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âIâm so glad you are here tonight, Leah. I care so much about you.â Tristan said.
My husband, the Alpha of Blazewood Pack, held the beautiful blonde in his arm.
I froze on my spot after seeing this. All the guests in the banquet hall were stealing glances at me, whispering and jeering.
âIs that Leah Middleton?â My maid Mandy gasped, âWhatâs she doing here?!â
My husband brought her here, obviously.
Tonight was the Full Moon festival. We should have attended as Alpha and Luna, but Tristan brought her instead.
Leah Middleton was Tristanâs high school sweetheart, Ironclaw Packâs Alphaâs daughter. She and Tristan were the perfect couple until Leah broke up with him. Rumors said that she cheated on him with another person.
Tristan met me a year later at a party.
Nobody in my family was thrilled about our relationship. But I still ran away from home and married into Blazewood Pack.
We were mates, blessed by the Moon Goddess. How bad could it be?
But I was wrong. So wrong.
The first bump in our marriage was my miscarriage. I lost my child during a business meeting. Tristan blamed me for it. He thought I was too careless.
To fix the trauma, we adopted a sweet little boy called Roman. But a child still couldnât fix our marriage. Tristan started to grow cold to me.
And now, Leah was back, my husbandâs Ex.
Was she here to take him away from me?
Suppressing the panic, I strode up to them.
âLeah, you should leave.â I tried to say this with as much dignity as possible. âAnd stay away from my husband.â
Leah rounded her big, innocent eyes and looked over to Tristan.
âShall we tell her?â she asked softly.
I started to get a bad feeling. âTell me what?â
Tristan gave me an indifferent look, âLeah will stay here from now on.â
I couldnât believe what I just heard. âStay here? As what? Are you out of your mind?!â
Tears quickly welled up in Leah's eyes, âI know you hate me, Evelyn. It's all my fault. But Tristan didnât do anything wrong so please donât yell at him.â
âDo you mind? Iâm talking to my husband!â I snapped.
âBe nice to her!â Tristan growled.
âI wonât threaten your position. I promise.â Leah blinked innocently, âYou can still be Luna. All I want is to stay with TristanâŚand my child.â
The ground was slipping away underneath my feet. My legs went soft, and I couldnât stand straight.
âChild? What child?â I asked through clenched teeth.
They had a child together? How come I didn't know about this??
They exchanged a look. And then finally, Tristan spoke up, âItâs probably time to tell you the truthâŚRoman is Leah and my kid.â
I couldnât breathe, âBut you saidâŚyou adopted Roman from an orphanage! He doesnât have any parents!â
âIf I hadnât said that, would you have accepted Roman and raised him as your own?â Tristan said with a frown. âLeah couldnât raise Roman when the kid was born. So I brought him back here. Itâs just a little harmless lie.â
A harmless lie?
I poured my heart out and raised the child of the person who fucked my husband.
And now she swooped in and tried to take my child and husband away.
What am I? A free nanny to them?
âNo, TristanâŚI donât want her here.â I gritted, trying hard not to let my tears fall. âThis is unacceptable. Send her away, pleaseâŚI am asking as your wife and Luna!â
âShe stays. End of discussion!â Tristan growled.
âIf she staysâŚIâm afraid that you are driving me away,â I said, trembling.
My heart was in my throat because even I couldnât be sure whom he would choose.
Tristan looked frustrated. Yet before he spoke up, Leah burst out crying.
âDonât push him! This is all my faultâŚI never want to be the third person in your marriageâŚIâI should go!â she sobbed and turned away, running out of the banquet hall.
Tristan snapped his head towards me and glared, âNow are you happy?â
Chapter 2
Evelynâs POV
Tristan never bothered to check on me once. I heard that he was busy taking Leah to parties and introducing her to all his members.
Then I got an unexpected call, from my best friend in college, Haley.
âHey, Evelyn! Just want to check on you and see if you are still coming to Storm Fang Pack for business next week. We should find a time to meet up!â
I took in a small deep breath.
I almost forgot that.
For the past few years, I have been working on a huge real estate project called Carnival City with a company in Storm Fang Pack, AKA the largest and most powerful pack in the world.
Originally, I planned to go over there next week and sign the contract with CEO Jason.
I also wanted to catch up with Haley andâŚpossibly visit Haley's brother.
Her brother, Asher Hawthorne, was no one else but the Alpha of Storm Fang Pack, the tycoon that dominated the business world.
If he could advise on my project, itâd definitely help me.
But now, I had completely forgotten all about that.
Because of what happened with Leah.
âI donât know, HaleyâŚMaybe thereâll be a change of plan. I canât go anymore.â I said lowly.
âWhat? Why?â
Thereâs no point hiding this with my best friend. I covered my face and choked, ââŚTristan is leaving me for another personâŚthe birth mother of our adopted child. If he does, thereâs no point for me to keep working on that projectâŚâ
Although Leah was his mother by birth, I was by his side for the past 3 years. My boy would be on my side.
Standing outside of the packhouse, I saw Romanâs school bus drive close. I was on this spot every day for the past 3 years, waiting for Roman to come back to school.
As soon as the door opened, I started waving and calling for my boy:
âRoman! Darling! Over here!â
He jumped off the school bus. But as soon as he saw me, he started running in the opposite direction.
âGet away from me!â He cried.
I rushed to grab his shoulder, stunned, âWhat? Roman, whyââ
âYou want my mommy to leave! I hate you!â he shouted, âDaddy, Mommy, and I are a real family! Not you!â
Tears welled up in my eyes. Roman knew Leah was back. And he chose her over me.
âRoman, IâIâm your mom, remember?â I choked, âI took you to the hospital when you were sick. I went to all of your parent and teacher's meetings.â
He struggled in my arms, screeching, as though he didnât want me to touch him.
Passersby stopped and stared at us. One guy even came forward and said, âMiss, please let go of the child.â
âItâs ok. Heâs my kid.â I quickly explained.
âNO!â Roman shrieked, âYou hit me! You put my head into the toilet! You scared me! I donât want you. I want Mommy Leah!â
I froze on my spot. I didnât none of those stuff! Why would Roman lie about those?!
Leah suddenly appeared near the front gate, with Tristan behind her back. She dashed over, crying, and held Roman tightly in her arms.
âMy poor baby! Whatâve you been through!â she wailed.
âYou hit Roman?!â Tristan growled at me, âAre you doing this because you canât have your own child and you are jealous of Leah?â
I looked at him in shock. How could he think this way?
Leah sobbed, âDonât blame her, Tristan. I get it. People only care about their own kids. Roman and I are outsiders here. Maybe we should leaveâŚâ
âYes, you do!â I blurt out.
âENOUGH!â Tristan snarled, glaring at me. âLeahâs the person I care about and Roman is my only son! I canât leave them. And they need me.â
I started to tremble in pain. âThen what about me, Tristan? Iâm your mate!â
âNobody says you arenât!â Tristan said impatiently, âYouâll still be Blazewood Packâs Luna. Sheâs not interested in your position.â
âYou wonât even notice that Iâm in the house. I just want to stay with Tristan.â Leah said softly.
I felt dizzy.
If she was the person he loved, then what did that make me? A free employee who helped him run his pack? How could I stand the pain while my husband fucked another person every day in the next room?
No, I couldnât handle that.
So with a trembling hand, I started undoing my blouse, revealing my delicate collarbone.
My scent quickly filled the air. I heard Tristanâs breathing suddenly become heavy.
ââŚWhat are you doing?â he gritted with sweat on his forehead.
I took a step further, locking eyes with him, whispering, âDonât you miss me? The feeling of being with your mateâŚitâs better than anything else in the world. You know that.â
The mate bond was working.
He stared deep into my eyes, obsessed, and murmured, âMy mate.â
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