With a shaky breath, I picked up Cale’s phone. I knew it would be locked with a series of passwords—he’d made sure of that. But I’d learned enough by now to make an educated guess. One by one, I tried the obvious codes, feeling my patience thin with each failed attempt. On my last try, I entered Cali’s due date, the very same date she’d smugly sent me in a picture of her ultrasound.
It unlocked.
My hands trembled as I swiped through the messages, taking in every word of his hidden life. It wasn’t long before I found Cali’s messages. He called her his soulmate, his “true fated one.” My heart clenched with a deep, gnawing pain. I’d been his chosen mate, bonded by tradition, bound by choice—but to him, she was something different. Something real, something sacred.
The moon goddess had given us the option to sever our bond with our fated mate to allow us to choose a life together if our fates hadn’t aligned. But here I was, paying the price for that choice alone. I scrolled down, the weight of betrayal pressing heavier with every message, every promise he’d whispered to her.
Then, a name caught my eye: Alpha Craig, one of Cale’s closest friends and the Alpha of the Gray Wolves Pack. He had introduced Cale to Cali. My stomach twisted; even his friends had been involved in the deceit. I kept reading, each message a wound that stung sharper than the last. Cale had been showering her with gifts I’d never dreamed of, things he’d never thought to buy for me even now, nine months pregnant. His shopping app was full of baby items, skincare products, luxuries meant for mother-to-be—Cali.
I bit down on the grief that threatened to spill over and began taking screenshots, quietly gathering everything I needed. This was it. This was the end. I would not spend my life bound to a man who had chosen someone else so deeply, so entirely. By the time I’d finished, I felt hollow, like everything good had been wrung out of me, leaving only the raw ache of betrayal. I carefully set the phone down exactly as I’d found it, slipping into bed and lying down, heart pounding.