Bound by Betrayal, Claimed by the Alpha

Selena's POV

I always thought the stories lied, You know, the tales mothers tell their pups about the mate bond.

That warm feeling, that pull in your chest, that certainty that your mate is the one person who will never hurt you.

I believed all of it and then the bond snapped.

It didn't shatter like glass or explode like fire, nothing poetic like that, It simply... tore.

A sudden, sharp ripping sensation right behind my ribs, like someone reached inside me and yanked my heart out with their bare hands after squeezing it. Pain went straight through my chest and down my stomach, so fast and so deep I actually gasped out loud.

My knees buckled and I caught the wall with shaking hands because I honestly thought I might pass out. My wolf let out a sound inside me that didn't feel like a howl, it felt like a cry. A wounded, small, broken cry, and then she disappeared.

Not fully... but she pulled away from me, curled into a dark corner where I couldn't reach her.

I knew what had happened, I didn't want to believe it, but I knew. Still, my legs moved on their own.

I walked toward Kael's door with this horrible, sick feeling spreading through my entire body.

I shouldn't have opened it, moon, I wish I didn't open it. But I did and I saw them.

Kael...

My mate, my first love, the boy I grew up with, the man I was supposed to spend the rest of my life with and my sister.

Lyria.

They didn't hear me at first. They were... busy. Her body draped over his, their legs tangled in his sheets, the room thick with a smell I recognized too well.

It was like the world narrowed to a small, suffocating point. My hand tightened around the doorframe. My mouth went dry.

And then Lyria saw me, Her face changed, not to guilt or fear but this... slow, smug smile.

Like she'd been waiting for me to see it, like she wanted me to.

Kael turned next. His eyes went wide, and he froze completely, like a child caught stealing something he knew he shouldn't touch.

"Selena - shit, wait..." he stammered.

My chest tightened so painfully I almost doubled over.

"Don't," I whispered. My voice barely worked.

Kael pushed Lyria's hands away and stood halfway, like he wanted to come to me. "I'm sorry, I can explain..."

"You can't," I cut in. "You really can't."

My voice cracked on the last word.

Lyria tilted her head, watching me the way someone watches a show they don't care about but find mildly entertaining. "You weren't supposed to come here tonight," she said lightly. "But I guess this works too."

I blinked at her, stunned speechless for a moment.

Then something sharp inside me snapped.

Not the bond or that was already gone, it was something else, something that kept me soft.

"How long?" I asked Kael quietly. My