Chapter 2

I stumbled back through the forest, my legs barely carrying me as the image of Bradley and Celia burned behind my eyelids. The moonstone necklace catching the light. His hands in her hair. The way she'd laughed against his neck like she belonged there.

By the time I reached the packhouse, my wolf had gone eerily silent, as if she too was processing the magnitude of what we'd witnessed. My hand pressed protectively against my stomach, where new life grew even as my world crumbled.

Bradley's scent hit me before I saw him. He was in our bedroom, casually changing clothes as if he hadn't just shattered three years of sacred bond. As if he hadn't been kissing another woman while wearing my anniversary gift around her neck.

"Hazel?" He turned, and I saw the moment he registered my expression. "You're back early. I thought you were preparing—"

"Therapeutic?" The word came out as a whisper, but it cut through his explanation like a blade. "Helping her with late bloomer issues?"

His face went pale. "Hazel, I can explain—"

"Explain what? How therapeutic it is to kiss your childhood friend? How much her wolf development requires your tongue down her throat?"

Bradley's jaw tightened, his Alpha instincts bristling at my tone. "You don't understand the complexities of her situation. Celia's wolf issues are serious, and as her Alpha—"

"As her Alpha?" I laughed, the sound bitter and broken. "You're MY mate, Bradley. Or have you forgotten?"

He stepped toward me, but I backed away. The movement made his phone, carelessly tossed on our bed, light up with a notification. My enhanced wolf vision caught the preview of the message, and my blood turned to ice.

*From Celia: "Can't wait to watch our favorite video again tonight. The way you marked her was so intense... but you're so much more passionate with me."*

My hands shook as I grabbed his phone before he could stop me. "What video, Bradley?"

"Hazel, don't—" He lunged for the device, but I was already swiping through his messages with Celia. Page after page of intimate conversations. Photos of them together in positions that left nothing to imagination. And then I found it.

Our mating ceremony. The most sacred, private moment of our bond, recorded in intimate detail. The video I'd never known existed, showing Bradley marking my neck, my face lost in trust and love as I surrendered completely to our bond.

And he'd shared it. With her.

"How could you?" The phone slipped from my nerveless fingers, clattering to the floor. "That was ours. That was sacred."

Bradley's face crumpled. "Hazel, please. It's not what you think. Celia was asking about the mating process, trying to understand—"

"Understand what? How to steal my mate?" My voice rose, three years of suppressed doubts and dismissed concerns finally erupting. "How long, Bradley? How long have you been sharing our private moments with her?"

He couldn't meet my eyes. "It's complicated."

"It's adultery." The word hung between us like a death sentence. "It's mate betrayal."

I turned and fled before he could respond, my wolf's anguish bleeding through our bond so intensely that I felt Bradley stagger behind me. But I couldn't stop. Couldn't face him. Couldn't bear to hear more lies about therapy and complications when the truth was so brutally simple.

He'd chosen her. Had been choosing her for Moon Goddess knew how long.

I made it to the main hall just as the evening pack gathering was beginning. Wolves filtered in for the weekly community dinner, their conversations a comforting buzz that felt surreal against my internal chaos. I pressed myself against the wall, trying to compose myself, when Celia's voice cut through the crowd like a knife.

"Oh, Hazel! There you are." She approached with a smile that didn't reach her eyes, still wearing my necklace like a trophy. "I was just telling everyone about your... situation."

The conversations around us quieted. Pack members turned to watch, sensing drama in the air like wolves scenting blood.

"My situation?" I managed, my wolf stirring with dangerous energy.

Celia's smile widened. "Your desperate attempt to hold onto Bradley with anniversary gifts and romantic gestures. It's really quite sad, honestly. A Luna should have more dignity than clinging to false hope."

Murmurs rippled through the gathering. I felt the weight of dozens of eyes, the judgment and pity that came with public humiliation.

"False hope?" My voice was barely steady.

Celia stepped closer, her voice dropping to a whisper only I could hear. "He told me about your little surprise tonight. The private ceremony you planned. How you've been throwing yourself at him, trying to rekindle something that's already dead." Her eyes glittered with malice. "He said you even bought him jewelry, like some desperate human trying to buy love."

The necklace around her throat caught the packhouse lights, and I realized with dawning horror that she wasn't just wearing my gift. She was flaunting it. Publicly claiming what was mine while revealing intimate details that only Bradley could have shared.

Every conversation we'd had in private. Every vulnerability I'd shown him. Every moment I'd thought was sacred between mates—he'd shared it all with her.

My hand moved instinctively to my stomach, protecting the life growing there from this public execution of my dignity. Around us, pack members watched with the fascination reserved for spectacular downfalls.

And Celia smiled, knowing she'd won.