Mated to My Ex's Alpha

Aurora's POV "You should be grateful I told you the truth, ma’am. At least you won’t be so clueless anymore. " Anna sneered, towering over me. She flaunted Gabriel's coat like a trophy while I lay broken on the cold floor. His scent, still lingering on the fabric, was like salt in my wounds. I had just caught them together, and now my husband - my mate - the mighty Beta of Silver Moon, was rejecting me without hesitation. The pain hit me like lightning. It felt like someone was ripping my soul to shreds. I wanted to scream, to cry, to beg - but I bit my tongue until I tasted blood. I refused to give them the satisfaction of seeing me break. "Gabriel, please," I whispered, watching him getting dressed. "Don't break our bond. There's something important I need to tell you." Cancer. The word echoed in my head like a death sentence. A werewolf would never succumb to such a disease, but without my wolf, I had no defense against it. The mate bond with Gabriel had been my source of strength, and it was the only thing that might save me now. But Gabriel didn't even look at me. Instead, he walked over to Anna and kissed her, making sure I saw every second of it. "Get rid of her," he said coldly. "I don't want to see her face again." Each word was a dagger to my heart. The pain spread like poison through my veins, leaving me gasping. Anna smirked as she rubbed her belly. "I'm carrying his baby. In two days, at the banquet, Gabriel will tell everyone I'm his new mate." The room started spinning. "You... what?" Anna. Pregnant. The words hit me like a knife to the heart. For years, I'd put my body through hell - endless needles, bitter pills, desperate treatments. Nothing worked. I watched Gabriel's eyes change over time. First came the hope, then the disappointment. These days, he just laughs at my failures. Cruel, bitter laughs that cut deeper than any blade. And now he was having a baby with another woman. Anna towered over me, her lips curled in disgust. "Did you really think Gabriel would marry someone like you, a wolfless weakling? He just wanted you to give him a pup, but you couldn't even do that." Her harsh words buzzed in my head like a swarm of angry bees. Werewolves believed that having babies with your true mate was the best. So to Gabriel, I was just a...birth machine? The memories came rushing back - that perfect night at the Starlight Banquet when Gabriel and I first felt our bond. I was so nervous. Despite being the daughter of an Elder, I had no wolf, and people often made fun of me for it. I thought Gabriel, being a Beta, would reject me right away. But to my surprise, he took my hand in front of everyone, defying their expectations. That's when I fell for him. Hard. And now? It was all fake? "I need to talk to Gabriel..." I pushed myself up, my legs shaking like jelly. "Oh honey, you really think I will let you see him again?" Anna's fingers locked onto my arm like steel claws, her nails biting into my flesh. Her lips twisted into something wicked - the kind of smile that makes your blood freeze. "What are you doing?" A feeling of dread washed over me. Anna looked down at me. "Gabriel just wants you gone, but I think you're in the way. Aurora, death is coming for you anyway. Why not speed things up a bit and do everyone a favor?" "You can't do this!" I shouted, struggling against Anna's men, but they quickly overpowered me. They forced some liquid down my throat, and suddenly my heart felt like it was on fire, the pain spreading through my body. It felt like my soul was being torn apart. I looked at Anna, furious. She was smiling, pleased with herself. Then she told her guards to throw me in the lake, along with Gabriel's coat. The familiar blend of tobacco and sandalwood wafted through the air, a scent that once brought me comfort and joy. Gabriel's scent. For six years, it had been my safe harbor, wrapping around me like a warm embrace. It used to comfort me, but now it felt like knives cutting into me. The man I loved for six years was plotting with his lover to kill me! Was this how my life was going to end? How pathetic. No, I didn't want this. But I couldn't fight back. My limbs turned cold and stiff as water filled my lungs and my vision blurred. Just when I was slipping away, a voice cut through the darkness. "Aurora, hold on!" As the voice echoed, warmth spread from my fingertips through my whole body. Who was that? "I am your wolf Lilith. I'm sorry for being dormant all this time." "My wolf? Lilith?" A million questions raced through my mind, and I even wondered if this was just a hallucination as I neared death. "Everything will be reset. The Moon Goddess will always protect us. My dear Aurora, we will meet soon." A warm light pierced through the icy water. "No! Wait!" I gasped as I came up from the water. My vision was still blurry, and my head throbbed with pain as I took a deep breath. "How dare you trick me into coming home with lies about Mother being sick!" A deep, cold voice came from above. I looked up in disbelief to see a familiar pair of eyes. Those blue eyes were now filled with intense anger, and veins were popping on the back of his hand— It was Gabriel, my Beta husband. Holding my head, I looked around. This wasn't the cold lakeside; I was in a bathroom, in the bathtub, and Gabriel, my mate, was standing in front of me. Am I... still alive? "Trying to drug me again? I told you not to use drugs on me. It's your fault you can't get pregnant - that's on you, not me!!" Gabriel said angrily, throwing a pill bottle at me. It shattered, scattering pills everywhere, turning red like blood as water washed over them. This scene felt so familiar. I remembered now. This was four years ago. Gabriel's mother had lied to bring him home, hoping to improve our relationship. She gave me drugs from a witch, trying to help us get pregnant. But Gabriel found out and thought I did it on purpose. Furious, he held me under the water in the tub, holding me there while I thrashed and gasped. My head spun as I tried to make sense of the situation. Was I seeing things? Was this what dying feels like? But I couldn't ignore the burning ache in my wrist, or the warm water lapping at my toes - nothing like that freezing lake that had swallowed me whole. This felt all too real. I really did come back to life!