She Stole My Pack Twice

The first thing Elaria noticed was the scent.

Not cedarwood.

Not the expensive bourbon Ronan always drank after late-night Alpha meetings.

Not even the rain soaking through her coat after the long drive back from her grandmother’s territory.

No.

It was vanilla and jasmine.

Sweet.

Female.

And everywhere.

Elaria froze in the entrance hall of the Blackwood estate, fingers tightening around the handle of her suitcase.

Her wolf stirred uneasily beneath her skin.

Something’s wrong.

The mansion was too quiet.

Normally, Omega servants moved constantly through the halls. Someone always greeted the Luna the second she stepped inside.

Tonight?

Nothing.

Only silence.

And that scent.

Her stomach twisted violently.

Slowly, Elaria looked toward the second floor.

Toward the Alpha suite she shared with her mate.

Ronan Blackwood.

The most powerful Alpha on the eastern territories.

Her mate.

The man chosen for her by the Moon Goddess herself.

At least, that was what she used to believe.

Then she heard it.

A laugh.

Breathy.

Female.

Coming from upstairs.

Elaria stopped breathing.

Another laugh echoed through the mansion.

Then Ronan’s voice.

Low.

Amused.

“Careful, princess.”

The world tilted slightly beneath her feet.

Because Ronan was supposed to be at the Midnight Council tonight.

Because her stepsister was supposed to be staying at the Silverfang Pack.

Because fate couldn’t possibly be cruel enough to repeat the same nightmare twice.

But deep down—

Elaria already knew.

Her wolf knew too.

The mate bond pulsed painfully beneath her ribs now, like a warning.

Still, she forced herself upstairs.

One step at a time.

The Blackwood estate once belonged to her mother.

The former Luna of the Crescent Moon Pack.

Every piece of art on these walls had been chosen by her mother’s hands.

Every white rose arrangement.

Every candle.

Every silver-framed photograph.

Elaria remembered being twelve years old, following her mother through these halls while Omega maids smiled warmly at them both.

Back then, this mansion felt like home.

Then her mother got sick.

And Lenora Vale moved in.

The Alpha’s mistress.

Elaria still remembered the whispers spreading through the Pack.

Alpha Draven brought another woman into the Luna’s home.

While Luna Seraphine is still alive.

She remembered finding Lenora sitting in her mother’s favorite chair wearing her mother’s silk robe.

Then two months later—

Her mother died.

And Lenora stayed.

Soon after came Lenora’s daughter.

Vaelyn.

Beautiful.

The perfect replacement daughter for Elaria’s father.

Now that same girl was upstairs with Elaria’s mate.

The bedroom door wasn’t fully closed.

Warm golden light spilled into the hallway.

And inside—

Elaria’s world shattered.

Vaelyn lay tangled in Elaria’s sheets wearing nothing except Ronan’s black dress shirt.

Ronan stood between her legs shirtless, one hand gripping her thigh possessively.

Their scents mixed heavily in the air.

Intimate.

Disgusting.

Vaelyn giggled softly as Ronan kissed her neck.

“What if your Luna comes home early?”

Ronan smirked against her skin.

“She won’t.”

The mate bond snapped violently inside Elaria’s chest.

Pain exploded through her body so suddenly she grabbed the doorframe to stay standing.

Her wolf howled.

A true mate betrayal physically hurt wolves.

Like silver poisoning spreading through veins.

Like drowning while fully awake.

Elaria finally understood why unmated wolves feared rejection so much.

Vaelyn noticed her first.

Her eyes widened dramatically.

“Oh my God—”

Ronan turned instantly.

The second he saw Elaria, all color drained from his face.

“Elaria.”

Silence swallowed the room whole.

Rain hammered against the windows.

Nobody moved.

Nobody breathed.

Elaria stared at him numbly.

Three years ago, Ronan marked her beneath a blood moon in front of the entire Pack.

He promised:

No one above you. No one before you.

Now he smelled like another woman.

Her stepsister slowly pulled the blanket against her chest.

“Elaria, I can explain—”

Elaria laughed.

A sharp broken sound.

“You’re naked in my bed.”

Vaelyn instantly looked close to tears.

Of course she did.

The Vale women could cry faster than wounded Omegas.

“It’s not what it looks like—”

“Really?” Elaria whispered. “Because it looks exactly like my mate buried inside my stepsister.”

“Elaria,” Ronan warned quietly.

The warning in his Alpha voice made the air heavier instantly.

But Elaria didn’t back down.

For the first time in years—

She was too devastated to fear him.

Vaelyn slid off the bed carefully, clutching the sheet around herself.

“I never meant to hurt you.”

That finally shattered something inside Elaria.

Never meant to hurt her?

Her mother destroyed Elaria’s family.

Destroyed her dying mother.

And now her daughter had climbed into Elaria’s bed and spread her legs for Elaria’s mate.

History really was a vicious little cycle.

“You know what’s funny?” Elaria asked softly.

Nobody answered.

“My mother used to say women without shame survive everything.”

Vaelyn flinched.

Ronan immediately stepped between them protectively.

“That’s enough.”

Elaria felt her chest hollow out.

He was protecting Vaelyn.

In front of his mate.

In front of his Luna.

Humiliation burned through her so hard her vision blurred.

“You chose her,” Elaria whispered.

Ronan rubbed a hand down his face roughly.

“It’s complicated.”

“No,” she said quietly. “It really isn’t.”

The mate bond twisted painfully again.

Usually it felt warm.

Now it felt rotten.

Corrupted.

Elaria suddenly couldn’t stand breathing the same air anymore.

Without another word, she turned and walked away.

“Elaria.”

Ronan followed her into the hallway barefoot.

“Stop walking away from me.”

She kept moving.

“Elaria.”

His hand wrapped around her wrist.

The second he touched her, Vaelyn’s perfume slammed into Elaria’s senses again.

Elaria jerked away violently.

“Don’t touch me.”

Ronan’s jaw tightened.

“You’re emotional right now.”

Elaria stared at him in disbelief.

Then laughed softly.

“Oh, poor Alpha,” she whispered. “This must be so hard for you.”

His expression darkened immediately.

“You’re making this worse than it needs to be.”

That hurt more than the cheating somehow.

Because he sounded annoyed.

Not guilty.

Like she’d interrupted a meeting instead of catching her mate with another woman.

Elaria walked downstairs on trembling legs.

The moment she reached the foyer, she grabbed her phone and called the only person she trusted.

Nyra answered immediately.

“Well, well. The dead Luna finally remembers her best friend exists.”

Elaria opened her mouth.

Nothing came out.

Nyra went silent instantly.

“…Elaria?”

Tears finally spilled down her face.

“He cheated on me.”

A dangerous pause followed.

Then:

“Tell me you ripped his throat out.”

Despite everything, Elaria almost laughed.

“With Vaelyn.”

Dead silence.

Then Nyra exploded.

“That venomous little parasite?”

Elaria slid down against the staircase until she was sitting on the cold marble floor.

Upstairs, she could hear movement inside the bedroom.

Probably Ronan comforting Vaelyn.

The thought nearly made her sick.

Nyra was still raging through the phone.

“I swear to the Moon Goddess, Alpha males are actually brain damaged.”

Elaria covered her mouth as another sob escaped.

“I feel stupid.”

“No,” Nyra snapped immediately. “You feel betrayed. Different thing.”

“The mate bond hurts.”

Nyra’s voice softened slightly.

“…I know.”

Elaria shut her eyes tightly.

“I loved him.”

“I know.”

“And he chose her.”

Another pause.

Then Nyra said coldly:

“Your father chose her mother too. Trash bloodlines repeat themselves.”

A broken laugh escaped Elaria through tears.

“Nyra…”

“I’m serious. Stay where you are. I’m coming to get you.”

“You’re working.”

“I was working. Now I’m planning a double homicide.”

That pulled another weak laugh from Elaria.

Good.

Nyra always did that.

She never treated heartbreak like poetry.

She treated it like war.

Upstairs, Vaelyn suddenly laughed softly again.

Like she’d already won.

Something cold settled inside Elaria’s chest.

Sharp.

Maybe Vaelyn thought this was another thing she could steal from her.

A house.

A family.

A mate.

But this time—

Elaria wasn’t her dying mother.

And she wasn’t going to disappear quietly.

Elaria was still sitting on the marble staircase when the front doors opened.

Cold night air rushed into the mansion.

Then heels clicked sharply against the floor.

Nyra Storm walked in looking like she was about to start a war.

Tall.

Dark-haired.

Wearing an expensive charcoal coat over a black silk dress, phone still in one hand.

Her wolf aura filled the foyer instantly.

Several Omega servants lowered their heads and moved away immediately.

Nyra spotted Elaria sitting on the floor.

Her expression changed at once.

For one brief second, real concern flashed across her face.

Then she looked up toward the second floor.

Toward the bedroom.

And her eyes turned murderous.

“Tell me they’re still upstairs,” she said calmly.

Elaria laughed weakly through tears.

“You can’t kill an Alpha.”

Nyra handed her purse to a terrified Omega nearby.

“Watch me.”

Before Elaria could stop her, another voice suddenly echoed through the mansion.

“What exactly is going on here?”

Elaria froze.

Her father.

Alpha Draven Vale.

He stepped into the foyer wearing a dark suit from the council gathering, silver streaks visible through his black hair.

Beside him stood Lenora.

And behind them—

Vaelyn.

Of course.

Vaelyn now wore one of Elaria’s silk robes, her blonde hair still messy from bed.

The sight nearly made Elaria sick again.

Nyra noticed immediately.

“Oh, that’s insane,” she said softly. “She’s wearing your clothes too?”

Vaelyn instantly looked emotional.

“Please don’t make this uglier than it already is.”

Nyra actually barked out a laugh.

“Ugly?” she repeated. “Sweetheart, you climbed onto your stepsister’s Alpha’s dick. We passed ugly twenty minutes ago.”

“Nyra,” Elaria whispered tiredly.

But Nyra was already furious.

Ronan appeared at the top of the stairs then.

His black shirt hung open slightly, exposing the fresh red scratch marks across his chest.

Marks Vaelyn probably left there.

The mate bond twisted painfully again.

Elaria looked away immediately.

Her father’s gaze hardened the second he noticed her crying.

“What happened?”

Nobody answered.

Then Vaelyn stepped forward with watery eyes.

“It was a mistake.”

Nyra looked genuinely impressed.

“Wow. Shameless and fast. Dangerous combination.”

“Nyra,” Ronan warned coldly.

But Nyra crossed her arms.

“No, actually, let’s talk about this.”

She pointed upstairs.

“Did the Alpha accidentally trip into her vagina too? Is that the official story?”

Vaelyn’s lips trembled.

“I never meant for anyone to get hurt—”

Elaria suddenly laughed.

Not because anything was funny.

Because she’d heard those exact words before.

Twenty years ago.

From Vaelyn’s mother.

Her father’s face darkened immediately.

“Enough.”

Elaria slowly stood up from the staircase.

Her legs felt shaky.

But her voice came out terrifyingly calm.

“No,” she said quietly. “I think we should finally talk honestly for once.”

The entire foyer fell silent.

Even the servants stopped moving.

Elaria looked directly at Lenora first.

“You know,” she said softly, “my mother used to throw up blood upstairs while you sat downstairs drinking tea in her kitchen.”

Lenora stiffened instantly.

“Elaria—”

“No, let her finish,” Nyra said coldly.

Elaria’s eyes shifted toward Vaelyn.

“And now your daughter sleeps with my mate in my bed.”

Vaelyn immediately burst into tears.

“I said I was sorry!”

“Sorry?” Elaria whispered. “Your mother was sorry too.”

Her father stepped forward sharply.

“That’s enough disrespect.”

Elaria looked at him slowly.

Disrespect.

Interesting word.

Even now—

He still protected them.

Something inside Elaria finally cracked completely.

“You chose them over Mom too,” she whispered.

The room went still.

Her father’s jaw tightened dangerously.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Elaria stared at him in disbelief.

“I watched her die.”

Lenora flinched.

Elaria took another step forward.

“She was still alive when you moved your mistress into our home.”

“Watch your tone,” Alpha Draven growled.

But Elaria couldn’t stop anymore.

Years of grief poured out all at once.

“You let her walk around wearing Mom’s clothes,” Elaria snapped. “You let the Pack whisper about her while she was dying upstairs—”

“That’s enough!”

“No,” Elaria shouted back suddenly. “You know what? I finally understand something.”

Tears streamed down her face now.

“You never loved Mom.”

Draven’s expression darkened instantly.

“You are behaving hysterically.”

Nyra muttered, “Classic cheating-man vocabulary.”

Elaria laughed bitterly.

“Hysterical?” she whispered. “Your mistress destroyed Mom’s life, and now her daughter destroyed mine. Congratulations, Alpha. You really built a beautiful family legacy.”

The slap echoed through the foyer.

Everything went silent.

Elaria’s head snapped sideways from the force.

Pain exploded across her cheek.

For a second, she couldn’t even process what happened.

Her father had never hit her before.

Not once.

Even Nyra looked shocked.

Then her expression turned lethal.

Slowly, Elaria lifted a trembling hand to her face.

Her father’s breathing sounded rough now, like even he hadn’t expected himself to do it.

But he still said:

“You will not speak to me like that.”

Something inside Elaria died quietly.

Not loudly.

Just—

Gone.

Ronan finally moved downstairs.

“Draven,” he said carefully.

But Elaria stepped backward before he could get close.

“Don’t.”

Her voice broke.

“I can’t stand any of you touching me right now.”

Vaelyn suddenly started crying harder.

“This isn’t fair,” she sobbed. “I love him too—”

Nyra whipped around so fast her coat flared behind her.

“Oh, shut the hell up.”

Vaelyn froze.

Nyra stepped closer slowly.

“You know what your problem is?” she asked coldly. “You confuse being desired with being valuable.”

“Nyra,” Draven warned.

But Nyra ignored him completely.

“No, let’s really talk tonight.”

Her eyes swept across the room with open disgust.

“One man cheats. Another man covers it up. A mistress cries. A daughter steals her sister’s mate.”

Then she smiled coldly.

“And all of you still expect Elaria to behave politely.”

Nobody answered.

Because nobody could.

Nyra walked directly to Elaria and gently took her suitcase from beside the stairs.

“Come on,” she said softly. “We’re leaving.”

Ronan’s expression hardened immediately.

“She’s my Luna.”

Nyra looked back at him.

“And you treated her like trash.”

The air thickened slightly from Ronan’s Alpha aura.

Any normal wolf would’ve lowered their eyes instantly.

Nyra didn’t even blink.

“You should leave before this escalates,” Ronan warned.

Nyra smiled.

Cold.

“Oh, it’s absolutely going to escalate.”

Elaria looked at her weakly.

Nyra’s eyes softened slightly when they met hers.

Then she turned back toward the others.

Especially Ronan.

Especially Vaelyn.

“Listen carefully,” Nyra said quietly.

The calmness in her voice somehow sounded more threatening than shouting.

“You humiliated the wrong woman.”

Ronan’s jaw tightened.

Nyra continued:

“You think tonight ends with her crying and leaving?”

She laughed softly.

“No.”

Her gaze turned icy.

“This is the part where you should start being afraid.”

Then she wrapped an arm around Elaria’s shoulders and guided her toward the front doors.

Behind them, Vaelyn suddenly spoke shakily.

“She’ll never survive without the Pack.”

Elaria stopped walking.

Slowly, she looked back.

Vaelyn stood beside Ronan now.

Protected.

Exactly like her mother used to stand beside Elaria’s father.

History repeating itself again.

But this time—

Elaria smiled.

“You should pray,” she whispered softly, “that I do.”

The internet exploded by the second day at noon.

Nyra had livestreamed the confrontation the night before, and by today, her media empire had already pushed the scandal to the top of every major news platform’s trending list.

Elaria woke up in Nyra’s penthouse wrapped in unfamiliar blankets and the dull ache of emotional exhaustion.

For one peaceful second, she forgot.

Then the mate bond pulsed painfully in her chest again.

Reality crashed back instantly.

Ronan.

Vaelyn.

The slap.

Her father choosing them.

Again.

Elaria shut her eyes tightly.

“Don’t throw up on my imported sheets.”

Nyra’s voice drifted from somewhere nearby.

Elaria slowly sat up.

Nyra stood near the bedroom doorway already dressed for work in a sharp black pantsuit, tablet in one hand, coffee in the other.

Completely unbothered.

Completely terrifying.

“You’re awake,” Nyra said. “Good. Your public revenge campaign starts in ten minutes.”

Elaria blinked slowly.

“…What?”

Nyra walked into the room.

“I couldn’t sleep.”

“That’s never good.”

“It really wasn’t.”

Nyra tossed her tablet onto the bed.

The screen lit up instantly.

And Elaria nearly stopped breathing.

A Livestream Background Banner filled the display.

Millions of views.

Comments flooding endlessly.

The title read:

THE LUNA THE BLACKWOOD PACK BETRAYED

Elaria stared at her in horror.

“Nyra.”

“What?”

“You went live?”

Nyra looked offended.

“Obviously.”

“Nyra—”

“No,” Nyra interrupted sharply. “Absolutely not. They humiliated you publicly. We return the favor publicly.”

Elaria grabbed the tablet shakily.

Clips were already everywhere.

News accounts.

Pack gossip forums.

WolfTok edits.

Someone had even leaked photos from previous Pack galas showing Vaelyn hanging around Ronan.

Comments flooded the screen endlessly.

“HE CHEATED WITH HER STEPSISTER???”

“The daughter of the former mistress too??? Oh this family is EVIL.”

“Justice for Luna Elaria.”

“Alpha Ronan deserves exile.”

“Wait HER FATHER SLAPPED HER???”

Elaria froze.

Then looked up sharply.

“…How do they know that?”

Nyra smiled slightly.

“I may have excellent security footage connections.”

“Oh my God.”

“Oh, it gets worse.”

Nyra grabbed the tablet and scrolled.

A video clip began playing.

Nyra herself sat in front of a camera during last night’s livestream, looking furious.

“You want to know what happened to Elaria Vale Blackwood?”

She leaned toward the camera coldly.

“She came home early and found her Alpha in bed with her stepsister.”

Millions of comments exploded beneath the stream.

Then Nyra continued calmly:

“And before anyone asks why this situation is especially disgusting, let me educate you all.”

A photo of Elaria’s late mother appeared onscreen.

Beautiful.

Then beside it—

A younger photo of Lenora.

The mistress.

The replacement.

Nyra’s voice turned icy.

“Years ago, Elaria’s mother died while Alpha Draven Vale openly kept his mistress in the Luna’s home.”

Another image appeared.

Vaelyn.

Smiling beside Ronan.

“Now history repeats itself.”

Elaria’s stomach dropped.

“Nyra…”

“Oh, I’m not done.”

The next clip showed Nyra staring directly into the camera.

“If the Blackwood Pack thinks Elaria will disappear quietly like her mother did, they’re about to learn a very expensive lesson.”

Silence filled the bedroom.

Elaria stared at her best friend in disbelief.

“You declared war on an Alpha Pack.”

Nyra took a sip of coffee.

“Yes.”

“You’re insane.”

“Correct.”

Elaria suddenly laughed for the first time in two days.

A real laugh.

Small.

But real.

Nyra’s expression softened slightly.

“There she is.”

Then her phone rang.

Nyra glanced at the screen and groaned dramatically.

“Ah. Speaking of evil.”

She answered immediately.

“What?”

Even from across the room, Elaria could hear screaming through the phone.

Her father.

Nyra pulled the phone away from her ear slightly.

“Wow,” she muttered. “Still loud. Still a terrible parent.”

More shouting.

Nyra rolled her eyes.

“No, Alpha Vale, actually, public opinion currently thinks you’re a pathetic cheating enabler.”

Pause.

Then Nyra smirked.

“Oh? You’re threatening me?”

Another pause.

Her smile widened.

“Good luck with that.”

She hung up.

Elaria swallowed hard.

“He’s angry.”

“He’s embarrassed,” Nyra corrected.

And that was worse.

Because powerful men could survive guilt.

They never survived humiliation.

Nyra checked the time.

“I have a meeting downtown in an hour.”

Elaria immediately sat up straighter.

“No. I’ll stay somewhere else.”

Nyra looked offended again.

“You think I’d leave you alone after publicly humiliating two Alpha families?”

“…Fair point.”

“My brother’s home anyway.”

Elaria froze slightly.

“Cassian?”

Nyra nodded casually.

“He got back from the Northern territories last night.”

Elaria’s stomach tightened unexpectedly.

Cassian Storm.

Nyra’s older brother.

Future Alpha of the Storm Pack.

Dangerous.

The kind of man who looked calm right before violence happened.

Elaria hadn’t seen him in almost a year.

Mostly because Ronan hated him.

Actually—

Ronan hated any Alpha male who paid attention to Elaria.

And Cassian always looked at her too carefully.

Nyra grabbed her bag.

“Try eating today.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“I’m serious.”

Nyra walked toward the door, then paused dramatically.

“Oh, and if your ex-mate shows up?”

Elaria looked up.

Nyra smiled slowly.

“My brother bites.”

Then she left.

—

Three hours later, Elaria sat curled up on the enormous penthouse couch staring blankly at the city below.

The internet was still exploding.

News channels now covered the scandal openly.

Even neutral Packs criticized Ronan publicly.

A Luna betrayal was already disgraceful.

But cheating with her stepsister?

The daughter of the former mistress?

It looked monstrous.

Elaria suddenly heard footsteps behind her.

Heavy.

Male.

Her wolf reacted instantly.

Awareness.

Cassian Storm walked into the living room wearing a black button-down with the sleeves rolled up.

Broad-shouldered. Silver-eyed.

His dark hair still looked damp from a shower.

Everything about him radiated controlled violence.

But when he saw Elaria curled into herself on the couch—

His expression softened slightly.

“Hey.”

Elaria swallowed unexpectedly.

“…Hey.”

Cassian walked closer slowly like he was approaching an injured wolf.

Which, honestly, he was.

He glanced at the television screen showing another news segment about Ronan.

Then his jaw tightened.

“You shouldn’t watch that.”

Elaria laughed weakly.

“Hard to avoid when the entire continent knows my life is falling apart.”

Cassian sat across from her.

Silent for a moment.

Then:

“He’s a fucking idiot.”

The bluntness startled a laugh out of her.

Cassian watched her carefully.

And for some reason—

Unlike Ronan’s gaze—

Cassian’s attention never felt possessive.

It felt… protective.

Before Elaria could answer, the penthouse doors suddenly slammed open.

Her father stormed inside.

Fury rolled off him instantly.

Two security guards followed nervously behind.

“Sir, he forced his way—”

Cassian stood immediately.

The entire room temperature seemed to drop.

Alpha aura flooded the penthouse instantly.

“Leave,” Cassian told the guards calmly.

They practically fled.

Elaria’s father looked furious the second he saw her.

“This is your fault.”

Elaria stared at him numbly.

Of course.

Cassian moved slightly in front of her instinctively.

A small movement.

But protective.

Claiming space between them.

Draven noticed immediately.

His expression darkened.

“This scandal ends today,” Draven snapped. “You will publicly deny everything.”

Elaria actually laughed.

“You want me to lie for them?”

“For your family.”

The word hit her like poison.

Family.

Interesting.

Because nobody used that word while she was being betrayed.

Cassian finally spoke.

Low. Dangerously calm.

“She doesn’t owe any of you protection.”

Draven’s eyes shifted toward him sharply.

“This doesn’t concern the Storm Pack.”

Cassian smiled slightly.

Coldly.

“It does now.”

The air thickened instantly between the two Alphas.

Elaria’s father looked furious.

“She is still mated to Ronan Blackwood.”

Cassian’s silver gaze darkened.

“Not for long.”

The words sent a strange chill through Elaria.

Draven looked back toward her.

“You embarrassed this family.”

Elaria slowly stood.

“No,” she whispered. “You did.”

His expression twisted angrily.

“You sound exactly like your mother.”

The room went silent.

Elaria felt the words slice straight through her chest.

Then Cassian stepped forward.

Every instinct in the room shifted instantly toward him.

Predatory.

Even Alpha Draven stiffened slightly.

Cassian’s voice stayed calm.

But lethal.

“You should leave now.”

Draven laughed coldly.

“Or what?”

Cassian looked him directly in the eyes.

And smiled.

Not kindly.

“Or you’ll discover why the Northern territories still fear my Pack.”