Chapter 1

I had accidentally uncovered a secret.

My mate, Theo Burke, was said to have died in battle. But in reality, he had assumed the identity of his twin older brother, Liam Burke. Since then, he had been spending his nights breeding with Mia Parker, Liam's mate.

…

I had just returned from the forest when I noticed that Agatha Rune, a witch, had come to the Thornroot pack. I hid in a corner and overheard an exchange.

"You'll need to prepare more of the potion that masks my scent. I can't let Olivia find out that I'm actually Theo."

He was actually Theo? What did that mean?

I trembled as I stared wide-eyed at the werewolf in front of me—he had the exact same face as Theo.

Theo and Liam were identical twins, but I would never mistake one for the other. I knew that the one I loved was Theo, who smelled of cedar.

Half a year ago, Theo and Liam had been ambushed by a rival pack. Since that day, I lost him for good. All I wanted was to join Theo in heaven, but I couldn't possibly leave our son, Jax Burke, alone in this world.

I spent every waking moment consumed by my anguished yearning for Theo. As a result of my depressive state, my wolf weakened with each passing day, too.

And yet, after the torment I'd been through for the past half year, Theo was now claiming that he was actually alive?

"Do you still intend to hide the truth from Ms. Olivia? I just saw her heading to the patch of forest where you two used to go on dates, the poor she-wolf," Agatha remarked.

Theo's tone remained resolute. "That's none of your concern. You just need to prepare the potion I asked for."

"Very well. I have no objections, of course. After all, you paid very handsomely when I gave you that potion to break your mate bond."

I felt my blood turn cold as my mind was pulled back to that nightmarish day.

I'd been at home accompanying Jax when all of a sudden, I felt an excruciating pain coming from my chest. It was as if someone had sunk their claws into my chest and crushed my heart. Overwhelmed by the pain, I fell unconscious for three days.

When I woke up, I received the news that Theo was dead.

But now, I just found out that all the pain and suffering I'd gone through thus far were merely the result of an elaborate lie!

"All I did was sever our mate bond. Olivia's tough as nails. Nothing will happen to her. After all, she used to be a Rogue," Theo said indifferently.

"My plan is about to succeed, no? Olivia's great in every way, but her bloodline is far too lowly and inferior. Father and Mother both wish to have an heir with a purer bloodline to inherit the pack. Mia comes from a far more prestigious lineage. As long as I can produce an heir with her, I'll become the Alpha. It will all work out perfectly, and you'll be rewarded with even more when the time comes."

Theo's voice was filled with excitement as he spoke. Meanwhile, my mind had gone blank.

It turned out that the mate I'd been missing and mourning for wasn't dead after all—he simply used a potion to mask his scent so that he could openly be intimate with Mia, right to my face.

For the sake of securing a more prestigious bloodline and becoming the next Alpha, he abandoned Jax and me. He opted to have a child with his sister-in-law instead.

My mind was spinning, and I had no idea how I made my way back to my room.

"You're back, Mommy," Jax called out as he rubbed his eyes and got out of bed. When he looked up and saw my ashen face, he asked, "What's wrong, Mommy?"

I was still having a hard time accepting what I'd just witnessed. I held Jax close and started sobbing hard, but I couldn't say a word. He stroked my back with his warm, tiny hand.

When Jax was born, Theo stood guard outside the room for an entire day and night. He hugged me and peppered my face with loving kisses, saying, "I swear to the Moon Goddess that I will dedicate my life to protect you and our little pup."

Well, his vow was nothing more than a joke now. By borrowing Liam's identity, he saved himself from being punished for breaking his vow.

He had always been a cunning one.

"Mommy, did Daddy pretend not to be Daddy again?" Jax asked.

I froze. Now that I thought about it, Jax had been rather calm ever since Theo's supposed death. He'd been upset when the news first got back to us, but his expression had changed when his "Uncle Liam" returned. He immediately started addressing him as "Daddy".

Everyone, including me, thought it was because Jax missed Theo.

Who would've thought that Jax was the only one who saw right through everything?

I looked into Jax's eyes and said, "Tell me how you found out Uncle Liam is actually Daddy."

Jax cocked his head to the side in confusion and said, "From his scent. He smells like Daddy."

I was stunned. All along, I knew Jax was powerful. His wolf had awakened even when he was very young.

That being said, I didn't expect him to be unaffected by Agatha's potion, so much so that he could discern Theo's real identity.

I knew this was due to my father's bloodline.

My father was the most powerful Alpha King of the Southern Woodlands.

I wasn't a Rogue. I'd merely gotten lost in the forest after sneaking out to play when Theo found me.

As we realized we were fated mates, he didn't care about my bloodline. Our relationship developed smoothly, and nature took its course. But now, the identity I pretended to be became the reason I was forsaken.

Well, Theo no longer had the right to be made aware of this secret.

I turned to Jax and said, "I'm going to take you home, Jax. What do you say?"