"Get out, Layla.""I'm pregnant, Cecelia.And it's your husband's baby."

I looked up at her stunned.The crystal wine glass slipped from my fingers, shattering against the marble floor of the pack house dining room.Red wine spread on the floor, soaking my shoes and hers.

"What did you just say?"My voice shook.I was not understanding.How?Why?

Layla, my beautiful, perfect sister, stood across from me, the definition of everything that I thought I was not.She was graceful, could get anything she wanted, men worshipped the ground that she walked on.Why my husband?Even as she delivered the news that rocked my world, she looked like a goddess.Her hand rested protectively over her still-flat stomach, and tears glistened in her blue eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Cecelia.I never meant for this to happen."

"You're lying."I gripped the edge of the dining table until my knuckles went white."Zeke wouldn't... he wouldn't do that to me."

"Wouldn't he?"Layla's voice was soft and full of pity."Be honest with yourself, sister.Has he ever truly been yours?"

The mate mark on my neck ignited at her words and my hands flew to the pain point in an attempt to soothe it.I struggled to stand up, as I glared at her with all the hate in me.

She always had everything.Why couldn't she let this one thing I was happy with be?She just had to ruin it.Six months ago, Alpha Zeke. Brooke had shocked everyone by choosing me, the plain, adopted Cecelia over my stunning sister for the peace treaty marriage.I felt too bare in his gorgeous world.But he made me feel loved, and perfect.Six months since I'd foolishly started believing in fairy tales.

"He chose me," I said, hating how desperate I sounded."At the betrothal ceremony, he chose me over you."

"Did he?"Layla walked over to me with graceful steps."Or did he choose the path that would let him have us both?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Think about it, Cecelia.If he'd married me, you would have left the territory.Gone to find your own pack, your own life.But by marrying you..."She paused, letting the implication hang in the air."By marrying you, he ensured I'd stay close.Family always stays close."

My legs gave out, and I collapsed into the nearest chair.

"No.No, you're wrong.Zeke and I... we've been happy.He's been kind to me, gentle-"

"Kind?"Layla laughed, but there was no humor in it."Cecelia, whywhen was the last time he told you he loved you?"

The question hit me like an arrow to my chest.My world spun as I considered it.Six months of marriage, and those three words had never passed his lips.Not once.

"When was the last time he looked at you the way a mate should look at his chosen?"she continued relentlessly."When was the last time he came to your bed without you having to initiate it?""Stop."Tears burned my eyes, but I refused to let them fall."Just stop talking."

"I can't stop, because I can't keep lying to you anymore."Layla sank into the chair across from me, reaching across the table to take my hands.I yanked them away."Cecelia, he's been meeting with me in secret since the week after your mating ceremony.At first, it was just to apologize, to explain why he'd chosen you.But then..."

"But then what?"

"Then we remembered why we fell

in love in the first place."

My eyes burned, my hands shook with rage."You were enemies.Layla's voice dropped to a whisper."We were heartbroken children forced apart by our fathers' pride.The hate was easier than admitting we still loved each other."

I stood up so fast my chair toppled backward."Get out."

"Cecelia-"

"I said get out!"

"Listen to me!"Layla shot to her feet as well, her own temper flaring."Do you think this is easy for me?Do you think I wanted to fall pregnant with a married man's child?"

"You should have thought about that before you spread your legs for my husband!"

The slap came so fast I didn't see it coming.My cheek stung, but the physical pain was nothing compared to the agony tearing through my chest.

Layla's hand flew to her mouth in horror."Oh goddess, Cecelia, I'm sorry.I didn't mean-"

"Yes, you did."I touched my burning cheek, tasting blood where my teeth had cut my lip."You've always meant it, haven't you?Every cruel word, every moment you made me feel small and worthless.You've always resented that Father chose to adopt me instead of giving you a brother."

"That's not true-"

"Isn't it?"I laughed bitterly."Tell me, Layla, wasn't sleeping with Zeke always part of your plan?Ever since we got married, you have not been happy.You always wanted to destroy it.'

"It wasn't like that!"Tears streamed down her perfect face now."I came here to make peace with you, to try to be the sister I should have been.But when I saw Zeke again..."

"The mate bond you thought you had came flooding back?"

"Yes," she whispered.

"Well, here's something you might have forgotten in your reunion," I snarled, letting every ounce of hurt and rage filter Into my voice."Zeke and I are actually mated.He marked me.We completed the bond in front of the Moon Goddess herself."

"Cecelia-"

"Which means that whatever you think you have with him, whatever pretty lies he's been whispering in your ear, you're nothing but his whore."

This time, I was ready for the slap.I caught her wrist before her hand could connect, my adoptive father's Alpha blood lending me strength I rarely used.

"Don't," I warned, my wolf rising to the surface."Don't you dare hit me again."

Layla tried to wrench her arm free, but I held tight.For the first time in our lives, I was the one with power over her.

"Let me go," she hissed.

"Not until you tell me the truth.All of it."

"I already told you-"

"No, you told me what happened.I want to know why.Why now, Layla?Why come here and confess?What do you want from me?".

She stopped struggling, her blue eyes meeting mine with an expression I couldn't read."Zeke asked me to tell you."

The words hit me like ice water."What?"

"He said... he said it wasn't fair to keep lying to you.That you deserved to know the truth about who he really loves."

I released her wrist so suddenly she stumbled backward."He wants a divorce."The words scratched my throat.

"He wants you to choose," she corrected quietly."He won't break the mate bond against your will, but if you release him..."

"He'll marry you instead."

"Yes."

I turned away from her, walking to the massive windows that overlooked the pack's territory.In the distance, I could see the sea cliffs where I'd spent so many hours dreaming of a future that would never come."And the baby?

""He wants to claim it officially.He wants the baby to be his heir."

His heir.The child I'd never been able to give him, despite six months of trying.

"Get out, Layla."

"Cecelia, please-"

"Get out before I do something we'll both regret."

I heard her footsteps on the marble, then the soft click of the door closing.Only then did I let myself break down, sliding down the window until I was sitting on the floor, sobbing like my heart was being torn from my chest.

Because it was.

Chapter 2 : Zeke

I found him in his study an hour later, sitting behind the massive oak desk that had belonged to his father.Zeke looked up when I entered, and I saw my own pain reflected in his green eyes.

"She told you."

It wasn't a question.I closed the door behind me and walked to the chair across from his desk, my spine straight and my chin lifted.If I was going down, I'd go down with dignity.

"Yes.""Cecelia-"

"Is it true?"

He was quiet for a long moment, his hands clasped on the desk in front of him.When he finally spoke, his voice was barely audible.

"Yes."

The simple word destroyed the last fragment of hope I'd been clinging to.

"How long?"I asked.

"How long what?"

"How long have you been fuckingmy sister?"

He flinched at the crude language.

"Cecelia, don't-"

"Answer the question, Zeke.How long?"

"Since the second week after our mating ceremony."

I closed my eyes, absorbing the blow."So our entire marriage has been a lie."

"No."He stood up abruptly, moving around the desk toward me."No, Cecelia, that's not-"

"Don't."I held up a hand to stop him."Don't come any closer.

Don't touch me.And for the love of the Moon Goddess, don't lie to me anymore."

He stopped mid-step, his jaw clenching."I never lied to you."

"You've been screwing my sister for six months behind my back!What would you call that?"

"I never promised you love."

The words were like a knife to the heart."No, you didn't, did you?Silly me for thinking that might develop naturally between mates.""Cecelia, please try to understand-"

"Oh, I understand perfectly."I stood up, smoothing down my skirt with hands that only trembled slightly."You never got over your first love, so you found a way to have us both.You marry the adopted daughter to secure the peace treaty, then keep the real daughter as your mistress.Isn't that very smart of you?"

"It wasn't like that."

"Then tell me what it was like, Zeke.Explain to me how this happened."

He ran a hand through his dark silky hair.I loved whenever he did that.My stomach would clench and butterflies would flutter everywhere, but now I hated it.It was a reminder that like my sister, his good looks could guarantee him everything.

"When I chose you at the betrothal ceremony-"

"Why did you choose me?"I interrupted."I need to know.Was it always part of some elaborate plan?"

"No!"I could hear the pain and desperation in that one word, but I refused to be deceived."No, Cecelia, I chose you because... because I thought it would be easier."

I tried to stop the tears from moistening my voice."Easier how?"

"Easier to do my duty without my heart being involved."

I laughed, but it sounded more like a sob."You chose me because you didn't love me."

"I chose you because I thought I could learn to love you," he said quietly."I thought if I married Layla, I'd spend my whole life fighting the mate bond, trying to be the Alpha my pack needed instead of the man she wanted.But with you...""With me, you thought you could be both."I finished for him.

"Yes."

"And then Layla came back."

He nodded, his eyes fixed on the floor."The moment I saw her again, I knew I'd made a mistake.The feelings I thought I'd buried came rushing back, stronger than ever."

"So you decided to have an affair behind my back, Zeke."My voice cracked.Hearing this from his mouth was not making this any easier.

"I tried to stay away from her," he said desperately, trying to come closer to me.I stepped back."For the first week after she arrived, I avoided her completely.But then she came to me, crying, begging me to explain why I'd chosen you over her.She said she needed closure."

My hands shook as I rubbed my temples."She was tempting you.It was very obvious.You let her."My voice became hard."You gave it to her."

"I gave her the truth.I told her I'd chosen you because I was a coward who couldn't handle loving her the way she deserved."

"And then?"

"And then she kissed me."

I felt something inside me die."And you kissed her back."

"Yes."

"In our house.In the pack house where we live as mates."

"Cecelia-"

"Where?"The question came out as a growl."Where did you betray our bond?"

"It doesn't matter-"

"It matters to me!"I slammed my hand down on his desk, making him jump."Where, Zeke?"

"The library," he whispered.

The library.Where I spent most of my afternoons reading, where I'd foolishly imagined bringing our children someday to share the stories I loved.

"And after that?"

"After that, we... we couldn't stay away from each other."

"So you've been meeting in secret ever since."I chuckled, but not in amusement, in rage.I was angry at myself that I let this happen.They were sleeping with each other under my nose, but I trusted them so much and I let this happen.

"Yes."He confirmed, his eyes never leaving mine.

"While coming home to me every night and pretending to be my devoted husband."

"I never pretended-"

"You marked me!"I touched the scar on my neck, the physical reminder of our bond."You claimed me in front of the entire pack,promised to cherish and protect me, and then you spent the next six months sneaking around with my sister!"

"The marking was part of the ceremony.It didn't mean-"

"It didn't mean anything to you," I finished for him."I get it now.The great Alpha Zeke Brooke, finally being honest."

He stepped toward me again, and this time I didn't stop him.When he reached out to touch my face, I let him, even though his touch felt like poison now.

"Cecelia, I'm sorry.I'm so fucking sorry.I never wanted to hurt you."

I bit my cheek to prevent the tears from spilling."But you did it anyway."

"Yes.

I shook my head, chuckling to myself again."She said that you want me to release you from our bond so you can marry her instead."

"I want you to be free," he said softly."Free to find someone who can love you the way you deserve."

"How noble of you."I stepped back,

breaking his hold on my face."Tell me something, Zeke.If Layla wasn't pregnant, would you still be asking for your freedom?"

He was quiet for so long I thought he wouldn't answer.When he finally spoke, his voice was barely a whisper.

"I don't know."

"I see."I walked to the door, then paused with my hand on the handle."One more question.""

Anything."

"Do you love her?""Yes."

"Have you ever loved me?Even a little?"

The pause that followed told me everything I needed to know.

"I, Zeke Woods of Brooke pack reject you, Cecelia Mayers as my chosen mate."

I screamed as I doubled over in pain.I took deep breaths as I struggled to stand erect."I Cecelia Mayers accept your rejection."At this point, I was proud of myself for not crying."Thank you for finally being honest."

"Where are you going?"

"For a walk.

"Cecelia, wait-"

I opened the door without looking back."Don't follow me, Zeke.I think you've done enough for one day."

I was going to the seacliffs to clear my head, and to think clearly and for once in my life, I was going to listen to what I wanted instead of what everyone else needed from me

A thudding headache from the right side of my skull dragged me into consciousness.I forced my eyes open, and my vision was blurry.The surroundings around me were unfamiliar.Finally, all the blur cleared into focus and I immediately saw three pairs of brown eyes staring at me.

"She's awake!"The smallest girl smiled down at me, then nudged the others who were still staring at me in awe."Mama, she's awake!"

They ran off, shouting, "Mama!The

sea lady opened her eyes!"

I tried to sit up bewildered by what it was they were saying.What did they mean sea-lady?What was I doing here?The last thing I remembered was sitting on my favourite nest on the sea-cliff and crying.The rest was fuzzy.As I sat up, there was a sharp pain in my lower belly.I flinched, shutting my eyes as the pain almost demoralized me.

A woman appeared in the doorway, clearly their mother from the resemblance."Easy now," she said, settling into a chair."I'm Fatima.You've been asleep for a very long time."

"I..."My head was still spinning as she talked to me, I looked around to see if I could recognize where I was at, but nothing."Where am I?"

"Safe."She poured water into a cup, then handed it over to me with an outstretched hand."Drink slowly."

The water tasted sweet, but there was something more salt in it than the normal water.The memory hit me.

"The sea," I gasped."I remember the sea."

Fatima's face grew serious."I found you washed up on our shore three moons ago.More dead than alive."

"Three months?I've been unconscious for three months?"I've been unconscious for three months?"

"Your body needed time to heal.Whatever happened to you out there nearly killed you."

The memory crashed back with a blinding flash of pain, and I nearly toppled the cup as I ground my teeth.Fatima's hands steadied me.

I had been sitting on my favorite perch at the sea-cliff, the wind whipping my hair as I stared out at the endless horizon.The tears wouldn't stop coming.How long had I being played for a fool?Weeks?Months?But hearing them say it this morning was like a knife to my chest.My sister.My own blood.And my mate.

There was a sound of footsteps on the rocky path behind me, light and soft, I suspected that it should be Layla but I didn't turn when I heard her approach.I was too lost in my grief to care.

"Cecelia."Layla's voice was soft, almost gentle.The way she used to speak when we were children and she was trying to coax me into some mischief.

"Go away."I didn't want to see her face, didn't want to see those perfect features that everyone always said were more beautiful than mine.

"We need to talk."

I finally turned, wiping my eyes.She stood there in a flowing white dress, her golden hair catching the afternoon sun.Even now, even knowing what I knew, she was breathtaking.

"About what?About how you've been sharing my mate's bed while playing the devoted sister?About how you smile at me during pack meetings while plotting behind my back?"

Her face didn't change.That was what chilled me most; the complete lack of surprise or shame."You don't understand the bigger picture, Cecelia."

"Enlighten me."She stepped closer, and I should have backed away.I should have listened to the warning bells in my mind."The pack needs strong leadership.You're too emotional, too volatile.Look at you now, crying on a cliff like a child."

"I'm crying because my sister betraye me!"

"I did what was necessary."Her voice was cold now, all pretense gone."Zeke sees it too.You're not Luna material.You never were."

My anger spiked, and my voice was above level now."He's my mate,

Layla.The Moon Goddess chose-"

"The Moon Goddess makes mistakes."She was close enough now that I could see the glint of wickedness in her eyes."But we can fix them."

I started to stand, some instinct finally kicking in, but she was faster.Her hands slammed into my chest with surprising force.For a moment, I teetered on the edge, arms windmilling, the cliff's edge crumbling beneath my feet.

"Layla!"I reached for her, desperate, but she stepped back."Goodbye, sister," she whispered, and there was almost something like sadness in her voice."I'll take good care of what should have been mine all along."

The world tilted.I screamed as I heard the roaring waters beneath me.The last thing I saw was her silhouette against the sky, watching as I fell.

"Someone threw me in.They pushed me into the sea."I could recall hands pushing me, the shock of cold water."My sister pushed me off the cliff."

Fatima's eyes widened."Your own sister?This wasn't an accident?"

"No.She wanted me gone so she could take my place as Luna."The certainty settled in my chest along with grief I couldn't name.The betrayal cut deeper than the physical wounds."She was sleeping with my mate.

"Fatima's face hardened with righteous anger.

"Blood betraying blood.There's no sin worse in the eyes of the sea spirits.""I'm so sorry," I said, looking at her ashen face."You saved my life.But I need to find my way home, so I can remember who I once was.I promise I'll find a way to repay you-"

I tried to stand but the world tilted.I was falling until strong arms caught me.

"I won't allow you to leave in your condition.You have to be hale and hearty.You've been still for months so you will not be able to walk around as you normally would."

I closed my eyes, as I tried to catch my breath."Being in a coma so long, my muscles have forgotten-"

"Cecelia."Her voice stopped me."That's not the only reason you're weak."

Something in her tone made my blood run cold."What do you mean?"

She took my hands."You're carrying a child."

I shook my head, desperately."That's impossible."

"Yes."She nodded, "For about four months along.The babe is why your body fought so hard to survive."

Four months.Golden eyes flashed in my memory.Zeke.And then my sister's face, Layla with her perfect smile twisted into something cruel as she pushed me to my death.The timeline made terrible sense now.She must have known.She must have seen the signs I was too naive to recognize.

"I can't go back then," I whispered."Not like this.Not when I'm pregnant with his child and she's probably Luna now.""Back where?"

"The Brooke Pack.My sister... she's probably Luna now.I can't compete with her anymore.Not with a baby."The injustice burned through me.She had tried to kill me, and she still got everything she wanted."I had every right to that position."

"Then don't compete," Fatima said."Choose something different.Choose your child."

"Why are you helping me?""I believe the sea brought you to us for a reason.And everyone deserves a second chance."She moved toward the door.

"What is this place?"I asked.

"This is the Seacreek Pack.Most of us are fishers and farmers.We are simple folk, but good people."She paused."Rest now.When you're ready, I'll introduce you properly."

I settled back, one hand on my barely visible belly.The child of the man who had betrayed me, but innocent of his father's sins, who was also innocent of his aunt's murderous ambition.

The pain in my heart began to ease, just a little."Just you and me now," I whispered to the tiny life inside."We'll make our own way."