Alpha's Betrayal of His Mate

I felt the familiar warmth of my wolf, Lyra, stirring inside me as I placed a protective hand over my swollen belly. Five months pregnant with James's heir—our miracle, our future. The pack house was quiet tonight, most wolves already retired to their quarters after the full moon celebration.

"Something's wrong," Lyra whispered in my mind, her anxiety rippling through our shared consciousness.

I frowned, setting down the herbal tea I'd been sipping. "What is it?"

"Our car... someone's taken our car."

I moved to the window of our Alpha suite, peering out into the moonlit courtyard. The space where my silver SUV should have been parked was empty. A chill ran down my spine that had nothing to do with the night air.

"James?" I called through our mate bond, reaching for the comforting presence of my Alpha. The connection felt strangely muted.

I grabbed my phone, dialing him quickly. No answer. My heart rate accelerated as I tried the pack Beta next.

"Luna Aria?" Beta Marcus answered, his voice thick with sleep.

"My car is missing," I said, trying to keep the panic from my voice. "And I can't reach James."

"I'll send out patrols immediately, Luna."

I paced the floor, Lyra growing increasingly agitated within me. Then, without warning, a searing pain tore through my abdomen, doubling me over.

"ARIA!" Lyra's howl inside my mind was deafening as images flashed before my eyes—my car careening down the mountain road, tires screeching against wet pavement, a figure behind the wheel I recognized instantly.

Mia. The rogue James had taken in three months ago.

The bond between wolf and human is mysterious even to our kind. Sometimes, in moments of extreme danger, a wolf can see through distance, can feel what threatens their human half. Lyra was witnessing my car's fate in real-time.

"No, no, NO!" I screamed as Lyra showed me the SUV smashing through the guardrail, plummeting toward the jagged rocks below. I felt every second of Mia's terror, felt the moment of impact as if it were happening to my own body.

Then darkness.

---

Pain. Blinding, all-consuming pain.

I floated in and out of consciousness, aware only of the agony radiating through every inch of my body. The antiseptic smell of the pack infirmary filled my nostrils, the fluorescent lights stabbing at my eyes whenever I managed to crack them open.

"Multiple fractures... internal bleeding... the pup didn't survive."

The healer's words filtered through my haze of pain. Our pup. Our baby. Gone.

"James," I whispered, my voice a broken rasp. I needed my mate. Needed his strength, his comfort, his arms around me.

"Increase her pain medication," someone said.

"The Alpha said minimal pain relief," came Elara's hesitant response. "He's concerned about addiction."

Through swollen eyes, I finally managed to focus on the room around me. And there, across the infirmary, stood my mate—my Alpha, my everything. Relief flooded through me, until I realized his back was to me. His powerful arms were wrapped