The Sea-Den Alpha’s Betrayed Mate

My consort's secret scent-mate took advantage of my absence from the territory to brazenly move into my pack estate. He wore my clothes, drank from my private reserve of aged moonwine, and dared to dream of climbing into my bed to claim my mate.

What he didn't expect was that my foster-dam caught him in the act. She sent word for me to return immediately. When I arrived, I had my enforcers strip the clothes from his body and snap one of his legs before throwing him out beyond the territory markers.

When my consort learned what happened, she didn't blame me at all. Instead, she slapped herself across the face and apologized to me: "I'm sorry, my Alpha. I only supported him because I pitied his circumstances. I never imagined he would try to take your place, nearly causing such disaster. I'll have him driven from the city at once and ban him from ever returning."

Since my consort admitted her wrongdoing so readily, I forgave her. She didn't disappoint me either, devoting herself completely to playing the role of a perfect mate.

That lasted until six months later, when I drank the moonwine she handed me. After a few sips, I collapsed onto the bed.

When I opened my eyes again, I found myself bound to a chair with silver-threaded ropes. My foster-dam was locked inside an iron cage. My beloved consort sat with her legs crossed, one arm wrapped around her little scent-mate, while she ordered her wolves to throw water over my foster-dam's body.

"Didn't your foster-dam love to run her mouth and meddle? And didn't you enjoy stripping people bare?" Her voice dripped with mockery.

"Since that's the case, let's play a little dominance wager involving stripped clothes. If you lose, your precious foster-dam will be stripped naked and thrown to a den of unmated rogues!"

——

The moment she finished speaking, the iron cage was opened. A wolf stepped inside and grabbed my foster-dam, delivering a vicious slap across her face.

"Stop it! Selene Frostveil, what exactly do you want?"

Selene looked at me with amusement, then gently stroked the place where I had broken Darian's leg. Her expression turned cold as ice.

"Obviously, I'm getting justice for Darian. Whatever you did to him that day, I'll repay you double."

"Repay me? So you're saying you've already shifted your affections to this pretty-faced rogue?"

"Yes!"

I finally understood. All her kindness toward me these past six months had been an act of endurance. She had been waiting for me to lower my guard completely before striking.

But I never imagined she would drag my foster-dam into this, making her suffer alongside me.

Darian Frostveil fixed me with a gaze full of hatred. Then he rose to his feet and limped toward me, one leg dragging uselessly. He drove his fist into my face.

"Kael Nightthorne, you dared to break my leg and turn me into a cripple. I'm going to torture you and your foster-dam slowly, bit by bit. Just you wait!"

I glared at them both with fury burning in my eyes. "Selene Frostveil, kidnapping us and bringing us here by force is a violation of pack law. You know my temper and my methods. Once I get out of here, I will reject our bond and leave you with nothing—"

"Ha! Kael Nightthorne, oh Kael Nightthorne." She laughed without a trace of fear. "I stopped being afraid of you long ago. Over these past six months, I've already seized control of your pack. Even the Pack Elders have been bought off and now stand with me."

I narrowed my eyes at Selene. "What do you mean by that?"

Selene smiled radiantly and clapped her hands. Through the door walked a group of familiar faces—my own Pack Elders, every one of them.

"You? What are you all doing here?"

"Isn't it obvious? We're here to overthrow you. Can't you see?"

"Selene Frostveil, how dare you?"

"When your Frostveil bloodline fell into ruin years ago, who was it that reached out and saved your entire house? And now, for the sake of some young rogue, you scheme against me like this?"

If I weren't bound to this chair, I would have lunged forward and killed this treacherous pair with my own claws.

A wave of rage surged through my chest, refusing to subside.

The angrier I became, the more excited Selene and Darian grew.

"Oh, I almost forgot to mention something." Selene's smile widened. "We're in the Warded Sea-Den now—neutral ground in open waters. Pack law doesn't apply here. If you want to save your meddlesome foster-dam, you'll have no choice but to play our dominance wager to the very end!"