Raelynn's POV

The accusation hits me like a slap across the face. That woman claims I’ve been unfaithful and swears she has proof of it. Her words are absurd, impossible. I’ve never been disloyal to Roldan—not once.

“You’re lying,” I snap, my voice low but trembling with fury. “There’s nothing to back this nonsense up. It’s all fabricated. I need to talk to my husband—right now.”

Her lips curl into a smirk. “He doesn’t want to hear from you. In fact, his exact words were, ‘I don’t want to see that cheating slut ever again.’” She revels in the cruelty of repeating those words, then casually lifts her phone and angles the screen toward me.

My stomach twists into knots as dread claws its way inside me.

The video playing on her phone...

Oh, no. No. No.

It shows me in our bed, the one Roldan and I share. But the man with me isn’t my husband.

My eyes stay glued to the screen as my world begins to tilt. The setting is unmistakably ours—our bedroom, our sanctuary. The woman in the video undeniably has my face. And the man...

I don’t even know who he is.

The longer I look, the more bile rises in my throat. None of it is real. It can’t be. I’ve never even entertained the thought of another man. I don’t even recognize the stranger in the video.

“What is... what is this?” My voice is no louder than a whisper, my body numb.

Her grin widens, cruel and triumphant. “Oh, just a little creation I commissioned from a friend of mine. He’s exceptionally skilled, don’t you think? Roldan believed it instantly.”

A wave of nausea washes over me, my legs nearly buckling under the weight of those words.

“How dare you...” I breathe, my voice breaking. “You created a deepfake... of me...”

Sable shrugs, utterly unbothered. “Doesn’t matter what you say. What matters is he believes it. I’m his mother—he trusts me implicitly. Now, you’re just the disgusting woman who betrayed him, humiliating him in front of the entire pack.”

My heart lurches. Of course, he’d believe her. Why wouldn’t he? The video looks unshakably real, and given the tension between us in recent weeks, this mistrust could easily take root. He wouldn’t question her. He wouldn’t even think to.

Worst of all, he wouldn’t want to see me—not after this. I’d felt his sharp-edged anger when I tried to reach him mentally, but I never realized it was aimed at me. But now, it’s all painfully clear.

Sable goes on, her sharp voice cutting through my shock. “He couldn’t face you himself, so he asked me to handle this.” She holds out a thick brown envelope, her hateful smile growing. “His attorneys pulled these together in record time, given how furious he was.”

I don’t need to open it to know what’s inside.

Divorce papers.

“Sable,” I plead, my voice cracking under the weight of desperation. “Please, just let me explain this to him... I need to...”

Her eyes glint with smug satisfaction as she interrupts me. “Oh, I already know about your little secret. My daughter has quite the problem keeping her mouth shut. It’s maddening, really.” Her scornful gaze narrows. “She didn’t tell Roldan, thank the Goddess, but she made sure I was well aware you’re carrying his... spawn.” She spits the last word like venom. “Tell me, did you honestly think I’d let my son suffer the disgrace of having a child by someone like you? The Goddess clearly made a mistake in pairing him with a mutt. Alphas deserve mates of equal power and pure bloodlines. Now, sign those papers. Let’s get this over with so my son can heal without you poisoning his life.”

Tears spill freely down my face now, hot and unrelenting. My life is collapsing around me—my home, my pack, my future, my mate. Everything is slipping through my fingers, all because of this woman’s hatred. All because she’s chosen to defy the will of the Goddess.

And there’s nothing I can do to stop it.

The one person who could step in and save me has turned his back. Roldan thinks I’ve destroyed him, and he’s given up on me entirely.

“Why?” I choke out, my voice trembling with barely contained agony. “Why would you do this to him? He’s your son.”

Sable rolls her eyes, her expression dripping with disdain. “Let me give you a parenting tip, since you’re about to become one. Sometimes, parents have to protect their children from making mistakes, even if it hurts.”

“And you think tearing his mate and child away is protecting him? Forcing him to believe fabricated lies is helping him?”

Her smile sharpens. “I didn’t force him to believe anything. He made that decision all on his own. Maybe your so-called bond wasn’t as strong as you imagined.” She shoves the pen toward me with a haughty tilt of her head. “Now, sign the papers. You wouldn’t want him to come back and publicly reject you, would you? That would be messy—and deeply painful for everyone involved.”

Shaking, I take the pen from her elegantly manicured fingers. My soul feels as though it’s shattering with each ragged breath, but Sable is right about one thing—there’s nothing more I can do. Roldan is gone. He won’t listen; he won’t believe me.

It’s over.

Everything I’ve built, everything I’ve loved is gone.

Not everything. A faint, resilient whisper stirs in my mind. My baby is still with me.

But the whisper carries a shadow with it. If Roldan finds out, he’ll take the child away from me. He could turn the baby against me. Or worse, he’d claim it’s not his and toss us both into the dungeons, condemning us to live in darkness and despair.

I can’t let that happen.

As tears blur my vision, I scribble my signature onto the papers. My hand shakes uncontrollably, but I can hardly feel it over the numbness blanketing my entire being. Sable watches with satisfaction as I hand the pen and document back to her.

She’s won. My marriage is in ruins, my old life reduced to ashes—but my baby offers me one small shred of hope. For that, I’ll abandon everything else.

Without another word, I get up, hollow and drained, and walk away. Away from my home, my pack, and the mate who will never look at me the same again.