My Alpha Betrayed Me, I Exposed Her Lie

Chapter 2

Alpha Ryan's hand froze in midair. A flush of humiliation crept up his neck.

As the supreme Alpha of this pack, he had never been refused so publicly, so coldly. And in front of a Rogue, no less.

But he recovered fast. He spun on his heel and rushed to Cindy's bedside, his eyes flooding with concern, with desperation.

"Cindy, are you okay? Is the baby okay?" He cupped her hand like she was made of spun sugar.

Cindy snapped into pathetic mode, tears materializing on cue. "Alpha Ryan, it hurts so much... my stomach hurts so bad... I think the baby's slipping away from me..."

"If that happens, I don't want to live anymore. I'm just a lowly Rogue. I'm not noble like Aria. No one would care if me and the baby just... disappeared."

She struggled like she was about to fling herself at the metal medical cabinet beside her.

"No! Don't do anything stupid!" Alpha Ryan grabbed her, his voice cracking. "Who told you you're lowly? You're carrying Alpha Ryan's flesh and blood. You're carrying the future heir of Moonlight Pack!"

"I already bought you the newest penthouse downtown. I'm taking you and the baby to the best private human hospital. You'll never have to deal with these wolf doctors again!"

Listening to him, my mind drifted, pulled back to a night six years ago.

That year, Alpha Ryan had just inherited the Alpha title. Hungry to expand our territory, he ignored the Council of Elders and declared war on the neighboring Shadow Pack.

To protect him from his own recklessness on the battlefield, I threw myself in front of a fatal blow. A blade soaked in concentrated wolfsbane went clean through my abdomen.

That night, Alpha Ryan carried me, screaming, into the Healer's hut. He fell to his knees and begged the Elders to save me.

I survived. But the toxin had eaten through my womb. I would never carry a wolf cub. Not in this life.

Alpha Ryan had sat by my bed with red, swollen eyes, kissed my forehead, and made his vow:

"Aria, I'm sorry. This is my fault. I'll guard you with my life from now on. Children don't matter. You are my one and only Luna."

Watching this man, who'd just made the same kind of promise to another woman, that vow felt like the world's most pathetic joke.

Cindy nestled against Alpha Ryan's chest, her smug little smile aimed straight at me.

I drew in a long breath, swallowed the bile rising in my throat, and reset myself. Healer mode.

"Since the Alpha cares so much about this patient, I think it's only fair to give him a heads-up." I snapped on my exam gloves, my voice perfectly flat. "Based on my preliminary scan, this woman is not pregnant."

The air in the tent went solid.

Cindy's face changed in a heartbeat. "That's a lie! You're just jealous! You quack!"

Alpha Ryan's brow furrowed, his eyes accusing. "Aria, I know you're upset. But this isn't something to joke about."

"Do I look like I'm joking?" I let out a cold laugh and grabbed the spiritual scanner off the side table. "Yes, there's energy fluctuation in her abdomen. But it isn't the breath of life. It's the stench of rot."

"This kind of energy signature comes from a rare black-magic parasite. It's called Shadow Blight."

"If we don't treat it now, she'll die. And anyone who's had close contact with her will be infected too."

I let my eyes linger meaningfully on Alpha Ryan, his arms still wrapped around her.