Banished Luna Returns with Sextuplets

2

Markus

Earlier that day in my office, the walls felt like they were closing in on me.

“Are you sure the pictures are real?” I asked, my voice low and dangerous. I stared at my most trusted personal investigator across the desk. My hands were shaking as I held the photos.

“Yes, Alpha. I’m sure,” he answered quietly. “They are not photoshopped. The pictures are real.”

I dismissed him with a wave of my hand. “It’s okay. Go.”

The moment the door closed, I slammed my fist on the table. The wood cracked under the force. My wolf was howling inside me, clawing to get out. My mate — my Felicia — was cheating on me with a guard. A low-ranking guard!

I stared at the pictures again. There she was, smiling up at him in the garden. His hand was on her waist. In another shot, they were standing too close, almost like they were about to kiss. The pain cut so deep I could barely breathe.

How dare she? After everything I had done for her? After I stood by her when the whole pack called her the Barren Luna? After I fought the elders who wanted me to reject her and take another mate? This was how she repaid me?

I felt like burning the entire palace down.

I couldn’t stay inside these walls anymore. I stormed out of the office, ripping my shirt off as I headed for the woods behind the palace. The moment I was far enough, I let the shift take over. Bones cracked, fur burst through my skin, and my big black wolf form hit the ground running.

I ran hard and fast, trees blurring past me. The wind whipped against my face, but it did nothing to cool the fire in my chest. How could Felicia do this to us? To our mating bond? To the love I thought we had?

Betrayal tasted like blood in my mouth.

After almost an hour, I forced myself to shift back to human form near the river. My chest was still heaving. Sweat and dirt covered my skin. I pulled on the spare clothes I kept hidden in a tree hollow and started walking back toward the palace.

Mason, my beta, was already waiting for me at the edge of the woods. He looked worried.

“What are you going to do now, Alpha?” he asked carefully.

“She will face the consequences of her actions,” I growled.

Mason stepped closer. “I still don’t think Felicia would do something like this. She loves you, Markus. Maybe you should look into it more before—”

“Save it,” I snapped, cutting him off. “You heard the PI. The pictures are real. She’s been meeting that guard behind my back.”

I didn’t wait for his reply. I pushed past him and headed straight into the palace. My blood was still boiling. Every servant who saw my face quickly looked away and disappeared. Good. They knew better than to speak to me right now.

Even before I reached our private quarters, I could smell her sweet scent. It used to calm me. Now it only made the pain worse. She was inside. Waiting for me like nothing was wrong.

I shoved the door open.

Felicia turned around with the brightest smile I had seen in weeks. She rushed toward me, arms wide open, just like she always did when I came home. For one stupid second, my heart softened. I almost opened my arms to catch her.

Then the images flashed in my mind again — her smiling at that guard, his hands on her body.

I pushed her away hard. She stumbled back, shock written all over her face.

“Get away from me, you cheating w***e!”

My voice came out cold and filled with all the anger burning inside me. The smile on her face died instantly. She stared at me, her mouth open in disbelief, her hands still reaching out even though I had already stepped back.

“Markus… what?” she whispered, her voice barely coming out. “What did you just say?”

I stood there in the doorway, my eyes dark with rage. My fists were clenched so tight my knuckles turned white. She looked so innocent, so hurt, that for a moment I almost believed her. Almost.

“Markus,” she tried again. Tears were already burning in her eyes. “I don’t understand…”

I couldn’t hold it in anymore. The pain and anger exploded out of me.

“Swear to me that you didn’t cheat on me!” I shouted. “How could you? After everything I have done for you? You cheat on me with a guard!”

She looked shocked, completely in disbelief. Her eyes went wide, and for a second I almost believed the hurt on her face was real.

“I swear by the Goddess that I didn’t cheat on you,” she said, her voice trembling. “How can you even think that?”

I laughed bitterly. The sound was ugly even to my own ears.

“Don’t lie to me, Felicia. I have proof. Pictures. Clear ones. You and that worthless guard in the garden, smiling at each other, touching each other like I don’t exist. Do you think I’m blind?”

She took a small step forward, her hands shaking. “Markus, please listen to me. I don’t know what pictures you’re talking about. I have never touched any guard. I would never do that to you. You are my mate. My husband. I love you.”

Her words sounded so sincere. Part of me wanted to pull her into my arms and believe her. But the pictures were burned into my brain. I had seen them with my own eyes.

“Then explain why you were meeting him secretly!” I roared. “Why were you in the garden with him when you knew I was in meetings all day? Why did you let him put his hands on you?”

Tears were falling freely down her cheeks now. She looked small and broken, but I refused to let it soften me. Not after what she had done.

“I wasn’t meeting anyone,” she cried. “I went to the garden today after seeing Doctor Lora, but I was alone. I swear it! Markus, please… you have to believe me.”

Doctor Lora? For a moment, confusion cut through my anger. Why had she gone to the doctor? Was she sick? But I pushed the thought away. It didn’t matter right now. The betrayal was bigger than anything else.

“I trusted you,” I said, my voice dropping lower, colder. “When the pack called you barren, when my own sister called you useless, I defended you every single time. I told them you were mine and that was enough. And this is how you repay me? By spreading your legs for a guard?”

The words were harsh. I saw them hit her like a slap. She flinched, one hand flying to her stomach as if I had punched her there.

“Markus… stop,” she begged, sobbing now. “You’re wrong. I’m not cheating. I could never—”

“Enough!” I cut her off. My wolf was pacing inside me, angry and hurt, wanting to mark her again just to remind her who she belonged to. But another part of me wanted to reject her right there and then.

I turned away from her, unable to look at her crying face any longer. It was tearing me apart.

“Stay away from me tonight, Felicia. I can’t even stand to look at you.”

I heard her soft gasp behind me, but I didn’t turn back. I walked out of the room, slamming the door so hard the walls shook.

My heart felt like it was ripping in two.

As I stormed down the hallway, Mason appeared again, his face full of concern. But I didn’t stop. I needed air. I needed space. Most of all, I needed to figure out how the woman I loved more than anything could betray me like this.

Because if the pictures were real… then our bond was already broken.

And I didn’t know if it could ever be fixed.