Chapter 1
At the hospital, Elara Voss asked quietly, her cheeks flushed, "Is the pup stable? Can I have sex with my husband?"
After the doctor gave her a reassuring nod, she secretly went to see her Alpha, Kael Thorne, who was praying at the Ancient Nemeton.
Kael had a strong desire. When she was three months pregnant, he'd nearly lost their pup.
Overwhelmed with guilt, he'd insisted on moving to the Nemeton to meditate until she gave birth.
Elara wasn't angry. She'd come to surprise him, to bring him home.
But when she reached his private retreat, her blood turned to ice.
Two shadows were moving behind the fogged window.
Her heart sank. She crept closer and peeked through the crack in the door.
Kael was wrapped in a tight hug with Lila Young, his personal omega secretary.
She clung to him tightly, her voice syrupy sweet. "Kael, I want you so bad."
Kael's rough hands gripped her waist. "You like that? There's more."
She tilted her chin up, breath hot against his ear. "Did you move here to hook up with me? Am I more important to you than Elara?"
"What do you think?" Kael tilted her chin up, a smirk playing on his lips. "You're so irresistible, she could never compare to you."
Elara's blood almost freeze. She bit her lip so hard she tasted blood. Her fated mate was cheating on her.
Just then, her phone buzzed.
Her hands shook as she unlocked it. Their wedding photo stared back at her, cold and mocking.
A text from Kael popped up: [Honey, what are you doing? Did you sleep yet? I miss you so much.]
Lila's voice trilled from inside. "Aw, still thinking about Elara? Not focused at all. I'll punish you."
"Try me," Kael growled.
Elara stood frozen, staring at the phone then at the pair inside.
'Kael, did you ever love me at all?' she thought.
For thirteen years, he'd been her safe place. Everyone said Kael loved her more than his own life. She'd believed it.
They'd met at twelve. She'd been the new wolf in town, her small Voss Pack struggling to stay afloat, and she'd been bullied. Kael had stepped in to save her.
Back then, in that narrow alley, he stood in front of her, jaw tight and defiant. "You're Elara? I'm your neighbor, Kael Thorne. From now on, I'll protect you."
And he had. No one ever dared hurt her again.
Her parents were always gone, tied up in pack politics, leaving her starved for affection. Kael became everything to her.
They'd been fated mates. The Moon Goddess had tied their souls together.
On their mating night, he'd seen her in her simple dark gown and broken down, crying so hard he could barely speak.
"Elara," he'd sworn, pressing his forehead to hers, "I swear on the Moon Goddess. I will love only you. If I ever break this vow, let my wolf turn to ash, let my pack cast me out."
He'd kept that promise for years, even willing to defy the entire pack for her.
Three years into their mating, the Voss Pack crumbled, territory lost, allies gone, on the brink of collapse.
The Thorne Pack elders demanded Kael reject Elara and mate with the daughter of a stronger Alpha, to seal a vital alliance.
Kael refused and took twenty lashes from the pack's silver-tipped whip without making a sound.
"I will never reject her," he'd snarled at them. "Elara is my fated mate. My only mate."
To silence them forever, he'd even taken off his family crest in front of everyone to show that he would stay with Elara no matter if he had to leave the pack.
"I can't breathe without you, Elara. We will never be separated," he'd said.
Their love was the kind wolves wrote songs about.
Elara had thought they'd be happy forever.
Then he shattered every part of her.
A lustful moan from inside snapped her back to the present.
Her wolf roared. Without thinking, Elara grabbed the lit black candle sitting on the stone step and hurled it through the cracked door.
Flames exploded upward, racing up the wool curtains. The pair inside didn't even notice.
A passing pack member shouted, "The nemeton is on fire!"
Pack guards and moon acolytes hurried over.
"Put it out!"
"Alpha Kael, get out now."
The door burst open, and everyone froze, jaws dropped, at the sight before them.
Lila screamed, snatching a wool blanket to wrap around herself. "How dare you invade the Alpha's private space. Get out!"
The head acolyte's face paled, horror etched into every line. "By the Moon Goddess, you've defiled the sacred grove. Alpha Kael, you've spit on our traditions."
The crowd murmured, outrage thick in the air.
"He said he came here to pray for his Luna and his cub."
"Turns out he was sneaking around with another."
"He nearly burned down the Nemeton. This is unforgivable."