I Faked Death, My Alpha Went Insane

Chapter 3

Three days later, the heavy iron cellar door creaked open, and the guards hauled me out into the light.

Beta Evan stood over me, his gaze ice-cold as he forced my starved, battered body to crawl all the way from the cellar steps to my bedroom.

"Consider this the Alpha's mercy," he sneered. "If you ever dare draw silver against our kind again, the next cell you're tossed in will be your grave. Your inner wolf will fade into silence long before you see daylight."

My throat was so raw and parched I couldn't even force out a whisper.

A next time? No. There wouldn't be a next time.

Very soon, my mate bond with Aeon would be severed forever. I'd gather my parents and vanish from the Haven Pack for good.

He could keep his toxic favoritism—I was done letting him bleed me dry.

That evening, Beta Evan returned, holding a pristine white gown and the moonstone crown reserved strictly for the Luna.

"Luna, your presence is required at tonight's banquet," he said, his tone clipped. "Envoys from the neighboring packs are here for trade negotiations. The Haven Pack needs to project total unity. Especially between you and the Alpha."

I slipped into the dress and stepped into the car waiting to take me to the grand hall.

The moment we pulled up, Aeon appeared outside my window with a practiced, politician's smile. He stood by as the driver opened the door.

Taking a steadying breath, I forced a composure I didn't feel, reached for the handle, and extended my hand.

A split second later, a second figure glided into view right beside him. Susan.

My smile vanished. Keeping my posture straight, I stepped out onto the pavement and met his eyes.

"Since she's here, I'll take my leave."

Aeon grabbed my arm, forcibly locking it in his as he waved smoothly to the gathering crowd.

"Susan was just curious," he muttered under his breath, his voice laced with annoyance. "Anna, stop turning every breath she takes into a competition."

He played the devoted mate flawlessly, even leaning down to press a kiss to the back of my hand in full view of the cameras.

I froze, completely incapable of maintaining the charade.

He didn't care about me. He didn't care about the sharp whispers or the mockery this scene would ignite.

Hell, half the crowd probably couldn't tell which one of us was supposed to be his Luna anymore.

To him, I was just a convenient, quiet trophy to parade around when it suited his image—and humiliate when it didn't.

The envoys greeted him with deep, respectful bows.

"The Alpha and Luna, as devoted as ever! It's a gift to see a bond so strong after all these years!"

"We heard rumors that the Luna was expecting—has the pup arrived yet?"

Susan let out a soft, delicate giggle, covering her mouth.

Flustered, Aeon glanced over his shoulder toward where he assumed I was standing, expecting me to smooth things over.

That was the exact moment he realized the only arm linked in his belonged to Susan.

I was standing several paces behind them, my hand resting gently over my baby bump.

"Wait, you've got the wrong woman," someone in the crowd murmured. "The real Luna is behind him. Isn't the girl on his arm just his childhood friend?"

Finally, the realization set in among the crowd.

I balled my hands into fists and quietly followed behind Aeon as we entered the banquet hall.

On the inside, I was crumbling to ash.

The looks directed at me were no longer filled with awe or admiration.

Now, it was all shock, pity, and barely concealed ridicule.

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I stood in silence, waiting for the formal proceedings to begin.

When the event reached its peak, the visiting packs brought out their finest treasures to showcase and trade.

Just as I was about to follow tradition and select a token gift, Susan chimed in, effortlessly pulling the room's attention to herself.

"Is that a giant python fang?" she cooed, her eyes wide with exaggerated wonder. "I've never seen anything like it! Can you actually use it for self-defense?"

Aeon gave her a warm, affectionate smile, spared me a brief, indifferent glance, and nodded.

"It's yours," he said softly. "Next time you run into a rogue, drive this into their chest. You won't ever have to feel defenseless again."

Susan beamed, reaching out to claim it, but I brought the tip of my cane down sharp against her hand, blocking her path.

"Under the laws set by the Elders, only the Luna has the authority to accept tribute," I said, my voice echoing clearly across the room. "She has no right to touch it, and you have no right to offer it."

I stood up, turning my gaze fully onto Aeon. His face had drained of all color.

"You claim Susan is nothing more than a close friend," I challenged, every word sharp enough to cut. "Then I invite you to swear to the Goddess Selene—right here, in front of our guests—that there is nothing more between you. Swear that you haven't broken a single vow you made to me as your mate."

"Swear it, and I will never question your loyalty again. But if you fail to take that oath, then she's nothing more than a mistress threatening this pack's sacred bond. And in that case, Susan doesn't belong in that seat—she belongs on her knees behind me, serving this house like the staff she is."

The crystal glass in Aeon's hand shattered into pieces, wine and blood dripping down his fingers. His chest heaved as a dark, dangerous energy flared around him.

He glared at me, his eyes shifting wildly from shock to raw, lethal fury—laced with the bitter embarrassment of being backed into a corner before the entire territory.

His throat worked, his lips parted, but not a single sound came out.

"Alpha," I pressed, my tone dropping to ice. "The primary law of the Haven Pack demands absolute loyalty between Alpha and Luna. As our leader, you're bound to uphold it."

Susan's face turned ghostly pale. Tears pooled in her eyes as she ripped her hand away from Aeon's grip.

"The Luna is right," she sobbed softly. "I shouldn't be here. I shouldn't be putting you in this position…"

"I was just weak… I craved the Alpha's protection so desperately that I ruined everything. Aeon, you should have left me in the woods instead of rescuing me! I'm so sorry… to you, and to the Elders…"

With a dramatic sob, she turned and fled the hall.

Aeon's face twisted in rage. He lunged forward, grabbing my wrist in a crushing grip, his eyes burning with fury.

He forced open our mind-link.

'Anna, I have NEVER crossed that line with you!' he snarled directly into my head. 'I brought her here to protect your standing! Your reputation among the high packs—'

I simply looked at him, my expression dead and hollow.

"Then why couldn't you take the oath?" I asked aloud, my voice flat. "I don't need you to 'save' my reputation. Alpha, the only thing destroying us is your own selfishness and your relentless, blind devotion to Susan."

"None of this is on me."

Aeon held my gaze for a long, suffocating moment before throwing my hand back and storming off after Susan.

He left me standing there, completely exposed to the suffocating judgment of the entire room.

I quietly sat back down, picked up my fork, and continued eating my dinner.

It didn't matter anymore. None of it did.

The next morning, a frantic knocking rattled my bedroom door. A maid rushed in, pale and trembling, as she handed me the morning edition of the pack newspaper.

EXPOSED: The Luna's Bloodthirsty Secret! Alpha Heartbroken After Years of Deceit!

Right beneath the bold headline was a photograph of me at the border, taken immediately after a brutal skirmish with rogue wolves.

In the picture, my mouth was smeared with blood as I licked my claws. One hand pinned a rogue by the throat, while my boot pressed heavily into another's face. I was staring straight into the lens—cold, lethal, and unyielding.

My breath caught in my chest, my hands trembling violently.

Two years ago at the border, I had held off an entire horde of rogues single-handedly to protect our pups and elders.

When Aeon finally reached me, he had held me tightly, weeping with relief, calling that photograph a testament to my bravery.

And now, wrapped in a twisted, sensationalized narrative, my sacrifice was being weaponized to convince the world I was nothing more than a monster.