Betrayal Shatters Alpha's Realm

The dining hall buzzed with warmth and laughter as pack members gathered around the long oak table, celebrating my pup's three-month milestone. Candles flickered against the stone walls, casting dancing shadows that should have felt cozy but instead seemed to mock the hollow ache in my chest. I moved between the kitchen and dining area, serving platters of roasted venison and fresh bread, my hands steady despite the exhaustion that had plagued me since childbirth.

"Look at those little fingers," Beta Marcus's mate cooed, leaning over the bassinet where my son slept peacefully. "He's going to be strong like his father."

Alexander sat at the head of the table, his Alpha presence commanding attention as usual. Savanna occupied the seat to his right—a position that should have been mine as Luna, but I'd grown used to serving rather than sitting. She wore a pristine white dress that emphasized her glowing skin and perfectly styled blonde hair, a stark contrast to my simple gray tunic that hung loose on my still-recovering frame.

"The nose is definitely Alexander's," Elder Catherine observed, her weathered hands clasped in front of her. "But those eyes... they're quite unique."

I set down a bowl of honey-glazed carrots, my wolf stirring uneasily within me. Something felt wrong, though I couldn't name it. The scents in the room seemed off, layered with an undercurrent that made my stomach clench.

Savanna laughed, a melodic sound that drew every male gaze. "Oh, I remember when Alexander first shifted in front of me during training. Those silver markings across his chest were so distinctive—like lightning strikes against storm clouds."

My hands froze on the serving spoon. Silver markings. Alexander had never shifted in front of me, not completely. He claimed it was too intense for our mate bond, that the transformation overwhelmed him when I was near. But Savanna knew about the markings on his chest?

"And that scent," she continued, her voice taking on a dreamy quality that made my blood run cold. "Pine and cedar, so strong during transformation. It's intoxicating, really."

The room seemed to tilt. Pine and cedar. I knew that scent intimately—it was how Alexander smelled when his wolf was close to the surface, when we were most connected through our bond. But how did Savanna know? How could she describe details that only a mate would witness?

My wolf began to whimper, a sound of pure anguish that echoed through my mind. The serving spoon clattered to the floor as understanding crashed over me like ice water. The lingering scents I'd noticed around our home. The way Alexander's eyes sometimes seemed distant when he looked at me. The reason Savanna always seemed to know things about pack business before I did.

"Helena?" Alexander's voice seemed to come from far away. "Are you alright?"

I stared at Savanna, who was still smiling serenely, completely unaware of the devastation her casual words had caused. She knew my mate's body. She knew his scent during transformation. She knew