Zera’s POV
The air outside the Alpha’s office smelled of cedar and authority, the scent of my alpha husband.
I smiled faintly as I adjusted the velvet box in my hands, my heart fluttering with excitement and nerves. It was our fourth anniversary today, and I had pulled every string I could to get him something special, something that would make his eyes light up the way they used to when he looked at me.
Inside the box lay the archaic silver dagger Jeremiah had been eyeing in an auction for months, a relic said to have belonged to one of the first Alpha kings centuries ago. I’d traded favors, and even reached out to my father’s old allies just to secure it.
And tucked beside it… was the small pregnancy test I’d taken that morning. Two bold lines stared back at me like a promise from the Moon Goddess herself.
I was carrying our second pup. My hand instinctively brushed my stomach, a smile tugging at my lips. Annie would have been so happy… My chest ached at the memory of my little girl, my sweet, laughing pup with eyes like mine. She would have turned five this year if she’d survived the attack.
But I shook off the heaviness. Jeremiah and I had made it through that storm together. Or so I thought.
I took a deep breath, my heels clicking softly on the marble floors of the central plains building, the nerve center of Moonshadow Pack. The guards bowed as I passed. “Luna,” they greeted respectfully.
I nodded, my heart racing as I neared the tall double doors of the Alpha’s office. I could already imagine his reaction, the flash of surprise, the warmth in his voice when he realized he’d be a father again. Maybe this would be the spark we needed to bring us back together.
But before I could knock, a sound from inside froze me mid-step.
It was soft at first, a faint muffled noise, followed by something that made my stomach twist.
A moan. No. That couldn’t be right.
I leaned closer, my wolf, going still inside me. The scent that drifted through the slightly ajar door wasn’t mine. It was sweet… powdery… too familiar.
Hannah. My pulse stuttered. My best friend’s scent.
I pushed the door slightly, and what I saw made the world crash around me.
Alpha Jeremiah, my husband, had his lips pressed against Hannah Linston’s neck, his hands tangled in her hair. Her back was against his desk, her fingers clutching his shoulders as if she belonged there.
My knees nearly buckled.
“Alpha…” I whispered, but the word died in my throat.
The air grew heavy, my wolf growling low inside me, fury mixing with heartbreak. My wolf wanted to burst out, to tear the room apart, but I forced her down. I couldn’t let them hear me.
I stood there in silence, the dagger box trembling in my hands as I watched the two people I trusted most betray me in the cruelest way.
My breath came in shallow gasps. I wanted to scream, to break something, but then,
Hannah’s voice shattered the silence. “What about what happened a year ago?” she whispered, her tone trembling. “You promised me… no one would ever find out.”
Jeremiah’s back stiffened. “They won’t,” he said, his deep voice low and cold. “I made sure of it. The soldiers were paid well enough to keep quiet.”
Soldiers? My brows furrowed through the haze of shock. What were they talking about?
Hannah’s fingers tightened around his shirt. “You’re sure Zera doesn’t know? About that night?”
That night. My heart began to race again, a different kind of dread settling in.
Jeremiah sighed, his hand sliding down her arm. “She thinks the rescue failed. That Annie didn’t make it. The soldiers told her what I told them to say.”
I pressed my hand against my mouth, choking back a sob. What was he saying?
Hannah bit her lip, looking down. “But Annie… she could’ve been saved. You said they reached us at the same time—”
“I couldn’t let you die, Hannah!” Jeremiah snapped, slamming his fist on the desk. “I paid them to prioritize you. Do you understand that? You were bleeding out, and I couldn’t lose you.”
My blood ran cold. My wolf whimpered. My wolf’s voice echoed in my mind, Our pup… our Annie…
I stumbled back against the wall, unable to breathe. The dagger box slipped from my fingers, hitting the floor with a soft thud.
But the worst hadn’t come yet.
Hannah’s voice trembled again. “And… her heart? You promised that was between us. Are you sure it’s kept a secret, alpha?”
Jeremiah exhaled shakily. “It still is. I made Zera sign the medical documents while she was mourning. She never knew what they were. No one knows about it, even the healers and doctors.”
My knees gave way. I pressed a trembling hand against my chest as realization hit me like a silver blade to the heart.
Annie’s heart. They… they gave her heart to Hannah.
I hired those soldiers, used all of my conncetions, to prioritized saving my daughter who was kidnapped during the war. But Alpha Jeremiah paid them double to save Hannah instead. And that was why, a year ago, they only got my daughter’s lifeless body, while they managed to save the unconscious Hannah.
And now, Alpha Jeremiah gave my daughter’s heart just to save his fucking mistress?
