My Baby Was Killed By My Mate's Lover

I'm Melody Rhodes, and my world shattered when my four-year-old pup, my sweet boy, was crushed under the wheels of a car.

At his burial, I knelt by his tiny grave, my heart in pieces, tears soaking the earth. That's when Zoe Meadows, the she-wolf responsible, had the nerve to show up. She didn't just stand there-she defiled his memory, splashing silver liquid and dumping filth on his tombstone.

"I'm just making sure your pup's restless spirit moves on," she sneered, her voice dripping with venom.

I was shaking with rage, my whole body vibrating with it. The next day, I dragged her to court. I'm a lawyer, five years in the game, never lost a case. I wasn't about to start now.

But the whispers in the courtroom said Zoe had a powerful wolf backing her, someone untouchable. I didn't care. I had evidence-solid, undeniable proof. Justice was supposed to be blind.

Except it wasn't. Zoe walked free, smirking, while I-me-was slapped with the unthinkable: accused of murdering my own pup. And the wolf who sealed my fate? Ethan Sterling, my mate, the judge I'd been bound to for five years.

They called us the perfect pack-a lawyer who never lost and a judge who embodied justice. We were the fairy-tale couple, bound in a sacred ceremony that everyone envied. But as I stared into Ethan's cold, unflinching eyes from the defendant's stand, it hit me like a freight train: he was Zoe's powerful wolf.

Three years in prison broke me-body and soul. The pain was relentless, but worse was the question gnawing at me: Why? I needed answers.

The day I walked free, I trekked hours on foot to the preschool where my pup's life was stolen. What I saw there froze the blood in my veins. Ethan, leaning against his car, smoking, while Zoe-radiant, sultry Zoe-strolled toward him, hand-in-hand with a little pup.

"Daddy!" the boy called out, his voice bright and piercing.

Ethan tossed his cigarette, scooped the pup up with one arm, and grinned. "Noah, you listen to your mama today?"

The boy glanced back at Zoe, nodding eagerly. "Yup!"

Zoe pouted playfully, her voice syrupy. "Babe, don't say that. The teacher said our pup's the best-behaved she's ever seen."

The words hit me like a thunderbolt. Babe? Our bond wasn't even broken yet. Our pup? My boy died three years ago under Zoe's wheels. But there they were, real as daylight, Ethan's face lit up with a smile I hadn't seen in years.

My heart felt like it'd been ripped open, cold wind howling through the gaping wound. The pain sank into my bones, sharp as needles. I bit my lip until it bled, swallowing the sobs clawing at my throat.

He'd thrown me in a cage so he could play happy family with Zoe.

I didn't get it. If he wanted to break our bond, all he had to do was say it. I wouldn't have fought him. I glanced at my phone,