Chapter 1
Celeste’s POV
I, Celeste Albright, stood by the large windows in my room as I stared out into the garden that surrounded the Dark Night Pack‘ s territory.
Usually, the sight would calm me down when my husband, Alpha Leo Woodville, was going somewhere to someone. After all, there was something that kept me up at night. It was a cold weight settled in my chest.
The reason for the cold weight might be because I still couldn’t comprehend what I had just heard. From what I heard, there were rumors that said from the people. Unsavory rumors about the Alpha and his former betrothed, Lady Violet Finkle.
My wolf, Elia, told me, ‘How could he betray us when we‘ re fated to be mate?‘
Elia had been howling in anger for days,
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feeling angry for the supposed betrayal.
People would never say it before me. Yet, I already knew about it.
Instinctively, I placed a hand over my stomach as I felt the faint stir of life within.
‘My poor baby, I thought to myself.
What happened inside me was supposed to make me happy. After all, I was going to be a mother, and Leo, my mate, and husband, would be a father. But happiness was far from my reach.
Then, the door creaked open behind me. that stopped my train of thought.
Before that person spoke, I already knew who it was. My husband. The one who betrayed me the most.
“Celeste,” he said, his tone as cold as
ever.
I didn’t turn around when he called me again, “We need to talk.”
To be honest, I found it hard to look at him
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even once. The thoughts of his betrayal really broke my heart. Again and again, he would choose Lady Violet over me. But this was different.
Slowly but surely, I forced myself to face him as I asked him, “Yes, Leo?”
The Alpha looked sharply at me with his green eyes when he saw my indifferent face.
“You‘ re not the same. Why are you avoiding me?” he asked quietly.
I almost laughed when I heard his question, so I couldn’t help but retort, “Not the same? How observant of you, Leo.”
He frowned when he heard my sarcastic remark.
His jaw tightened as he asked me,
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means I’ve noticed some things,
too,
po,” I replied to him as I lifted my chin
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and met his gaze with steady eyes.
“Like how you‘ ve been spending time with Lady Violet again,” I continued.
When I mentioned Violet’s name, Leo’s face darkened. I noticed that the Alpha crossed his arms. But I knew that it was his usual gesture, defending himself when he was being accused.
“Violet and I are just… old friends,” the man said defensively as I expected.
“Old friends?” I repeated, my voice barely above a whisper.
Without realizing it, I kept talking, “Leo, you promised me that she was in your past. But she’s here, in our present, more than I am. How am I supposed to feel?”
He looked away, a flicker of guilt crossing his face, but he quickly masked it as he coldly answered me, “It’s not what you think, Celeste.”
“It’s not?” I asked him again as I shook
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my head in disbelief while I was feeling the pain rising in my chest.
Eventually, I had enough.
“Then what is it, Leo? Because it certainly
looks like an affair to me.”
Leo’s gaze turned sharp when I said that.
The Alpha quickly grabbed my wrist as he stepped closer and used his Alpha voice,
“Watch your tone, Celeste. I’m your Alpha, not just your husband.”
The reminder stung. Despite the heavy pressure I had because of the Alpha voice, I was surprised to find myself unwilling to bend to his Alpha voice. Instead, there was something inside me that felt different.
‘Is this Elia?‘ I thought to myself.
“And I’m your Luna, but that doesn’t seem to mean anything to you,” I eventually said.
Then, I realized that it wasn’t my wolf at all. It was my own voice. How could I do
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that?
After that, silence hung heavy between us. I could feel my hands shaking, so I clenched them to steady myself. That was it. I was done with this.
Meanwhile, Leo just stared at me. But I couldn’t read his eyes as they were unreadable. Then, the Alpha took a step back. Nevertheless, I could see a dismissive look crossing his face.
‘As expected, he would dismiss my feelings again,‘ I told myself.
“You‘ re overthinking things,” he said, his voice colder than before.
He continued to talk, “Violet has been a part of my life since before you even joined this pack.”
“Yes, she is. But I’m your fated mate,” I replied, fighting to keep my voice steady.
I continued, “I thought that would mean something to you.”
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However, Leo scoffed as he said mockingly, “Don’t be so dramatic, Celeste. You‘ re acting like I’ve betrayed you.”
“If you’re not, why can’t you reassure me, Leo?” I demanded despite my voice trembling as I tried to calm myself.
“Why can’t you just say that you’ll choose me over her when your actions in fact has shown me that you will choose her over me again and again?” I asked him. again.
As I expected, the Alpha was silent. However, his silence hurt more than any words he could have said. The truth was
there. And it crushed me.
“Forget it,” I whispered, turning back to
the window.
“Go back to Violet if that’s what you want,” I continued as I turned my head, avoiding him as I held back my tears.
“Celeste, don‘ t be ridiculous. “I don‘ t have time for this. I have a pack to run,”
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he said, sounding frustrated.
“You‘ re right,” I replied quietly.
I continued to talk, “You do. And I have a baby to think about.”
At my words, Leo looked surprised as he repeated, “A… a baby?”
“Yes. Our baby, Leo,” I confirmed what he just repeated, placing a protective hand over my stomach.
For a while, Leo stared at me. The Alpha seemed to be stunned, but then his expression softened. When I saw that, I thought for a moment that I saw a glimmer of the man I had once loved.
Unfortunately, that hope faded as quickly
as it came.
“A baby,” he repeated with a hollow voice, devoid of happiness.
However, he quickly covered it by saying,
“That‘ s… that’s wonderful news,
Celeste.”
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“Is it?” I asked, a bitter smile tugging at my lips.
I continued, “Because it seems like you‘ re more concerned with Violet than with us.
Leo looked away, guilt flashing across his face again. I knew that. The man never said anything about it, but that silence told me everything I needed to know.
He started to talk, “Celeste, I-”
“I think it’s time for me to rest. Goodnight, Leo,” I told him as I cut him
off.
Without waiting for his response, I walked to the bed and lay down on our bed that he rarely visited. At this point, I didn’t even bother to look at him. I clearly could hear him sighing, but he didn’t try to approach me or say anything else.
After a moment, I heard the door close
softly, leaving me alone with the crushing weight of his betrayal. Then, I smelled
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something familiar that crushed me even more. Violet’s scent.
Elia was growling inside me as she said,
‘How can he betray us again and again, Celeste! He doesn’t deserve to be our
fated mate!‘
What Elia said rang true to my heart. I had enough. I was tired of being treated like a second fiddle when I was his Luna.
From that every moment, I knew exactly what I had to do.
‘Let’s sever our mating bond for good, Alpha,‘ I told myself before I closed my
eyes.
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