After My Alpha Killed My Mother, I Escaped Him

I rushed through the corridors of the Pack House, my heart pounding against my ribs. The guards nodded respectfully as I passed, but their eyes held a pity I didn't understand. My mother had been imprisoned for three days now, accused of a crime I knew she couldn't have committed. Her fragile mind wouldn't allow her to harm anyone.

"Please," I whispered to myself, "let him listen this time."

I tracked Jaxxon's scent to his private office—the room where pack business was conducted, where decisions that shaped our lives were made. My mate, the Alpha of the Silver Moon Pack, had been avoiding me since my mother's arrest. Today, I wouldn't let him escape.

I didn't knock. The door swung open under my desperate push.

The scent hit me first—vanilla and musk, arousal and betrayal mingling in the air. My eyes confirmed what my nose already knew.

Jaxxon had Ashlyn pressed against his desk, her legs wrapped around his waist, his hands tangled in her golden hair. The papers scattered across the floor told me they'd been at this for some time.

"Eleanora." His voice held irritation, not shame. Not even surprise.

I stood frozen, unable to process the image before me. This was my mate—my fated partner blessed by the Moon Goddess herself.

"Jaxxon," I whispered, my voice breaking. "My mother—"

"I'm busy," he cut me off, not even bothering to disentangle from Ashlyn. She smirked over his shoulder, her perfectly manicured nails tracing patterns on his skin.

"She's innocent," I pleaded, taking a step forward. "You know she wouldn't hurt anyone. She's just a child in her mind."

Jaxxon's eyes flashed black—his wolf rising to the surface. "You dare interrupt me for this?"

"Ashlyn visited her yesterday," I said, desperation clawing at my throat. "She told me she'd help clear my mother's name."

Something flickered across Ashlyn's face—triumph, perhaps—before she buried her face in Jaxxon's neck.

"Leave," Jaxxon commanded, his Alpha tone vibrating through my bones. "Now."

My wolf whimpered inside me, the mate bond forcing obedience even as my heart shattered. I backed away, tears blurring my vision.

---

Hours later, I sat on my bed, staring at the wall. Jaxxon had left for the neutral territory resort—with Ashlyn. The pack whispers said they'd be gone for days.

A sudden, searing pain lanced through my mind-link—the connection I shared with my mother. It wasn't words but feelings: terror, despair, and a final, heartbreaking goodbye.

"No!" I screamed, bolting upright.

I ran barefoot through the pack grounds, ignoring the startled looks of pack members. The dungeons were in the basement of the Pack House—a place I'd never been allowed to visit.

The guard at the entrance blocked my path. "Luna, you can't—"

"She's my mother!" I shrieked, pushing past him.

The stench of death hit me first. Then I saw her.

My beautiful mother, her small body hanging from the cell bars, her face peaceful in a way I'd never seen in life. The moon stone pendant she