The wife he gave away

Untitled EpisodeChapter11

The Lie That Grew Teeth

"Why?"

The question lingered between us long after Elowen asked it.

I sat in silence for several moments, trying to find the right words. The problem wasn't explaining what Valeria had done. The problem was knowing how impossible it would sound. Elowen loved her sister. She trusted her completely. Asking her to see Valeria through my eyes felt like asking her to believe that the sky had suddenly changed color.

When I finally looked at my mate, I saw genuine confusion in her expression. It was not suspicion or concern. What I saw was confusion.

That should have warned me. Instead, I took a breath and told her the truth.

"Your sister has been making advances toward me."

The words sounded ugly the moment they left my mouth. For a second, Elowen simply stared. Then she laughed. Not cruelly. Not mockingly. It was the laugh of someone who had just heard something ridiculous.

I remember that part clearly because it was the first time in our marriage that I felt truly helpless.

"Valeria?" she asked.

I nodded.

Her smile widened. "Alaric, that's impossible."

The certainty in her voice irritated me immediately.

"I wouldn't say it if it wasn't true."

"You're misunderstanding her."

"I'm not."

"She's affectionate."

I felt frustration rise inside me. "Elowen."

"She's always been affectionate. I thought you already knew."

"This isn't affection, Luna."

I only called her that when it was very important.

The smile slowly faded from her face. Not because she believed me. Because she thought I was being unreasonable.

For the first time in years, we argued. It wasn't loud or dramatic, but we argued.

I explained the comments, the lingering touches, the inappropriate visits. I even explained the way Valeria seemed determined to put herself in situations where we were alone.

Every explanation I offered met the same response… coincidence, misunderstanding, overthinking.

By the end of the conversation, I felt more exhausted than angry.

Elowen eventually moved beside me and rested her hand on my arm. "I know my sister."

Those four words settled heavily in my chest. The problem was simple. So did I… at least, I was beginning to, and I didn't like what I saw.

The days that followed were uncomfortable… not because of Valeria. The realization that Elowen hadn't believed me weighed heavily on me.

I understood why.

Valeria had spent her entire life building a reputation as the sweet younger sister. The helpful one. The charming one. The vulnerable one.

People protected people like that. People defended them. People made excuses for them.

Valeria knew it, and she used it.

The proof arrived sooner than expected.

Three days after my conversation with Elowen, I returned to my office late in the evening.

The packhouse had grown quiet. Most people had gone home.

I expected privacy. Instead, I found Valeria sitting in a chair near the window, waiting. The sight immediately made my mood darken.

"What are you doing here?," I asked, trying to be as polite as I could.

She smiled. The expression sent a chill down my spine.

"I heard your conversation."

My body went still.

She crossed one leg over the other, completely relaxed and comfortable.

"As it turns out, walls aren't as thick as people think."

Anger flashed through me. "You were eavesdropping."

She shrugged. "You were talking about me, so I had to listen."

The casual response made my jaw tighten.

Then her smile widened. "She didn't believe you, did she?"

I said nothing.

Valeria laughed softly. "Of course she didn't."

I should have left.

Looking back now, that's exactly what I should have done.

Instead, I stood there, listening, trying to understand how someone could sound so pleased about creating conflict inside her own family.

"You're playing a dangerous game, Valeria."

Her eyes sparkled. "Am I?"

"You need to leave."

"Or what?"

The challenge in her voice was unmistakable.

I stared at her. She stared back. And for the first time, I saw something beneath the charm. Something cold. Something calculating. Something that genuinely frightened me.

Then she said the words that haunted me for years…

"She'll always choose me."

The confidence behind the statement was absolute. She sounded so certain.

And the worst part?

She was right.

Months passed. Still, the situation became unbearable. I avoided Valeria whenever possible, but she found ways around it.

I reduced opportunities for private encounters. Still, she created new ones. Every boundary I established seemed to amuse her rather than discourage her.

The stress slowly began affecting my marriage. Not because Elowen and I stopped loving each other. It was because distrust had entered places where it had never existed before.

There was no distrust between us; it was the distrust around us. A poison that slowly spread.

Then came the night that changed everything.

Even now, remembering it filled me with disgust. I have never felt as powerless as I did that night.

I had returned home exhausted after dealing with a border dispute that had consumed most of the day. Elowen was away visiting a neighboring territory on pack business. Elias was staying with trusted caretakers.

I expected an empty house. Instead, Valeria was there.

At first, I assumed she was waiting for her sister. Then I realized something was wrong.

The conversation started normally enough. It did not stay normal.

When I told her to leave, she refused.

When I became angry, she remained calm.

When I threatened consequences, she smiled.

Everything escalated from there.

What happened that night was not something I chose. It was not something I wanted. And it was not something I could erase afterward. For a long time, I carried shame that never belonged to me.

The following morning, Valeria made her position clear… she wasn't frightened; she wasn't remorseful; she wasn't even embarrassed.

She simply looked at me and reminded me how easily stories could be rewritten; how easily people could be manipulated; how easily an accusation could destroy a reputation… especially when the accused was an Alpha… especially when the accuser was a woman everyone adored.

That was the moment I understood the trap. And it was already closed.

The months that followed became a nightmare I couldn't explain to anyone.

Every time I considered speaking, I remembered the certainty in Valeria's voice.

She'll always choose me.

The worst part was knowing she was probably right.

Then tragedy struck before I could find a solution.

The day Elowen died began like every other day.

There was no warning. No prophecy. No sign from the Moon Goddess.

One moment she was laughing with Elias over breakfast. The next?

Everything was different.

I still remembered the messenger arriving. The panic in his eyes. The urgency in his voice. The way my wolf immediately sensed something was wrong before a single word was spoken.

I remembered running. I remembered denial. Most of all, I remembered arriving too late.

The memory never faded. It never softened… never became easier.

The strongest Luna our pack had ever known.

The woman who had changed my life.

The woman I loved more than my own heartbeat.

Gone.

Just like that.

And as I stood beside her body, feeling my world collapse around me, I didn't know that the worst mistake of my life was still waiting ahead.

Because while I was drowning in grief...

Valeria was already making plans.