His Rotting Core of Love

When I was pregnant with our first pup, our mate bond unstable and my own life force fading, my fated mate, Kaelen Blackwood, abandoned me at the entrance of the Moon Temple.

He insisted on taking an injured Omega from his Pack, Seraphina, home first.

I could feel the life of our unborn pup slipping away through our fragile bond, but he left without a backward glance.

He was supposed to be at the Moon Temple, by my side. Instead, an image of him comforting Seraphina flashed across the Inter-pack network.

The caption read: “Thank you to my Alpha. Guess who gets his protection on a terrifying night? Me!”

My heart turned to ash.

The next morning, I calmly opened a mind-link to my father.

“Father, I've made my decision. In three days, I will return to the Silvermoon Clan.”

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1

Silence stretched for two seconds on the other end of the mind-link, followed by a deep sigh.

“Good. Just come home. That's all that matters.”

“I'll be waiting for you.”

Hearing my father's voice, I suppressed a sharp pang in my chest and severed the link.

After the connection was cut, I placed a hand on my still-flat stomach, and silent tears streamed down my cheeks.

The priestess told me the pup's soul had begun to dissipate before it could fully form. If Kaelen had soothed me with his Alpha's strength sooner, there might have been a chance…

“I'm sorry, my sweet pup. I couldn't protect you. I'm so… so sorry…” I sobbed, my breath catching in my throat.

A young priestess making her rounds pushed the door open. She seemed accustomed to such sorrow, yet her eyes still held a flicker of compassion.

“Losing an unborn pup is a devastating loss. But why are you here all alone? Where is your mate? Why isn't he by your side?” Her voice was laced with concern.

I had just lost our pup, lying alone on a cot in the temple. Yet the only person who cared about me was a priestess I had never met. Meanwhile, my mate was likely waking up in another woman's arms.

My sobs slowly subsided, and I murmured in anguish, “He's dead…”

The priestess’s expression softened into an apology, her gaze filling with a new depth of sympathy.

In the end, I didn't follow the priestess's advice and insisted on leaving the Moon Temple. My body trembled as I stared at the report detailing the dissipation of our pup's soul.

How could my pup be reduced to nothing more than a cold report? This pain was not something I should have to bear alone.

When I returned to the Alpha's mansion, the house was empty. Just as I'd expected, Kaelen hadn't come home last night.

He had spent the night with another woman. And I knew no one would believe nothing had happened between them.

In the past, I would have been frantically calling him through our mind-link. Now, I just felt exhausted.

A familiar presence brushed against my mind. Kaelen.

The moment I connected, his concerned voice echoed in my mind. “Elara, are you okay? Something happened to Seraphina. She was terrified last night and she's still a wreck. I'm calming her down…”

After he finished, I responded calmly, “You were with her last night.”

I kept my tone flat, making it a statement, not a question.

After a brief silence, Kaelen's voice roared through our mind-link. “Elara Vance!”

“Why is your mind always in the gutter? Seraphina is a member of my Pack. Since she was frightened, isn't it my responsibility as an Alpha to take care of her?”

“Seraphina is right here with me. She's tormented by her past and she's sick with worry.”

“Can you put aside your jealousy for one second and stop making things worse for her?”

Hearing Kaelen raise such a fuss over another woman, I asked, “When you left me at the Moon Temple yesterday, did it ever occur to you that I might have been in pain, too?”

My words silenced him. Then, he interrupted impatiently, “You were at the Moon Temple with the priestesses. What could possibly have happened? Stop being so dramatic. Apologize to Seraphina, and we can move past this.”

Hearing his words, I laughed.

Kaelen mistook my laughter as a sign my anger was fading and said, “Good. I'll find a time to bring her over. You can apologize to her then.”

I severed the mind-link, blocking him completely, and booked the earliest private jet for three days from now.

Kaelen and I were fated mates. Our union had elevated his Pack's status, and it had been three years. But our mate bond was already crumbling.

All of our arguments revolved around Seraphina Thorne.

On the anniversary of our bonding ceremony, Seraphina needed comforting; when I was in heat and needed him most, she was being tracked by enemies.

Every time, with just one weak call from her, Kaelen would drop everything and leave.

Even in the moment I lost our pup, he failed to be the mate and father he should have been.