My Alpha Cheated and Wants Me Dead

Chapter 3: The Invisible Woman

[Lana's POV]

I walked into the break room.

Ella cupped her mug in both hands, her voice dropped low. "Did you hear? Yesterday, Cara cornered Kane Vicente in the Silvermoon Tower parking garage."

I looked up at her.

"She even released her pheromones, tried to get a rise out of him." Ella's eyes were practically sparkling with gossip. "Kane shoved her off without even turning around. Just walked away."

I frowned.

Kane.

That name had been coming up way too often lately.

These past few days, he kept showing up right along my route home from work. Every single time, my wolf would rise inside my chest, spine bristling, a low growl pressing against my ribs—muffled, heavy, impossible to ignore. It was too obvious to be a coincidence.

"Be careful." Ella's tone shifted, serious now. "He's watching you. I can tell."

I set my cup back on the counter. Kept my voice flat. "Got it."

*****

Back at my desk, I called Connor.

"Pick me up after work," I kept my voice steady. "Kane's been hanging around me lately. I don't want to walk alone."

The other end was all engine noise, deep and rumbling.

"Can't today," Connor said. "I'm driving to Mom's place. She's not feeling well—her wolf's unstable. I need to check on her."

I bit my lip.

"How long will you be?"

"Don't know. Depends. Get Ella to walk out with you."

He hung up.

I stared at the darkened screen for two seconds, then flipped the phone face-down on the desk.

That heavy feeling in my chest wouldn't go away. Like a stone sitting right on top of my lungs, pressing down, refusing to dissolve.

*****

When the workday ended, I grabbed Ella and pulled her out of the building with me.

The second the glass door swung open, I saw him.

Kane stood at the bottom of the steps, a bouquet of red roses in his hands, suit pressed sharp, a smile on his face—like he'd been waiting forever, or like he'd just happened to pass by.

"Lana," he stepped closer, holding the flowers out toward me. "There's a new bar that has just opened nearby. I heard it's nice. Want to check it out?"

My wolf exploded upright inside me. The jolt of alertness shot straight up my spine to the back of my neck, sharp enough to make my skin prickle.

I didn't take the flowers.

I looked him dead in the eyes. My voice came out cold. "No."

Kane's smile stiffened. "Just as friends—"

"Kane." I cut him off, voice hard as ice. "This is the third time this week you've shown up on my way home. I don't know if you call this 'quietly watching over me' or whatever, but where I'm standing, it's called stalking. If there's a next time, I call the police."

His face changed instantly.

That thin smile ripped apart like someone had torn it off, leaving something ugly underneath.

He stared at me for two seconds. In the end, he said nothing. Just slowly pulled the roses back, turned, and disappeared into the crowd at the street corner. He walked fast—like staying one more second would make it worse.

Ella let out a quiet breath beside me. "Well said."

I didn't respond. Just started walking.

The wolf in my chest slowly settled back down, but that dark, heavy unease didn't lift. Not even a little.

*****

I got home to a pitch-black apartment.

I reached out, felt along the wall, and hit the light switch.

The living room was empty. The kitchen was empty. The bedroom door sat half-open, and behind it—silence. Not a sound.

Shadow leaped down from behind the sofa, light and graceful, and rubbed against my ankle. A soft purr rumbled from its throat.

I bent down, scooped the cat into my arms, and dialed Connor with my free hand.

"How's your mom?"

"She's fine. Just tired. Her wolf was a little restless. I took her out for dinner—she's better now." His voice sounded easy, relaxed. "Have you eaten?"

"Not yet."

"There are leftovers in the fridge. Heat something up. I'll be back later."

I gave a quiet "mm" and hung up.

Shadow squirmed in my arms. I set it down on the couch and turned toward the kitchen.

I pulled the fridge door open. Cold air hit me full in the face.

I stood there staring for a few seconds. Then I closed the door again. Didn't take anything out.

Not hungry.

Or—it wasn't hunger. It was something else. Emptier. Heavier. Sitting in my chest like a plug, pressing down until I couldn't breathe right.

I went back to the dark living room and sat down. Just sat there. Didn't move.

Shadow jumped onto my lap, nudging my hand with its head, over and over.

I stroked its back, eyes unfocused, fingers sliding through the soft fur again and again and again, never stopping.

Deep inside my chest, my wolf let out a low, muffled whimper. So quiet it trembled.

I didn't cry.

I just suddenly felt like this home was too much—too empty, too cold. A beautiful shell with nothing inside.

*****

The phone rang while I was still sitting there, staring at nothing.

Not a new call. It was the one from before—the one I thought I'd hung up. I hadn't.

The screen was still lit. Faint sounds leaked through the speaker.

First came a child's voice, soft and milky, calling out: "Daddy—"

Then Diana Cole's laugh, with that sticky, coy little tail at the end.

A second later, she said something else.

I couldn't make out the words, but that tone, that laugh—I knew them too well.

My fingers went rigid.

My heart—something sharp drove straight into it.

I stared at the phone screen.

He said he was taking care of his mother.

He said she wasn't feeling well, that her wolf was unstable.

But right now, he was out there with Diana and Leo, having dinner.

Shadow seemed to sense something. It stood up slowly on my lap, paws pressing gently against the back of my hand, then lowered its head and nuzzled me. A low, soft whimper came from its throat.

I reached up and rubbed the soft fur behind its ear.

Deep in my chest, my wolf whimpered too.

I didn't cry. I just sat alone in that pitch-black living room and suddenly it felt like air. Like a ghost. Like a person no one could see.

*****

Close to nine o'clock, the lock finally clicked.

Margaret pushed the door open, bag still slung over her shoulder, cheeks flushed from being outside.

Her eyes swept across the room and landed on me, sitting in the dark. Her feet stopped dead.

The next second, her face went ice-cold. Terrifying.

She slammed her bag onto the sofa, crossed the room in three steps, and was right in front of me.

Before I could react, her palm cracked across my face.

*Slap—*

The sound was sharp. Crisp. It echoed.

My head snapped to the side. My cheek erupted in a searing burn, and a high-pitched ringing flooded my ear.

Shadow shot off the couch, back arched, and let out a piercing hiss at her.

"Shameless little tramp." Margaret's voice crashed down on me like a hammer, her finger jabbing so close it nearly touched my nose. "You're out there seducing other wolves, and you think I don't know?"

I pressed my hand against my burning cheek. Slowly turned my head back. Looked straight at her.

"What did you just say?"

"Still pretending?" Her voice climbed higher, her face twisted ugly. "Connor! Get the evidence out here!"

Footsteps from the doorway.

Connor walked in.

Phone in hand. The screen is glowing. He came toward me, step by step.

Then he turned the screen to face me.

A photo.

Kane and I, standing in front of the office building.

Kane holding that bouquet of red roses. Me facing him, the distance between us painfully close in the frame.

The angle had been deliberately cropped. Ella beside me—gone. The half-step I'd taken backward—gone. All that was left was this nauseating, suggestive image.

Today. Kane cornering me. That exact moment.

Connor's eyes shifted. Cold to heavy. Heavy to something that is pressed down like a blade.

His voice came out low, wrapped tight around a fury he was barely holding in. "Explain this."

I stared at the photo.

My eyes burned, slow and hot.

I looked up at the man standing in front of me. Tonight he'd lied to me—said he was taking care of his mother. Instead, he'd been out with Diana and Leo. Leo had called him "Daddy," and he hadn't offered a single word of explanation.

And now he stood here, holding a photo someone had deliberately butchered, putting me on trial.

"You didn't even ask before you believed it?" My voice was shaking. The anger wouldn't stay down. "Connor, you'd rather trust a photo than believe a single word from me?"

Connor looked at me. Not a flicker of softening in his eyes.

Margaret's voice cut in, shrill and vicious. "A woman like this isn't worth keeping! Connor, divorce her! Strip her of everything and throw her out of this house!"

I raised my hand and wiped the heat from the corner of my eye. Hard.

The wolf inside me stopped whimpering. She crouched low in my chest and let out a deep, steady warning growl.

That sound held me up. Like a spine locking into place.

I took a deep breath. Lifted my eyes and looked straight at Margaret.

My voice dropped. Went quiet. Went cold.

"You want a divorce? Fine."

I held her gaze. Every word, clear as a blade.

"Bring real evidence."

"Can't? Then shut your mouth."