Mate and Best Friend’s Betrayal

I stood alone in the center of the ballroom, still wearing my anniversary gown.

Each whispered word was another cut, another reminder of how completely and publicly I'd been humiliated.

But I was the Alpha King's daughter. I'd been raised for moments like this, trained to maintain composure under any circumstances.

I summoned the Gamma to soothed the guests' concerns, and explained the situation as diplomatically as possible.

When I had finally seen off all the guests and was exhausted both physically and mentally, pack members who knew Amber were whispering behind my back.

"Wasn't Amber Luna Raven's close friend? Back then, she was just Luna's Omega servant. Luna treated her so well, like a real friend."

"Friend? How could the Alpha King's daughter truly befriend an Omega servant? Impossible..."

"Poor Amber, an Omega struggling to raise the Alpha's pup all by herself."

"Do you think the Alpha's true love might actually be Amber? Did you see how gentle he was with Amber and the child just now?"

"I think it's possible. I once saw Amber and Alexander kissing each other in the back hill of our training camp. Amber even cried."

"Could it be that Luna was actually the mistress, using her power to force Amber away?"

"Given her identity and personality，I think it's very possible."

"What are you saying?" I couldn't tolerate it any longer and cut them off coldly. "As pack warriors, you should remember your duties. If I hear you gossiping about your Luna and Alpha in private again, I'll exile you directly."

"I don't need to rely on bonding with Alexander to become Luna. I am an Alpha wolf myself." I released my Alpha aura as I spoke.

They left right away, but the words of Pack members brought back distant memories.

Amber. An Omega. She had once been a servant in my father's mansion, responsible for the training camp's equipment storage. She was intelligent and quiet. She didn't fear higher-ranking wolves, and could even use her intelligence to complete solo hunts – something other Omegas could never achieve. Because of this, I admired, respected, and trusted her. I even allowed her free access to certain areas of the training camp.

I often mentioned her in front of Alexander.

At first, he seemed somewhat disapproving. Later, he gradually became curious about Amber too.

But around me, they always maintained a safe distance. Except for one time.

In the back mountains of the training camp, I came across them embracing. Amber's cheeks were flushed and her hair was disheveled.

After noticing my approach, they quickly separated. Alexander explained that Amber had twisted her ankle and he was just helping to support her.

After that, I frequently caught Amber's scent on Alexander. But out of trust for my partner and friend, I never thought much of it.

Now I understood everything.

So there had been signs all along. My mate and my most trusted friend had betrayed my trust.

I sat in the car for a long time before finally driving toward the safe house Alexander and I shared. It was a mating gift from my father. Every blade of grass, every piece of furniture and decoration had been personally selected and designed by me.

More importantly, my daughter Ella was still at home. I didn't want adult problems to affect her.

From a distance, I could see the villa blazing with lights.

As I pushed open the door, I heard the boy's crude, malicious laughter mixed with the weak whimpers of our pet dog.

My heart sank. Alexander had already brought Amber and her son home. Thinking of Connor's rudeness, I became even more afraid that he would hurt my daughter, so I walked into the house faster.

I froze as I heard a man and woman's voices.

"Alexander, your daughter lives in a room as luxurious as a palace, yet you want to drive away your son?"

"That's not what I meant..."

"He's your son! Haven't we suffered enough all these years? Back then, you sent pregnant me to the southern territories to pursue Raven, leaving an Omega to live alone. I barely managed to raise the child, and now you have the heart to let us wander the streets?"

After a long pause, I heard the man sigh.

"Fine, for now you and the child can stay at my parents' place in the elder district. I'll let him pick a room here and have it decorated according to his preferences. Once I explain everything to Raven, I'll bring you both back. Raven is kind-hearted. She'll definitely accept you both. Just give me some time."

Connor was jumping around in the room, his mud-caked boots trampling on expensive custom carpets, his dirty hands leaving stains on walls and furniture. He carelessly threw himself into Alexander's arms, acting spoiled: "Daddy! This dump is huge! So much better than the doghouse me and mama lived in! I want the biggest room."

Alexander looked pained, but when he looked up, his eyes met mine.

"Raven... when did you get back?"

Connor in his arms whipped around, eyes venomous as he spat at me: "Get out! You stinking bitch! This is me and my parents' home! Mama says this will all be mine someday. Get out of my house!"

His snarling expression twisted that face so similar to Alexander's.

Alexander scolded: "Mind your manners. Amber, is this how you've been raising the child?"

Amber's eyes welled with tears.

"I'm sorry. Connor has lacked father's love for so long, suffered with me, and no one taught him proper behavior... It's my fault for being useless..."

Hearing this, Alexander turned to me and said, "Raven, just let it go. Don't argue with a child. The carpets and walls he damaged don't matter to you. We can just replace them." Amber's affected sobbing reached my ears.

I pulled at the corner of my mouth. My mate of five years was actually asking me to yield to his bastard child.

"Amber, this isn't lack of father's love. This is lack of proper upbringing." I didn't care how ugly their expressions became after I said this. Since entering the house, I hadn't seen my daughter anywhere. I walked directly toward Ella's room.

Connor suddenly blocked my path with considerable force. Alexander stood behind him, seeming to support the boy's defiance.

"Daddy said I could pick whichever room I like. This room is the biggest and best, so I'm living here! You can't go in!"

Amber pretended to intervene: "Connor, be good."

Seeing their coordinated behavior, I grew increasingly worried about my daughter's situation. Ignoring Alexander's attempts to stop me, I forcefully pushed past them and burst into Ella's room.

The scene that greeted me stopped my heart completely.

The husky Peter lay motionless in a pool of blood, his white fur stained crimson. Multiple deep lacerations covered his small body, and his breathing was so shallow it was barely detectable. His usually bright eyes were dim and unfocused, filled with pain and confusion.

Four-year-old Ella was huddled in the corner like a broken doll, her tiny body trembling with fear. A clear handprint marked her small face - red, swollen, and undeniably from a hand much larger than her own.

The mark stood out starkly against her pale skin, and I could see finger impressions bruising along her delicate cheek.

She was crying, but no sound came out. Just silent tears streaming down her face as she stared at me with eyes full of terror and pain.

"No..." The word escaped my lips as barely a whisper. "No, no, no..."

The shock hit me like a physical blow, stealing my breath and making my vision blur. This was my baby, my innocent little girl who had never hurt anyone in her short life. And Peter - sweet, gentle Peter who had been Ella's constant companion since the day she was born.

"Ella?" My voice cracked as I called her name. "Baby, what happened? How did this happen?"

The moment she saw me, Ella rushed over like a startled animal, clinging tightly to my legs. Her small finger pointed at Connor, her voice trembling and broken: "Mommy... he... he hurt Peter... it hurt so much... Peter cried... he laughed... he hit me too... my face hurts..." Her little body shook violently.

I crouched down, carefully lifting Ella and pressing her tear-stained face against my shoulder. Only then did she finally let go completely, her silent sobs becoming heart-wrenching wails that echoed through the room.

The sound of my daughter's anguish broke something fundamental inside me. No mother could hear their child cry like that and remain unmoved.

How dare he? How dare this vicious little monster hurt my daughter and torture an innocent animal? And how dare Alexander stand by and let it happen? He was supposed to be here, supposed to be protecting our family, and instead he had allowed this... this savage child to run wild in our home.

My grief transformed into fury so intense it felt like fire in my veins.

My icy gaze swept past Connor and Amber at the doorway before fixing on Alexander's pale face.

Amber shrieked first: "Impossible! Connor is just a child! How could he..."

But Connor lifted his chin, his eyes fierce and proud: "Serves them right! Who told that stupid dog to bark at me! The little brat dared to glare at me too!"

The color drained completely from Alexander's face. He looked at Connor, his voice strained: "Connor... you..."

"So what if I did!" Connor stuck out his neck defiantly, showing no remorse. "That dog deserved to die! That little brat deserved to be hit! Everything here will be mine someday! They all need to get out!"

Hearing Ella's heartbroken sobs, Alexander's expression flickered with what looked like genuine concern. His Alpha instincts seemed to kick in at the sound of his daughter's distress, and he took several steps toward us, his arms reaching out as if to embrace both Ella and me.

For a split second, I thought he might actually choose us.

But then his gaze fell on Amber and Connor standing in the doorway. Connor's defiant expression had shifted to something more vulnerable, more childlike, as he seemed to sense the tension in the room.

He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, his gaze toward me was filled with complex pleading: "Raven... he... after all, he grew up without a father, lacking discipline... his mind isn't mature... he doesn't understand..."

"We can get another dog," he continued, as if Peter's life meant nothing. "A better one, maybe. As for Ella's injuries, they're not that serious. Children heal quickly. What's important is that we show Connor what a real family looks like, teach him how to behave properly."

Hearing his words, I felt the last vestiges of love I'd held for this man crumble to dust.

"Doesn't understand?" I interrupted him, my arms tightening around Ella. My daughter continued sobbing in my embrace. I looked at Alexander, at this mate I'd been with for ten years, at his face as he still made excuses for his bastard son after his own daughter and mate had been so brutally hurt.

"Alexander," my voice was unnaturally calm, cutting through Ella's sobs and Amber's protests, "let's dissolve our mate bond."

Alexander froze completely, his face going through a series of expressions—shock, denial, then something that looked almost like fear.

“Raven, I know Ella getting hurt has upset you, but Connor is just a child too. Ella has had everything from the moment she was born - love, security, comfort, education. Connor has had none of that. Surely it wouldn't hurt for Ella to... accommodate him a little?” As he spoke, he began moving toward Ella again.

But I simply stepped back, holding Ella protectively against my chest.

My wolf instincts were screaming at me not to let him near our pup. Not when he had allowed the very person who hurt her to remain in our home.

Sensing my displeasure and the protective stance I had taken, he stopped in his tracks.

His voice turned gentle, the tone he used when trying to manipulate me into compliance.

"Raven, I know you're joking. You don't really mean what you said about rejecting me."

His confidence was astounding. Even now, even after everything, he thought this was just female hysteria.

"I'm sorry, Raven, but he's still just a child. Without a father to guide him all these years, please understand."

He ran his hands through his hair, looking genuinely distressed.

"I'll settle them at my parents' place first. Just give me time to sort this out. Wait for me to come back."

"A child?" I looked at him incredulously.

"A 'child' who tortures animals to death, beats a four-year-old girl, and spews filthy language like a sailor?"

My voice rose with each word. "Ella is only four years old, Alexander. Four. She still believes in fairy tales and thinks monsters only exist in stories. But your 'child' is six—old enough to know right from wrong."

Yet here we were. My daughter and I were expected to endure the humiliation and harm brought by this bastard child who had suddenly appeared in our lives.

And even "understand" his father's favoritism.

Absolutely ridiculous.

“Raven, I'm an Alpha. I need a male heir, and Connor must stay in Stormfang Pack.”

Alexander's eyes subconsciously kept drifting towards Amber and her son, as if he was thinking about how to convince me to accept them.

My thoughts drifted uncontrollably to the past, to better times when I thought I knew who this man was.

During training camp, his pursuit of me had been bold and public. Every morning he would find excuses to train near me. Every evening he would walk me back to the dormitories.

The entire pack knew about his feelings. They called us the "golden couple"—the Alpha King's daughter and the promising young Alpha.

At the training camp graduation ceremony, in front of all the pack members and Alpha Council elders, he had made the grandest gesture of all.

He pinned the silver moon badge symbolizing Stormfang Pack inheritance to my collar with shaking hands.

"Raven," he had said, his voice carrying across the silent ceremonial grounds. "You are my only Luna, my only future mate. If you'll have me."

The crowd had erupted in cheers. I had been so happy, so sure of my future.

Five years ago, when we finally mated, he filled the entire Stormfang Pack territory with my favorite Julia roses.

Thousands upon thousands of them, their scent perfuming the air for miles. The cost must have been astronomical, but he said I was worth it.

He set off fireworks across the northern territory sky that night, visible from three different pack territories.

It was the most magnificent mating ceremony anyone had ever seen.

The night Ella was born, he kept vigil outside the birthing room for twelve long hours.

I remember the sounds of his pacing, his worried questions to the healers, his refusal to eat or rest.

When our pup's first cry finally rang out, he rushed in like a man possessed.

Without even looking at the child, he first gripped my hand tightly.

He kissed my sweat-dampened forehead, his own eyes wet with tears.

"Raven, you've worked so hard. You're the strongest Luna I've ever known."

Only then did he turn to Ella. When he held her for the first time, his eyes were as gentle as melting snow.

"I'm going to give you the best of everything in the world, little one," he had whispered to her.

Just yesterday evening, during a break from celebration preparations, he had embraced me from behind.

His chin resting on top of my head, warm breath brushing my ear as he spoke.

"Raven, completing our five-year ceremony with you tomorrow is the greatest honor of my life."

His arms had tightened around me.

"Ella will become the happiest little wolf pup in all the territories. Our family of three..."

His words had carried such longing, such unshakeable certainty about our future.

I had felt so safe in his arms. So sure that we were unbreakable.

But now his pleading was asking me to understand, to endure, to tolerate this mother and child for his sake.

Connor's demanding voice suddenly cut through my painful memories.

"Daddy! I'm hungry!" he whined, tugging on Alexander's sleeve with sticky fingers. "Take me to get grilled venison! I want to go to that fancy restaurant! And I want Mama to come too!"

Amber immediately seized the opportunity, her voice trembling with practiced vulnerability. "Alexander, from the moment Connor was born, we've never been able to afford fine dining," she said, her eyes filling with fresh tears. "Being a single Omega, raising a child alone... it's been so incredibly difficult. We've lived on scraps and leftovers for years."

Alexander's expression grew conflicted. His gaze moved between my tear-stained face and Ella's injured form, then shifted to Connor's expectant expression and Amber's wounded vulnerability.

"Raven," he said finally, not quite meeting my eyes. “Can we discuss everything when I get back? I promise we'll work this out.”

Before I could say anything more, Alexander had already made his choice.

He gathered Connor and Amber, speaking to them in low, soothing tones.

I watched from the window as they walked to his car together.

They looked exactly like a family of three.

Connor skipped between his parents, chattering excitedly about something. Amber's hand rested possessively on Alexander's arm.

"Goodbye, mean lady!" Connor called over his shoulder with a smirk. "Thanks for letting Daddy come with his real family!"

Amber shot me a triumphant look before quickly masking it with false sympathy.

"Take care of Ella's injuries," she said sweetly. "I'm sure she'll heal quickly."

And then they were gone.

I stood there holding my sobbing daughter, listening to the sound of their car pulling away, and felt something inside me die completely.

This useless mate, this failure of a father - we didn't need him anymore.