On our seventh anniversary as mates, the Alpha of our pack finally agreed to accompany me on a trip I’d been planning for months. But as we stood in the bustling airport, Kingsley’s phone buzzed relentlessly. It was Angel, his Beta, throwing a tantrum because she refused to eat. Without hesitation, he turned to me, his Alpha aura pressing down on me like a weight.

“I have to go back,” he said, his voice firm, leaving no room for argument.

I clutched the itinerary in my hand, the paper crinkling under my grip. “Please, Alpha,” I pleaded, using his title out of habit, though my voice trembled. “It’s our anniversary. Can’t this wait?”

He scoffed, his dark eyes narrowing. “Anniversaries come every year, but Angel refusing food could be serious. Do you think everyone has your resilience, someone who wouldn’t starve if they skipped a meal?”

His words stung, but I held back my tears. He leaned in, pressing a cold kiss to my forehead. “Wait for me. Once I calm her down, I’ll come right back to you.”

I watched as he boarded his private jet, his broad, muscular frame disappearing into the cabin without a backward glance. My hand drifted to my swollen belly, where our pup grew. With a bitter smile, I shoved the prenatal report back into my bag. This suffocating mate bond—I couldn’t take it anymore.

---

The sterile smell of the hospital filled my nostrils as I stepped into the room. Angel Murphy, Kingsley’s Beta, lay on the bed, her golden hair fanned out like a halo. Kingsley stood by her side, his towering frame radiating dominance. His Alpha aura filled the room, making it hard to breathe.

Seeing me enter, Kingsley instinctively moved to block my view of Angel. His dark eyes flickered with something—guilt, perhaps—but it was gone in an instant. Angel, ever the manipulator, sent him off to fetch her a cup of coffee, batting her lashes sweetly. He hesitated, glancing back at her every few steps, his concern for her palpable.

My throat tightened. When I was ill, he wouldn’t even fetch me a glass of water. Yet here he was, at her beck and call.

A soft laugh came from the bed, and I turned to face Angel. Her eyes, so much like mine when I was younger, glittered with ambition.

“You should know that the Alpha is a mated man,” I said, my voice cold.

Angel met my gaze without flinching. “Of course I know. They all say I resemble the younger you. But now I’m younger, and I’m here to take your place.”

Her words ignited a fire in me. I lunged forward, grabbing her hair. “Who do you think you are? What right do you have to replace me?!”

Angel shrieked, falling to the floor as if I’d struck her. Before I could react, I felt the scalding pour of hot coffee douse my arm. The searing pain forced a scream from my throat. I stared at Kingsley in disbelief.

“What are you doing?” I cried, clutching my burned arm.

He looked momentarily alarmed, but Angel’s soft sobs drew his attention back. He pulled her into his arms, gently blowing on the small red marks where the coffee had splashed her hand. Then he turned to me, his Alpha tone sharp and commanding.

“You ungrateful woman, visiting Angel was already a courtesy. Who gave you the nerve to lay a hand on her?”

His words cut deeper than the burn. He continued comforting Angel, ignoring me completely.

“Apologize to her,” he ordered, his voice leaving no room for defiance.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, the words tasting like ash in my mouth.

He paused, his dark eyes narrowing as he took in my disheveled state. “Get yourself bandaged up. Don’t let it scar,” he said dismissively before turning back to Angel.

I limped out of the room, the blisters on my feet bursting with every step. The physical pain was nothing compared to the emotional torment Kingsley inflicted. As a nurse bandaged my wounds, the clarity of my situation hit me like a ton of bricks.

Halfway through, the nurses were called away to tend to someone in the VIP room—Angel, no doubt. I laughed bitterly, wrapping the bandage myself. The fresh blood seeping through the gauze mirrored the wounds in my heart.

When I returned to our den, the fever burning through me urged me to rest. But then the phone rang. It was Kingsley.

“What do you want?” I asked, my voice trembling with pain.

His tone softened slightly at my distress. “Sweetheart, Angel wants your special pulled pork and spiced honey cake. Make some and bring it over as a peace offering.”

His words sent an icy chill through me. The pulled pork and spiced honey cake had always been my specialty, something I prepared for him every Wednesday for the past seven years. And now, he wanted me to share it with her?

My silence stretched on, and Kingsley’s patience wore thin. His Alpha tone returned, sharp and commanding. “Is it so hard to make a meal? You caused Angel to get hurt. Her wanting your dish is a gesture of goodwill. Don’t be ungrateful.”

“If you don’t deliver it within an hour, there’s no point in continuing this,” he snapped before hanging up.

I sat there, the phone still in my hand, the weight of his words pressing down on me. The mate bond that once felt like a sacred connection now felt like a chain, suffocating and unbreakable. But I knew one thing for certain—I couldn’t let this continue. Not for me, and not for the pup growing inside me.

By the time I arrived at the hospital with the stew, the first light of dawn was already breaking. The room was empty, and no one responded to my calls. Reluctantly, I dialed Jay, Kingsley’s Delta assistant.

“Luna Josephine? Alpha Kingsley took Beta Angel to Brighton, said they needed a break.”

The weight of his words crashed over me like a tidal wave. My wolf whimpered softly in the back of my mind, sensing the betrayal before I could fully process it. I made my way back to the den, each step heavier than the last. Just before I lost consciousness, I instinctively shielded my belly. My pup.

When I woke, I was lying in a hospital bed, an IV attached to my hand. Both arms were immobile, so I stared at the ceiling, feeling the dull ache of emptiness. With some difficulty, I unlocked my phone and saw dozens of missed calls from Kingsley. A faint smile tugged at my lips as I prepared to call back.

Just then, the door swung open. Kingsley entered, his broad frame filling the doorway, his Alpha aura dominating the room. He looked tired, his usually sharp eyes softened by exhaustion. Behind him, Angel trailed in, her presence like a thorn in my side.

Kingsley visibly relaxed when he saw I was okay but couldn’t stop himself from scolding, “Why didn’t you tell me you weren’t feeling well, Josephine? Beta Angel insisted we cut the trip short. She was worried about you.”

My heart sank. So, he only came back because Angel wanted to return?

Watching my tears fall, Angel’s smile widened triumphantly. She approached with feigned concern, her voice dripping with sweetness. “Don’t listen to Alpha Kingsley, Luna Josephine. He was worried about you; that’s why we came back.”

She curiously poked at the bandages on my hand, her touch light but deliberate. “But really, Luna Josephine, aren’t you being a bit too fragile? I got burned too, but I’m not making as much of a fuss as you.”

The jab sparked pain, and my hand lifted instinctively.

“Ah!” Angel stumbled back, pulling at my IV stand.

“I didn’t touch you!” I protested, desperate to prove my innocence to Kingsley. He helped Angel steady herself, his strong hands gentle on her arm, only to then strike me across the face with the full force of an Alpha.

A ringing filled my ears as my cheek swelled instantly. Kingsley’s gaze was full of concern for the small cut on Angel’s face, his voice soft as he comforted her.

Then he turned his anger on me, his Alpha tone sharp and cutting. “You vicious woman! Beta Angel came with good intentions, and this is how you treat her? She’s right, you’re so dramatic. I should have never come. It’s just a cold; it won’t kill you.”

With that, he left with Angel, their closeness a cruel reminder of what I had lost. I stared at my hand, bleeding from where the needle had scraped it.

You call me dramatic, but wasn’t it you who once cherished me like this? You promised me, right after our marking ceremony, that you’d never let me suffer, never let me feel wronged.

So why, why have you brought me nothing but pain and hurt?

Alpha Kingsley, what do you want me to do?

Amidst the chaos, a nurse chided me as she changed the IV, chatting with another nurse.

“Alpha Kingsley really dotes on his Beta. Such a tiny cut on her face, and he’s losing his mind.”

“Yes, and last time, she only had two red marks from hot water, and he called the entire medical team.”

“But doesn’t Beta Angel look like she’s only in her twenties?”

“Well, the wealthy always have good maintenance.”

Listening to them, I let out a bitter laugh.

“That’s because she’s not the Luna. She’s just the Beta,” I said.

The nurses looked at me as if I had uttered something blasphemous. The younger one couldn’t hold back, retorting quickly, “You must be jealous, sour grapes! You’re just envious of their love and beauty.”

The other nurse covered her mouth, apologizing before dragging her out.

I lifted my hand and looked at my noticeably swollen fingers, swollen from pregnancy. A wry smile tugged at my lips as tears flowed.

This pup seems to have come at the worst possible time.

Pup, why did you have to come now, when your daddy loves mommy the least?

The day I was discharged from the hospital, Kingsley, the Alpha of our pack, unusually posted a nine-photo collage on the pack’s social network. It was a series of posed images of him and Angel Murphy, his Beta. The caption read: “The little she-wolf I’ve been looking after insisted we take these, said I owe her a proper ceremony.”

I carefully examined his face, still as commanding as ever, his Alpha aura radiating even through the screen. The comments section was filled with congratulations from pack members. I added my own thumbs-up and commented: “A perfect match. You should mark her when the time is right.”

Almost as soon as I posted that, Kingsley’s call came through. Seeing the contact name that still read “Mate,” I let it ring. I deleted and blocked him immediately.

It took less than half an hour for Kingsley to find me at the hospital entrance. Without a word, he dragged me to his car. I resisted, but his Alpha tone was impossible to defy.

Inside the car, I found myself trapped between the door and his embrace. He kissed me passionately, stealing my breath away. My legs felt weak, and I instinctively leaned closer to him. Suddenly, the thought of his lips possibly having just kissed Angel made me nauseous.

I bit down hard, the taste of blood spreading between us. Kingsley winced and let go, a smirk playing on his lips as he noticed my flushed face.

“Jealous? Upset that I took Angel out instead of you?”

He teasingly pinched my cheek, murmuring promises. My eyes reddened with frustration. This was his usual tactic, defusing my anger with false charm just as I was about to explode.

I brushed his hand away, silently staring at him. “What’s going on this time?”

Perhaps because the matter was difficult for him to broach, he hesitated for a long time without speaking.

“My Luna… Angel’s den got flooded, so I let her stay at ours for a few days.”

He held my hand, his face full of apparent sincerity.

Hearing this, I remained indifferent, calm as though nothing had occurred. Kingsley knew how much the den meant to me; after my parents passed away, it became my sanctuary. Because he couldn’t bear to be apart from me, it became our home.

And now he was telling me he had allowed another she-wolf to stay there without my knowledge. While I was in the hospital, no less.

“Let her stay.”

Kingsley seemed unsettled by my detached demeanor but reassured himself that I was probably too tired to react. Yes, that must be it.

We drove home in silence. He attempted several times to engage me in conversation, but I pretended to sleep to avoid him.

Eventually, thinking I was truly asleep, he began a shameless phone call with Angel, too explicit to ignore.

When the car finally stopped at our den, I crouched at the roadside, retching.

Kingsley assumed it was carsickness and offered a few comforting words before heading inside to find Angel.

My heart sank. Angel! Your heart is only for Angel! I crouched there in humiliation, waiting for the pregnancy nausea to subside.

Entering the yard, I noticed an extensive renovation. The roses I planted were gone, replaced by a state-of-the-art training ground. The little gazebo that my parents had lovingly built was also missing. My once English-style garden now reflected Angel’s taste in modern luxury.

Stunned by the transformation around me, I felt my blood rushing to my head, nearly forgetting to breathe. Kingsley came back to the car to fetch something and saw me standing there, dazed.

He spoke nonchalantly, “Angel is allergic to pollen, so I had the flowers removed. We’ve been looking at them for over a decade anyway.”

My hands trembled as I pointed at him, shouting, “This is my home! Why should it change for her? Get out! Take her with you!”

Enraged by my outburst, Kingsley turned back into the den, carried Angel out, and shoved her into the car.

As they passed me, he sneered, “Don’t regret this. When you beg later, I won’t come back!”

I slumped to the ground, exhausted. Never again. I will never allow you to humiliate me like this again.