The alpha protected his mistress's pub while aborting mine

Six years into our bound, I stumbled upon a scene at the clinic that shattered my world. My mate, who'd always treated me like I hung the moon, was there, ordering two prescriptions: one to protect a pregnancy, the other to end one.

He stood with his arm around a stunning she wolf, coolly instructing his men to prepare the herbs. The room buzzed with confusion. "My lord, you're willing to sacrifice your mate's pup just so Vanessa Monroe's kid can inherit the title? Why not marry her already and be done with it?"

Alpha Lucian Thorne kicked the Wold to the ground, his voice ice-cold.

"Shut your mouth. Get some tonics ready to build her strength. If Luna suffers any complications from this abortion, I'll have your heads."

"And not a word of this to Luna," he added, his tone deadly.

"Anyone who breathes a hint of it loses their tongue."

The men scattered, knowing better than to argue.

Vanessa whined about the herbs's bitter taste, and alpha Lucian-Mr. Germaphobe himself-fed it to her straight from his mouth.

Half a bowl in, he was breathing hard, scooping her up and carrying her into a back room.

The sounds that followed-soft, intimate, unmistakable-hit me like a punch.

I clapped a hand over my mouth and fled, humiliated.

The Wold who swore I was his everything had been tangled up with someone else all along.

Fine. I'd draft a bond break decree, end this bound, and walk away for good. We'd never cross paths again.

I wandered the streets in a daze after bolting from the clinic.

She-wolves passing by whispered enviously, stealing glances.

"Look. Her mate practically worships her. He promised her forever, just the two of them, and spent half his fortune building her a Woldsion fit for a Luna. You won't find a better Wold than that."

Normally, those words would've made me beam with pride, grateful I'd bond to such a devoted mate. But today, after what I'd seen, each syllable stabbed like a knife.

The Wold who claimed I was his whole world was cheating on me. Worse, he'd gotten another she wolf pregnant.

My head spun, my vision blurred, and I felt myself collapsing.

"Luna!"

A panicked shout cut through the fog.

Alpha Lucian appeared out of nowhere, catching me in his arms. He wrapped his cloak around my trembling shoulders, his eyes red with worry as he barked orders for a healer.

When I came to, I was tucked into bed, the healer kneeling nervously nearby. "My lord, the lady's condition is due to emotional distress," he reported.

Alpha Lucian's brow furrowed. "Out of nowhere? How could-"

He froze mid-sentence, turning to me with a flicker of panic in his eyes.

"Luna, I heard from the maids you stopped by the clinic today. I was there handling some business. Did you... see me?"

His cautious tone made my fists clench under the blankets, but I forced my face to stay blank. "I got distracted