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Chapter 3

I spent the morning organizing my evidence in Ryan's private office, arranging everything with methodical precision. The patrol logs with their glaring inconsistencies. The time-stamped photos from the cabin. The sealed collection bags containing Madison's scent samples. Each item represented another crack in what I'd once believed was sacred—our mate bond.

My hand rested protectively over my stomach as I waited. Six weeks. Our child was just six weeks along, already feeling my turmoil through our connection. The thought strengthened my resolve.

*We deserve better than this*, my wolf whispered. For once, I agreed with her completely.

The door swung open, and Ryan strode in with his usual Alpha confidence. He paused when he saw me sitting behind his desk, his expression shifting from surprise to irritation.

"Victoria? What are you doing in here?" His voice held that edge of authority he used when something displeased him.

"We need to talk." I gestured to the chair across from me, reversing our usual positions. "Please, sit."

His eyebrows rose at my tone, but he complied, dropping into the chair with casual grace. "This better be important. I have a territory meeting in twenty minutes."

"It is." I slid the patrol logs across the desk. "You filed these reports stating you were conducting border patrols on the north ridge last Tuesday and Thursday nights."

He glanced at them dismissively. "Yes, and?"

I placed the time-stamped photos next to the logs. "These were taken at the same time. At a cabin fifteen miles south of the border."

Ryan's expression didn't change, but I caught the slight tensing of his shoulders. He leaned back, crossing his arms. "You're mistaken. Those timestamps must be wrong."

"I'm not mistaken." My voice remained steady as I laid out the scent samples. "These are from your shirts. Three different days. All carrying the same scent—Madison's scent."

Ryan's eyes narrowed, but his posture remained relaxed, almost bored. He examined his fingernails as if we were discussing something as trivial as the weather. "You're being delusional, Victoria."

The casual dismissal stung worse than anger would have. He didn't even consider me worth the effort of a convincing lie.

"I saw you with her," I pressed on, pushing the photos closer. "At the cabin. I heard what you said to her."

"And what exactly did you hear?" His tone was condescending now, as if humoring a child.

"That you could never be happy without her." The words burned my throat. "That I was never enough."

Ryan sighed, flicking his hand dismissively. "You're overreacting to something you clearly misunderstood."

The casual way he invalidated everything—the evidence, my pain, our bond—ignited something fierce within me. I stood, placing both hands on the desk.

"I understand perfectly. You've been betraying our mate bond. Betraying me. Betraying our pack."

Something dangerous flashed in his eyes. He leaned forward, and the full force of his Alpha aura crashed over me like a physical wave.

"STOP THIS NONSENSE," he commanded, his Alpha tone reverberating through the room, "OR FACE THE CONSEQUENCES."

My knees trembled violently. The weight of his command pressed down on me, trying to force submission. For three years, I had yielded to that voice, believing it was my duty as his Luna.

Not today.

My wolf surged forward, lending me her strength. I straightened my spine and met his gaze, refusing to bow.

"No," I said simply.

Shock registered on his face. "No?"

"No," I repeated, stronger this time. "I won't stop. I won't pretend anymore."

Ryan's expression shifted, calculation replacing anger. He relaxed back into his chair, a strange smile playing at his lips.

"Fine. You want the truth? Yes, I've been seeing Madison. I'm in love with her. I always have been."

The casual admission knocked the breath from my lungs. Despite all the evidence, despite what I'd seen with my own eyes, some part of me had still hoped for denial, for some explanation that would make this all a terrible misunderstanding.

Instead, he offered the truth with cruel indifference.

My wolf howled in anguish, the sound echoing through my mind as something final and irrevocable shifted within me. I felt the mate bond—already weak and strained—begin to tear.

"You know what?" I said, my voice low and steady as my eyes began to glow with silver light. "I don't need you."

Ryan's smirk faltered.

"I, Victoria Hayes," I continued, each word gaining strength and purpose, "reject you, Alpha Ryan Sterling, as my mate."

The words hung in the air between us, heavy with power and finality. Ryan's face drained of color as the first tremors of the rejection rippled through the bond we'd shared for three years.

And in that moment, as pain and freedom warred within me, I knew nothing would ever be the same again.

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