Liora’s POV
Eighteen years ago, my mate, Alpha Kaelen of the Blackthorn Pack, swore to me that we would never have pups. He said the pack didn’t need heirs—we could live free, just the two of us, ruling side by side without the burden of children.
I believed him. I gave up everything for him. When the Healer warned me my womb was cursed, Kaelen convinced me to go through with the ritual hysterectomy that stripped me of any chance to bear pups. I agreed. For him. For us.
And I never looked back.
Not until the day he walked into our den with two wide–eyed wolf twins in his arms—one boy, one girl, no more than a few moons old, swaddled in furs. Their scent was unfamiliar, their bloodline unknown.
“They were abandoned on the edge of our borders,” Kaelen said smoothly, his silver eyes shining with conviction. “They need a mother, Liora. Will you raise them as your own?”
I didn’t even hesitate.
From that moment on, I poured every ounce of love into those pups. I taught them to shift, soothed them through their first broken bones when the moon pulled too hard, stayed awake through fevers that made their little bodies tremble. I trained them in the art of combat, packed their hunting satchels, kissed their foreheads before every patrol.
And I loved them. Fiercely.
Now they’re grown. One was chosen for the Elder Council’s academy, the other accepted into the Lycan Courts as an envoy. My chest nearly burst with pride. They were my children in every way that mattered.
At their send–off feast, when the pack howled under the silver moon, Kaelen handed me a scroll.
“Liora,” he said, his voice calm, “it’s time. Sign the transfer. All pack assets will now belong to the twins. They’ll inherit everything.”
I didn’t even question him. I reached for the quill.
But before I could sign, my mother grabbed my wrist. Her eyes blazed with worry.
“Child,” she whispered, “do you even know whose blood runs in those pups’ veins? You’re giving them everything. Keep something for yourself—please.”
I smiled softly. “Mother, it doesn’t matter. They are mine. My heart knows it.”
Her face crumpled, tears spilling as she dropped to her knees. My father stormed in, his fury shaking the room.
“You shame our bloodline, Liora!” he roared, and struck me across the face. “You would give away the Oldfang legacy to pups we know nothing of?”
But still—I signed.
Kaelen’s grin widened, sharp as a wolf baring his fangs. And in front of the entire pack, he pulled another woman forward. A sleek she–wolf with golden hair and a cruel smile. He slipped his arm around her waist, his touch intimate.
She tossed a parchment at my feet. A divorce decree.
“Thank you for raising Kaelen’s pups all these years,” she said, her voice dripping with triumph. “But it’s time for you to step aside. Our family will finally be whole.”
The crowd gasped. My blood turned to ice.
I looked at her—at the she–wolf who had clawed her way into my mate’s heart. My voice came out calm, steady.
“Fine.”
But inside, my world shattered.
Her name was Seraphine. Once a low–ranking wolf in my company of hunters, ambitious and cunning. I should have seen it. She wasn’t just playing the games of the pack—she had been playing house with my mate all along.
My voice cut through the stunned silence like a blade. “So, Kaelen—you’ve been bedding her all this time?”
Seraphine only smiled, her golden eyes gleaming. “Don’t be bitter, Liora. If you truly loved Kaelen, you’d want what’s best for him. Even if that means stepping aside.”
Kaelen snarled. “Enough. Sign the papers and be done with it. Don’t drag this out.”
I stared at him, but I no longer saw the powerful Alpha he had become. I saw the starving boy I’d once saved—an omega orphan, half–dead from hunger, trembling at my door. I was the one who carried him into my home, who fed him, who loved him.
And now, before the whole pack, he cast me aside for his old flame.
Whispers spread like wildfire through the wolves gathered around us.
“She gave up her womb for him…”
“And raised pups that weren’t even hers…”
“And now this?”
My claws curled into my palms, I was reeling from an unknown betrayal.
