You go back to Cole Grant. You beg him to take you back. You offer him anything—everything—to restore the marriage and alliance." "I can't—" "You will." The Alpha command in his voice makes my knees buck