I walked toward my husband's office to bring him his meal. He was a surgeon, always buried in his work, sometimes to the point of forgetting to eat. My steps echoed down the busy hospital corridor, and for a moment, I remembered what it felt like when I was still an active doctor. A small smile curved on my lips, and honestly, I missed that world sometimes. Alpha Lucian my mate, my husband, and the Alpha of Howlshade was a man whose surgical skills were well known across the city.

I had quit being a doctor because he asked me to, so I could focus on our pregnancy program. We had been married for five years, bonded as mates, yet I still wasn't pregnant.

"Dr. Lucian looked so panicked earlier when Dr. Amanda fainted."

"Yeah, I heard Dr. Amanda is pregnant. Poor Dr. Sera, betrayed by her own husband."

My feet froze the moment I caught the nurses gossiping about Lucian. That couldn't be right. I must have misheard them. With trembling courage, I ran toward Lucian's office and pushed the door open. It was empty.

But then I saw it an ultrasound photo sitting on his desk. I picked it up and examined it closely, my eyes falling on the name printed beneath it, Amanda Knight.

My hands began to shake. This had to be a mistake. There was no way Alpha Lucian would do something like this.

Just then, I sensed his presence behind me. His cold gaze landed on me as I stood there, clutching the ultrasound photo.

"Sera, there's something I need to tell you," he said.

"Explain this to me, Alpha! You didn't do this, right? You wouldn't betray me, would you?" I demanded.

"It's time you knew the truth."

I stepped closer to him, searching his piercing blue eyes, trying to find a trace of the man I trusted. He had always been known as wise, disciplined, and never once tempted by any other she-wolf. I was his first love, his chosen mate five years ago.

I looked back at the ultrasound. Thirty-seven weeks. My eyes blurred with tears before I turned and ran toward the inpatient wing, hearing his footsteps chasing after me.

"Sera, wait!" he shouted, but I didn't stop.

I flung open door after door, searching, shaking, furious, heartbroken. Nurses stared at me in confusion; some tried to stop me, but I pushed them away. Then I saw it, Room 207.

The door was slightly ajar. I pushed it open and froze.

Amanda lay on the hospital bed. Beside her was a small white crib decorated with tiny teddy bears and a soft sky-blue blanket. Inside it, a newborn slept peacefully, and on the name tag, I saw Lucian's name written there.

My heart shattered. For five years I had fought to conceive, given up my title as a doctor, swallowed hormone pills, endured strict diets, acupuncture sessions, and cried silently every time my period came. Yet here it was proof that Lucian had a child with another woman.

Footsteps stopped behind me. I didn't need to turn to know it was him.

"Sera?"

I turned slowly to face him. "You said you loved me. You said I was the only one you'd ever claim. Then what is this, Lucian?"

He lowered his head, unable to meet my eyes.

"I never meant to hurt you," he said quietly.

"But you did! You destroyed me. I gave up everything for you, and when I couldn't give you a child, you found one elsewhere?"

"It wasn't planned, Sera. She—"

"She what? Replaced me? Became the mother of your child? Did you sleep with her while I was counting my fertile days, while I cried alone every time another test came out negative?"

Tears blurred my vision. I wanted to hate him, but all I felt was unbearable pain. Lucian stepped forward, reaching for my hand.

I stepped back. "Don't touch me, Alpha Lucian. I gave up my dream of becoming a surgeon for you."

"Enough! Stop causing a scene!" he snapped.

I froze. It was the first time he had ever raised his voice at me. Amanda's lips curved into a faint smile. Rage burned inside me. I lunged toward her, grabbing her hair, but Lucian shoved me so hard I fell to the floor.

"Alpha, I'm scared," Amanda whimpered, pretending to be in pain.

The baby started crying, and Amanda quickly picked him up while Lucian's anger toward me only deepened.

"I, Alpha Lucian of Howlshade, reject you, Sera, as my Luna. From this moment on, you are no longer my mate."

I stood, wiping my tears. "I, Sera Blackthorne, accept your rejection. From this moment on, you are no longer my Alpha."

Amanda smirked, cradling her baby, as I turned and ran out of that cursed hospital. It wasn't just Lucian and Amanda who betrayed me everyone there did. They had all kept his affair hidden, even though I knew every single one of them.

I ran through the courtyard, my eyes scanning every building that once filled me with pride. This hospital used to be my world, my dream, my dedication. But today, it all crumbled not because of my career, but because of the man I called my husband and the woman I once called my friend.

The sky turned gray, and I had no coat or bag with me. I didn't know where to go. All I knew was that I couldn't breathe there anymore. Not after seeing that baby. Not after hearing those words leave Lucian's mouth.

"I, Alpha Lucian of Howlshade, reject you as my Luna."

That sentence echoed in my head again and again. It was the cruelest punishment a she-wolf could receive: the breaking of a bond, the denial of her mate, spoken in front of the woman who had taken her place.

My eyes lifted to the glass building where I once worked proudly. Once, I wore my white coat with honor. Once, people called me Dr. Sera Blackthorne with respect. But now, I was nothing more than a woman betrayed.

I wiped my tears harshly. "No. I won't let this be my end. I'll become the best surgeon in this city, and I'll take your place."