Alpha's Deceit, Luna's Wrath

The Moonstone Alliance representatives arrived at dawn, their silver-trimmed vehicles glinting in the early light as they processed through Silvermoon Pack's ceremonial gates. I stood beside Thomas on the grand entrance steps, my Luna smile perfect, my posture impeccable. Fifteen years of practice had made this role second nature—the gracious hostess, the diplomatic bridge between packs, the supportive mate who made everything look effortless.

Marcus's coming-of-age ceremony was supposed to be our triumph. Our son, strong and confident at sixteen, would receive his Alpha blessing before the most influential wolves in the region. I'd spent months coordinating every detail, leveraging my father's bloodline connections to ensure the right witnesses attended. This ceremony would secure Marcus's future and demonstrate Silvermoon Pack's continued rise in pack politics.

But Thomas kept checking his phone.

I noticed it during the formal procession, when he should have been focused on our son's ceremonial walk to the Alpha Stone. A quick glance, his thumb swiping across the screen, his jaw tightening before he pocketed the device. Then again during Elder Morrison's blessing speech, and once more when Marcus shifted into his wolf form for the first time before the assembled packs—a moment I'd dreamed about since his birth, and Thomas was staring at his phone.

The scent hit me during the congratulatory reception. Jasmine and honey, clinging to Thomas's collar when he leaned in to whisper something about greeting the Crescent Moon delegation. Not my scent. My wolf stirred uneasily, her instincts sharpening. I'd been so busy with alliance politics and ceremony preparations that I hadn't paid attention to the small changes—Thomas's late nights in his office, his distracted touches, the way he'd stopped using our mind-link for casual conversation.

I excused myself with practiced grace, weaving through clusters of chatting wolves toward the garden paths. My Alpha-born senses tracked that jasmine-honey scent like a beacon, growing stronger as I moved away from the celebration's noise. The formal gardens gave way to the more secluded meditation groves, where pack members went for privacy.

I found them beneath the ancient oak where Thomas and I had pledged our mate bond twenty years ago.

Melanie Fox, our Omega caretaker, pressed against my mate's chest. Thomas's hand cradled her face with a tenderness I hadn't seen from him in years. They were kissing, and the sight should have shattered me, but instead, my wolf's fury crystallized into something cold and analytical. Because beneath the jasmine and honey, I detected something else—the sweet, distinctive scent of early pregnancy.

They broke apart when I stepped into the clearing. Melanie's eyes went wide with fear, her Omega instincts making her shrink behind Thomas. He had the audacity to look annoyed rather than ashamed, as if I'd interrupted something inconvenient rather than discovered his betrayal.

"Diana." His Alpha tone carried warning, as if he could command me to unsee this. "We need to talk."

"About how long you've been fucking our pack's Omega?" My voice stayed perfectly level. "Or about the fact that