The Price of a Cheating Alpha

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I have a husband everyone enviesKellan, the Alpha of Shadowreach Pack.

But what everyone doesn't know is that he's addicted to cheating, and he has a peculiar habit of deliberately leaving traces behind.

Over these past three months,

I found a lace bra under the floor mat on the passenger side of his car.

I dug out pink lace panties from under the bed in our forest vacation cabin.

For the sake of the alliance between our two packs, I endured it all.

But this time, at the Shadowreach Pack banquet,

he had that little Omega, Lia, standing beside him.

The spotlight shone on them both, as if she were Kellan's mate.

She looked at me provocatively, her arm wrapping around Kellan's waist.

I held my wine glass, turned, and walked back into the banquet hall without sparing her a single glance.

I even smiled graciously at Kellan when he came over to take my hand.

My indifference completely enraged Lia.

She sent intimate photos of the two of them directly to my phone, every word dripping with provocation.

You're old now. Alpha Kellan has grown tired of your high-and-mighty act.

Do you know how wild he gets when he pins me down on your marriage bed?

I silently saved all the evidence,

along with records of her embezzling Shadowreach Pack funds and colluding with rogues.

She likes to show off, doesn't she?

Then I'll make sure every Alpha in every pack sees their true faces.

Kellan stood in the bedroom doorway, his brow furrowed with disgust.

He was Shadowreach Pack's absolute Alpha, accustomed to controlling everything.

Only in front of me would he ever lose his composure like he did when we were young.

"Isobel, I didn't call Lia here. She came on her own."

"You know she's just a server at the club. It's perfectly normal for her to serve drinks at a banquet like this."

I'd just pulled an all-nighter organizing materials, and my eyelids felt too heavy to lift.

"There's nothing to explain. You can like whoever you want. It has nothing to do with me."

"Isobel," his tone turned harsh as he continued his self-justification, "I know you're upset, but you're my Luna. How can you say it has nothing to do with you?"

"Are you finished?"

I cut him off, standing up to walk past him into the bathroom, but he grabbed my wrist in a death grip.

"Isobel, don't you care at all?"

I looked into his eyes, wanting so badly to tell himI used to care.

When I first found that bra, I smashed everything breakable in the house to pieces.

Over these past three months, Kellan and I have fought countless times, but in the end, we never separated.

Only because we are fated mates, witnesses to the alliance between Shadowreach Pack and Tundra Pack.

At three years old, at the alliance banquet, he gave me a wolf-shaped wooden token and said, "Isobel, I'll protect you from now on."

At ten, when we were ambushed by rogue wolves, he shielded me with his body and took a blade for me, leaving a permanent scar across his back.

At seventeen, when my father fell gravely ill, he climbed through my window on the full moon night, held me tight, and said with absolute conviction:

"Tundra Pack's problems are my problems. I will always protect you."

Twenty-seven years of connection, like a dense net, trapping me inside.

"Kellan, I'm really tired." I tugged at my wrist but couldn't break free, my voice full of exhaustion.

"What do you mean?" His grip suddenly tightened, panic flooding his eyes. "Do you want to dissolve the alliance between our packs?

Isobel, you wouldn't dare!"

"Let go."

"I won't! You have to explain yourself today!"

In our struggle, a decorative piece in the living room crashed to the floor with a thunderous shatter, the crisp sound of breaking echoing through the night.

Silver fragments scattered across the floor, glinting coldly in the light.

It was the wolf-head sculpture cast together by the elders of both packs during our bonding ceremony,

engraved with our names and the oath of peace between our packs.

I'd smashed countless things during our fights, but I'd never touched this one.

Now, it was broken.

Kellan flinched and instinctively released my hand.

I collapsed to my knees among the fragments, sharp silver shards cutting into my kneecaps as blood instantly welled up.

Silver is a werewolf's banewounds from it hurt ten times more than ordinary injuries and heal a hundred times slower.

His face went deathly pale, his voice trembling: "I'm sorry, Isobel, I didn't mean to..."

The blood kept flowing, but I didn't feel the pain. I only felt a tightness in my chest.

He frantically picked me up, used wolf clan secret medicine to treat the wound briefly, then drove urgently to Shadowreach Pack's exclusive medical center.

His hands shook on the steering wheel, even his breathing was erratic.

We rushed into the medical center, and the attending physician came overnight to treat me.

After the wound was treated, the hospital room door opened.

Lia walked in carrying a thermos, her face displaying perfectly calibrated concern.

"Alpha Kellan, I heard you were injured, so I specially made some calming soup..."

She stopped mid-sentence, as if just noticing me in the hospital bed, covering her mouth in feigned surprise.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Luna Isobel. I didn't know you were here too. I didn't mean to interrupt."

Kellan frowned, his tone turning cold: "Who told you to come in? Get out."

"I was just worried about you." Lia set down the thermos and took two steps forward,

pretending to help organize the gauze, but deliberately pressing her fingertips hard against my still-bleeding wound.

Searing pain instantly overwhelmed me. I let out a muffled groan, my fingers clutching the bedsheet.

Kellan exploded with rage, shoving her violently out of the way. She crashed into the metal door frame behind her with a loud clang.

"Are you insane? Get out! If you dare come near her again, I'll banish you from Shadowreach Pack!"

Lia's eyes instantly turned red, but Kellan didn't even glance at her. He turned back and pressed down hard on my wound,

his voice full of panic and guilt, his eyes never once straying toward the door.

Kellan arranged the highest-grade recovery room for me, filling it with my favorite white roses.

"We need to observe you for a few days. Wounds that touch silver are prone to infection. With the full moon approaching, your healing ability will be compromised. We can't be careless."

He handed me warm water and medication, fussing over me with endless instructions, his tone full of caution.

When I ignored him, he softened his voice further: "I'll go buy you those macarons and berries you love, okay?"

When he left and returned, he was carrying pastries and cut berries, cold air from outside still clinging to him.

He hung his head, his ears burning red, not daring to look at me.

He looked exactly like he did when he confessed to me all those years ago.

Back then, things were so good.

I closed my eyes and burrowed under the blanket, unwilling to look at him anymore.

He didn't disturb me, just quietly kept watch nearby.

Just as I was drifting off to sleep, the door opened and Lia's sickeningly sweet voice drifted in.

"Alpha Kellan, I came to apologize to Luna Isobel.

I was so clumsy yesterday, accidentally hurting Luna Isobel. I've felt terrible about it and came specially to make amends."

I lifted a corner of the blanket, just in time to see her deliberately press close to Kellan.

Her chest was practically pressed against his arm, her fingertips tracing over the buttons of his shirt,

her sweet scent wrapping around his wrist.

"Alpha Kellan, please don't be mad at me anymore, okay? I really know I was wrong."

"Lia." Kellan's voice dropped low. "This isn't a place you should be. Leave."

"Hmm?" She moved even closer, her lips almost touching his ear as she spoke in a breathy whisper,

"Alpha Kellan, your heart is beating so fast. Don't you miss me, even a little?"

I propped myself up to sit, my tone as cold as an ice-covered lake in winter.

"Why don't you two go outside to talk? Or I can leave and give you the space to properly 'make amends'?"

Kellan shoved her away violently. Lia stumbled and fell to the floor, her eyes instantly filling with tears.

"Get out." Kellan's voice was ice-cold, devoid of any warmth.

Lia scrambled to her feet, shot me a vicious glare, then ran out sobbing with her hands over her face.

"Isobel, I..."

"Sorry for interrupting you and your little lover's flirtation." I lay back down, turning my back to him and pulling the blanket up again.

He stood there for a long time without speaking.

He stood there for a long while, saying nothing more. Just then, his phone suddenly started vibrating.

By the fourth ring, he finally answered.

Lia's shrill crying came through the speaker:

"Alpha Kellan, rogues have cornered me at the back entrance. They're going to hurt me. I'm so scared. Please come..."

Kellan hung up in silence, glancing at me with complicated eyes, his tone conflicted:

"Isobel, I need to go out for a bit. I'll be back soon. She's on my territory after allI can't just ignore it."

The door closed softly. I pulled out my IV needle and contacted Tundra Pack's guard unit to pick me up from the hospital.

My knee still throbbed with pain, but that pain had long ceased to matter.

I should have understood long agoKellan's indulgence was never unintentional.

He watched Lia provoke me right in front of him. It wasn't that he didn't know. He just didn't care.

He even secretly hoped I would make a scene, hoped my eyes would only hold him, like they used to.

When Tundra Pack's guard vehicle reached the redwood forest at the edge of the territory, I had them stop.

This was a place we used to visit as children, where he once made me promises.

But I never expected to see them here.

Lia was half-draped over Kellan,

her fingertips tracing along Kellan's belt buckle, their intimate posture painfully obvious.

Kellan's free hand tried to pull her away, but Lia moved faster, sliding her fingers into his palm and interlacing them with his.

He stiffened but didn't shake her off.

I stood frozen in place, my blood seeming to congeal in my veins.

A werewolf's keen hearing let me clearly catch Lia's coquettish whining and Kellan's helpless but indulgent response.

Suddenly, as if sensing my gaze, Lia turned to look at me, a flash of triumph in her eyes.

She leaned close to Kellan's ear and whispered a few words.

Kellan nodded, turned, and headed toward the medical center, saying he needed to get medicine for Lia's injury.

Lia stood there, and once he was far enough away, she slowly walked toward me, a victor's smile on her face.

"Luna Isobel, you've been discharged? Why didn't you have Alpha Kellan take you? Could it be he doesn't care about you anymore?"

I ignored her, my gaze falling on her supposedly sprained ankle.

Just moments ago she'd walked steadily, showing no sign of injury whatsoever.

She shrugged nonchalantly, her smile growing even more smug:

"See? He kept his arm around me the whole way, never let go.

He's an Alphahow could he not tell I was faking? He just wanted to indulge me."

She tilted her head, feigning sympathy: "Though I understand you. After all these years, there's no passion left between you, just the pack alliance and habit, right? You never knew how to please your Alpha."

"Are you finished?" I stopped walking, releasing an icy pressure that instantly made her face pale and forced her to step back instinctively.

"Oh my, getting angry?" She quickly recovered, leaning in with a coquettish laugh.

"You really expect him to stay faithful to you? I admire you, honestlyeven now you can turn a blind eye. You really can endure."

"Lia." I cut her off, my eyes devoid of warmth. "Do you know what's most pathetic about you?"

Her smile froze: "What do you mean?"

"You've schemed and used underhanded tactics to steal someone who doesn't even love you.

Kellan's indulgence toward you isn't love. It's boredom. You're just a tool he uses to test me.

In the end, you're nothing but a pawn."

She suddenly grabbed my wrist violently, her eyes filled with madness and jealousy:

"You're lying! Kellan does love me! Once he divorces you, I'll be Shadowreach Pack's Luna!"

"Let go." I yanked my hand away forcefully, the momentum making her stagger backward.

She was completely enraged, a vicious look flashing in her eyes as she shoved me hard.

Behind me was the steep slope of the redwood forest. The fallen leaves underfoot were slick, and I instantly lost my balance, falling backward down the incline.

Survival instinct made me grab her wrist desperately. The massive momentum dragged both of us tumbling down the slope together.

Mid-tumble, my back slammed hard against a thick redwood trunk. My vision went black for several seconds.

When my consciousness cleared, I looked up to see Kellan rushing down toward us.

Kellan almost instantly shifted into his black wolf form, leaping to our side.

His first action was to grab the unconscious Lia in his jaws and shield her behind him.

Lia woke up and threw herself into his arms, crying hysterically, trembling all over:

"Alpha Kellan, Luna Isobel hates me for stealing you. She tried to push me down the slope to kill me..."

Kellan said nothing, only held her tightly, his eyes falling on me with ice-cold disappointment, anger, and an unprecedented impatience.

"Isobel." His voice was heavy, carrying an Alpha's oppressive force.

"This is a life we're talking about. If you're angry, take it out on me. Don't take it out on a little Omega.

Don't you have any dignity as a Luna?"

I didn't bother to defend myself, bracing against the tree trunk to try to stand.

But a piercing pain shot through my right ankle. I couldn't put any weight on it at all.

Just then, Lia's foot suddenly slipped, and she viciously kicked my ankle.

Searing pain instantly consumed me. I fell to the ground again.

But Kellan only frantically picked up the unsteady Lia and ran toward the forest edge,

as if I were just some irrelevant stranger.

I lay on the icy fallen leaves, my right ankle hurting so badly I'd almost lost all feeling in it, darkness closing in on my vision.

Just as I was about to lose consciousness, several malicious presences closed in. Rogues.

They advanced toward me step by step. I instantly understoodthis wasn't coincidence. Lia had arranged this.

She wanted me dead here.

I tried to shift, but the wound's excruciating pain made it impossible.

Just as their claws were about to reach me, Tundra Pack's patrol arrived in time.

In the chaos, one rogue fired at me. A bullet laced with wolfsbane tore through my right ankle.

The burning sensation of wolfsbane spread through my bloodstream. I let out a pained groan,

and before my consciousness completely blurred, the image that flashed through my mind was of young Kellan taking that blade for me, saying those words:

"Isobel, I'll protect you from now on."

How laughable. The person who once promised to protect me for life had ultimately indulged someone else in pushing me into the abyss.

When I woke, I was lying in Tundra Pack's recovery room.

Kellan was slumped beside the bed, bloodshot eyes and exhausted expression showing he'd kept vigil for a long time.

I moved my fingers slightly. He jolted awake immediately, joy and guilt flooding his eyes, his voice hoarse:

"Isobel, you're finally awake. I'm sorry. This is all my fault.

I shouldn't have suspected you, shouldn't have indulged Lia, shouldn't have let you suffer so much."

He reached toward my face, his hand hovering in midair before pulling back.

Finally, he pressed my hand against his cheek, warm tears dripping onto the back of my hand.

"Once you've recovered, I'll never see Lia again. I'll spend my whole life making it up to you, okay?"

I moved my fingers, instinctively wanting to touch my right ankle.

But that area sent piercing pain and a heavy sense of restraint.

"My anklewhat happened to it?" My voice was terribly hoarse.

The hospital room fell instantly silent. Kellan took a deep breath, his voice rough as he spoke:

"Isobel, the bullet tore through your ankle bone. The wolfsbane has penetrated deep.

We used every method available and saved your foot, but..."

He paused, his voice full of heartache:

"But the wolfsbane caused irreversible damage. You might never be able to shift again."

My mind went completely blank, as if all the blood in my body had frozen.

I am the only daughter of Tundra Pack's Alpha, the most gifted hunter in the pack,

the only female warrior in North American werewolf circles who could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Kellan.

Running, hunting, fightingthese instincts were carved into my bones, the pride of being Tundra Pack's heir.

But now, all of it had been completely destroyed.

Wave after wave of tearing pain struck my chest, making it almost impossible to breathe.

I clutched the bedsheet beneath me so hard my knuckles turned white, my nails digging deep into my palms.

I looked at Kellan like he was a complete stranger.

"Those rogues," my tone was flat, devoid of any ripple, "Lia hired them, didn't she?"

Kellan's eyes immediately shifted away. His Adam's apple bobbed as he rushed to explain:

"I've already investigated thoroughly. Those rogues have nothing to do with Lia.

Your ankle was truly just an accident, Isobel. Please don't overthink this..."

"An accident? At my last checkup, Shadowreach Pack's physician said my body was the healthiest and strongest in the entire pack.

Even if I were poisoned with wolfsbane, it shouldn't have caused consequences as severe as losing my ability to shift."

I stared hard into his eyes. "Kellan, what exactly are you hiding from me?"

The air in the hospital room completely froze. He opened his mouth but couldn't utter a single word.

Just then, his phone vibrated. Lia's name flashed on the screen.

I clearly saw him breathe a sigh of relief, as if he'd found an excuse to escape.

He stood up, his tone conflicted: "Isobel, I need to handle something. I'll be right back."

I stared at the ceiling until the door opened again.

Lia walked in, a victor's smile on her face, holding a document. She walked to my bedside.

"Isobel, how are you feeling? Your right ankle is ruined, you can never shift againthat must feel terrible, doesn't it?"

I snapped my eyes open, my gaze full of murderous intent.

"Ah, don't look at me like that." She covered her mouth in mock surprise, tossing the document onto my bed.

"Kellan didn't tell you, did he? I hired those rogues.

I originally wanted them to kill you outright, but I didn't expect your guards to arrive so quickly."

She leaned down, bringing her mouth close to my ear, her voice dropping extremely low.

"And alsothe reason you can't shift is entirely Kellan's doing.

He knew perfectly well there were ways to remove the wolfsbane, but he signed off on conservative treatment. Do you know why?"