2

ASHKA’S POV

I stood frozen at the bedroom door, staring at them.

Rurik and Ivy…in our bed?

And there was a golden mate mark glowing on her neck.

No one said anything for a few moments. I kept waiting for one of them to tell me I was probably hallucinating or that this was some kind of sick joke.

Rurik was the first to speak. He didn’t look guilty. In fact he looked almost relieved.

“Ashka—”

“What am I looking at?” I asked. “Why is Ivy in our bedroom?”

He sat up slowly and reached for his shirt. “I think you already know what you’re looking at.”

“No. I don’t. Explain it to me. Right now.”

Rurik glanced at Ivy, then back at me. “She’s my true mate. We found out over a year ago.”

I almost passed out from shock. “A year ago? You’ve known for a full year?”

“Yes.”

“And you’ve been sleeping with her this whole time while I was still your wife?”

He didn’t deny it. “I kept the marriage because the pack still needed the Vaelthorn name. After your father died, a lot of the older warriors and the noble families only stayed loyal because of your bloodline. If I removed you too quickly, everything would have fallen apart. My position as Alpha wouldn’t have held its fort. The council would have split and the border packs would have started testing us. I just couldn’t risk that.”

I stared at him. “So every moment of our marriage was a lie? Five years of me standing beside you, working for this pack, believing we were mates… all of it was just a tool for you?”

He spoke as if he was reporting pack business. “I cared about you. I respected everything you did for Silvercrest. You kept the trade routes stable. You handled the merchants better than most of the council. But fate can’t be ignored forever. The Moon Goddess chose Ivy for me and eventually I had to accept it.”

“You had to accept it,” I repeated. “And what about me? Did you ever plan to tell me the truth yourself, or were you just waiting for me to walk in on you?”

He didn’t answer that.

I turned to Ivy. The woman I had called my sister for years. “Say something. Tell me he’s lying. Tell me this is not what it looks like.”

Ivy pulled the sheet higher around herself, her voice was quiet. “I knew too. For over a year. I never wanted you to find out like this, Ashka. There was never going to be a painless way to tell you.”

“You fought the bond?” I asked.

“I did. For months. I didn’t want to hurt you. Every time I looked at you I felt guilty. But destiny can’t be changed. You know that better than anyone. The Moon Goddess doesn’t make mistakes.”

“Doesn’t she?” I said. “Because right now it feels like she made a very big one.”

I looked between them.

This wasn’t just an affair. This was a secret they had carried around me for more than a year while I kept playing the happy Luna.

Smiling at ceremonies, hosting dinners and signing documents in my father’s name while they shared a bed behind my back.

“Every anniversary,” I said to Rurik. “Every celebration. Every promise you made me during that year. The nights you said you were too busy with pack matters. The times you kissed me in public and then left me alone in this room. Did any of it mean anything to you?”

“I never intended to humiliate you,” he answered. “I was trying to protect the pack, not hurt you. You should understand the burden I was carrying. Leading this pack is not simple, people depend on me. I had to make hard choices.”

“Protecting the pack required you to share my bed every night while you already belonged to another woman?” I asked. “It required you to let me plan this entire anniversary thinking we still had something real?”

He opened his mouth, then closed it again. He had no response for that.

After a moment he spoke again, calmer this time. “You don’t have to leave Silvercrest. You can stay in the manor and live comfortably. You can even remain Luna in public until people gradually accept the change. I’ll make sure no one disrespects you. You’ll always be treated with respect because of everything you’ve done for the pack. The Vaelthorn name still carries respect. We can handle this quietly.”

The offer made my stomach tie itself in knots. He was offering me a place in my own marriage like I should be grateful for the leftover pieces.

I didn’t say another word. I bent down, picked up the anniversary gift I had dropped, and looked at it for several seconds.

The silver cuff I had chosen so carefully. The letter I had written that same morning.

Then I opened the box, took out the letter, and tore it into pieces right in front of them. The scraps fell onto the bedroom floor one by one.

I turned and left without looking back.

The anniversary celebration was still going on downstairs. Guests were laughing and drinking, celebrating a marriage that no longer existed.

I forced myself to walk through the manor without breaking down.

An elder stopped me near the stairs. “Luna, is the Alpha joining us soon? The toast is waiting.”

“He’ll be down shortly,” I said, keeping my voice even. “Please continue without us for now.”

A merchant’s wife smiled at me as I passed. “Happy anniversary, Luna. Five years is certainly a blessing.”

I smiled back. “Thank you.”

I kept moving before anyone could ask more questions. I excused myself from two more conversations and went straight to my study.

The moment the door closed behind me I locked it, only then did I let my tears fall.

I wiped them away after a while and stared at the gift box still in my hand. I set it aside on the desk.

The room stayed quiet while I sat there replaying everything they had said.

And suddenly every memory from the past year started looking different.

The late nights, the missed dinners and the way he always had an excuse ready.

The times Ivy comforted me when I felt lonely. I refused to break down completely. If the life I believed in had just fallen apart, then I needed to understand exactly when the lie began.

And who else had helped keep it going. Just then a knock came at the door.

But I didn’t answer.

Another knock came, a little harder this time.

Then Ivy’s voice came through, she sounded like she was trembling. “Ashka… please. Let me explain. I never wanted any of this to happen. Please open the door and let me just talk to me for a minute. I can explain everything if you just give me a chance.”

I sat there staring at the door, deciding whether to open it or leave her outside.