The Alpha's Discarded Mate

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 1

Zoey

I stood in front of the mirror in my Luna suite and smoothed down the silk dress for what felt like the hundredth time.

The fabric was deep emerald green and it hugged my body in all the right places. Tonight had to be perfect.

My hand drifted to my stomach, where our second child was growing. Eight weeks along and I could barely contain the secret anymore.

I had been planning this moment for days and waiting for the right time to tell him.

The full moon ceremony seemed perfect because the entire pack would be gathered, and we could announce it together just like we did with Olivia.

Well, not exactly like with Olivia, because at that time, I had been so nervous, I could barely speak.

Eric had done most of the talking, while I stood beside him with my hand on my barely showing belly.

But this time would be different, because I was more confident now and I knew what it meant to be a Luna and a mother.

I practiced my speech again and watched my reflection mouth the words. "Eric, I have something wonderful to tell you. Our family is growing again."

My wolf Sierra stirred inside me and she felt restless in a way that made my skin prickle. She had been like this all day, pacing back and forth in my mind like she was trying to tell me something.

I pushed the feeling down because tonight was supposed to be happy, and I did not want her anxiety to ruin it.

I thought about our mating ceremony five years ago and how Eric had bitten into my neck to mark me as his. The memory should have been sweet but something about it always felt incomplete.

He had told me that Alphas did not receive marks back from their Lunas because it was tradition and I had believed him because I did not know about wolf customs back then.

I had been so young and so eager to please him.

Our first night together came to mind next and I pushed that memory away faster. It had been mechanical and cold and nothing like the romance novels I used to read as a human.

Eric had been distant the whole time and barely looked at me afterward. I told myself that Alphas were just different and that passion was not the same as love.

When Olivia was born, he had held her like she was made of gold and diamonds. He stared at her tiny face with something close to wonder in his ice blue eyes.

But he barely glanced at me where I lay bleeding and exhausted on the birthing bed. The pack doctor had to remind him to at least thank his Luna for producing an heir.

I shook my head and forced those thoughts away. Eric was just reserved and private with his affection.

He showed his love through providing for us and protecting the pack. Not every Alpha could be warm and affectionate all the time.

Sierra growled low in my mind and the sound made me flinch.

"Stop it," I whispered to her. "Everything is fine."

But she did not stop pacing and her unease bled into my bones. I checked the time and realized I was early.

The ceremony did not start for another hour, but I wanted to catch Eric before he got busy with last minute preparations. This news could not wait any longer, and besides he always worked late in his office before pack events.

I left my suite and walked through the pack house halls. Omega wolves nodded respectfully as I passed and some of them smiled at me.

I had worked hard to be a good Luna to them and to make sure everyone in Storm Forest felt cared for. It was the one thing I knew I did right.

When I reached Eric's office, I heard sounds from inside and I paused with my hand on the doorknob. My wolf surged forward suddenly and her presence was stronger than it had been in years.

Sierra never came this close to the surface anymore because she had been weak ever since Eric marked me. He said it was normal for Luna wolves to give their strength to their Alphas.

But right now she was practically clawing at my skin trying to get out.

The sounds continued and I realized what they were. My stomach dropped and my hand trembled on the doorknob. No. It could not be what I thought. Eric would never.

I pushed the door open just a crack and looked inside. My heart stopped.

Eric was bent over his desk and a woman was underneath him. Her platinum blonde hair spilled across his papers and her long legs were wrapped around his waist.

But it was not just s*x that made my world tilt sideways. It was the way their wolves were visible and shimmering around them like a second skin.

His midnight black wolf, Kai, was pressed against her silver wolf and they moved together in perfect harmony.

It was a soul bond. A true mate bond.

The kind I thought Eric and I had, but never really did because our wolves never connected like that. I always assumed it was because I was too weak or too human or too something.

But this was what it was supposed to look like and I had never seen it before because Eric had never bonded with me.

Not really. Not like this.

The woman's scent hit me then and I realized with horror that I knew that scent. It had been in our home for weeks now and lingering in the hallways and on Eric's clothes.

I thought it was a visiting pack member or maybe a new omega who used strong perfume. But it was her.

Sierra exploded inside me and I felt my claws extend before I could stop them. My eyes burned gold and for the first time in years, I partially shifted without meaning to.

Power rushed through my veins and it felt like waking up after being asleep for too long. I slammed the door open all the way, and it crashed against the wall.

Eric jerked around and the woman sat up. Neither of them bothered to cover themselves and his ice blue eyes met mine without a trace of shame or guilt.

He just looked annoyed that I interrupted.

"Zoey," he said flatly. "You are early."

That was it. No explanation, no apology and no scrambling to fix what I just saw. Just irritation that I walked in at the wrong time.