The Alpha's Betrayal-

Aria stood by the large window of her bedroom, her shaking hands varnished in silver by the moonlight. There was silence in the packhouse, probably a counterpart to the storm inside her. She had been the Luna of the Shadowpeak Pack for two years, married dutifully to Alpha Kieran. Two years of devotion, of striving to be everything he needed, and finally, she had the news she'd been waiting to share with him.She pressed a hand against her stomach, the faintest hint of life growing in her womb. After all the tears, the prayers, and the relentless pressure from her pack to give Kieran a son, she was finally pregnant. She should have been overjoyed, yet the dread coiling low in her belly had nothing to do with her pregnancy.The conversation had been overheard earlier that evening. Her heart clenched as, in her mind, the cold, emotionless tone of Kieran replayed in her memory. He had asked for a divorce. He wanted to end their marriage. Why? Another woman, some other woman who was, at l

Aria sat at the edge of her bed. The morning sun shone through the curtains, shining a cold light on the divorce papers resting in her lap. The pen shook in her hands as it hovered above the line for the signature. Two years as Luna, two years of pain, of trying to build a family with a man who no longer loved her. And now this, divorce.Her hand wandered to her stomach, where the faintest flutter of life reminded her why she'd fought so hard to stay. The twins. Her mate's children. But Kieran, her Alpha, didn't know about them. He didn't care. His heart belonged to Selene now.Swallowing the lump in her throat, Aria signed into the papers. Every stroke of the pen was like carving away pieces of her soul. And with a flourish of her signature, it was done. She was no longer his Luna, no longer his anything.It was time to leave the Shadowpeak Pack and never look back. Drawing on her last reserves of strength, Aria stood and neatly folded the papers into a folder. She needed to safeguar

The room Landon had given Aria was nothing like the cold, sterile quarters she'd occupied as Kieran's Luna. Warm wooden beams crossed the ceiling, and soft amber light filtered through gauze curtains. The bed was piled with thick blankets that smelled of lavender and pine. For the first time in months, Aria felt like she could breathe.She sat on the edge of the bed, her hands resting protectively over her stomach. The twins were still so small, barely more than a flutter of life, but already they were changing everything. They had saved her, in a way. If she hadn't been pregnant, she might have stayed, might have let Kieran and Selene's cruelty break her completely.A soft knock interrupted her thoughts."Come in," Aria called, her voice still rough from exhaustion.The door opened to reveal a woman in her early forties with kind eyes and graying brown hair pulled back in a loose braid. She carried a tray laden with tea, bread, and what looked like healing herbs."I'm Cora," the woma

The morning sun filtered through the trees as Aria made her way to the training clearing. Three weeks had passed since she'd arrived at Landon's pack, and the changes in her were remarkable. Her wounds had healed completely, leaving only faint scars. Her body was adjusting to the pregnancy, the twins made their presence known with gentle flutters that grew stronger each day. But most significantly, she was learning to control the power that thrummed beneath her skin.Morgana was waiting for her, as always, but today someone else was there too.Landon stood beside the witch, dressed in simple training clothes that did nothing to diminish his commanding presence. His amber eyes tracked Aria's approach with an intensity that made her breath catch."Good morning," Aria said, trying to keep her voice steady. The mate bond had been growing stronger between them, and being near Landon was becoming increasingly difficult. Every instinct screamed at her to close the distance, to accept what th

The news reached Kieran at dawn.He was in his office, surrounded by maps and reports, trying to track Aria's location, when Marcus burst through the door without knocking. The Beta's face was ashen, and he carried a tablet that he thrust toward Kieran without preamble."You need to see this," Marcus said, his voice tight.Kieran grabbed the tablet and felt his blood turn to ice. On the screen was a photograph—clearly taken by someone at Landon's pack celebration. It showed Aria and Landon, wrapped in each other's arms, surrounded by that distinctive silver-gold light. And there, clearly visible on both their necks, were the mate marks.The completed mate bond."No," Kieran breathed, his hands beginning to shake. "No, this isn't possible. She's MY mate. Those are MY children.""You rejected her," Marcus reminded him quietly. "You divorced her. You publicly humiliated her and chose Selene. The mate bond was broken, Kieran. The Moon Goddess gave her a second chance.""I don't care what