After My Mate Betrayed Me, I Revealed The Truth

The first sensation I felt was pain - not sharp and stabbing like I remembered from that night, but a deep, hollow ache that seemed to reach into my bones. My eyelids felt impossibly heavy as I struggled to open them against the harsh fluorescent lights of what I assumed was the pack infirmary.

'Athena?' I called silently to my wolf, feeling her familiar presence surge forward with a mixture of relief and burning rage.

'We're finally awake, Victoria,' she growled low in my mind. 'After ten years of watching his betrayal, unable to act...'

The door burst open before I could respond. Marcus Sterling, my supposed fated mate and Alpha of the Silvermoon Pack, rushed to my bedside. His familiar scent - pine and winter frost - hit me with nauseating force. I forced my face to remain blank, channeling all my hatred into my internal bond with Athena.

'Victoria, my love!' His voice cracked with what seemed like genuine emotion as he grabbed my hand. 'You're finally awake. I've waited so long...'

I stared at him blankly, my heart pounding while I maintained my carefully crafted mask of confusion. 'Where... who...' I whispered hoarsely, watching satisfaction flash in his dark eyes at my apparent memory loss.

'I'm Marcus, your mate,' he said softly, squeezing my hand. 'You've been in a coma for ten years after a rogue attack. But you're safe now, and as soon as you're strong enough, we'll complete our marking ceremony.'

Athena snarled in my mind. We both remembered the truth - his whispered plans with Isabella, the 'accident' he'd arranged, thinking we'd never wake up to expose him. But he didn't know that my wolf had remained conscious through it all, witnessing every visit where he'd played the grieving mate while sneaking off to his lover's bed.

'Rest now,' he murmured, pressing a kiss to my forehead that made my skin crawl. 'I'll make all the arrangements. Soon you'll be my Luna in truth, not just in name.'

After he left, I waited until I was sure no one was watching before attempting to move my legs. Ten years of inactivity had left my muscles weak, but not as atrophied as they should have been - the pack healers must have used their magic to prevent complete deterioration.

'We need to build our strength quickly,' Athena urged as I gripped the bed rail, forcing myself to stand. 'The marking ceremony will bind us to him forever if we don't escape first.'

My legs trembled as I took my first steps, but determination drove me forward. Each night when the infirmary was quiet, I practiced walking, rebuilding my strength while planning our escape. During one of these secret sessions, I pulled out the secure comm device I'd managed to hide in my hospital gown.

With shaking fingers, I typed out a message to Nathan Hayes, the legendary Lycan enforcer: 'Urgent assistance needed. Moonstone Pack heir in danger. Complete discretion required.'

His response came almost instantly: