Chapter 1
Roana endures a brutal confrontation with her mother-in-law, Linda, who cruelly insults her for being unable to conceive and mocks her appearance. Roana looks to her husband, Alexander Silverstone, the Alpha of their wolf pack, for support, but he remains cold and silent, refusing to defend her. Tensions explode when Roana finally lashes out, demanding respect and rejecting Linda’s harsh judgment, only to be met with Alexander’s harsh command to apologize to his mother.
The situation worsens when Alexander reveals an ultrasound photo, claiming he has impregnated another woman—his true mate—shattering Roana’s world. The revelation of his betrayal, coupled with Linda’s gloating, leaves Roana devastated and feeling worthless. Despite her love for Alexander and the sacrifices made for their marriage, she is crushed by the realization that he has chosen another woman and a child that is not hers.
Roana’s pain turns to anger as she confronts Alexander, slapping him and declaring her intention to leave the pack and seek a divorce. Alexander tries to justify his actions, insisting the child is theirs and pleading for her to stay, but Roana is resolute, refusing to accept his betrayal or live a lie. The arrival of the pregnant woman, marked as Alexander’s mate, confirms the depth of his deception, and Roana’s wolf howls in anguish as she recognizes the bond she never received.
In the midst of the chaos, Roana’s sense of betrayal and heartbreak deepens, realizing that the love she believed in was built on falsehoods. The chapter closes with her bitter acceptance of her shattered dreams, her wolf’s pain mirroring her own as she prepares to leave behind the life she once hoped to share with Alexander.
Chapter 1
Roana (Rou-Anna)
“You should take an Omega since she failed to have a child! A real woman is all we need to protect the Alpha bloodline p>
The harshness of my mother-in-law’s words hit the room like a thunderclap. I froze instantly, my heart pounding wildly in my chest. My eyes searched Alexander Silverstone’s face—the Alpha of the Silverstone Wolf Pack—begging silently for him to intervene, to stand up for me, to shield me from the cruelty that spilled from Linda’s lips like poison. But he remained silent, his attention fixed on the plate before him, as if her venomous accusations were nothing more than background noise. His gaze never lifted from the beef, as if it were the most fascinating thing in the world.
“If she hadn’t brought three villages as her wedding gifts, I’d never have allowed you to marry this thick belly,” Linda sneered, her eyes cold and cruel as they locked onto my stomach. “How can she possibly conceive a child when her womb is stuffed with fat and uselessness p>
Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes, stinging with the sharpness of humiliation and pain. My body trembled—partly from rage, partly from the deep ache inside. Linda’s relentless torment had been gnawing at me lately, but I had tried to keep my composure for Alexander’s sake. He had always been my protector, my shield against the world. But today, something felt different. He was unnervingly quiet, as if her insults didn’t even register.
Unable to bear it any longer, my fist slammed onto the table, making the dishes rattle. I couldn’t stay silent anymore; I had to defend myself.
“Shut your mouth, Linda!” I snapped, the fierce growl of my wolf rising from deep within me, pressing against my ribs like it wanted to break free. “We don’t need a child. And even if we did, it’s our life—not yours! Stay out of it!” My voice cracked, rough and wild, causing the servants nearby to flinch in surprise.
Linda’s face contorted with outrage. “Wh-what did you just say? Son! Is this how you allow your wife to speak to me? Has she forgotten I’m her mother-in-law p>
Finally, Alexander lifted his gaze. But it wasn’t to defend me. No, his piercing blue eyes locked onto me with a cold, sharp glare full of irritation.
“Apologize to Mom,” he ordered, his voice heavy with unyielding authority.
“Alex?” My chest tightened painfully. “Apologize? Did you even hear what she said? She insulted me. She insulted your Luna p>
“Enough, Rou!” His growl shook the room. “No matter what she said, she was concerned. Without a child p>
“Enough!” I cut him off, voice trembling with raw emotion, my wolf snarling and pacing inside me like a caged beast. “We both know what’s going on with us. You should be standing with me, not making me swallow her insults! She mocked my body. Yes, I’m overweight, but I am not some doormat to be trampled on p>
My heart shattered as his eyes, filled with disdain and frustration, bore into me. Then came the words that destroyed everything.
“I don’t have any problems, Rou.” He leaned back slowly, his gaze cold and cutting like a blade. “You lied to me. You lied about me being infertile p>
I froze. “I… lied p>
A cruel smirk twisted his lips as he pulled something from his pocket and tossed it onto the table. My hands trembled as I leaned forward. An ultrasound photo stared back at me.
My wolf howled inside, confused and wounded. Whose child was this?
“My child,” Alexander declared, his voice dripping with cruel satisfaction. “My mate is pregnant with my child. Proof that I wasn’t as useless as you claimed p>
The fork slipped from my hand, clattering loudly. Did I just hear him correctly? His… mate?
Linda gasped, then laughed with triumphant joy. She snatched the photo from the table, her voice ringing with glee.
I felt my strength drain away, my body loosening as if all the life had been sucked out of me.
Cheated? My husband—the man I loved more than anything—had betrayed me? He had found another woman, his true mate, long before this moment? And they had a child together? No, that couldn’t be right. The child wasn’t his. He might have cheated, but there was no way he could have fathered a child—not even through IVF.
Still, the thought of him loving someone else, sharing his bed with another woman, shattered my world into a thousand pieces. My wolf howled in anguish, echoing my pain.
“You… you’re lying,” I whispered, my jaw trembling.
He tilted his head, venom lacing his voice. “Why would I lie? Look at you, Rou. A woman like you doesn’t deserve the truth, let alone me. You’re nothing but weight and shame. And you dared to tell me I was broken? That I was less of a man?” His growl rumbled like thunder. “Do you think I’m a fool p>
Before I could even react, Linda’s palm struck my cheek with a scorching slap.
“You witch!” she spat venomously. “You tried to drag my son into your misery? Make him believe he was useless like you? You disgust me p>
The sting of her slap barely registered. The deeper wound was the betrayal cutting through my soul.
Two years of marriage. My father had given three wolf villages as dowry just to marry me off—the unwanted daughter. I was overweight, mocked, ridiculed. No man had ever wanted me. Not even with those villages. They all sought the perfect Luna—slim, flawless. Even Omegas had better luck catching their attention than I did.
And yet… I had loved Alexander. Loved him like he was my salvation. He gave me confidence when I had none. For two years, he was everything I had dreamed of.
And now, with just one photograph and a single line, he had torn my world apart—reduced me to nothing but weight and misery.
Tears spilled onto my lap as I stared at him. His face was blank, bored, as if my heartbreak was nothing but an inconvenience. Suddenly, I realized my pain meant nothing to him, and that realization turned my sorrow into cold numbness.
I rose to my feet. My wolf snapped inside me, growling, desperate to break free. My hand clenched around my phone.
“Where are you going?” His voice was icy, chasing after me.
I didn’t answer. My body moved on its own. My favorite heels felt like lead weights as I struggled to move forward.
“Roana!” His tone hardened, footsteps quickening behind me. “Don’t walk away. Let’s talk. Leaving like this is cowardly and p>
Before he could finish, my hand shot out, slapping his face sharply. His head jerked to the side.
A gasp rippled through the entire pack house, followed by a suffocating silence.
“Sleeping with another woman, getting her pregnant, and keeping your wife in the dark—that’s cowardly, Alexander,” I said, voice trembling with fury and pain. “I’m leaving this Pack. Divorce papers will be coming soon. I made it clear—cheating is the one sin I will never forgive p>
I stormed into the bedroom, my wolf pacing frantically inside me, begging for release—to tear him apart. The servants’ eyes followed me, glinting with cruel satisfaction.
Behind me, Alexander roared, “If you hadn’t lied, I wouldn’t have done this! I had to prove myself p>
I laughed bitterly, clutching my head as the pain crashed over me like a tidal wave. I turned slowly, facing the man I had once begged the Moon Goddess to send me.
“Congratulations, Alexander,” I whispered, voice breaking. “You’ve destroyed me more thoroughly than any enemy ever could. And you proved that you’re willing to sink to the filthiest depths to prove something you never had the ability to prove p>
Dragging a suitcase across the floor, I moved toward the door. He grabbed my wrist, trembling and desperate.
“Stop it, Rou! I’m not choosing her. But the child—our child—she’s only a vessel. Like a surrogate. It’s ours.” Suddenly his tone shifted, pleading. “We will be the parents and p>
My heart felt hollow. Inside, my wolf snarled and snapped, itching to tear into him. I had always kept my distance from people to avoid falling for those who wouldn’t value me. But I had failed to protect myself from the one person I ever truly loved.
“Son!” Linda burst into the room, eyes shining with triumph. She shoved me back, venom dripping from her voice. “Let her go. Who cares? You finally have an heir. Your mate deserves everything, not this pathetic whale p>
I curled my lips into a snarl, but Alexander cut in sharply.
“Enough! Stay out of this, Mom. I’m not divorcing her. Rou, we’ll adopt the baby and p>
“I don’t want to!” My voice was raw, broken but fierce as I shoved clothes into the suitcase. “I am not some pathetic woman who will play house with your illegitimate children and a cheater like you p>
“You’re overreacting, Rou!” His voice rose, desperation bleeding through. “Even after your lies, I forgave you. Now we’ll have a child. Why can’t you see p>
“Alpha p>
The single word froze the entire room.
We turned toward the doorway. There stood a woman, her belly swollen, ready to give birth.
My wolf stilled. My heart stopped. I couldn’t help but scrutinize her as if she were some bitter symbol of everything I refused to accept. Her clothes, her jewelry, the very curve of her belly—they all screamed a harsh truth.
But what struck me most was the belly. She was so pregnant.
“So,” I whispered, the air trembling in my lungs, “you cheated long before we even discovered our problems.” I looked back at Alexander, who stood frozen like a deer caught in headlights.
His face drained of color. His lips parted, but no words came.
“You make me sick,” I hissed, my wolf’s growl threading through my voice. “Even the bond feels poisoned now p>
Stop it, Rou! Why can’t you be reasonable? I am the Alpha. I can provide for you both without any p>
Another sharp slap echoed as the back of my hand met his face. “F**k you, Alexander p>
I gripped the suitcase tightly, ready to move past him—when the pregnant woman lifted her hand off her belly. In her palm glimmered a silver mark, faintly glowing.
The mate mark.
The mark he refused to give me. The mark my wolf had suffered in agony, aching for.
So, he marked her while I lived a life built on lies and wild illusions that he would love me forever.
How utterly pathetic I am.
The weight of betrayal and shattered dreams hangs heavy in the air as Roana confronts the painful reality of her fractured marriage. Her fierce spirit, once fueled by love and hope, now wrestles with the cold truth of Alexander’s deception and the cruel indifference that surrounds her. The chapter captures the raw intensity of her heartbreak, the sting of humiliation, and the awakening of a fierce independence that refuses to be subdued by lies and cruelty.
In this moment of profound loss, Roana’s wolf howls not just in anguish but in defiance, signaling a turning point in her journey. Though her world has been torn apart, the fire within her burns brighter, hinting at a future where she may reclaim her strength and self-worth. The chapter closes on a note of bitter clarity, where love and loyalty are tested, and the path ahead demands courage and resilience beyond the shadows of betrayal.
The next chapter promises to plunge deeper into the emotional turmoil that Roana faces as she confronts the shattering betrayal by Alexander. The appearance of the pregnant woman bearing the mate mark will undoubtedly ignite fierce tensions, forcing Roana to grapple not only with heartbreak but with the harsh realities of her fractured marriage and the complex dynamics within the Silverstone Pack. The raw pain of rejection and the sting of deceit will test her resilience in ways she never imagined.
As the story unfolds, expect the simmering conflicts between Roana, Alexander, and Linda to intensify, revealing more about their tangled pasts and hidden motivations. Roana’s inner wolf, restless and hungry for justice, will likely push her toward decisions that could alter the course of her life and the pack’s future. The delicate balance between loyalty, love, and survival hangs by a thread, and every choice made will carry heavy consequences. Readers will be drawn into a world where trust is fragile, and the fight for identity and belonging becomes a fierce battle.
Cedella
Cedella is a passionate storyteller known for her bold romantic and spicy novels that keep readers hooked from the very first chapter. With a flair for crafting emotionally intense plots and unforgettable characters, she blends love, desire, and drama into every story she writes. Cedella’s storytelling style is immersive and addictive—perfect for fans of heated romances and heart-pounding twists.