The Alpha's Secret Son, My Stolen Cure

For three years, I lay dying from a poison, my only hope a single-dose antidote, the Moonpetal Elixir. My husband, Alpha Joshua, had played the part of a devoted mate, and I trusted him to save me.

But through our fading bond, I overheard his secret command to the pack's healer.

"Give the Moonpetal Elixir to Ella Campbell's mother."

His reason shattered my world: "Ella gave me a son. A healthy, strong son." He had a secret family. The past three years of his loving care were a lie. He was just waiting for me to die.

He even brought me their leftover soup, calling me "the sick wolf," and defiled my parents' sacred home with his mistress and their child. He planned to tell the pack my cure was stolen, turning my death into a tragedy for his own gain.

He thought I was a weak, dying wolf. He had no idea what kind of storm he had just awakened.

That night, I gathered the last of my strength and severed our mate bond. The pain was excruciating, but I walked out of that house of lies, leaving only my wedding ring behind. I would not die. I would live to watch his world burn.

Chapter 1

KATHLEEN POV:

For three years, the Wolfsbane Essence has been a slow, cold poison in my veins. It kept my inner wolf dormant, a whimpering ghost in the back of my mind, and chained my body to this bed. But today, there was hope. A single, perfect bloom of Moonpetal, the only known antidote, was finally ready. The pack's Healer said the elixir would be prepared by nightfall.

Hope was a fragile, unfamiliar thing.

I lay still, my breathing shallow, and focused on the one connection the poison couldn't sever: the Mate Bond. It was a faint, frayed thread connecting me to my husband, Alpha Joshua Hayes. Usually, it was a source of comfort. Today, it was a conduit for my doom.

The Mind-Link is a connection all pack members share, a way to communicate silently. But the link between Mates is supposed to be a sacred, private channel. Mine with Joshua had grown weak, but sometimes, when his emotions were strong, I could catch echoes of his thoughts.

Right now, his thoughts were a deafening roar, not meant for me. He was mind-linking with Brennen, the pack's lead doctor.

"Give the Moonpetal Elixir to Ella Campbell's mother," Joshua's mental voice commanded, sharp and absolute.

The words didn't make sense. My mind felt foggy, slow. It had to be a mistake.

Brennen's reply was hesitant, laced with confusion. "But Alpha... the elixir was for Luna Kathleen. It's her only chance."

A cold dread washed over me, heavier than the poison itself. My heart, which usually beat so faintly, began to thud against my ribs.

Joshua's response was ice, but I felt a flicker beneath it-a brief, sharp image of my own pale face, quickly shoved aside. "Ella gave me a son. A healthy, strong son. Her mother will have the elixir. That is my final command."

A son.

The two words echoed in the hollow space of my chest. A son. He had a son with another woman. The realization didn't come with a flood of tears, but with a terrifying, soul-crushing quiet.

My inner wolf, the one I hadn't truly felt in years, let out a long, mournful howl in my mind, a sound of pure agony.

For three years, Joshua had played the part of the devoted husband. He brought me meals, read to me, held my hand as I shivered with fever. He told the pack he was doing everything to save his fated Mate. It was all a lie. A beautiful, cruel lie.

As if to confirm it, another mind-link brushed against mine. This one was softer, filled with a woman's laughter and the happy gurgle of a child. It was Joshua, speaking with his mistress, Ella.

"Tara is asking for his daddy," Ella's voice purred. "When are you coming home?"

"Soon, my love," Joshua's voice was warm, a tone I hadn't heard directed at me in years. "I just have to check on... things here. I'll be there tonight."

The link snapped shut. The silence in the room was deafening.

A few minutes later, the door creaked open. Joshua walked in, his face a perfect mask of loving concern. He was handsome, with dark hair and eyes the color of a stormy sky. He was my Alpha, my Mate. And he was a stranger.

"How are you feeling, my love?" he asked, his voice smooth as honey.

He moved to sit on the bed, but I flinched away. His scent hit me first. It wasn't the scent of pack business, of documents and warrior sweat. It was the sweet, cloying scent of another female. The scent of Ella.

"You were with her," I whispered, the words scratching my raw throat.

He froze. "What are you talking about? I was in a meeting with the Gamma."

"Don't lie to me, Joshua," I said, my voice gaining a sliver of strength. "I can smell her on you."

A flicker of panic crossed his eyes before he masked it. He thought my senses were as dull as my body. He was wrong.

He didn't answer. He just stood there, his lies hanging in the air between us. I closed my eyes, focusing on a different connection. My parents, the former Alpha and Luna, had built a powerful home, the Alpha's manor. As their only daughter, my blood was tied to its very foundation. It felt like plunging my mind into ice water, a draining, painful effort, but I pushed my senses toward it, searching for him.

And I found him.

Not in the present, but in the past. The manor's magic held echoes, memories. I saw a vision of Joshua in the grand living room, the one where my father used to hold council. He was bouncing a small boy with dark hair on his knee. Tara. Ella was beside him, beaming, and around her neck was a silver chain holding a beautiful moonstone. My moonstone. The one Joshua had told me was being specially crafted for my upcoming birthday.

The vision shifted, and my breath hitched. They were in my parents' bedroom. On their bed. The sacredness of the place was being defiled, their love a stain on the memory of my family.

The pain was immense, a physical weight that threatened to crush me. But beneath the pain, something else stirred. A cold, hard fury.

He had not only betrayed me. He had dishonored my parents' legacy.

My fingers trembled as I reached for the small, carved token on my bedside table. A communication rune. I pressed my thumb against it, channeling the last of my energy.

"Aunt Ellen," I sent the desperate message through the ancient magic, reaching out to my mother's sister in the neighboring Black Stone Pack. "He's giving my cure away. He has a child with another woman. I'm dying."

A pause, then her voice, laced with fury and grief, echoed back in my mind. "Hold on, Kathleen. I'm coming for you."

The connection faded. I let the rune fall from my fingers, my decision made. I would not die here, in this bed of lies. I would go to the Black Stone Pack. And I would find a way to survive. If not for myself, then for the chance to watch Joshua's world burn.