My Fated Mate, Liam, was toying with my best friend Chloe—right in front of me. He was releasing his scent on purpose, drawing me toward him like a lure so I'd have no choice but to watch. Outside the werewolves-only nightclub, our so-called mutual friends were laying bets on whether I'd have the guts to sever the Mate Bond and file for divorce. "No way Serena walks. Liam owns half the state—he's a top-tier Alpha." "Please. She's an Omega. She couldn't excite an Alpha if her life depended on it. Why do you think Liam's screwing Chloe? And she's just a Beta." "Hey, Liam, say something. You think that mate of yours has the nerve to leave you?" Through the half-open door of the private booth, I saw Chloe. My best friend. She was draped across Liam's lap, tilting her head back to press a slow kiss against his mouth. "Serena?" she said, her voice thick with contempt and certainty. "That parasite? Without an Alpha to shelter her, she wouldn't survive a week." Liam raised an eyebrow and gave me a slow, mocking smile through the doorway. Then, holding my gaze, he stubbed out his cigar and pressed one large hand against Chloe's hip, forcing her down hard against the leather couch. His eyes went dark with that wild Alpha hunger, and he tore open the thin silk of her dress in one rough motion. Chloe let out a coy little gasp, then eagerly wrapped her legs around his solid waist. The heavy breaths came next. Then the primal, brutal rhythm of flesh against flesh. Chloe's breathy moans blended with Liam's low, possessive growls, and every sound of it poured straight into my ears. The cloying, syrupy scent unique to heat rolled out through the gap in the door and stabbed at my senses. I stood outside, shaking. That's when I understood: he'd released the scent on purpose. He wanted me here. He wanted to watch his mate fall apart. But I was even more pitiful than they thought—I couldn't even bring myself to push the door open. I just drew a slow breath, forced my Inner Wolf's grieving howl back down, and dialed a number. Chloe's mate. "Shawn, Chloe's drunk. She's at the nightclub. You should come get her." Shawn was an Alpha—exiled by another pack. Once, protecting Chloe, he'd killed a man in a half-shift. The Council had ruled against him, stripping him of his territory. Chloe had complained to me more than once that Shawn was beneath her now. "Who's she drinking with?" Shawn's voice came through the phone, hoarse and cold. I answered right away. "Friends. Rough male wolves, the loud, handsy type. You should hurry." Shawn made a rough sound of agreement, breathing hard, and said he was on his way. I hung up and turned to leave. Chloe's smug voice echoed in my head—something she'd bragged about more than once: *"Shawn used to be an Alpha. He tore out throats to protect me. Not one or two men, either—otherwise how would an Alpha like him end up exiled?"* I'd only just reached the end of the hallway when my phone rang. Liam. "You saw, didn't you?" he said. "Enjoy the show?" His voice carried the full weight of an Alpha's dominance right through the receiver. My lips parted. My throat closed. I said nothing. "I saw you," he went on. "Was the sound good?" The tenderness in his voice was worse than silver burning my skin. I made a small sound of acknowledgment. A quiet *mm*. Liam laughed under his breath. "Coward." He was right. By now, the whole pack knew I was a coward. He'd played with my best friend, in front of me, in front of the whole pack. "Come on, she doesn't even dare walk in? That's just sad!" Laughter erupted inside the booth—cruel, careless heckling. Then Chloe grabbed the phone. Her voice came through, smiling and light. "If I'd known you were this scared of losing your Alpha, I wouldn't have wasted money on scent-blocker." Her tone turned honeyed. "But doing it behind your back? God, the thrill. I've been sampling your mate on your behalf, Serena. Full marks on all counts. I'll be keeping him, thanks." "Chloe, keep going and the poor little Omega's going to cry." "Liam, aren't you going to comfort her?" Someone piped up from the sidelines, but this time Liam actually sounded serious. "Cut it out. If she cries, I'll have to deal with it later. Serena isn't like you—she's easier to soothe, so quit picking on her." Then he took the phone back and offered me his charity, that gentle condescension I knew so well. "Where are you? The bathroom? I'll come find you. It's not safe out there." I turned toward the corridor and watched his tall frame push through the door. He stood there a moment, phone raised, then spotted me and hung up. His expression was pure satisfaction—with just a trace of a predator savoring the moment it caught its prey. He walked over, reached out, and ruffled my hair the way you'd pet a nervous animal. "She's not like you. You're my rightful Luna. Why the tears?" "Come on, be good. I'm not going to break the bond with you." His voice was indulgent, warm—the tone you use with something you own. Then the door swung open, and Chloe stumbled out. Her clothes were half-fastened, her curls tumbling across her pale collarbone, the neckline of her dress hanging low enough to promise more than it hid. She tripped forward and fell against Liam's chest. His hand went to her waist automatically—his palm, hot, spread across her bare skin. Chloe tilted her head against him and lifted her eyes to mine. "Liam, it hurts," she murmured. "You were too rough. My legs won't stop shaking." She pouted, rubbed her stomach, and let her voice go soft and coaxing. "Take me home? Serena knows now anyway, so what's the point in hiding? You don't mind, do you, Serena?" She looked straight at me, all pride and gloating. "After all—she's just an Omega. She can't handle a man like you. Only I can take that kind of love." At that exact moment, my phone lit up. Shawn, asking for my location. Blank-faced, I pinned the location and sent it.
Then I raised my head and looked Liam dead in the eye. "And if I do mind?" Something flickered across Liam's handsome face—hesitation, maybe. He tried to peel Chloe off him, but she went limp against his chest like clay, arms locked tight around his waist. She pouted. "We've done it plenty of times on your own territory. Why the sudden gentleman act?" She scoffed, then turned toward me with her chin raised in triumph. "Didn't you say it yourself? Serena in bed is like a dead fish. Zero fun." Liam shot me a nervous glance. "Just jokes. Just something I say to tease her." I dug my nails into my palm and gave a light, indifferent, "Oh." "Then I'll help you take her home." "You'll *what*?" Chloe stared at me like she couldn't have heard right. I lifted my chin and looked steadily at the two of them—the man and woman who'd trampled the Mate Bond without shame. "You said your head hurts. Liam and I will take you home together." Then, ignoring the pressure of an Alpha and a Beta bearing down on me, I stepped forward and took hold of her arm. Liam blinked, then let out something like a laugh. He reached out and brushed a finger down the tip of my nose, all indulgence. "Well, well. My Luna finally got jealous? Little bit of temper isn't bad on you." The gesture and the tone were unbearably intimate—as if the betrayal had never happened. My stomach turned, but I kept my face still. It made me think of the werewolf academy. A she-wolf had cornered me in the locker room once, shredded my clothes with her claws. I'd stood there just like this—swallowing it, letting it happen. It was Liam who'd shown up. Liam who'd flooded the room with Alpha dominance and cowed her. He'd frowned, stripped off his black jacket, and dropped it around my shoulders. *"You should have some fight in you. Act like a real wolf."* The girl never showed her face at the academy again. Liam always assumed it was his doing—the mighty Alpha, defender of his little Omega. He never knew the truth: that the same girl had been caught mid-tryst with her Alpha by her own strict, church-going father. And that I was the one who'd led her father there. She'd been forced off the territory. She never had another chance to bother me. I was happy to let Liam play hero. That's why I never told him. Chloe's voice yanked me back. "Who said I'm going home? We planned to go three rounds tonight. That was just the warm-up. Next we do it in the car, then at the hotel." She batted her eyes at Liam, coy. "You don't want to, Liam? Come on. In the car. Whole new scenery." Liam's dark eyes flicked between us. Before he could open his mouth, I spoke first. "Liam. We're going home. To the main house." I held his gaze. Right in front of me, Chloe slowly slid her stockinged leg up along his and locked her eyes onto his. "Naughty little outfit," she purred. "I stashed it in the car. Miss out tonight and I'm not wearing it again." Liam's pupils narrowed. Every trace of hesitation drained out of him and left only the animal underneath. "Serena. You go home first." He'd made his choice. His voice was flat, cold, final. I let my eyes rim red and my face crumple, as if I were being torn in half. "You're sure?" I whispered. He nodded, then frowned, impatient. "Do as you're told. Unless you want to be stripped of your Luna status." I inhaled slowly, feigning the ragged breath of someone whose chest was cracking open. Chloe covered her mouth and let out a small, wicked laugh. "Don't tell me you want to stay and watch from the driver's seat? That'd be cruel. For an Omega like you."
I said nothing. So Chloe leaned closer, right up against my ear, and whispered like she was sharing a secret. "Want to know when the first time was?" "You were miscarrying. Lying in the hospital, weak as a kitten. That's when we did it—on your bed." "He pressed me down against the edge of the mattress and took me like an animal." "Serena. If you're smart, you'll dissolve the bond and walk away." Every muscle in my body locked. Somewhere deep inside me, my wolf was screaming. That baby had been my first. A pup I'd waited for, guarded like glass. And still lost. Liam had made excuses the whole time I was in the hospital. Never stayed. I'd lain in that empty room alone, gritting my teeth just to get through it. So that was where he'd been. I stared at Chloe. "Why?" I whispered. "Why would you do this? You have a mate. He loves you." Chloe answered as if it were obvious. "Top-tier Alphas like Liam are rare. Leave him with you and somebody was going to steal him eventually. And we're best friends—might as well be me. As for Shawn... sure, he's strong. But he's a stray. A thug. Only Liam is worthy of me." I checked the time on my phone. Shawn was maybe ten minutes out. I tested her. "Won't Shawn come after you? You've said yourself he has a violent streak. Aren't you afraid?" At the mention of his name, Chloe's tone flattened into contempt. "He's a fool. I crook my finger and he does anything I want." She smiled, drew a slow circle on Liam's chest, and lifted her chin. "Worst case, I trick him into breaking our bond. He's just like you, Serena—too stupid to see it coming." Not a shred of feeling for her actual mate. "And if he catches you cheating?" I asked. Fear flashed across Chloe's face. She wound her legs tighter around Liam's and turned to him, nodding fiercely. "He never will. I train him like a dog. You have no idea how much he loves me." I laughed quietly inside my head and glanced at my phone. Shawn: *Almost there.* Suddenly, letting them off this easy felt like a waste. I wanted to see it. I wanted to watch a rabid wolf bite. So I turned to Liam with pleading eyes. "I'll drive for you. Do what you want in the car, then come home to the main house with me. Please?" I performed the perfect, groveling Omega. Liam's eyes widened. "You—you really can't be without me?" Chloe was quick to jab in with a sneer. "Serena. How can you be this pathetic? Wagging your tail like a mutt. What are you even hoping for?" I made my expression into that of a woman who had no life without her Alpha. "When we were at the academy, if Liam hadn't protected me, I don't know what I would have done. The tuition for those four years came from him. Since then he's supported me with pack resources. Chloe—I can't survive without his shelter." And to be fair, Liam really was strong. First-rate at seizing resources. Under his shadow, I—an Omega—never had to think about money or status. I'd sailed through my master's, then my doctorate, and settled quietly into position as the pack's behind-the-scenes strategist. Chloe went still, jaw tightening. Envy warped her face. Liam's golden pupils narrowed at her, and he let out a small ripple of warning dominance. "Don't talk to her like that." Then, to Chloe, in the calm voice of a man reminding an inferior of her place: "I told you from the start—you and I are just fun. Don't drag Serena into this. And I'm not leaving her to marry you. Or is there... some other reason you want the bond broken?" An Alpha's suspicion was fatal. Chloe's face went white. She dropped the arrogance instantly and pressed herself against him, all softness. "That's not what I meant. I just don't want the Omega spoiling our night."
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