Betrayed By Mate and Pup: She Chose His Nemesis

Chapter 1

1

ANNALISA

The lamp streets that decorated the highway shone it's florescent light on the car's windshield as I drove through the city.

My knuckles were clenched white against the steering wheel. The three-hour journey from our pack's territory to the huge mansion where Derek and Chase now lived had become all too familiar to me, after all it was a journey that I made whenever I got hopeful that this time might be different than the last.

Tomorrow was my birthday, and despite everything that I had suffered in the hands of my husband and son, I still held on to the foolish notion that my husband and son might want to celebrate with me.

The mansion gates came into view as I turned into the exclusive neighborhood Derek had chosen after his promotion to Regional Alpha.

The house stood dark except for a few windows on the second floor, signifying that someone was around.

I parked in the circular driveway, and immediately took note that DErek's SUV was nowhere to be seen.

My key still worked when I tried the front door, although I wondered for how long.

The foyer echoed with my footsteps as I climbed the staircase heading towards the direction where I could hear, the sounds of rustling papers and muffled conversation.

Chase's door stood slightly ajar, his room light spilling into the hallway.

"Chase?" I called softly, pushing the door open.

My six-year-old son looked up from his desk, as he was surrounded by colorful construction paper, glue sticks, and glitter.

His dark hair—so much like Derek's—fell across his forehead as he quickly moved to shield his project from my view, looking a bit scared that I might see it when he wasn't ready.

"Mom! You're not supposed to see it yet," he protested, his small hands covering what appeared to be a handmade birthday card that was adorned with purple flowers and silver stars, making it look fancy and definitely meant as a gift for a girl.

My heart swelled momentarily, thinking that he might be embarrassed I was seeing his gift for me, before it was done.

"Oh, sweetheart, you didn't have to—"

"It's for Aunt Alice's birthday tomorrow," Chase interrupted, his attention already turning back to the craft he was working on.

"I want it to be perfect. She said purple is her favorite color, and I remembered because she always wears that pretty purple dress when she visits."

The words hit me like a physical blow making me freeze at the doorway, unable to say anything as i watched my child pour loving attention into a gift for Alice—Alice, who shared my birthday, who seemed to share everything that had once been mine.

The bitter irony wasn't lost on me that Chase had remembered Alice's birthday with such dedication while completely forgetting his own mother's.

"That's... that's very thoughtful of you," I managed, barely managing to keep my voice steady. "It looks beautiful."

Chase beamed at the praise, completely oblivious to the knife he'd just twisted in my chest.

"Dad said we're having lunch with her tomorrow to celebrate. He's taking me to that fancy restaurant with the chocolate fountain. Aunt Alice loves chocolate."

I knew that restaurant. Derek had taken me there for our second anniversary, back when he still looked at me like I hung the moon and stars in his life. He said it, himself that was our special place.

Now it was Alice's special place, Alice's celebration, Alice's special day, but not mine anymore

"Mom, are you okay? You look sad," Chase observed, finally looking up from his project.

I forced a smile, on my face, knowing better than to tell Chase anything.

"Just tired from the drive, honey. It's past your bedtime."

"Can I finish this first? Please? I want it to be perfect for Aunt Alice."

I nodded my head giving him the permission, I was certain he didn't even needed either way, not trusting my voice, and made my way to the master bedroom in silence.

The room was clean spotless, after all it was looked after by Derek's housekeeper but it wasn't lived in.

I sank onto the edge of the king-sized bed and pulled out my phone, Derek's number still at the top of my recent calls despite how our conversations had been growing strained for a while. I dialed his number and waited as the phone rang twice before he finally picked up.

"Anna? What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," I lied smoothly. "I'm at the house. I thought we could spend some time together tomorrow. It's my—"

"Derek, is that sauce supposed to be bubbling like that?" Alice's voice interrupted from the background followed by her laughter that seemed like it was mocking me.

"I think your pasta is plotting against us."

My grip tightened on the phone. Of course she was there. Of course they were cooking together, in one of DEerek's apartment downtown, the one Derek swore heaven and earth that he got it because of some "late business meetings" but which had become his primary residence ever since Alice declared herself his mate at Chase's third birthday party two years ago.

"Sorry, Anna," Derek said, his attention clearly divided at the moment as I could hear him losing his interest in hearing what I had to say.

"I'm helping Alice with dinner. She's hopeless in the kitchen." The fondness in his voice when he spoke about Alice made my stomach clench with nausea but I willed myself to not throw up.

He'd once spoken about my cooking attempts with the same indulgent affection, not that he would remember it anyways.

"I see," I whispered. "I was hoping we could have lunch tomorrow. Just the three of us."

"Tomorrow?" Derek paused, and I could hear the shuffle of papers in the background.

"I have something important at noon. Can we discuss this later tonight when I get home?"

"Of course," I said, the words tasting like ash in my mouth as I added.

"I wouldn't want to interrupt anything important."

Derek either didn't catch the sarcasm or chose to ignore it. "Thanks for understanding. I'll see you tonight."

The line went dead before I could respond, the line beeping ringing in my ears as I stared at the dark screen.

Sleep came fitfully, filled with dreams of the early days when Derek and I had been inseparable, when our unexpected pregnancy had led to a quick courtship and a quicker mating ceremony. I had been so naive back then thinking love would conquer anything—even the doubts whispered by pack members who thought Derek was settling for his one-night stand rather than choosing his true mate.

Morning soon arrived as I dragged myself out of bed to go and make breakfast for Chase. After whipping him some pancakes with syrup and milk, I decided to go and wake him up and I made my way to his bedroom just to see that he was already dressed and was talking excitedly to someone on his tablet propped against the stand.

"...and Aunt Alice said she has a surprise for you too," Derek was saying something as I paused, the volume loud enough for me to hear without getting over and asking Chase noticing me.

"Something special she picked out just because you're such a good boy."

Chase giggled, clearly excited by this.

"Will there really be a chocolate fountain, Dad? Can I dip everything in it?"

"Within reason," Derek chuckled. "We don't want you getting sick on Aunt Alice's special day."

I stood frozen in shock by the door , listening while my husband and son planned another woman's birthday.

The irony was suffocating—Derek had never even remembered to ask what I might want to do today.

"Dad, can Aunt Alice be my mom instead?" Chase's innocent question shattered what remained of my composure as I held onto the wall for support, my legs barely working after hearing this.

"She never tells me I can't have sweets, and she always smells like flowers. And she makes you smile like you used to smile at the old house."