Chapter 1
Eight years ago, Dane Larson, the former Alpha heir of the Larson Pack, was exiled by his father, Alpha Saul, stripped of his title and left to wander as a rogue.
That’s when I became his mate.
After our daughter Yareli was born, Dane took on odd jobs to provide for us, leaving early and returning late. The pay was modest, but I was content. We were a family, and that was enough.
On Yareli’s fifth birthday, she came down with a high fever. I tried mind-linking Dane, but there was no response. Panicked, I rushed her to the hospital.
As I stepped out of the taxi with Yareli in my arms, a sleek black car pulled into the underground parking garage. My heart stopped when I recognized the driver—Dane, dressed in a tailored suit that screamed wealth and power. Beside him sat Natasha Harris, his former mate, her belly swollen with pregnancy.
They didn’t see us. Laughing together, they disappeared into the garage, their scents mingling in the air—his, a mix of cedar and something sharp, and hers, a sickly-sweet floral aroma that made my stomach churn.
Yareli, feverish and half-conscious, weakly asked, “Mom, is that Dad?”
Swallowing my shock, I gently replied, “Yareli, you must have been mistaken. That’s not your father.”
“But Dad’s a rogue now. He couldn’t afford a car like that,” she murmured before drifting off again.
I tried to dismiss it as we rushed to the emergency room. After the IV drip, watching her sleep peacefully, my heart ached, and I nearly broke down.
Dane had deceived us.
What did we mean to him, really?
When he was exiled, Natasha had rejected him, severing their mate bond. I had stood by him, offering comfort and support. We had built a life together, however humble. But now, it seemed he had rebuilt his life without us.
That evening, after bringing Yareli home, Dane returned. He was clad in his usual worn clothes, carrying a small, modest cake. Seeing us on the couch, he placed the cake on the table and said, “Sweetheart, I was so swamped today I didn’t hear your mind-link. How’s Yareli now? Is her fever down?”
“It’s under control,” I replied, my voice steady.
He smiled, though it didn’t reach his eyes. “Today’s Yareli’s birthday; I brought a small cake. Do you like it?”
Our daughter, now awake, happily ate the cake and said, “Dad, when Mom took me to the hospital today, I saw someone who looked a lot like you!”
Dane’s face froze for a split second, a flicker of panic in his eyes. He forced a calm smile. “I had deliveries to several hospitals today. Which one did you and Mom visit?”
Before Yareli could answer, I casually said, “The women’s and children’s health center. Yareli said she saw someone like you driving a luxury car with a pregnant woman.”
Dane’s jaw tightened, but he quickly replied, “Yareli must have been mistaken. I didn’t go to the women’s and children’s health center today.”
I nodded, glancing at him briefly. “I think our daughter must have been mistaken too.”
Relieved, Dane went to the kitchen to prepare dinner. Watching him, my eyes filled with tears. I caught a faint whiff of his cologne—a scent I knew well. When I first met him, he was still the Alpha heir, and this expensive fragrance had been his signature. Now, as a rogue, there was no way he could afford it.
Why was he pretending to be poor? Why was he lying to us?
The questions gnawed at me, but I said nothing. For now, I would keep my silence, for Yareli’s sake. But the cracks in our life were spreading, and I knew it was only a matter of time before everything shattered.