After My Mate Chose His Mistress Over Me

I stand before the mirror in our bedroom—mine and Raylan's—though it hasn't felt like ours in months. My fingers work through my hair, braiding it in that familiar pattern I've done since I was a girl. Mom always said I braided when I was nervous, and tonight, the Blood Moon festival has my stomach in knots.

The mating mark on my neck catches my eye. I touch it, and the skin feels cold. Wrong. It should pulse with warmth, with the connection between me and my Alpha, my mate. Instead, it's like touching ice.

*Raylan?* I reach out through our mind-link, trying to coordinate our entrance to the ceremony. As Luna of the Silver Moon Pack, I'm supposed to enter the hall on his arm, a united front for our people.

The response is a mental door slamming in my face. The force of his rejection sends a spike of pain through my skull, and I grip the edge of the vanity to steady myself. He blocked me. My own mate blocked me.

I take a breath and smooth down my dress. Maybe he's just stressed about the festival preparations. Maybe I'm overthinking this.

Downstairs, the great hall thrums with music and laughter. I pause in the shadows of the corridor, searching for Raylan's familiar form. When I find him, my heart drops into my stomach.

He's laughing. Not the polite chuckle he gives pack members, but a real laugh, his head thrown back, eyes bright. And beside him, wearing a dress in our pack's ceremonial silver and blue—colors reserved for the Alpha family—is Piper Mendez.

She touches his arm, and he doesn't pull away.

I breathe in, trying to catch his scent, that crisp cedar and rain that used to make my wolf purr with contentment. But all I smell is Piper's vanilla perfume, thick and cloying, drowning out everything else.

My wolf, Sera, whimpers in my mind. *Something's wrong.*

I know. I've known for weeks, but I've been too afraid to face it.

I slip away before anyone notices me standing there like a ghost at my own pack's celebration. In the kitchen, I prepare Raylan's favorite tea, the herbal blend that soothes Alpha aggression. My hands shake as I pour the hot water, watching the steam rise.

This will fix it. A quiet moment, just the two of us. We'll talk, really talk, and everything will go back to how it was.

The corridors to his private office are empty, everyone at the festival. My footsteps echo too loud in the silence. When I push open his door, I freeze.

Piper sits at Raylan's desk—his desk—wearing his jacket. The leather one I gave him for his last birthday.

She looks up at me with a smile that doesn't reach her eyes. "Oh, Luna. How... domestic."

I hold up the tea pot, trying to keep my voice steady. "I'm looking for Raylan."

"The Alpha is busy handling Rogue threats in the lower storage wing." She examines her nails, bored. "He specifically asked not to be disturbed by domestic trivialities."

The words sting, but I force myself to nod. "I'll wait."

"Actually," Piper stands, running her fingers along the edge of Raylan's desk, "he left something for you. A gift. In the secure storage room downstairs. He wanted you to retrieve it yourself. You know how he loves his surprises."

Hope flutters in my chest, fragile and desperate. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe he does still care.

"Thank you," I manage, and turn toward the stairs.

The lower storage wing is colder than the rest of the pack house, and the air tastes wrong. Heavy. Sweet in a way that makes my head swim. I recognize it too late—wolfsbane.

My Luna aura flickers like a candle in the wind. I stumble, catching myself against the wall. The steel door to the secure storage room stands ajar, and I push it open, searching for whatever gift Raylan left.

There's no gift. Just a bare mattress on the concrete floor and Rex Mendez, Piper's brother, standing in the corner. He's massive, easily two meters even in human form, and his eyes are unfocused, confused.

I turn to leave, but the door slams shut behind me. The electronic lock clicks.

"Hello, Luna." Piper's voice crackles through the intercom speaker, and my blood turns to ice. "You know, the pack has been so disappointed in your barren womb. Three years and no heir? Unacceptable."

I pull at the door handle, but it won't budge. The wolfsbane is stronger here, making my limbs heavy, my wolf unreachable.

"Don't worry," Piper continues, her voice dripping with false sweetness. "The pack will finally get the heir they deserve. Just not from Raylan."

Rex moves toward me, his steps uncertain but determined. I try to shift, to call on Sera, but the wolfsbane has me trapped in this fragile human form.

"Rex, stop," I say, backing against the wall. "You don't want to do this."

But his eyes are glazed, and I smell something else now, something chemical mixed with the wolfsbane. Whatever Piper gave him, it's overriding his reason.

I open my mouth to scream, but his hand covers it, and the world tilts sideways into nightmare.