Chapter Two

Rex didn't even look back as he walked out, he didn't care that she was still on her knees. He didn't care that her entire world had just tilted on its axis.

"Well? You heard him," Chloe said, leaning against the doorframe with a satisfied smirk.

"Get moving. Leo is waiting in the foyer, and I have a lunch date. I'm not letting your laziness ruin my schedule."

Alexia forced herself to stand, her vision swimming with dark spots. She didn't say a word to Chloe. She couldn't. If she opened her mouth, she was afraid she would either scream or vomit. She grabbed her keys from the nightstand, her hands trembling so hard she almost dropped them.

She walked downstairs, each step feeling like she was walking on broken glass. Leo was standing by the front door, his small face scrunched in a frown.

"Why are you so slow, Mommy?" Leo asked, his voice sharp and impatient. It was a tone he’d clearly learned from his father.

"I’m sorry, baby," Alexia whispered, reaching out to touch his hair. "Mommy isn't feeling very well today."

"Grandma says you're just being difficult," the boy replied, pulling away from her touch. "Can we just go? I'm going to be the last one there."

The drive to the school was a blur of nausea and stinging eyes. Alexia focused on the road, trying to ignore the way the mate bond felt like a phantom limb that had been ripped away. It was a hollow, cold ache that settled deep in her chest.

When she finally dropped him off at the curb, she waited for a kiss or a goodbye. Leo didn't even look back. He ran toward the group of children where Tracy was already standing, looking radiant in a white sundress. Tracy waved at him, and Leo’s face lit up in a way it never did for Alexia.

As she pulled away, her phone buzzed in the cup holder. It was a text from Helen.

On your way back, stop at the artisanal market on 5th. I need the specific grey tea and the lavender sachets for the guest wing. Also, Chloe’s silk dress is ready at the cleaners. Do not be late. We have guests for dinner.

Alexia stared at the screen. She was the Luna of the most powerful pack in the region, yet she was being sent on errands like a common servant. Her fever was spiking, her head felt like it was in a vice, and her husband had just told her he regretted her entire existence.

She did it all. She stood in line at the market, shivering in the air conditioning. She waited at the dry cleaners while the clerk looked at her with pity, probably noticing her pale face and messy hair. She was a shell of a woman, a ghost haunting her own life.

By the time she pulled back into the driveway of the Valerius packhouse, she was barely conscious. She gathered the bags, her muscles aching with every movement. The house was quiet, but as she walked through the grand foyer, she heard a sound coming from Rex’s private study.

A laugh. A woman’s laugh. Low, sultry, and familiar.

Alexia dropped the bags of groceries on the marble floor. She didn't care if the tea spilled or the eggs broke. She walked toward the study.

The door was slightly ajar.

She pushed it open, and the sight before her made the remaining strength drain from her body.

Rex was sitting in his large leather chair. Tracy was draped across his lap, her arms wrapped around his neck. His large, tattooed hands were gripped firmly on her waist, and his head was buried in the crook of her neck. He was kissing her with a hunger he hadn't shown Alexia in years.

Alexia felt a cold clarity wash over her. "Is this why you stripped me of my duties, Rex?"

They didn't jump apart. They didn't even look guilty. Rex slowly lifted his head, his blue eyes turning toward Alexia with a look of utter annoyance. Tracy didn't move. She just leaned back, a triumphant glint in her eyes as she adjusted her dress.

"I told you to stay in your room, Alexia," Rex said, his voice flat and bored.

"I was out doing your mother’s errands," Alexia snapped, her voice shaking with a sudden, violent rage.

"I was taking our son to school while I could barely see straight. And you’re in here, in our home, with her?"

"Our home?" Rex stood up, gently setting Tracy on her feet. He walked toward Alexia, looming over her. He smelled like Tracy’s perfume, a sickeningly sweet floral scent. "This is my home. You are just a guest I’ve grown tired of hosting."

"I am your wife!"

"In name only," he countered, his lip curling into a sneer. "Look at yourself, Alexia. You’re a mess. You’re pale, you’re boring, and you dress like a grandmother. You have no fire. No ambition. You’re just a weight around my neck."

"I gave you everything," she whispered, her voice breaking.

"I gave you my youth, my health, my son."

"And you think that’s enough?" Rex laughed, the sound cold and cruel. "I need a woman who can stand beside me, not one who hides in the shadows crying. Tracy understands what it means to be a Luna. She has the class and the sophistication you will never have."

Tracy stepped forward, resting a hand on Rex’s chest. "Don't be too hard on her, Rex. Some people are just born to be ordinary."

Alexia looked at Tracy, then back at Rex. "You’re disgusting. Both of you."

Rex didn't flinch. He reached into the drawer of his desk and pulled out a thick envelope. He tossed it onto the coffee table between them.

"Sign them," he said.

Alexia stared at the envelope. "What is this?"

"Divorce papers," Rex replied, crossing his arms over his chest. "I’ve already had the lawyers draft everything. You’ll get a small settlement, enough to keep you in some quiet corner of the world where I don't have to look at you anymore. Tracy and I are moving forward. I want you out of this house by tomorrow."

"I won't sign them," Alexia said, her voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "I won't let you take my life away from me."

"You don't have a life, Alexia. You have a shadow of one," Rex stepped closer, his shadow engulfing her. "Sign the papers. Don't make me get nasty. You know I can make your life a living hell if I want to."

"It’s already hell!" she screamed at him.

The front door opened, and the sound of Leo’s voice echoed through the house. "Daddy? I’m home! Tracy said she’d take me for ice cream!"

Alexia turned as Leo ran into the study. She reached out for him, her eyes filling with desperate tears. "Leo, baby, come here. Come to Mommy."

Leo stopped in his tracks. He looked at Alexia’s tear-stained face and messy hair, then his gaze moved to Tracy, who was standing there looking like a queen in white.

Leo didn't move toward Alexia. Instead, he walked right past her and grabbed Tracy’s hand.

"Can we go now?" Leo asked, looking up at Tracy with wide, adoring eyes.

"Of course, sweetie," Tracy said, her voice dripping with fake sweetness. She looked at Alexia over the boy’s head, a smile of pure malice on her lips.

"Leo," Alexia choked out, reaching for him. "Honey, please. I'm your mother."

Leo looked back at her, his expression cold and distant, a perfect mirror of his father. "You’re always crying, Alexia. You’re boring. I want to go with Mummy Tracy."

The world went silent. Alexia felt her heart stop beating.

Mummy Tracy.

The words were a final, fatal blow. She looked at Rex, who was watching her with a look of smug satisfaction. She looked at Tracy, who held her son’s hand like a trophy.

Alexia didn't scream this time. She didn't cry. She felt something inside her snap, but it wasn't the bond. It was the last thread of her humanity.

"Is that what you want, Leo?" Alexia asked, her voice eerily calm.

"Yes," the boy said firmly. "Tracy is much prettier than you anyway."

Rex stepped forward, putting a hand on Leo’s shoulder. "Go to the car, son. I’ll be out in a minute."

As Leo and Tracy walked out of the room, Tracy paused at the door. She leaned in and whispered just loud enough for Alexia to hear. "I told you he would choose me. I told you I would take everything."