Sold for a Fake: The Alpha's Lost True Mate

On our fifth anniversary, my husband, Alpha Ethan, didn't give me a gift.

Instead, he watched as his "invalid" mistress, Ilene, poured a tureen of boiling soup laced with Wolfsbane directly onto my chest.

As the poison ate through my skin and I screamed in agony, Ilene clutched her heart and faked a panic attack, claiming my noise was hurting her.

Ethan didn't call a doctor for me.

His eyes glowed amber with power, and he turned his Alpha Command on his dying mate.

"Stay down!"

He forced me to lie paralyzed in my own melting flesh, unable to move or whimper, just so my screams wouldn't disturb the woman who had poisoned me.

He scooped her up and walked away, leaving me on the restaurant floor.

That night, the bond in my chest finally snapped.

I didn't argue. I didn't fight. I simply burned every photo of us, masked my scent, and vanished into the night.

It took Ethan two years to discover the truth.

Ilene wasn't a fragile victim. She had been taking suppressants for years, hiding a healthy wolf while draining his bank accounts and laughing at his guilt.

He slaughtered her in a rage and spent his fortune searching the globe for me, desperate to beg for forgiveness.

But he was too late.

He finally found me on the cover of an international art magazine.

I wasn't the weak, wolf-less Omega anymore.

I stood tall, glowing with the power of the legendary White Wolf.

And the man standing next to me, with his hand possessively claiming my waist, wasn't him.

It was the Lycan King.

Chapter 1

Aurora POV:

"Happy Anniversary, Aurora."

The document slid across the mahogany desk, stopping just inches from my trembling fingers. The bold, black letters at the top seemed to scream at me: Mate Bond Dissolution Agreement.

Thirty-eight. That was the count. Thirty-eight times he'd shoved this paper in my face.

I looked up at the man sitting across from me. Ethan Bruce, Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack. He was breathtaking, in the way a thunderstorm is breathtaking right before it levels your house. His dark hair was a mess, his jawline sharp enough to cut glass, and his eyes... those deep, forest-green eyes that used to look at me with curiosity were now filled with a mixture of exhaustion and impatience.

My wolf didn't even whimper this time. She just curled into a ball in the back of my mind, too tired to care.

"Is this my gift?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper. "Divorce papers?"

"It is not a divorce, Aurora. It is a mercy," Ethan said, his voice deep, vibrating with that Alpha authority that made weaker wolves want to bare their necks. "Ilene is unstable. She threatened to jump off the balcony again this morning. She needs security. She needs the title of Luna."

"And I need nothing?" I gripped the edge of the table. "I am your fated mate, Ethan. The Moon Goddess gave me to you."

Ethan flinched. For a second, I smelled it-the sharp, intoxicating scent of cedar and rain that was his natural aroma. It spiked with guilt. But then, he crushed it down.

"The Moon Goddess made a mistake," he said coldly. "Ilene took a silver bullet for me five years ago. She lost her ability to carry pups because of that rogue attack. She lost her wolf's connection. I owe her everything."

"You owe her your life, not your soul," I countered, though the fight was draining out of me.

The lawyer in the corner, a beta named Marcus, looked down at his shoes. Even he felt the cruelty of this ritual. In our world, the bond between fated mates is sacred. To reject it is to tear a piece of your own soul away. But Ethan hadn't rejected me yet. He was too cowardly to say the ritual words. He wanted me to sign it away legally first.

I picked up the pen. My hand shook so violently that the ink blotted on the paper.

Suddenly, the heavy oak doors of the office burst open.

A wave of cloying, synthetic rose perfume hit me before she even spoke. It smelled like a funeral home trying too hard.

"Ethan!" Ilene rushed in, her face perfectly pale, her eyes wide with practiced terror. She threw herself into his lap, ignoring me completely. "I heard voices! I thought... I thought the rogues were back!"

Ethan's demeanor changed instantly. The cold Alpha vanished, replaced by a doting protector. He wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in her neck.

It's okay, Ilene. You are safe. I am here.

I heard his voice in my head. He had forgotten to block our Mind-Link. The connection between mates allows us to hear each other's thoughts, a private channel of intimacy. Hearing him comfort her through our sacred link felt like a physical slap.

"I... I can't breathe," Ilene gasped, looking at me with a smirk that Ethan couldn't see. "Why is she still here? Her scent... it makes me nauseous."

I was an Omega. My scent was faint, like wild roses and old paper. It was gentle. It couldn't make anyone sick.

"We are going to dinner," Ethan said, standing up and lifting Ilene as if she were made of glass. He looked at me, his eyes hard again. "Come with us, Aurora. We need to maintain the image of a united pack for the public until the papers are processed."

"I don't want to-"

"That wasn't a request."

The restaurant was the finest in the city, owned by the pack, which meant the staff was paid to ignore my humiliation. I sat opposite them, clutching my sketchbook against my chest like a shield. Inside were charcoal drawings of wolves-not just how they looked, but how their souls felt. It was my only talent, the only thing that made me feel like I wasn't just a waste of space.

"Oh, look," Ilene said loudly, reaching across the table. Her hand 'accidentally' swiped my sketchbook.

It fell to the floor, spilling open. A drawing of a majestic white wolf-one I had seen in my dreams-slid out.

"Still drawing cartoons?" Ilene laughed, a brittle sound. "You really are a child, Aurora. No wonder you can't shift properly. You live in a fantasy because you're too weak for reality."

Ethan didn't defend me. He was busy cutting Ilene's steak for her.

A waiter arrived with a steaming tureen of soup. It was a special delicacy, rich and spicy.

"Here, let me serve you, Aurora," Ilene said, her eyes glinting. She stood up, grabbing the heavy ladle.

"I can do it myself," I said, sensing danger.

"Nonsense. I'm trying to be nice."

She moved too fast. Or maybe I was just too slow. The ladle tilted.

"Oops!"

The boiling soup didn't just spill; it splashed directly onto my chest and neck.

I screamed.

It wasn't just heat. It was a searing, chemical burn that ate into my flesh instantly. The smell of burning skin mixed with something acrid-Wolfsbane.

"It burns!" I clawed at my neck, falling out of my chair. Wolfsbane is deadly to us. It stops our natural healing. "Help me!"

Ethan shot up, his eyes widening in horror as he saw my skin blistering red and purple. He reached for me. "Aurora!"

"Ethan!" Ilene shrieked, falling back into her chair and clutching her chest. "The noise! She's screaming so loud! My heart!"

Ethan froze. He looked at me, writhing on the floor in agony, and then at Ilene, who was hyperventilating.

My vision blurred. "Ethan... please..."

He made his choice. He always made the same choice.

He turned to Ilene, but I was thrashing too much, drawing the attention of the humans in the restaurant. He needed to silence me to protect the pack's secret existence.

He looked down at me, his eyes glowing with the amber light of his wolf.

"Aurora," he boomed, his voice layered with a power that slammed into me like a physical weight. "Stay down!"

It was the Alpha's Command.

My body betrayed me. My muscles locked up instantly, obeying the absolute order of the pack leader. I slammed onto the floor, unable to move, unable to soothe the burning acid eating at my throat. I could only whimper, tears streaming from my eyes, forced into submission while my skin melted.

"I'm taking Ilene to the car," Ethan said to his Beta, not looking at me. "Call an ambulance for... for her."

He scooped up the woman who had just poisoned me and walked away.

Lying there, paralyzed by the man I loved, listening to his footsteps fade, I realized something.

The soup burned my skin, but his command had incinerated my heart.

Aurora POV:

The smell of antiseptic was the first thing that hit me.

I opened my eyes, expecting darkness, but was met with the blinding white of the pack hospital ceiling. I tried to turn my head, but a sharp, tearing pain in my neck made me gasp.

"Careful," a nurse said softly. She was a Gamma, a lower-ranked wolf, looking at me with pity. "The Wolfsbane was concentrated. Because you are... because your wolf is dormant, your healing is very slow."

I touched the bandages wrapped thick around my throat. I was an Omega. In our hierarchy, we are the weakest. We heal slower, we run slower, and we are expected to serve. But I was worse than a normal Omega. I hadn't shifted since I turned eighteen. They called me "The Wolf-less."

But they were wrong. I had a wolf. She was just... locked away. Buried under layers of fear and rejection.

The door opened.

Ethan walked in. He looked tired. His shirt was rumpled, and he smelled of stale coffee and... her. That sickly sweet rose scent clung to him like a parasite.

He approached the bed. "Aurora."

He reached out to touch my hand. The moment his skin brushed mine, a jolt of electricity shot up my arm. It was the Mate Bond. No matter how much he hurt me, my biology recognized him as the other half of my soul. It was a cruel joke by the Moon Goddess.

He pulled his hand back as if he had been burned. He felt it too.

"How is she?" I asked, my voice rasping like sandpaper.

"Ilene is in shock," Ethan said, avoiding my eyes. "The noise... it triggered her PTSD from the shooting."

"I was screaming because she poured Wolfsbane on me, Ethan," I whispered.

"It was an accident," he snapped, his jaw tightening. "The waiter put the Wolfsbane in the soup as a garnish, not knowing. Ilene just spilled it. She feels terrible."

"Did she tell you that?" I let out a dry, humorless laugh. "Or did she draw you a diagram with crayons this time?"

"Stop it," he warned, his voice lowering. "She saved my life. She can't have children because of me. I will not have you slander her."

"So you used the Alpha Command on me," I said, tears pricking my eyes. "You forced me to lie in my own burning flesh to stop me from upsetting her."

Ethan looked away, a flicker of shame crossing his face. "I did what was necessary to control the situation. Humans were watching."

"You chose her. Again."

"I am trying to do right by everyone!" He ran a hand through his hair. "Look, once Ilene is stable... once she feels secure... we will do the Marking Ceremony. I promise. I just need time to transition her out of the public eye."

The Marking Ceremony. The act of an Alpha biting his mate, sealing their bond and sharing his power. He had promised me this for five years.

"You're lying," I said simply.

His phone buzzed. He looked at it, and his expression softened instantly.

Ethan? Are you there? I'm scared. The shadows are moving again.

I heard Ilene's voice through the Mind-Link he still hadn't blocked. It was whiny, pathetic, and completely calculated.

"I have to go," Ethan said, already backing away. "She's having an episode."

"Ethan, I'm in the hospital," I pleaded, though I knew it was useless. "I'm your wife."

"She has no one else, Aurora. You have... you're strong in your own way."

He turned and walked out.

As the door clicked shut, my phone vibrated. A video message from an unknown number.

I clicked play.

It was Ilene. She was lying in the master bedroom of the Pack House-my bedroom. She was wearing Ethan's shirt. She pulled the collar down to reveal a red mark on her neck. It looked like a hickey, cleverly made up to look like a bite mark.

"He's coming back to me," she whispered into the camera, her eyes bright with malice. "Face it, sweetie. You're just the placeholder. He might be bound to you by magic, but he's leashed to me by choice. Do us all a favor and stop breathing."

The video ended.

I stared at the black screen.

Something inside me, something fragile that I had been holding together with hope and duct tape for five years, finally snapped.

"Moon Goddess," I whispered to the empty room. "I don't want this anymore. I don't owe him my pain."

I closed my eyes and focused on the mental thread that connected me to Ethan. It was a golden cord, pulsing with light. I imagined a pair of scissors.

With a mental scream of effort, I clamped down on the connection.

I couldn't break the bond-only a formal rejection could do that-but I could build a wall. I shoved a brick wall between our minds. The golden light dimmed. The background noise of his emotions-his guilt, his annoyance, his worry for Ilene-vanished.

Silence.

For the first time in five years, my head was quiet. And in that silence, I began to plan.

Aurora POV:

It took three days for my skin to knit together enough for me to leave the hospital. The scars on my chest were pink and angry, a map of my husband's betrayal.

I took a taxi back to the Pack House. The massive Victorian mansion stood on a hill overlooking the city, a symbol of the Blood Moon Pack's wealth and power. It used to look like a castle to me. Now, it looked like a prison.

I walked through the front door. The air changed instantly.

The scent of cedar and rain-Ethan's scent, the scent of the pack-was gone. It was buried under a suffocating layer of synthetic roses.

"Welcome back, Mrs. Bruce," a maid mumbled, rushing past me with a basket of laundry.

I walked up the grand staircase, my legs still weak. I headed toward the guest room where I had been sleeping for the past year, ever since Ilene 'needed' the master suite for her 'night terrors.'

But when I opened the door, my room was empty.

My bed was stripped. My clothes were gone. And my nesting corner-the pile of soft blankets and pillows that every she-wolf instinctively builds to feel safe-was dismantled.

"Looking for your trash?"

I spun around. Ilene was standing at the end of the hallway. She looked the picture of health, wearing a silk robe that cost more than my life was worth.

"Where are my things?" I asked, my voice steady.

"I had the servants burn them," she said casually, examining her fingernails. "They smelled like... failure. I'm redecorating. This floor is for high-ranking wolves only. The attic is free, I think."

"You burned my paintings?" My heart stopped. "My drawings of the ancestors? The history of this pack?"

"Oh, those scribbles?" She laughed. "Ethan said I could do whatever I wanted to make the house feel like home. And your creepy drawings didn't fit my aesthetic."

Rage, hot and unfamiliar, boiled in my gut. Those drawings were spiritual. They were channeled from the collective memory of the pack. To destroy them was a crime against our heritage.

"You have no right," I stepped forward. "You are a guest here, Ilene. A parasite."

Her eyes narrowed. "I am the future Luna. Ethan loves me."

"He pities you," I spat. "And he's too stupid to see you're faking."

Ilene's face twisted. She wasn't the fragile victim now. She moved toward me with a predator's grace-too fast for a human, too fast for a wolf-less cripple.

"You think you know everything," she hissed, backing me toward the staircase. "But you know nothing about power."

"Get out of my way," I tried to step around her.

She grabbed my arm. Her grip was iron. "You need to learn your place, Omega."

She shoved me.

It wasn't a little push. She put her full weight, enhanced by a strength she shouldn't have if her wolf was truly gone, into the blow.

I lost my footing.

The world tilted. I reached out for the banister, but my fingers grasped only air.

I fell backward.

My body hit the wooden steps with a sickening crunch. I tumbled, hitting my head, my shoulder, my hip. The world was a blur of spinning ceiling and sharp pain.

Crack.

I landed at the bottom of the stairs, my leg twisted at an unnatural angle. A scream tore from my throat, raw and agonizing.

Darkness edged my vision. Through the haze, I saw the front door open.

Ethan stood there, his keys in his hand. He looked from me, broken at the bottom of the stairs, to Ilene, standing at the top with her hand over her mouth in mock horror.

A sharp pain hit his chest-I saw him clutch his heart. The Mate Bond transferring my physical agony to him.

"Aurora!" he roared, rushing toward me.

"She fell!" Ilene cried out, her voice pitching into a sob. "I tried to catch her, Ethan! She was dizzy! She just fell!"

Ethan fell to his knees beside me, his hands hovering over my broken body. "Aurora, stay with me."

I looked up at him through one swollen eye. I wanted to tell him she pushed me. I wanted to tell him she was strong, that she was lying.

But as I looked into his panicked eyes, I saw it. He was already looking up at her, reassuring her with his gaze.

It's not your fault, Ilene.

He didn't say it, but I heard it in the way he looked at her.

I closed my eyes, letting the darkness take me. There was no point in speaking. In this house, the truth died long ago.