Chapter 3
Five Fears Waiting, I Was Just a Lie Chapter 03
A mating ceremony portrait covered half the living room wall. Serena in a white ceremonial gown, leaning into Harlan in his crisp Alpha dress uniform.
The date in the corner made my breath catch.
The date they had chosen was my birthday. The first one Harlan ever missed.
He told me he was stuck on an urgent border mission.
I stumbled into the bedroom.
Photos of Harlan and Serena covered the walls. In the wardrobe, his Alpha uniform hung beside Serena’s lace sleep dress.
A half-empty box of condoms sat on the nightstand.
Whatever I’d been holding onto shattered right there.
So that was his version of busy. Building a family with another woman.
I sank to the cold floor. I pulled my knees to my chest and sobbed.
I didn’t move until Harlan came back.
He found me on the floor, eyes swollen and red. He pulled me into his arms.
Guilt and something that looked like pain crossed his face.
“Maeve, I’m sorry.”
“My dad’s old injury came back. I had to come home to take care of him.”
“Your rank isn’t high enough, Maeve.”
“My family and the Council would never approve the bond.”
I couldn’t hear another word. I shoved him away.
“So you bonded with someone else?”
“Then what were the last five years, Harlan?”
Harlan looked down at me.
Whatever softness had been in his eyes was already gone.
“Maeve.”
“Serena and I are equals. Our families and our positions align.”
“She’s Commander Ashford’s daughter. The bond benefits both packs.”
“Serena understands the arrangement.”
“If you don’t cause trouble, she’ll let you stay by my side.”
I looked up at him.
Tears were still running down my face.
He reached out to wipe them away.
I flinched from his hand.
He sighed.
“Maeve, we’ve been together a long time. I’ll take care of you.”
“If you want to stay in Southvale, I can get you a position at Pack Command. You’d be right by my side.”
I slapped him across the face.
The crack echoed through the room.
Harlan stared at me, stunned.
I’d already grabbed my suitcase. I was out the door before he could say a word.
I was in a cab when his voice message came through.
“Maeve, stop overreacting.”
“Do you know how many people would do anything for a spot at Southvale Pack Command?”
“I’ll give you three days to think it over.”
Then he sent a wire transfer. Two hundred grand.
When he’d been playing ordinary pack warrior, the transfers were a few hundred at most. Now he dropped six figures without blinking.
I didn’t reply.
Harlan sent message after message, every one of them telling me to come back.
Once I’d found a place to stay, I checked my phone.
PackNet was melting down.
Someone had uploaded a video of me outside Pack Command, looking lost and wrecked. In the clip, my eyes were darting everywhere.
I looked pathetic.
The post had already gone viral.
[Alpha Commander Blackwood caught cheating, side piece shows up at Pack Command]
I’d been with Harlan for five years. And somehow, I was the homewrecker.
I fought back. I posted every chat log and timeline from our five years together.
The dates spoke for themselves. Harlan and I were together long before he ever bonded with Serena.
The tide turned. PackNet came for Harlan.
He tried calling. I rejected every one.
Minutes later, Serena posted the bond registration certificate from her verified account. She called their relationship rock-solid.
She accused me of staging the whole thing for clout.
Southvale Pack Command’s public affairs office jumped in next. They called my chat records into question.
Then they threatened charges under pack law for defaming the Alpha Commander’s family.
Gossip accounts piled on, feeding the frenzy. Every one of them called me a homewrecker who’d gone after the Luna.
The comments were brutal.
[She wrecked an Alpha family and she’s STILL playing the victim? She deserves everything she gets.]
[Luna Serena has SO much class. Shut this girl down with one post.]
[She tried to destroy the Commander’s family and now she wants sympathy? Disgusting.]
My inbox flooded with hate. Someone told me they hoped the rogues would tear me apart.
Before long, my post was gone. My account was suspended.
For the first time, I understood what it meant to go up against real power. An ordinary woman didn’t stand a chance.
My phone wouldn’t stop ringing. I let it go.
It kept ringing.
I finally gave in and answered.
It wasn’t Harlan on the other end. It was Serena.
“Miss Vale.”
There was a smile in her voice. It wasn’t kind.
“Let’s talk.”
