His words were like a punch to the gut. My breath caught in my throat. Elara. The pup. It wasn’t just a mistake. It was real. He had planned a future—but not with me.
I couldn’t respond. Slowly, I pushed his hand off me and shifted to the edge of the bed. The cold space between us was impossible to ignore.
Sensing the change, he snapped. “What’s your problem? You said you didn’t care about my past! You said you just wanted to be with me!” His voice rose, sharp with frustration.
He continued ranting, accusing me of jealousy. “I didn’t even have to tell you this. I was honest out of respect. You’re making this harder than it needs to be. You’re really disappointing me right now.”
Then came the final blow. “If you want pups, I can have one with you later. I’ll sleep on the couch tonight.”
With that, he stormed out, leaving me in silence. I lay there, staring at the moonlight filtering through the trees. A bitter laugh escaped my lips. In his mind, being “honest” was a favor. And if I didn’t accept it, I was the one at fault.
I had been blind for so long, but now the truth was as clear as day.
I had poured everything into Darius—my loyalty, my love, my future. And what had he given me in return? Betrayal. I had imagined us as mates, me as his soon-to-be Luna, raising pups, building a family together. But all of that was in ruins now, shattered like the bond I thought we had.
The next morning, Darius was already gone. He had been slipping away early and disappearing for days at a time. It wasn’t like this was new for me; he had been doing this for a while now.
Just as I was about to leave the house, Elijah, his gamma, reached out through the pack’s link.
“Ember, I’ve been trying to contact Alpha Darius for days.” His voice was steady, but the words were like a bolt of lightning. “He hasn’t returned to the Alpha’s office at all. Do you know what’s going on with him?”
I knew exactly where he was.
The pieces finally fell into place, and my stomach churned. Darius wasn’t just hiding something—he was with Elara. The knot in my chest tightened, fury and despair swirling as I imagined them together, their betrayal out in the open.