002.

Cassie.

For a moment, I stood frozen, my mind spinning, unable to make sense of what I was seeing.

I wished desperately that it was all a dream—that I’d wake up, with Cam nestled in his crib beside my bed, and realize it was just another one of those nightmares that had haunted me since our marriage began. But no matter how many times I blinked, the scene before me remained painfully, horribly real.

My breath caught as Cam whimpered in my arms, the small cry pulling me back to reality, cementing the terrible truth: this was no dream. This was my life. And standing before me, entwined with my husband, was his true mate. The one person I’d feared he’d find since the moment I became his wife.

Selena took a step forward, her eyes softening as she looked at Cam. She stretched out a hand, reaching as though to coo at him, but I instinctively shifted back, holding my son closer. Selena paused, her head tilting to one side in confusion.

A faint frown appeared between her brows, but she quickly brushed it off. Axel noticed, however, his face hardening as he turned to me.

“Don’t be rude, Cassie,” he said, his voice cold and unyielding, “You heard me. Selena is my mate.”

My heart twisted painfully, but I forced myself to meet his gaze.

“And what about me?” I asked, my voice trembling as I held Cam closer, “What does that make me, Axel? We’re married!”

Selena’s eyes widened, surprise flashing across her face as she turned to Axel. “You’re… married?” she asked as if the word itself felt foreign on her tongue.

“Yes,” Axel replied without hesitation, though his tone lacked any hint of shame or remorse. He spoke as if he were discussing something as mundane as the weather.

“Only because I didn’t know I’d ever find my mate, Selena. Cassie was already pregnant, so I married her but there's nothing between us.”

I felt my heart shatter, piece by piece. I had always feared that one day Axel would find his mate, someone who would make him feel the bond we could never share, and he’d discard me. But I hadn’t thought much about it because Axel didn’t seem to be looking for his mate. If anything, he’d given up on finding her, and so had I.

I’d known, even before our hasty marriage, that we weren’t mates. But I’d been pregnant, carrying Cam, and I couldn’t imagine a world where I’d be separated from him—where my mate, whoever he might be, would one day pull me away from my son. It was why I’d also given up on finding my mate, thinking that the Moon Goddess would see how dedicated we were to keeping our family and award us with the mate bond.

But now, as I looked at Selena and Axel, the thought crept back in. Maybe I’d angered the Moon Goddess, I thought bitterly, and this was her way of punishing me.

Selena’s gaze moved between Axel and me, something unreadable in her eyes before she finally shrugged.

“I don’t mind,” she said, her tone casual, “If this is how things are, then I’d like to stay here and live with you, Axel. I mean, there’s nothing else I can do about this, right?”

Axel nodded, a faint smile playing on his lips as he turned to her, admiration in his gaze.

“I’m glad you understand,” he said, then extended a hand toward her, “Come, I’ll show you to our room.”

Without another word, they ascended the stairs together, Axel leading Selena to the sanctuary of his room.

I stood in the silence they left behind, my body numb, my mind blank. I clutched Cam to my chest, feeling his tiny heartbeat, the one steady thing in my life that still made sense. I barely noticed Warren and Rita, who shifted uncomfortably nearby, neither of them daring to meet my gaze. Even they felt the tension, the heartbreak radiating from me like a silent scream.

Finally, I turned, my face stoic, masking the storm inside me, and walked back to the room I shared with Cam. I settled into the chair by the crib, my grip on Cam firm as though he were the only anchor I had left. He was.

Anger bubbled beneath my sadness, a low simmer that threatened to boil over. This was my life now: a life of being second, of watching Axel’s heart belong to someone else while I remained only the mother of his child. I hated it, hated how powerless I felt, how foolish I felt for believing he’d come around one day and realize he had feelings for me.

Cam stirred, as if sensing my discomfort, and began to fuss. I shifted him closer, my hands trembling as I held him, and whispered, “It’s alright, my little one. It’s alright.”

I fought to keep my voice steady. “If this is what it has come to… we’ll find a way to make it work.”

As night fell and the household quieted, I managed to tuck Cam into his crib, my own exhaustion numbing the ache in my chest. Just as I was beginning to lose myself in the silence of the night, footsteps approached my door. I straightened, my heart pounding, as Axel stepped into my room.

Without a word, he moved to Cam’s crib, gazing down at the child. For a fleeting moment, his face softened, and I saw the man I loved. He reached down, grey eyes sparkling as he lifted Cam into his arms, cradling him with gentleness. The sight stirred a mixture of emotions within me—pain, anger, a desperate longing I couldn’t quite name.

Then Axel turned to me, his expression hardening as he spoke, his voice low but commanding.

“Cassie,” he began, “the behavior you showed earlier today… that will be the last of it.”

My throat tightened, my mind racing as I struggled to understand his words. I took a step back, my voice barely above a whisper.

“What do you mean?”

“What do I mean? How you acted toward Selena today. She was deeply hurt by it,” Axel’s eyes narrowed, his tone laced with impatience.

“What about me? Did you ever think of how hurt I must’ve felt seeing you with her?” I asked softly. I was angry, but I didn’t have the heart to yell at Axel; he was my Alpha, after all.

Axel watched my face, then scoffed, running his fingers through his jet-black hair.

“Did you honestly think that being married to me, having my child, made you the Luna of this pack?” Axel’s words cut deep, a fresh wound on top of the countless scars I already carried just that day alone.

I opened my mouth to respond, but the words caught in my throat, unable to break past the shock and hurt that engulfed me.

But Axel continued, his gaze cold and unfeeling.

“That was your mistake, Cassie. You should’ve known from the start that I only married you because of Cam, nothing more.” His words were delivered with finality, like a blade twisting in my heart.

A tear slipped down my cheek, then another, as the harsh truth settled over me. I’d clung to the faint hope that maybe, just maybe, Axel might see me as something more. But now, that hope lay shattered, leaving nothing but emptiness in its place.

Axel held Cam a moment longer before placing him back in his crib. He straightened, his gaze sliding away from me, as though I were little more than a shadow in the corner of his life. Then, without another word, he turned and walked out of the room, leaving me standing in the darkness, my world crumbling around me.