Kael assumed I was throwing a tantrum—like those pampered Alpha-born females who discover their mate's wandering eye and dissolve into tears, threats, and dramatics before eventually being soothed with rare pelts and territory gifts.
But he forgot who he was dealing with.
I'm Selene Blackwood.
The sole heir of the Blackwood bloodline. I claimed leadership of our pack at eighteen. By twenty-two, I'd torn my way through the brutal politics of the inter-pack alliances, leaving broken rivals in my wake.
At twenty-five, I returned to our ancestral territory and entered this arranged mating with him—not because my wolf couldn't survive without his, but because of the blood-oath between our fathers.
Because he promised me forever. One bond, one heart, just the two of us.
The joke was on me.
In just five short years, he'd tossed those vows aside like rotting meat.
The next day, I received a message through the pack's private communication channel from Lyra. Her words read:
"Selene, I'd like to explain about your vehicle's safety ward issue."
The day was impossibly hectic—back-to-back pack council sessions from dawn till dusk, then a rushed journey to the Eastern Reaches for my aunt's celebration feast.
I didn't have a moment to respond until I arrived.
Lyra immediately sent a voice recording. The gist: the craftsman who serviced my vehicle was a temporary worker who'd since vanished into the wild. Unreachable. Convenient.
I didn't respond. But as I swiped through her shared feed, my finger slipped, landing me on her recent posts.
The latest was from thirty minutes ago.
Kael sat on the fur-covered settee in our private den, drinking broth. Behind him, I could see the ancient tapestry I'd paid a fortune for at the Elders' auction, and the hand-woven ceremonial rug I'd had crafted by the mountain artisans.
But what made my vision blur with rage was Lyra.
She was wearing my favorite sleeping silks. My house slippers.
Beaming, she leaned against him, one hand holding up her device, the other flashing a peace sign.
The caption read:
"Finally able to care for you while you're unwell. Even though I've been misunderstood, the truth speaks for itself. Homemade bone broth, made with devotion—heal quickly, my heart. "
I captured the image and sent it to Kael:
"Living in MY den. Wearing MY clothes. Getting cozy with MY bonded mate. And you call this 'innocent'?!"
His reply came instantly:
"Selene, she got her clothes dirty making me soup. She's just borrowing something temporarily. She meant well. Don't overthink it."
I laughed—a cold, hollow sound that rumbled low in my chest.
"Meant well?"
"More like the soup was an excuse to worm her way into our den and into your bed. Wearing my clothes, playing house—what, does she think if she plays the nesting female long enough, she'll graduate from marked favorite to true mate?"
"Do you have to be so harsh?"
Kael's tone shifted, an edge creeping in:
"You're never around. She came specifically to care for me. Would it kill you to show a little grace?"
"Selene, you weren't like this before. When did you become so aggressive? So cold?"
I stared at the screen, so furious I almost laughed.
Aggressive? Cold?
When the Nightfall Pack's resources collapsed, it was my aggression that drove my pack through a month of sleepless nights to secure the alliance pact that saved his territory.
When his father was critically ill from the wasting sickness, it was this cold female who shelved a massive territory acquisition to spend two weeks sleeping in a chair by his bedside in the healing chambers.
He used to say he admired my boldness in pack politics. My decisiveness. My killer instinct.
Now that he had a sweet, gentle little Omega by his side, suddenly I was too harsh? Too cold?
Aunt Elara Blackwood insisted I stay to keep her company during the bloodline gathering, so it wasn't until the third day that I caught the earliest route home.
The scent-ward lock hadn't been changed.
But my scent signature had been removed from the wards.
I stood at my own den's entrance and announced my presence.
Lyra answered.
This time, she wore Kael's sleep shirt. The hem barely grazed her thighs. Her hair hung wet and tousled, like she'd just stepped out of the bathing pool.
"Selene?" She widened her eyes in practiced surprise. "You're back? Kael's still sleeping..."
I cut her off.
"Last I checked, I don't need permission to enter my own den."
"Move."
"That's not what I meant." She planted herself in the doorway, chin lifted in defiance.
