Chapter 2

I followed James back to the pack house in silence, my mind racing with questions that burned like acid in my throat. The drive had given me time to compose myself, but now, standing in our living room with the door closed behind us, I couldn't contain the storm brewing inside me anymore.

"Tell me everything," I demanded, my voice steadier than I expected. "About Kennedy. About your bond."

James ran a hand through his hair, his Alpha aura flaring with irritation. "It's complicated, Sylvia. Something you wouldn't understand."

"Try me," I shot back, one hand protectively covering my swollen belly. "I'm carrying your pup. I deserve to know why our mate bond feels like it's been severed."

His eyes flashed dangerously. "Don't be dramatic. The bond is fine."

"It's not fine!" My voice rose, echoing through the room. "I felt nothing from you when Alpha Barnes died. Nothing! And then I see you holding her—"

"You shouldn't have been there," he growled, his voice dropping into the distinctive Alpha tone that made my knees weaken. "You had no right to follow me."

Lyra howled in agony inside me, the pain of his rejection cutting through us both like a knife. I clutched my chest, gasping as our bond stretched thin, threatening to snap completely.

"I had every right!" I cried, tears streaming down my face. "You're my mate! Or am I just a convenient replacement for the woman you really wanted?"

James's face contorted with rage. "Enough!" he roared, his Alpha command vibrating through the walls.

The door burst open as Daisy rushed in, her eyes wide with alarm. "What the hell is going on?" she demanded, moving to my side as I sagged against the wall.

"Mind your place, Beta," James snarled, his Alpha aura pressing down on us all.

Daisy stiffened but stood her ground. "With all due respect, Alpha, my sister is seven months pregnant with your heir. You can't—"

"Silence!" James's Alpha command cut through her protest like a blade.

I watched in horror as Daisy's mouth snapped shut, her body rigid with the force of his command. The pack hierarchy was sacred, but using it against family—against Daisy—was something I'd never seen him do before.

"James, stop," I pleaded, reaching for my sister as she struggled against the command.

Before he could respond, the main door opened again. Luna Miller glided in, her cold eyes taking in the scene with calculated precision.

"What is this commotion?" she asked, though her tone suggested she already knew.

"Your son is terrorizing his pregnant mate," Daisy managed to say through gritted teeth, fighting against the Alpha command.

Luna Miller's gaze swept over me, lingering briefly on my belly before settling on James. "Son, you forget yourself. The pack needs stability, not drama."

"She followed me to the cemetery," James said defensively. "She had no right—"

"Rights?" Luna Miller interrupted, her voice chillingly calm. "Let me advise you, Sylvia, on the realities of being mated to an Alpha. Our men have duties beyond the domestic sphere. Complicated duties that require discretion."

She stepped closer, her perfume—expensive and cold—filling my nostrils. "Accept that Alphas have complications in their past. Focus on your role as future Luna and mother to the next Alpha. That is your purpose."

The words hit harder than any physical blow. This wasn't just James's betrayal—it was sanctioned by the pack leadership itself.

"You knew," I whispered, staring at Luna Miller. "You knew about Kennedy and still approved our mating?"

A flicker of something—satisfaction, perhaps—crossed her face before her mask slipped back into place. "The pack's needs come first. Always."

---

The days that followed passed in a blur of tension and whispered conversations that stopped whenever I entered a room. James spent more and more time away from the pack house, always with the same excuse: diplomatic duties with the neighboring packs.

But I knew better.

"He's at Crescent territory again," Daisy told me one evening, her face tight with anger as she helped me prepare dinner. "Third time this week."

I nodded numbly, my hand resting on my belly where our pup kicked restlessly. "I know."

"Sy, you can't just accept this," she said, gripping my arm. "He's betraying everything a mate bond stands for."

Before I could respond, voices drifted in from the hallway outside the kitchen—two pack members gossiping without realizing I could hear them.

"Did you hear about Kennedy Barnes?" a female voice asked. "Alpha Marcus is furious that our Alpha keeps showing up unannounced."

"Can you blame him?" another replied. "Everyone knows the real reason Luna Miller separated them years ago."

My heart stuttered. "What reason?"

"They say she can't bear pups," the first voice continued, lowering to a whisper that was still audible to my enhanced werewolf hearing. "Luna Miller found out during their chosen mate ceremony and used her Alpha authority to force the separation. Said an Alpha's mate must continue the bloodline."

The gossip faded as they moved away, but their words remained, burning in my mind like a brand.

All this time, I'd believed our bond was sacred—blessed by the Moon Goddess herself. But it had been built on lies and political convenience from the very beginning.

And now that Kennedy had returned, I was just an obstacle to the mate bond that should have been completed years ago.