Perhaps he thought I’d never check, but the password to Joshua’s phone was still my birthday. As the screen lit up, my fingers trembled uncontrollably. The chat history was clearly edited, showing only the last couple of weeks. Scrolling from the top down, a cold sweat broke out on my back. Amina had sent him a photo in lace pajamas, and Joshua replied, *You look stunning, honey, kisses.* As I scrolled further, she mentioned feeling unwell from cramps, and Joshua simply replied, *I’m on my way.*
My ears were ringing incessantly. Checking the date and time, I shakily opened my own phone. It was five minutes after I had texted Joshua that I was in pain with a stomach ache and needed him at the clinic. He replied an hour later, *Caught up in a pack meeting, didn’t see the phone, might not make it.* I’d been understanding of his responsibilities as Alpha, enduring the pain, busying myself with registering and paying fees at the clinic alone. Even though it was the height of summer, I felt submerged in ice water, shivering. I continued scrolling mechanically.
Soon, I reached the latest message. *I miss our little one so much, Joshua, I’m in so much pain.* It turns out the seven-year mate bond was already riddled with cracks, decaying beyond repair.
Amina and I had been roommates at the pack’s academy, inseparable from the start. We trained together, hunted together, and shared long conversations about love and life under the moonlit skies. I thought I had been completely open with her, considering her my best friend. After school started, I introduced Joshua to her. Joshua and I had been mates since our sophomore year of high school, and we were lucky to end up in the same pack. One day, I took Joshua to dinner with Amina. They couldn’t stand each other; even the venison Joshua placed on my plate, she’d replace with her own. I dismissed it as typical tension between friends and mates, trying to keep the mood light.
After dinner, she still seemed to disapprove of Joshua, claiming he was nothing but a powerful Alpha with no heart, and he wasn’t good enough for me. Joshua, in turn, looked equally disdainful. From then on, whenever the three of us trained together, they often bickered. I stopped inviting them to spar at the same time.
But during the first semester of our senior year, Amina trembled as she confided in me. I pressed her for details, but she remained silent. I just held her tightly. *Don’t worry, I’ll go with you.*
She was terrified of being seen, adamantly refusing to go to the state-of-the-art clinic I had found. During her time there, I felt sorry for her pale cheeks and the way she flinched at every sound, preparing light meals for her every day. Whenever I saw her staring blankly at the ceiling, I’d quietly hand her a cup of warm tea.
Now, I clenched his phone, my fingertips digging into my palm. The latest message at the bottom was like a needle piercing me. I struggled to breathe, bracing myself as I rushed to the bathroom. All the happiness from the past shattered like a mirror, its jagged shards raining down around me.
My wolf stirred in the back of my mind, a low growl of pain and betrayal echoing through our bond. *He’s not worth it,* she whispered, her voice heavy with sorrow. *But you are.*
I wanted to believe her, but the weight of Joshua’s betrayal was suffocating. I had trusted him as my Alpha, my mate, and he had chosen Amina—a Gamma, my best friend—over me. The mate bond, once a source of strength and connection, now felt like a chain around my neck, pulling me deeper into the icy waters of despair.
I didn’t know how to face him, or Amina, or the pack. But I knew one thing: I couldn’t stay here. Not in this place where every corner reminded me of the life I’d thought we’d build together. My wolf’s growl grew louder, a protective shield around my heart. *We’ll survive this,* she said, her voice fierce. *We’ll find a way.*
And for the first time that night, I believed her.
