"Just tidied the room. I'll rest."
My voice trembled.
I fled to my chamber.
Behind my closed lids, the image of Eden's hoard seared itself into my mind.
My underthings, reeking of stale moon musk, lay in a grotesque pile.
Why would she hoard my bedding?
The red lace set I'd lost after our bond-she must have taken it.
A wave of disgust roiled in my gut, a nauseating tide that threatened to choke me.
At midday, when the world seemed to hold its breath, I waited for Eden to slip into a deep slumber. I signaled the nursemaid with a desperate glance, our eyes meeting in a silent pact.
We bundled the pup, his tiny body warm and trusting in our arms.
Then, driven by a fierce determination, I raced to Peter's.
As I approached the door, wet growls, animalistic and primal, echoed from the bedchamber. A cruel smile twisted my lips.
Perfect. My lawyer needed proof.
I kicked the door open, phone raised high.
The sight that greeted me was a nightmare come to life.
Peter and Freya, tangled in a web of betrayal, their bodies intertwined in a sickening display of lust. "Lila Vance! Delete those!"
Peter snarled, his eyes wild with rage and fear as he lunged at me.
I dodged his attack, my movements a dance of desperation.
With a flick of my thumb, I sent the damning video to my lawyer.
"She's ruined me!"
Freya wailed, her voice a pathetic screech.
"Fear not, Freya."
Peter stood naked, his arrogance a shield against the truth, as he swiped at my phone.
He crushed it under his heel with a sickening crunch, but the deed was done.
The evidence was out of his reach.
Freya dressed in a hurry, her face red with shame, and fled the room.
Peter rounded on me, his eyes blazing with a madness I'd never seen before.
"The pup isn't mine! You cheated first. Pay fifty silver pieces for a clean bond break, or I'll howl your shame to the whole pack!"
I glared at him, my eyes cold and unforgiving.
"Where's my red mating set? The one I lost."
"Blown away by the wind," he snapped, but a flicker of guilt crossed his eyes.
"Did your dam take it?" I pressed, my voice a knife cutting through his deception.
"Have you lost your mind? Why would she-"
"She favors you over me! If not for you, Freya and I would have a litter by now!"
I pitied him then, a hollow feeling in my chest.
The chill wind snapped my wits back.
With Eden untrustworthy, I needed proof.
First, a new phone.
Back at the inn, staring at my pup's slumbering face, a dark thought howled: He might have been sired while I lay dazed.
I'd heard tales-mates offering their she-wolves for pack rank.
Peter had clawed up since our bond.
No matter. I'd claim my rights.
My call to Peter was met with a snarl: "You posted that video? This isn't over!"
He cut the line, but the footage had gone lunar viral.
Net-wolves dug up his trysts with Freya, down to their mating history.
Both got fired from the pack's corporate; Peter's promotion vanished like mist.
Good riddance.
