The Second Marking Ceremony

Five years after marrying the Alpha of his pack, Ethan Hart, I found out I was pregnant.

I was thrilled and wanted to surprise Ethan with the news, so I secretly made my way to the Razor Fang Pack where he was supposedly away on business. Instead, I overheard a conversation between him and his friends.

“Ethan, you’re using this business trip as a cover to get a mate certificate with Lyla Ziggler in Razor Fang Pack? And you’re planning a marking ceremony with her? But isn’t Madeline Foster your mate? You marked her years ago!”

“You don’t know the full story. That mate certificate with Madeline only works within the Silver Moon Pack. It won’t show up in any other territory.”

“Besides, Ethan never actually marked Madeline. That was just a regular bite mark. He's been waiting for Lyla. He wants to give her a grand marking ceremony.”

“So what you’re saying is, Lyla is the one Ethan truly loves? She’s his real mate?”

I froze. My entire body turned cold, and it felt as if all the blood had stopped flowing. I thought I had misheard them, but Ethan’s next words crushed all my hope.

“I love Madeline. She’s the only one I see as my mate.

“I’m holding the marking ceremony with Lyla because she saved Maddie’s life five years ago. She got seriously injured because of it. She made me promise this wouldn’t affect my relationship with Maddie. All she wants is the status of being an Alpha’s mate, so she doesn’t get pushed around in the pack. That’s not too much to ask.”

Ethan spoke slowly and seriously.

Each word hit me like a blow, and I was stunned motionless.

Five years ago, I was almost hit by a runaway truck. If Lyla hadn’t pushed me out of the way, I would’ve died right there.

Instead, she was the one who got hit, became seriously injured, and missed her final exams at college.

To thank her, Ethan and I covered all of her college expenses and even arranged a trip for her to study and travel in the Northern Plains.

Ethan said that saving me was the same as saving him.

He would do anything to repay that debt.

I thought that was the end of their connection. I never imagined it would turn into this.

Someone in the room asked Ethan, “Aren’t you afraid Madeline will find out?”

Ethan looked down at his phone, scrolling through something, and replied with full confidence, “I’ll always love Maddie. She gave up everything, including her family and her friends, to follow me to my pack. I’ll never stop loving her. As long as none of you say anything, she’ll never find out what we talked about today.”

The very next moment, my phone buzzed.

I looked down at Ethan’s message, and it felt like a dagger had pierced my heart.

[Maddie, I miss you so much. Being this far away for work is killing me. I’m going to try my best to make it home for our anniversary. I love you.]

My vision blurred as tears dripped onto the screen.

Ethan loved me passionately. Everyone in the pack knew how much I meant to him.

Once, I went out without my phone and didn’t contact him for two hours. He panicked and mobilized the entire pack to look for me.

When he found me, he hugged me with trembling arms. “Maddie, don’t ever leave like that again. Do you know how scared I was that something might happen to you?”

To give him peace of mind, I’d kept my phone on me at all times. I was always ready to answer his calls.

My phone buzzed again. He was calling again probably because I hadn’t responded.

But at that moment, I didn’t have the heart to pick up.

Inside the room, Ethan’s expression changed immediately. He gripped his phone tightly, calling again and again.

His friends tried to calm him.

“Relax, maybe Madeline’s just busy and didn’t see the message.”

“You’re overthinking it. Missing one call is totally normal.”

Ethan snapped, “You don’t get it! Maddie would never ignore my call! This isn’t normal!”

He started pacing the room, dialing over and over.

I stared blankly at the man who was panicking over me, but my heart ached.

I still couldn’t believe it. How could someone who loved me this much betray me?