Chapter 2

A sudden chill ran through me, goosebumps rising across my skin.

My heart felt frozen solid.

Yet I still reminded him softly to be careful on the road.

I lay there quietly, watching him finish dressing and leave the house.

Only after the door closed did I rise, supporting my heavy belly as I slowly went downstairs and flagged a cab.

“Silvercrest District,” I said.

The driver sped up.

When we arrived, I saw my mate’s car at once.

I asked the driver to stop behind a line of trees.

Through the window, I watched Lena run toward him like a bright-winged butterfly.

He caught her easily.

One hand rested instinctively on her flat abdomen.

His expression carried gentle reproach—but all of it was directed at the pup she carried.

He even lifted a hand and lightly tapped her nose.

I pressed one hand to my tightened belly and lifted my phone, recording.

On the screen, he moved with the instinctive precision of an Alpha—lifting her into the passenger seat, adjusting her posture, fastening the safety belt himself.

Careful. Familiar. Protective.

The kind of care that used to be mine.

A faint trace of his wolf’s presence lingered in the air, calm and dominant, wrapping around her like a shield.

My eyes burned.

“Follow that car,” I said quietly.

As we climbed onto the elevated road, the city lights blurred into long streaks of color.

Somewhere beneath the noise, the pack territory began to change—steel giving way to stone, scent markers replacing street signs.

I dragged my fingernails across the window again and again until the skin split.

The sharp pain grounded me—I pressed the bleeding finger to my lips, biting down.

Under the shifting lights, I repeated to myself:

Endure it, Sybil.

Endure it, and the pain will dull.

The car stopped outside the central pack hospital.

As I paid, the driver—who had been silent the entire ride—finally turned to look at me.

“Miss,” he said slowly, choosing his words with care, “I’ve been driving pack roads for thirty years.”

“I know what it looks like when a she-wolf follows her mate here.”

He paused.

“For a cheating male,” he added bluntly, “hurting yourself like this isn’t worth it.”

“And whatever happens between wolves,” he glanced at my belly, “the pup comes first.”

I hadn’t told anyone about my mate’s betrayal.

Yet the truth was obvious to a stranger.

Like poison, it had already eaten through me—again and again.

His words felt like a breath of air after drowning.

I closed the door softly and smiled.

“I’m fine,” I said. “No one can hurt me anymore—”

“Because I’m about to put the trash back where it belongs.”

I hid behind a stone pillar.

I watched the Alpha who had accompanied me to every single prenatal check—never missing one, never once impatient—move swiftly through the hospital halls now.

I watched him move through the hospital halls—registering, collecting medicine, shielding Lena with his body as other wolves passed.

The same attentiveness. The same careful, practiced steps.

Only no longer for me.

In that moment, the image of the perfect mate finally shattered, and I understood something far worse than abandonment.

He hadn’t stopped loving me.

He had taken the love he once gave me—and placed it carefully into another woman’s hands.

In the crowded hall, he drew Lena closer, his palm hovering protectively over her stomach, his Alpha presence unconsciously spreading around her.

His voice was low, controlled, focused entirely on the pup.

“The healer said you need to eat lightly tonight. Walk more.”

“Your digestion will be sensitive at this stage. You’ll follow instructions.”

Every word—Had once been meant for me.

“Early pregnancy already strains digestion. You’ll follow instructions. Understood?”

“Yes, yes, I know,” she laughed, twisting playfully.

“It’s your fault anyway. You brought so much roasted meat from the eastern grounds.”

His tone softened, but his eyes remained sharp.

“My mistake,” he said calmly.

“I overestimated your appetite.”

He rested a hand on her abdomen again.

“Next time, I’ll adjust for the pup.”

She smiled, satisfied.

They looked like a bonded pair.

Arguing. Close. Seamless.

And I—I was nothing more than a silent observer beneath the hospital’s pale lights.

I supported my belly and slowly made my way outside.

It had begun to rain.

Cold autumn wind chased the rain, as if determined to drain all warmth from the world.

Through the mist, I saw him remove his coat and shield Lena with it, guiding her carefully into the passenger seat.

Just before the car drove off, she lowered the window.

Her gaze locked onto mine—You lost, her eyes said.

I smiled and shook my head.

It’s all right, Sybil—He’s only a man.

As the car turned the corner, I even lifted my hand and waved.

I don’t want him anymore—You can have him.

Standing beneath the stone portico of the pack hospital, moonlight pooling faintly at my feet, I calmly forwarded every piece of evidence to my senior—

A renowned divorce attorney, one who specialized in bond dissolutions sanctioned by the Wolf Council.

And for the first time since the betrayal began, I felt steady.

When my mate and I had completed our bond, he had signed a written covenant.

Not a romantic vow— A legal one.

It had been filed, sealed, and witnessed by the Wolf Council itself.

The clause was clear:

If an Alpha broke the bond through emotional or physical betrayal, the Luna retained full claim to his assets, territories, and pack income.

At the time, I had laughed—I had never cared for power or property.

I believed love was worth more than land, more than moonstone, more than titles carved into stone.

And even now— If it were only about me, I would walk away with nothing.

Because no amount of wealth could ever replace what I lost.

But I am no longer alone—I placed my hand over my belly, feeling my pup shift—alive, trusting, unaware of the world waiting beyond my ribs.

This pup will be born into a pack that failed to protect its Luna.

So I will protect him myself—What I am about to do is not revenge.

I am not seeking to drag my mate before the pack and nail him to a pillar of shame.

I am not interested in watching him fall—This is not about hatred.

It is about provision.

About securing territory, resources, and safety— So my pup will never have to beg.

Never have to bow—Never have to wonder if they matter.

I will follow the law of wolves.

I will submit the bond dissolution to the pack court and the Wolf Council.

Not as a scorned mate—But as a mother.

And for that reason alone— I will take everything my pup is owed.