After My Mate Marked the Rogue, I Rejected Him

The Black River Pack house looked exactly as I remembered it—stone and timber rising against the night sky, warm lights glowing in the windows. I'd been gone for two years leading allied pack training across Europe, and every day I'd thought about coming home to this. To him.

I adjusted the tactical vest still strapped across my chest, feeling the weight of the rare dagger I'd forged for Caleb tucked against my ribs. My wolf stirred inside me, eager after the long flight. We were finally home.

The front entrance was unlocked. I slipped inside, boots silent on the hardwood floors. Tomorrow was Caleb's birthday ceremony, but tonight—tonight was just for us. I wanted to see his face when he realized I'd come back early, that I was done with the front lines. Done with the fighting. Ready to finally be his Luna.

As I climbed the stairs toward the Alpha suite, something made me pause.

A scent.

Herbal. Cloying. Like someone had dumped an entire garden into a pot and let it rot. It was intentional, that much I could tell—designed to mask something underneath. And woven through it, unmistakable, was Caleb's cedar and smoke.

My hand found the locket at my throat, the one with my parents' photo inside. The metal was warm against my palm.

I pushed open the door.

The scene before me didn't make sense at first. My brain couldn't process it. Caleb—my Caleb—tangled with a woman in plain linen robes, her hair loose around her shoulders. They broke apart at the sound of the door, and she turned to look at me with wide, startled eyes.

Then she cowered.

Actually cowered, pressing herself against Caleb's chest like I was some kind of monster.

"Elena." Caleb's voice was flat. Not surprised. Not guilty. Just... flat. "You're early."

I couldn't speak. The dagger felt like it weighed a thousand pounds.

"You're frightening her," he said, and his arm tightened around the woman. Protective. "Your aura—you need to control it."

The woman whimpered, and I realized my Alpha blood was surging, responding to the betrayal my mind hadn't caught up to yet. My wolf snarled inside me, confused and hurt.

"Who is she?" The words came out quieter than I intended.

"This is Oaklynn," Caleb said. "She's been helping me while you were gone."

Helping him. The phrase hung in the air between us, obscene in its inadequacy.

I turned and walked out. I didn't run. I didn't cry. I just walked, because that's what warriors do. We hold the line even when everything inside us is screaming.

***

The next morning, I stood at the edge of the pack grounds in a dress I'd bought in Paris, watching pack members and visiting dignitaries gather for Caleb's birthday ceremony. The sun was too bright. Everything was too bright.

When Caleb took his place at the center of the gathering, I moved to stand beside him. It was my right. My place. Ten years we'd been together. Ten