From Betrayal to Lycan Mate

The crisp autumn air filled my lungs as I patrolled the border between Silver Moon and Morrison territories. My wolf, Lyra, was restless beneath my skin, sensing my unease. We'd been tracking the same path for hours, but I wasn't ready to return home. Not yet. Not while my thoughts were consumed by whispers and rumors that had reached my ears over the past weeks.

I paused at the ridge overlooking the Morrison Pack house, its stone walls gleaming in the afternoon sun. My enhanced senses picked up the usual sounds and scents of pack life—until something different caught my attention. A scent that shouldn't be there.

Lyra whimpered inside me as the wind shifted, carrying with it the unmistakable mingled scents of Gabriel Morrison and Stella Brooks. My destined mate and the rogue wolf I had once saved from certain death.

*No. It can't be.*

But there was no mistaking it. Their scents were intertwined, emanating from the private quarters of the Morrison Pack house. The implications were clear, and each breath I took felt like swallowing broken glass.

"*He wouldn't dare,*" Lyra growled within me, her silver form pacing restlessly in my mind.

"We need to know for sure," I whispered, my voice steady despite the trembling in my chest.

I straightened my silver leather armor—the mark of my position as the Alpha's daughter and future Luna—and made my way down the ridge toward the Morrison Pack house. With each step, the mingled scents grew stronger, more intimate. By the time I reached the guards at the entrance, my composure was a brittle mask over a storm of emotions.

"I'm here to see Gabriel," I announced, my voice carrying the authority I'd been raised to project.

The guards exchanged glances but didn't dare refuse me. One nodded and led me through the familiar corridors toward Gabriel's private chambers. The scent was overwhelming now, confirming what I had desperately hoped was just paranoia.

Outside his door, I dismissed the guard with a curt nod. I needed no witnesses for what was to come. Taking a deep breath, I knocked once and entered without waiting for permission.

Gabriel stood by the window, his broad shoulders tensing at my arrival. He turned slowly, and I caught the flash of guilt in his eyes before he masked it with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"Isabella, I wasn't expecting you today," he said, his voice attempting warmth but falling short.

My gaze swept the room, noting the rumpled bedsheets and the lingering scent of Stella that permeated every corner. There was no denying it now.

"Clearly," I replied, my voice cool and controlled despite the fire raging inside me. "You've been busy with... other matters."

He had the decency to look away, his hand rubbing the back of his neck—the nervous tic that always betrayed his discomfort.

"Isabella, it's not what you think—"

"It's exactly what I think," I cut him off, standing tall in my silver armor, my back straight