My Alpha Bonded His Mistress at Our Ceremony

Chapter 3

I heard Alpha Fernando push the door open and step inside. I shut my eyes tightly and forced myself to stay completely still, pretending to be asleep.

“Thalia?” he called.

I didn’t respond.

“Thalia, are you awake?” he asked again, this time more gently.

Still, I didn’t move. Leona growled low in my mind,

"Don’t respond. His aura is no longer clean. The soul-bond is beginning to decay."

Fernando huffed. “Asleep.”

I could tell he was making a call. He lowered his voice deliberately, as if afraid to wake me—or maybe afraid to trigger the bond link that hadn’t been fully severed yet.

“Can you stop by that cheaper bag store and grab one for me? I need to pacify Thalia. I think she’s been acting jealous over Bianca lately.”

Whoever was on the other end said something. He chuckled softly.

“No, she doesn’t know about the ceremony. She just heard that Bianca and I got a little close while she was off attending the Border Summoning of the Moon Council.”

He laughed again. “Don’t go to that upscale boutique. Those silver-trimmed bags are way too expensive and too durable. Bianca likes that kind of thing, but Thalia? So not worth it.”

“Just grab something flashy. Something with sequins. She’s always fallen for stuff like that.”

I froze under the blanket. My fingers trembled slightly beneath the covers. Leona’s voice burned inside me:

“Did you hear that? You’ve cleansed silver venom for him, stabilized his aura during blood moons, and even used your resonance to calm his wolf when it nearly tore his mind apart—and he sees you as nothing but a convenience.”

Fernando kept talking, unaware or unconcerned:

“Honestly, I don’t even know why I’ve kept her around. She’s convenient, sure. Loyal. Knows how to brew healing crystals. Can reach the healing witches when I need one. But she’s so dull. No fire. No spark worthy of an Alpha.”

Then he added in a quieter voice,

“Bianca is the one who truly deserves the Luna title. Her bloodline is refined. She looks like a true Alpha’s match standing at my side.”

“Thalia… she’s just comfortable.”

“She doesn’t even push back,” he went on. “That’s her value. She’s steady, compliant, emotionally undemanding. She worships me like I’m her Alpha icon.”

He yawned. “Alright, get the bag and write one of those sappy letters you’re good at. I’ll leave it on her nightstand. She’ll wake up tomorrow thinking I’m the sweetest mate in the world.”

“She still has to attend the Crestmoon Assembly for me next week. I need her in a good mood.”

I let out a quiet, bitter laugh. Now I understood why he was suddenly being “thoughtful.”

It wasn’t because my soul had shattered. It wasn’t because I had stood by him through his mother’s death and the collapse of his leadership. It was because he needed a manageable, obedient partner to uphold his public image.

The person on the other end of the call said something funny, apparently. Fernando burst out laughing.

“That’s how it works. Toss in a bit of ritual drama, some sweet talk, and boom—she forgets everything.” He scoffed.

I inhaled slightly, involuntarily.

Fernando immediately fell silent.

“Wait.” His voice dropped to a near-whisper. “I think she moved.”

He ended the call and began walking toward me.

I forced myself to stay still—even though every fiber of me wanted to leap up and scream his lies back into his face.

“Don’t move,” Leona whispered coldly.

“Let him believe you’re still the obedient Luna he thinks he owns. It’s the only way he’ll let his guard down.”

A few seconds passed. Then he exhaled in relief.

“Still asleep. Good.”

He climbed into bed beside me, and soon I could hear his breathing settle into a rhythmic sleep.

Only once I was certain he was deeply asleep did I allow myself to take a real breath. Then I opened my eyes.

All those things he’d said about “her”—he would never understand the sacrifices behind them.

I had turned down a high-ranking appointment from the Council of Healing Witches just to stay by his side, to help stabilize his collapsing pack with my abilities.

After his mother died, it was me who took over the spiritual grid of the territory using our soul-bond. During the time of pack unrest, I went alone to border negotiations multiple times to stop a full-blown Alpha war.

He once whispered promises in my ear, saying he would mark me under the next full moon and announce me as his Luna before the entire pack.

Now, he was preparing a mate ceremony with Bianca behind my back—without even the decency of a farewell, without any honor. He was preparing to strip my Luna mark away.

The soulstone beside me pulsed faintly.

It was a resonance message from Alpha Ross.

I wiped away the tears that had silently streamed down my face and opened the message.

“Thalia, just say the word when you’re ready. I’ll come get you—with not a drop of shame.”

A tiny smile tugged at the corner of my lips.

And in that moment, just for a breath, I almost forgot what heartbreak felt like.