After My Alpha Chose His Mistress Over Me

The scent of lavender and expensive champagne hit me the moment I stepped through the heavy oak doors of the Silver Moon Pack house. Streamers in obnoxiously bright pink draped from the chandeliers, and servants scurried back and forth carrying trays of hors d'oeuvres. It was chaos. It was loud. It was exactly the kind of spectacle Jonas hated—unless, of course, it was for Lacey.

I set my suitcase down by the stairs, my shoulders aching from the three-hour drive back from the border negotiations. As the Luna, I had spent the last week smoothing over trade agreements with the neighboring pack, a job Jonas found “too tedious” for an Alpha. I expected a greeting, perhaps a nod of acknowledgment. Instead, I got silence.

No one looked at me. In fact, the Omegas seemed to be actively avoiding my gaze, their heads bowed low, shoulders tense.

"Welcome home, Luna Hannah," a small voice squeaked. It was Maya, a young Omega who usually tended to the gardens. She was wringing her hands, her eyes red-rimmed.

"Thank you, Maya," I said, offering a tired smile. "Is Alpha Jonas in his office?"

Maya flinched. Actually flinched. "He... he is busy, Luna. With Miss Lacey. For her birthday preparations."

I sighed, the familiar weight of disappointment settling in my chest. "Right. Of course." I didn't have the energy to fight for my husband's attention today. All I wanted was to change out of these stiff business clothes and go see the one creature in this house who actually liked me.

I headed straight for the sunroom at the back of the house. It was my sanctuary, the only place Lacey’s cloying perfume hadn’t invaded. My steps quickened as I approached the glass enclosure in the corner.

"Barnaby?" I called out softly. "I brought you some strawberries. The organic ones you like."

Silence answered me.

The enclosure was open. The heat lamp was off. My heart gave a strange, violent thud against my ribs. I moved closer, peering over the edge. The sand was disturbed, churned up in a chaotic mess. And there, near the water dish, was a smear of dark, metallic red.

Blood.

My breath hitched. "Maya!" I screamed, my voice cracking. "Maya!"

The young Omega appeared in the doorway seconds later, shaking like a leaf. "Luna, I... I tried to stop them..."

"Where is he?" My hands gripped the edge of the glass tank so hard my knuckles turned white. "Where is Barnaby? Did a fox get in? Did—"

"It wasn't a fox," Maya whispered, tears spilling over her cheeks. "Miss Lacey... she was in here this morning. She told the Alpha she admired the pattern on his shell. She said it would make such a lovely centerpiece for her party."

The world stopped. The air left the room.

"What did you say?" My voice was barely a whisper, but it carried a vibration that made the glass rattle.

"Alpha Jonas took him," Maya sobbed. "Hours ago."

I didn't run. Running was