All Chapters of My Alpha’s Dying Lie: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

For eight years, Alexander Hale and I had been mates. We’d agreed not to have children.At least, I’d always thought it was something we both wanted.Then he was diagnosed with cancer, and he slept with the woman his parents had picked out for him.That night, he took Celeste Winslow into the bedroom next to ours.Through the wall, I heard the bed frame slam against the plaster. I heard her moaning, begging him not to hold back, telling him to give her a baby.Their breathing. Their whispers.They sounded like two people who’d forgotten anyone else existed.Alexander was the Alpha of the Hale Pack. Eight years earlier, we’d sealed our mating bond beneath the moon, and the elders had recognized me as his Luna.His mark lay between my neck and shoulder, binding me to his scent, his heartbeat.Once, that mark had meant everything to me.I’d believed that wherever he went, some part of him would always know where he belonged.But after every night with Celeste, Alexander rushed into the sh

When I opened the door to our Manhattan home, I stopped cold.Celeste was sitting on Alexander’s lap.She was wearing my silk nightgown, the neckline hanging open.He didn’t push her away.He kissed her.Then he looked at me as if I were the one who owed him an explanation.“You scared her, Claire. The baby’s been kicking nonstop, and she can’t sleep. I brought her here to calm her down.”I said nothing.“Her therapist says physical affection between the parents helps settle the baby. I’m doing this to make up for what you did.”I studied the face I’d loved for years.For the first time, I could hardly recognize him.My nails dug into my palms.“Okay,” I managed.Then I went upstairs.The bedroom door was open.All my La Mer products were gone from the vanity, replaced by cheap maternity skincare. The sheets and curtains were pink, a color I hated.Our mating portrait was gone, too.In its place hung a family photograph.Alexander held a little boy who looked exactly like him. Celeste

The bodyguards tightened their grip.I twisted against them, trying to pull my arms free.Alexander didn’t turn around.“Make her drink it.”I gagged before the bottle even reached my mouth.Tears streamed down my face.“Alexander Hale, you’re blind. You’re heartless.”He finally looked at me.“You’re going to regret this,” I said.His expression didn’t change.“When you do something wrong, you face the consequences. You owe Celeste this much.”They forced my head back.The cloudy liquid poured into my throat.I choked and tried to spit it out, but they held me until I swallowed.Then they let go.I hit the wall and slid down beside it.For a few moments, all I could do was cough.Then pain tore through my stomach.It came so suddenly that my vision went black at the edges. Whatever strength I had left drained out of me.I pressed a hand to my belly.Something warm spread beneath my skirt.No.I looked down.Blood.My baby.Fear swallowed everything else.I tried to reach for Alexander

The papers stopped moving.“She also has restraint-like injuries on her wrists and visible facial trauma. Don’t release her clothing to the family. Preserve it according to hospital procedure.”I wanted to cry.Not because it hurt.Because someone had finally seen me.Not a difficult wife. Not a woman crazed with jealousy.A person who’d been restrained, forced to swallow an unknown liquid, and left bleeding on the floor.Alexander’s voice rose outside.“Let me in.”“She can’t have visitors right now.”“I’m her mate.”“And she is our patient.”The woman returned to my bedside and adjusted my blanket.“Claire, I’m Dr. Miller. Your surgery is finished. Now we’re going to do everything we can to stabilize you.”After a long effort, I moved one finger.She immediately took my hand.Unable to speak, I traced a name against her palm.Not Alexander’s.Nora.The last person in this world I still dared to trust.I truly woke up two days later, before dawn.Outside, the sky was still black. A sm

“Claire, why didn’t you tell me you were awake?”I stared at the glass of water beside my bed.He apparently mistook my silence for hurt feelings.“I know you’ve been through a lot. That priest disappeared, but I’ll find out what he gave you.”“You ordered them to force it down my throat.”Silence.Then his voice dropped.“I didn’t know you were pregnant.”My fingers tightened around the blanket.So he knew now.And still, his first words weren’t I’m sorry.They were I didn’t know.As though, without a pregnancy, forcing that bottle into my mouth would have been acceptable.“If I hadn’t been pregnant, would that have made it okay?”He didn’t answer.His breathing grew heavier. My mark began to burn.Nora pressed the call button, and the nurse moved closer.“Alexander, I want a copy of the agreement.”“What agreement?”“The one you made me sign.”“That doesn’t count.”His voice sharpened with panic.“I was trying to reassure Celeste. She was fighting for her life. I couldn’t let her los