Luna Rejects Cheating Mate

The stack of parking tickets stared back at me from the kitchen counter, their red violation stamps a glaring reminder of Adrian's carelessness. Thirty years as his Luna, and he still couldn't remember to pay his tickets on time.

"Another one?" I muttered, adding the latest envelope to the pile. Our household expenses were usually meticulous—my responsibility as Luna—but these had slipped through the cracks.

I sighed and reached for my laptop. "Let's get this over with."

The city's violation system was straightforward enough. I logged in using Adrian's license plate number, expecting to see a few recent infractions. Instead, my screen filled with a dozen citations spanning the last three months.

"That can't be right," I whispered, scrolling through the list.

But there they were—parking in fire lanes, expired meters, blocking hydrants. Each violation came with a photo of the offense, standard practice for the city's automated enforcement.

I clicked on the first image. Adrian's sleek black Audi sat illegally parked against a curb. My eyes narrowed as I studied the passenger side.

A woman sat there.

I clicked on another photo. Same woman. Different date, different location.

My heart began to pound as I clicked through each image. Her face wasn't always visible, but her profile was unmistakable—high cheekbones, dark hair pulled back in a sleek ponytail. Never anyone I recognized from our pack.

"This can't be happening," I whispered, my fingers trembling slightly as I clicked on the most recent violation.

This one was different. The camera had captured her turning toward Adrian, her hand resting on his arm with casual intimacy. The timestamp showed 8:37 PM—last night.

Last night, when Adrian had texted that he was working late at the hospital.

Something cold settled in my stomach as I printed the photos, my Luna instincts screaming that something was terribly wrong.

---

The antiseptic smell of the pack hospital greeted me as I pushed through the glass doors. I'd never liked hospitals—too many memories of loss and pain—but as Luna, I'd visited countless times to support our pack members.

Today was different. Today, I wasn't here to comfort others.

I found Adrian in his office, his white coat pristine as always, dark hair perfectly styled despite what should have been a long shift. He looked up when I entered, his smile faltering slightly at whatever he saw in my expression.

"Judith? What are you doing here?" He stood, moving around his desk with the confident grace that had first attracted me to him thirty years ago.

"I brought these." I placed the printed photos on his desk, spreading them out so he couldn't ignore them. "Care to explain why the same woman keeps showing up in your car?"

His face remained impassive as he glanced at the photos, but I caught the slight tightening around his eyes. "These are parking violations?"

"Don't deflect, Adrian." I kept my voice steady, though my heart was racing. "Who is she?"

He sighed, running a hand through his hair—a gesture I'd once found endearing. Now it just seemed calculated. "Judith, I don't have time for this. There's a trauma case coming in any minute."

"That's convenient." I crossed my arms. "Always an emergency when I ask questions."

"You're being ridiculous." His tone shifted to the authoritative one he used with patients—or with me when he wanted to make me feel small. "These are probably colleagues from other packs. You know how conferences run late sometimes."

"I know that scent, Adrian." I stepped closer, inhaling deeply. "You smell... different."

His eyes widened slightly before narrowing. "What are you implying? That I'm cheating on you? After thirty years?" He laughed, but it sounded hollow. "I'm trying to save lives here, Judith. Is this how you support me?"

The guilt crept in, just as he intended. As head healer, Adrian's work was sacred to our pack. Questioning him felt almost treasonous.

"I'm sorry," he said softly, reaching for my hand. "I know we haven't been connecting lately. But accusing me like this..."

I pulled away, my Luna instincts warring with the guilt he'd so skillfully induced. Something wasn't right.

---

Back home, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was missing something. The photos, his reaction, the way he'd made me doubt myself—none of it sat right.

I needed more evidence.

The pack's security system included dashcams in all official vehicles. As Luna, I had access codes.

What I found made my blood run cold.

Adrian and the woman from the photos—kissing in his car outside what looked like a hotel. Her hands in his hair, his fingers tracing patterns on her neck—intimate gestures that should have been reserved for me.

But worse was the audio.

"...can't keep doing this," she was saying. "Your Luna will find out eventually."

"She won't," Adrian replied confidently. "Judith trusts me completely."

The betrayal cut deeper than I'd imagined possible.

I went to his closet, pulling out his medical coat. The familiar scent of antiseptic and Adrian was there, but underneath—something else. Something wild and unfamiliar.

Rogue.

My knees nearly buckled as the truth hit me. Not only was Adrian cheating, but he was cheating with a rogue—a she-wolf without pack allegiance or honor.

The sacred mate bond we'd shared for thirty years meant nothing to him.

And I had been blind to it all.