Alpha’s Betrayal
Chapter 9

Luna

Terrace, Claw Mansion Woodward County, Oklahoma

I growled up at him even as I took a step back. I was still stunned the man I loved actually struck me. You did not hit people you loved - hell, you shouldn't hit people at all. I regretted putting my hands on Marnet in the barn, even if it was just to stop him from leaving. On some level, that was wrong, too. Maybe I had opened the door to this.

I knew, or thought, that wasn't really true. An escalation was not okay. I should have apologized, but I did not deserve to be hit. I didn't. I knew my father and Lynn probably weren't the pinnacle of relationship goals, but they rarely argued with each other. My father would never hit Lynn. (And that had nothing to do with the fact that she'd probably rip his arm off if he tried.) It just wasn't something that ever crossed his mind. Lynn had never been shy about spanking me when I was naughty or pinching my arm as I got older, but I had no illusions about my stepmother; she had no love for me. She didn't even like me.

But Marnet...

He knew that about me and my life - about what happened at home. He always told me how much better things would be with him. That he would take care of me. I never thought much more of it because I knew he would. That's what mates did. Our wolves knew. There was no reason to suspect anything different, and yet...

Here we were.

I wasn't even sure who was in control right now, me or my wolf. I was angry and hurt and terrified. My tail was tucked beneath my hind legs, practically hugging the underside of my stomach. I knew I was snarling and that I shouldn't, but I couldn't help it. I could still feel the sting of Marnet's hand against my cheek, even if I now stood protected by a thick coat of fur. If he tried to hit me again, I would be far quicker on four legs. But the fact that he'd done it at all... Nothing could protect me from the deep ache in my ch3st. I couldn't see a way out of this. Honestly, I had no idea what he would do to me for disrespecting him in front of all these wolves, but I really wasn't eager to find out. He had just claimed this other woman, and that meant he was playing me for six years, and... I just couldn't believe that the fated bond between us was anything less than real. I felt it, and I knew he felt it, too. Marnet wasn't that good of an actor, even if he was being pretty damn convincing right now.

I took a deep breath, trying to will the snarl off my maw while I tried to kick my brain into working normally. The punishment could be severe for disrespecting an alpha. I had to convince Marnet to claim me now, or... No. No 'or.' That was the only choice. Shifting probably wasn't my brightest move, but in that moment, I wasn't been in control. Marnet had startled me so completely, hurt me so wholly. When my wolf surged forward to protect us both, I hadn't had the wits to stop her. It was more difficult to communicate like this in a room full of shifters still in their human form, but... Now, I had no choice.

I took another step back, my claws clicking against the stone of the garden terrace. Pricking my ears forward, I tried to get Marnet to meet my gaze. I wasn't foolish enough to uncurl my tail or stand up straight (certainly not lift my head I had no interest in challenging my alpha!), but I needed him to pay attention to me. I chuffed softly, air puffing out from my cheeks. When that didn't get Marnet to look, I took another step back to howl, or attempt or my best approximation. I was not willing to throw my head back for a full-bellied cry. There were too many potential enemies, and I still didn't want to leave any room for speculation if I was trying to challenge him or not. There was only one thing I wanted.

I wanted Marnet's wolf to come forward, and I wanted him to claim me.

After what felt like an eternity, he finally looked at me, but his green eyes were cold. Cruel. It was like looking into a storm drain rather than the warmth depths of springtime or a summer's grassy hill. My heart seized and my wolf's song faltered. We finally locked gazes, and he still wasn't shifting. It was as if he couldn't feel any of my pain, my hurt, my confusion. Instead, he stared right through me, as if I wasn't even there. He couldn't even do me the courtesy of meeting me in wolf form. Maybe he knew our wolves would claim each other. Maybe he didn't know me at all. Maybe I didn't know him.

This time, I couldn't suppress the howl that ripped from me, my wolf crying out in her pain and humiliation. Marnet's wolf pulled away from mine, and suddenly, I couldn't feel anything that resembled our bond at all. Only anger. Anger?

Desperation bubbled up from the furthest corner of my gut. I took another step backwards and howled another warbling cry, a last-ditch effort to try to draw Marnet's wolf forward and bring my mate to his senses. Nothing. The anger had disappeared, replaced with...with...nothing. There was only a void. My wolf scrambled, thrown off balance by the complete absence of her mate, even though he was standing right in front of us.

When I risked a look up, Marnet's eyes had shifted from their usual green to a bright, piercing red. He was casting his alpha on me. Terror gripped me like icy hands, freezing me in place. Marnet finally strode towards me with an ugly smirk. I hated that expression on his face, but it had never been pointed at me before. My heart stumbled and I whined, wishing for nothing more than to run away, to escape this situation altogether. I was unable to do so much as blink, much less move my paws; the unforgiving stone refused to swallow me up, even if it felt like the world was crumbling around me.

Even in my worst nightmares, I couldn't have come up with a situation as horrifying as this.

I whined again, and my ears were as low as possible. I sank closer to the ground. Pain scorched up the length of my spine from the tip of my tail to the tops of my ears, all the way down to each of my claws. I had always known Marnet was a powerful alpha (I couldn't imagine him as anything but), but I had never been subjected to his wolf's strength before. Even my throat burned, making it difficult to whimper and show my deference to him. Before I knew it, I was almost flat against the ground, my legs trembling with the effort to keep my belly mere inches above the flagstone.

Marnet planted his shoe on my muzzle, forcing me the rest of the way down. My joints screamed in protest as shudders wracked my body, pain still searing each and every nerve. I couldn't even part my jaws. I wanted to cry, to yell, to howl, but I could do nothing. After a moment, he ground his heel into my muzzle. I squeezed my eyes shut, unable to do anything else. His voice rang out, but Marnet was not addressing me. He seemed to be addressing the entire party.

"I apologize for this interruption!" he rumbled, his voice rolling over the otherwise silent crowd. "I hope the rest of the festivities will help you forgive this. While we had a great many surprises planned for our guests tonight, this was not one of them." Silence lasted a beat too long, and someone must have realized that was a poorly planted joke. A few people offered uncomfortable murmurs, but then rest of the group got the hint, and Marnet was rewarded with several chuckles. Once the other wolves quieted, he continued, "I assure you, this one will be punished for her actions tonight. The Lupus Claw pack takes the Moonmate ceremony very seriously, and such an interruption won't be ignored. Her disturbance will be punished swiftly accordingly to our laws."

I blinked. How did he keep managing to hurt me like this? How had I been his mate just yesterday, and today he was referring to me as a disturbance? My eyes flickered open, and I looked up just in time to hear him dole out his decision on my sentence. "-and she will be put to death."

My heart stopped. At once, my wolf let go, and I shifted rapidly back to my human form. I scrambled to push my dress so I was still covered and prop myself up to plead my case. Before I could utter a single word, Marnet delivered a swift kick, his toe catching the corner of my jaw. I shrieked as something snapped. Blood pooled in my mouth almost immediately as my tongue throbbed. My eyes stung as my hands flew up to cradle my jaw - I was afraid to open my mouth and test if it was still working.

I can't let this happen. I can't just...just roll over and die, I thought, rubbing my mouth carefully. I dropped my hand carefully to try to say something, to change his mind, but Marnet refused to give me so much as a second. He reached forward to push me back, clearly determined on keeping me down. I was still shaking all over, thunderstruck but what had taken place so far. I still wasn't convinced I'd soon wake up in a cold sweat, trembling but relieved to realize it was just a terrible dream. Everything ached. My body...my bones, my joints, each tendon and muscle. Even my soul ached in a way so profound, I couldn't put words to it. I couldn't tell if Marnet was still exerting his alpha influence over me, but it didn't matter. There wasn't much that could make me feel much worse.

It felt like years had passed by the time Marnet finally took a step closer, crouching down next to me. He reached over, one thick hand grabbing me by the scruff of my neck even though I was no longer in my canine form. I was so drained I was powerless to stop him. My wolf seemed almost afraid. I had never felt her withdraw so quickly before, but she felt small and weak, like a newborn pup rather than the adult she was.

Marnet leaned forward as he dragged me up, his lips almost right next to my ear. "We had a good thing going, Luna, but you didn't think it could last forever, did you? All you had to do was keep your mouth shut. It really wasn't that much to ask, was it?" He paused, as if expected me to answer. Eyes looking anywhere but at Marnet, I shook my head. The man snorted. "Oh, now you keep your trap shut. That tracks." He grunted. "You and I were never going to be a thing, Luna, destined mates or not. You just don't have what I need. You don't have what this pack needs. You and I will never work, destiny be damned." He paused again, and I could almost hear his smirk. "The s3x was pretty nice, though. You were always down for a quick fvck, huh?"

I could feel my cheeks flare bright red and my heart sped back up. This was like an entirely different person standing in front of me. Marnet could be prone to dirty talk sometimes, but he had never spoken down to me like this before - but then again, he never much spoke to me much outside of our secret cabin at all. I had assumed he was a private person...but was this how he talked about me when I wasn't around? Was this what he'd really thought about me these past six years?

I finally looked up, as if I might find some answers in my alpha's face. Cold eyes I barely recognized stared back at me, entirely unreadable. I used to love looking into those emerald pools; they used to bring me so much joy - how ironic they might be the very last thing I saw before I died.

"Chain her up and deal with her later," an unfamiliar voice hissed. I moved as much as I was able in Marnet's tight grasp, gaze flickering over to the woman hovering over his shoulder. I had no idea who this woman was supposed to be, outside of Marnet's supposed mate, but for all that Marnet looked at me with disgust, she was watching me with some trepidation. She looked away as soon as she realized I was watching her, resting her slender fingers on her... on Marnet's shoulders instead. She gave him a gentle squeeze. "There's still the ceremony to go through with, and we need to go through with this." If I didn't know better, I would have thought she sounded nervous.

Marnet held me several moments longer before he finally released my neck, standing back up to his full height. He wrapped an arm around the other woman's waist and tugged her close, pressing what might be called an apologetic k!ss to her cheek. He'd always been a showman, and no effort went unspared while making sure everyone saw the way he comforted this woman.

My arms trembled as I thought about propping myself up. Humiliation still burned at the back of my neck, but I said nothing else, not entirely sure if I wanted to draw Marnet's attention back to me. He'd already decided my fate. My wolf had almost retreated entirely now, shocked and horrified by the way we'd been treated. It was as if the evening's events simply didn't compute for her, as if they were so bizarre, she couldn't fit them into her way of being.

More than anything, I was exhausted. My jaw still throbbed. It felt like someone had siphoned all the energy straight out of me. When Marnet called two of his enforcers to come and grab me, I didn't move. My legs felt like wet noodles, threatening to give out at any moment. I wanted nothing more than to be left alone and allowed even a few minutes to recover. My dignity was probably a lost cause by now, but I wasn't ready to lie down and die.

I was only twenty-six years old, for fvck's sake! I had a life left! My wolf shuddered at the notion, almost lost to her despair. To her, it wasn't an entire life left to live, but endless years to survive without the one wolf who could complete her. The absence of the bond was clearly more profound for her in this moment, but I wouldn't abandon her, either. I just...I had no idea how to soothe my own wounds, much less whatever my wolf was suffering.

I inhaled a long, shuddering breath and fought the urge to cry. Some part of me still couldn't believe Marnet was capable of this kind of cruelty, much less towards me - but perhaps that was the part closest to my wolf. Or perhaps I just didn't want to give this up just yet. Oh, I knew I had no choice. There was no going back, not after this, but that didn't mean it didn't fvcking hurt. My heart ached more fiercely than even the agony of Marnet casting his alpha over me before I had shifted back to my human form. It was worse than the feeling of each and every nerve being lit on fire all while feeling like I was trapped in a complete void. I'd never been more isolated in my entire life.

Even when my mother passed away, I...

Taking in another trembling breath, I forced the memory away with a shake of my head. If I thought about Mom now, I'd lose my battle against the tears. Instead, I tried to focus on my wolf, tried to feed her any calm or care or... Whatever I had left in me just now. It was mine and it was hers. However we had to go forward, we'd be together. At least I would have my wolf, until the last breath, the last beat of my heart. There was some comfort in that.

We... We... Well, fvck.

I had no idea what I could do on my own, but I would figure something else. I would not just be thrown out and left for dead. As I was dragged away from Marnet and his new mate, he caught my eyes one last time. With the corner of his mouth tugging upwards, he lifted one hand, tangling it in her silky hair. He reeled the woman in, pulling her up into a possessive k!ss. I saw her knees go a little weak and his other hand pressed more firmly against the small of her back.

The enforcers kept pulling me along, and I had no interest in lingering to watch the show. An ember of anger flickered in the pit of my gut. Confusion swirled around my skull like a maelstrom. My wolf stirred, feeling the same intensity as our emotions warred with one another. Nothing seemed to win out, leaving me paralyzed, caught between anger and hurt, outrage and disbelief.

He said he loved me. He said he loved me. How could he do this - how could he do this to me?