The Alpha’s Second Chance Mate

Lyanna’s POV

It was the ninth anniversary of our mating ceremony, but Alpha Draven Blackmark returned to the pack house with his pregnant mistress.

For nine years, he had treated me as though I were the moon itself. He brought me rare moonflowers blooming beneath the silver light, kissed my hand before the council and the high-ranking wolves, and swore before the Moon Goddess that I would forever be his only mate. And now? He stood proudly beside another she-wolf, his arm wrapped possessively around her swollen belly as though it were a prize he wanted the entire pack to admire.

“She is fragile right now,” he said lightly, pulling her closer as she leaned against him with a smug smile. “Her meals must be fresh. She needs someone by her side while she sleeps. Move your things to the west villa.”

My whole body stiffened.

“A-Are you serious, Draven?” I asked, my voice shaking. “You expect me to leave my own chambers and live in the guest villa like some discarded omega because of your mistress?”

His eyes narrowed, and the pressure of his Alpha aura pressed heavily against my chest.

“I was not asking, Lyanna,” he said coldly. “Do it.”

“No.” My teeth clenched as I pointed at Natalie. “You got your personal attendant pregnant and brought her here on our mating anniversary? You humiliate me before the whole pack and expect me to obey? Never.”

“I said do it, Lyanna.”

His voice dropped into the cold, commanding tone of an Alpha order—the same voice that once made the strongest warriors lower their heads. My chest tightened under the force of it, but I refused to bow.

“I would rather leave,” I said quietly. “I am done. Farewell, Draven.”

Did he truly think I would stay and care for the she-wolf carrying the child of his betrayal? Never.

I had packed my belongings weeks ago, the night I saw the truth through the mindlink crystal—a vision of Draven and Natalie leaving his private chambers together under the moonlight.

Draven scoffed and strode toward me, waving a dismissive hand.

“You want to leave? Fine. Throw your childish tantrum. You will come crawling back before the third moon, begging like the worthless castoff you have become.”

Soft laughter echoed behind him.

Council members.

Senior warriors.

The same wolves who once treated me like the rightful Luna of the Blackmark Pack.

Too bad for them.

The warriors my cousin had sent from Norththorn Pack were already waiting beyond the gates.

I picked up my travel bag and turned toward the door without looking back.

“Leave the Moonstone bracelet,” Draven ordered suddenly. “Give it to Natalie.”

My breath caught.

My fingers tightened around the silver moonstone bracelet my grandmother had given me before she passed into the Moon Goddess’s embrace. It was the only thing I had left of her—the only thing that had brought me comfort through weeks of betrayal.

“No,” I whispered as tears slipped down my face. “Not this. Anything but this.”

Draven snorted and pulled Natalie closer.

“Do not make this difficult, Lyanna. She wants it.”

I could have refused.

I could have fought.

But my hands were trembling, and my wolf was weak with heartbreak.

Slowly, I walked toward Natalie.

With shaking fingers, I unclasped the bracelet from my wrist and fastened it around hers.

“Take care of it,” I murmured softly.

But the instant the clasp shut, Natalie gasped.

A thin red line appeared around her pale wrist, and then the bracelet shattered.

“W-What did you do to me?” she cried, clutching her wrist as she collapsed. “Did you curse me?”

“What?” I stared at her in shock. “No!”

Draven reacted at once, rushing to her side and lifting her into his arms as though she were made of glass. Then he turned to me, fury blazing in his eyes.

“What did you do to her, Lyanna? Are you that jealous?”

“I did nothing…” My hands shook helplessly in the air.

“Call the healer! Now!” he roared through the mindlink, then looked back at me with icy hatred. “You. Clean this up. Every last piece.”

My gaze dropped to the shattered moonstone scattered across the stone floor.

I knelt and began gathering the broken fragments.

The sharp edges sliced into my palms, but I welcomed the pain.

“I am sorry,” I whispered.

Once.

Then again.

Blood stained my hands as I rose to my feet and looked into his eyes.

“Is that enough, Draven?”

His expression remained merciless.

“The one who used to protect you is gone. Who are you trying to gain pity from now?”

My chest tightened painfully.

“Then why do you not release me?” I asked. “If you despise me this much, sever the mate bond and let me go.”

A low, amused laugh escaped him.

“Why would I?” he said. “You will come crawling back anyway. And severing a mate bond is troublesome.”

At that moment, something inside me finally went silent.

I gathered the last broken pieces of the bracelet, cast them into the fire, washed the blood from my hands, picked up my bag, and walked out of the pack house.

This time, I did not look back.

Not at my mate.

Not at my pack.

Not at the life I had once given everything for.

And as the gates of the pack closed behind me, I silently swore before the Moon Goddess—

I would never return.