When My Mate Faked His Death, I Found My Alpha

The night before our marking ceremony, my mate Harry Hawkins was reportedly killed by rogues on his way back to the packhouse. Everyone expected me to collapse in grief, mourning his loss as if my life had ended. But I simply folded the ceremonial gown I had sewn myself and carried on as if nothing had happened.

Three years later, he returned from the dead, his arm wrapped around another woman.

“So, you’re the mate who waited three years for me?” he sneered, his tone dripping with mockery. “You’re not much to look at, are you? No wonder no one else wanted you.”

He paused, as if considering a great favor. “But I suppose, out of pity, I could take you as my chosen mate.”

He expected me to fall at his feet in gratitude. Instead, I stepped past him without a word, heading straight into the packhouse. Harry didn’t know that on the day he faked his death, I had watched him from a distance, his betrayal etched into my memory. He had no idea that in the three years he spent frolicking with Mackenzie Scott, I had already found a new mate—his uncle, Bowen Carter, the Alpha of the Carter Pack.

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As I stepped out of the car, I overheard my name being tossed around like a joke.

“Harry, I heard Renata’s coming to the pack gathering today. Are you ready to face her?”

“Ready? She’s the one who should be worried,” Harry scoffed. “I’ve been gone for three years, and she vanished too. Now that I’m back, she’s suddenly back in town. Clearly, she’s still hung up on me.”

“So, are you planning to take her back?” someone else chimed in.

Harry laughed, cold and dismissive. “My mate is Mackenzie now. As for Renata? Let’s see how she behaves.”

The group erupted into laughter, their voices sharp and cruel.

“Do you think she’ll burst into tears the moment she sees you?”

“Even if she was once the most admired she-wolf in the pack, three years have turned her into a spinster. Who else would want her now?”

“Exactly. After Harry ‘died,’ everyone said she was cursed. Her reputation’s in ruins.”

Their words stung, but I kept my composure. Just as I considered leaving, someone spotted me and called out, “Renata!”

All eyes turned to me, and the laughter died down. The young wolves who had been mocking me suddenly looked away, their faces flushed with embarrassment.

Someone tried to salvage the situation. “Renata, you must be shocked. Harry’s alive, but he lost some of his memories. That’s why he never came back to you.”

My gaze swept over them, finally landing on Harry. He looked me up and down, his expression arrogant.

“So, you’re Renata, my former mate?” he said, his voice laced with disdain. “You’re not as impressive as everyone claimed. You’re nothing compared to Mackenzie.”

He was putting on a show, his tone dripping with superiority. I felt no joy in seeing him again,