Chapter 3
Ana
I stood still in the long, dark hallway. My hands gripped a fresh glass of water so tightly that my knuckles turned white. I made sure my fingers did not shake.
The coldness of the glass felt like ice against my palms, but it was nothing compared to the coldness spreading through my chest. I stayed hidden in the shadows by the door and slowly, carefully, peeked inside the guest room.
The moonlight through the window fell across the bed. Max was there, sitting close to Emily. He held her tight against him, his arms wrapped around her in a way that used to make me feel safe. I watched his face as he leaned in to speak softly to her. His voice was a low murmur, full of a warmth he had not shown me in days.
"I can't wait for you to give me another child," he said.
The words hit me like a physical blow. I felt a wave of confusion wash over me. I did not understand what he meant at first. My mind raced, trying to make sense of the sounds coming from that room.
For eight long years, I had loved Max with everything I had. I had given up my home and my pride for him. I made sure to be his perfect Luna. I was always supporting him, always standing by his side during pack troubles, and always there the moment he needed me. I thought we were a team.
But here he was, in our own home, cheating behind my back.
I stayed hidden, my back pressed against the hard wall, and kept watching. Emily, the lady he called his friend, stood up from the bed. she smoothed her hair and laughed. It was a light, cruel sound that rang through the quiet room.
"We can't believe she can be so easily played, Max," she said, her voice full of mockery. "It's just so funny. She risks everything just to be a perfect wife, while her dear Alpha already has a Luna and a child."
Those words froze the blood in my veins. I could not move a single muscle. It felt as if a sharp blade had been pushed straight into my heart and twisted. The pain spread fast, deep into my bones.
Max spoke again. His voice was calm and steady, as if he were discussing the weather rather than a lifetime of lies.
"She loves me so much, Emily. Whatever I tell her, she believes it without question. So you should not worry about her. Even if I bring in another child, I will just tell her I adopted the child, and she will believe it. She always does."
I moved back a step, my legs feeling like lead. I almost lost my balance. My mind went to Lily, my sweet girl who was gone. The truth started to fit together like broken pieces of glass.
So mai was his real child after all. She was not a pack orphan that we had adopted like he had always told me. He had lied to me from the very beginning.
That meant Max had been keeping a mistress and a biological child all these years, right under my nose. I thought back to all the nights he was late, all the times he claimed he was busy with urgent pack meetings or border patrols. He had never gone to any of them. He had been with her. He had been building a second life while I worked myself to the bone to be the perfect Luna for his people.
"What about me?" I whispered to the empty hallway. "What about my life?"
I held my breath, trying to stay silent. I needed to leave before they saw me, but my feet would not move. Then, Emily spoke again, and her words were even worse than the ones before.
"What if she finds out the truth, Max?" she asked, her voice dropping. "What if she finds out you caused the accident and killed your child? What will you do then?"
Max laughed. It was a low, dark sound that made my stomach turn.
"I am an Alpha, Emily. There is no way she will find out. Besides, this was the only way I could keep her close to me. After the accident, she became so broken. With this pain, she will keep thinking I care for her more and more because I am the only one left to hold her."
My vision blurred. I had to close my mouth tight to hold back the scream of agony that wanted to burst out. I had to keep the tears from making a sound.
He had killed my daughter. He had planned the crash. He had fucking killed her just to make me depend on him.
I moved back carefully, inch by inch. I tried to get away from that door without making a single sound. But my body was weak, and as I turned, I accidentally hit a small wooden table in the hall. It made a soft thud.
Inside the room, the voices stopped instantly. I heard Max’s voice turn sharp and dangerous. "Who is there?"
I ducked behind the corner of the wall, pressing myself into the darkness. My heart was pounding so loud I was sure he could hear it through the wood. The door creaked open. I heard his heavy footsteps as he walked out into the hallway and looked around. I held my breath steady, forcing my lungs to stay still. I stayed completely still, like a statue.
After a long minute, he sighed and went back inside, closing the door.
I didn't wait. I hurried down the stairs, my heart still racing. I reached the kitchen and leaned against the counter, my breath coming in ragged gasps. I slowly took out my phone. My hands were shaking so much I almost dropped it. I dialed a number I had not called in years. I placed the phone against my chest, waiting, until I heard the line click open.
"Dad," I said. My voice was a broken whisper, barely audible. "Can I come back? I'm sorry, Dad. I promise... I promise to marry whoever you want me to this time. Just let me come home."
I ended the call before he could say anything else. I leaned my head against the cool surface of the refrigerator and tried to hold myself together.
I had abandoned my family for Max. I had left my own pack and everything I had ever known just to be his Luna. I had secretly helped him in every way, even begging my father—a powerful Alpha—to send resources and support to Max’s pack when they were failing. I made Max the man he is today.
That night in the car, I had planned to tell him everything. I was going to tell him that I was the daughter of the most powerful Alpha of the Dark Rose Pack. I wanted us to have no more secrets.
But who could have thought the man I loved could be this cruel?
Pain burned in my chest, hot and fierce. Deep inside me, my wolf began to howl. She wanted to come out. She wanted to light up with anger and tear Max apart. She wanted to make him pay for every lie, and most of all, for what he had done to our little girl.
I forced myself to go back upstairs. I entered our bedroom and lay down on the bed, pulling the covers up. I closed my eyes and slowed my breathing, acting as if I had been asleep the whole time.
A few minutes later, the door opened slowly. I felt the bed sink as Max sat down on the edge. He leaned over and held me close, his scent filling my nose. He kissed my chin gently and whispered into my ear, "I love you, Ana."
He thought I was still sleeping. A week ago, those words would have made me feel like the luckiest woman in the world. Now, they sounded disgusting. They sounded like poison.
The next day, I went to the bar at the edge of the pack territory. I sat on a high stool and drank one bottle after another. I did not care how many I had finished. The alcohol burned down my throat, a sharp fire that I welcomed, but it could not touch the deeper, colder pain inside my soul.
Ema appeared beside me. She looked worried. She reached out and took the last drink from my hands, setting it firmly on the counter.
"Ana, stop this. You are trying to get yourself killed. You are a Luna. You should act like one."
I turned my head and looked at her with tired, bloodshot eyes. I gave a short, bitter laugh. "Really? Do I look like a Luna to you, Ema? I thought I was just his plaything. Just a puppet he uses."
I tried to reach for the bottle again, but she moved it further away.
"Stop," she commanded. "Look at me. Tell me what is going on. This isn't just about grief."
I looked at her, and the walls I had built finally started to crumble. The words poured out of me.
"Have I not been good, Ema? Have I not been kind? I tried to be a perfect wife every single day. Why did he have to do this to me? Why?"
I realized too late that the last part came out as a shout. Most of the people in the bar stopped talking and turned to stare at me. I didn't care. I felt broken, weak, and completely destroyed. Ema leaned closer, her voice soft and urgent.
"Can you tell me what the issue is? What did you find out?"
I looked at her through a blur of tears. My voice was thick with emotion.
"Ema, help me. I can't do this anymore. I can't stay in that house. I want to break my bond with Max. I no longer want to be his Luna."
