Betrayal under the moon

Selene

I stood frozen in disbelief, staring at the couple dancing gracefully under the moonlight.

The woman in Elias’s arms was Sophie. She was his first love before he chose me as his Luna. My stomach twisted painfully. When had he been in contact with her again? And why was she the one pressed against him tonight, smiling up at him like she belonged there?

My chest ached as I watched them.

Was Sophie the reason the mate bond had grown so weak?

It used to be so strong… I thought bitterly. But over the past year, Elias had slowly pulled away until it felt like nothing more than a fragile, thinning thread barely holding us together.

I walked toward them, my hands trembling at my sides.

“What is going on here?” I asked, stopping directly in front of them.

They both glanced at me, but neither stopped dancing. It was as if I were invisible.

My chest tightened. “Elias, I am talking to you. Why are you dancing with this woman?”

Elias let out a frustrated sigh and finally turned his head. “I’m not blind, Selene. Can’t you see I’m busy?”

His cold tone felt like a slap. I looked at Sophie, who was still smiling sweetly, her body glued to his. Her wavy brown hair cascaded over her shoulders, beautifully framing her cleavage. The red dress she wore hugged her figure perfectly. She looked even more stunning than I remembered.

“Busy doing what?” I demanded. “Dancing with another woman while your mate stands alone?”

He shrugged, barely bothered. “There are plenty of single men around. Go dance with one of them.” He pointed lazily toward a group of unmated wolves nearby.

My chest tightened with anger and hurt. “We are supposed to dance with our mates!” I half-yelled, no longer able to control my voice. “Why would you choose to dance with the one woman I’ve always felt insecure about?!”

A few heads turned in our direction. The music seemed to grow quieter as people started paying attention.

“What is happening here?” a deep, raspy voice suddenly asked from behind me.

I froze. I would recognize that voice anywhere.

I swallowed hard. It was my elder brother, Max.

He walked toward us with his usual heavy frown, his massive, scarred frame making him look even more intimidating. My heart sank. I had forgotten he was invited tonight.

I forced a weak smile. “Max… you came.”

He didn’t smile back. His eyes flicked coldly between Elias, Sophie, and me.

Before I could explain, Elias spoke first. “Take your sister away. I would like to continue dancing with this beautiful lady.”

The words hit me like a punch to the gut.

I expected Max to defend me even a little. Instead, he grabbed my wrist in a bruising grip and started pulling me away.

“Let me go!” I whimpered, pain shooting up my arm. “That hurts!”

He ignored me. When I tried to pull back, he turned and struck me hard — once in the stomach, then across the chest. I gasped, the air knocked out of me, and stumbled to the ground.

Gasps and murmurs spread through the crowd, but no one stepped forward to help.

Elias walked over, looking irritated. “This is already embarrassing enough. Just go with your brother, Selene.”

Tears blurred my vision as I pushed myself up from the floor. Max reached for me again, but I jerked away.

“I’m not a child,” I said bitterly. “I can find my own way.”

I turned and walked away, every step sending fresh pain through my bruised stomach. Before I could escape the ballroom, my mother-in-law and Liora blocked my path.

“That’s a lesson for you,” my mother-in-law sneered. “Stay in your place and stop embarrassing this family.”

Liora laughed softly as they brushed past me.

My heart felt like it was being crushed. I hurried to my bedroom, slammed the door behind me, and collapsed onto the bed. Sobs tore from my throat as I curled into myself.

In the distance, I could still hear the music playing again. Laughter. Joyful voices. The celebration continued as if I hadn’t just been publicly humiliated in front of the entire pack, as if I didn’t matter at all.

***

I didn’t even realize I had fallen asleep. When I woke up, the room was dark, and soft chirping filled the night air outside my window. I sat up slowly and glanced outside. The full moon hung bright and heavy in the sky, bathing everything in its silvery glow.

Just then, a wave of heat washed over me. My skin felt warm. My body was starting to ache with that familiar, needy throb. My pre-heat was finally here.

I reached for my phone. It was already midnight. The celebration must have ended by now. Where was Elias?

I called him three times, but he didn’t pick up.

My fingers trembled as I typed a message: Elias, where are you? My heat is starting. I need you right now.

There was no reply.

Frustration and desire mixed painfully inside me. I had hoped tonight would be different. I had imagined his hands on my body, his weight pressing me into the mattress, his cock buried deep inside me as we finally created the pup I so desperately wanted. The doctor had said I was fine. That there was still hope.

I couldn’t take the humiliation anymore. I refused to be treated like this.

I got out of bed, slipped on a robe, and went looking for him. He wasn’t in the pack house. None of the servants knew where he was. Then I remembered the small cottage he built deep in the woods. The one he went to when he wanted to be alone or go fishing.

My heart pounded as I drove there.

The moment I stepped inside the cottage, I heard the unmistakable sounds of sex. Moans. Flesh slapping against flesh. A woman’s breathless cries.

My stomach dropped.

I pushed open the bedroom door with shaking hands.

Elias was naked on the bed, thrusting hard into Sophie, who was on top of him, moaning loudly. He didn’t even stop when he saw me. Instead, he slapped her ass and kept moving, faster and deeper.

“Elias…?” My voice broke.

Sophie turned her head, looked straight at me, and let out a soft, mocking chuckle.

The mate bond, which had already felt like a fragile thread for the past year, twisted violently inside my chest. The pain was excruciating.

“How could you?” I yelled, tears burning my eyes. “Today is the start of my heat! I needed you, and you’re here with her?”

Elias finally pulled out of Sophie with a wet sound and stood up, wrapping a towel around his waist.

“Shit,” he muttered, running a hand through his hair. “I’m done. Enough is enough.” He looked me dead in the eyes. “It’s time we sever the bond.”

My heart shattered. I didn’t know what to say or how to react. I turned toward the door, desperate to get away from him.

“The mate bond between us?” Elias let out a bitter laugh. “It was never real. Our fathers arranged it years ago to pay off a debt they owed each other. The Moon Goddess had nothing to do with it.”

I froze, his words slamming into me like ice water. The bond… the one thing I had always trusted, the pull I felt toward him since the beginning was fake? All of it?

Before I could even find my voice, he kept going, voice flat and cold.

“I’ve been feeding you pills in your tea for the past five years,” he said. “So you wouldn’t be able to get pregnant.”

The world tilted.

“What?” I choked out, barely above a whisper.