(Astrid's POV)

Four years. Four years of loyalty, sacrifice, and devotion reduced to this moment.

I gripped the steering wheel of my car until my knuckles turned white, watching the scene unfold before me. The luxury den that Everett bought for me for our mating ceremony sat on the edge of pack territory-a place that was supposed to be our retreat. Now it was the stage for his betrayal.

Everett emerged from the den first, his powerful frame silhouetted against the setting sun. Even from this distance, I could recognize the relaxed set of his shoulders, so different from the rigid posture he always maintained around me.

Then she appeared. Isolde Hale. The Beta's daughter.

My stomach clenched as she stumbled slightly on the porch, her delicate features pulling into an exaggerated pout. "Rett, my paws still hurt from shifting," she whined, her voice carrying on the evening breeze.

What happened next felt like a knife twisting in my chest. Everett-my mate, the future Alpha of the Thorn Pack-swept Isolde into his arms with a tenderness I'd never been shown. Not once in four years.

"I've got you, little wolf," he murmured, his voice low and intimate.

He carried her down the steps, her arms wound around his neck as she nuzzled against him. When they reached the grass, he set her down gently, but she didn't pull away. Instead, she rose on her tiptoes, pressing her lips against his.

The kiss was passionate, possessive. And Everett didn't hesitate to return it.

I should look away. I knew I should. But I couldn't tear my eyes from them as his hands threaded through her blonde hair, so different from my honey-brown waves. My wolf, Zoe, whimpered inside me, confusion and hurt radiating through our shared consciousness.

"How long?" I whispered to the empty car. "How long has this been happening?"

My mind raced backward through months of late nights, emergency pack meetings, and territory patrols that suddenly made perfect sense.

Four years ago, Everett had pursued me with the single-minded focus of an Alpha wolf. I still remembered his words clearly: "Astrid, you're my most suitable mate for strengthening the Thorn Pack." Not the most romantic proposal, but I'd understood. As a healer with rare abilities, I brought value to his bloodline.

For him, I'd abandoned my healing sanctuary. For him, I'd left my frail grandmother in the care of others while I moved to the Thorn den. For him, I'd poured my knowledge and skills into improving the pack's healing practices, bringing acclaim and respect to the Storms throughout the territory.

And now that Everett had secured his position as future Alpha, I had become... dispensable.

"Too serious," he'd complained recently. "Where's your playful side, Astrid? Other she-wolves know how to have fun."

Other she-wolves like Isolde Hale.

As if sensing my thoughts, Everett pulled away from Isolde, his head turning slightly toward my hidden car. I ducked down, though I knew he couldn't see me from this distance. My scent was masked by the bitter herbs I'd rubbed on my wrists and neck-a trick I'd learned from my grandmother for gathering rare plants without alerting territorial animals.

I'd never imagined I'd use it to spy on my own mate.

My phone felt heavy in my hand as I pulled it out. For a moment, I hesitated, then dialed Everett's number. Through the windshield, I watched him stiffen as his phone rang. He glanced at the screen, then back at Isolde.

"Aren't you going to answer that?" she asked, her voice carrying on the breeze.

He silenced the call.

"Everett Thorn," I said when his voicemail picked up, keeping my voice steady despite the rage and hurt burning inside me. "I'm reminding you that today is my birthday. The dinner with your family begins at eight." I paused. "Don't be late."

I ended the call, watching as he slipped his phone back into his pocket with barely a glance. Behind him, Isolde wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing herself against his back.

"Was that her?" The contempt in her voice was unmistakable.

"Just pack business," Everett replied, turning to kiss her again. "Nothing important."

Nothing important. The words echoed in my head as I started my car, backing away slowly before turning onto the main road. My birthday. Our anniversary. Nothing important.

I pressed the second number on my speed dial. Rosalind Night, my loyal beta-in-training, answered immediately.

"Astrid? Are you okay?" Her concern washed over me, a balm to my wounded pride.

"I need you to do something for me," I said, surprised by the steadiness of my voice. "Call the utilities company. I want all services to our border den shut off immediately. Water, electricity, everything."

A brief pause. "Found him with her, didn't you?"

There was no judgment in Rosalind's voice, only fierce loyalty. She'd warned me months ago that something was wrong. I should have listened.

"Yes."

"Consider it done." I could hear the satisfaction in her tone. "Anything else?"

I thought of the mate-bond severance papers hidden in my desk drawer. Documents I'd been working on privately for weeks, listing my claims to half our shared hunting territories and resources. Papers I'd been too afraid to show Everett.

"Not yet," I replied. "But be ready. Things are about to change."

Back at the main pack house, I stood under the hot spray of the shower, trying to wash away the image of Everett and Isolde together. The water couldn't erase the hurt, but it helped clear my head.

When I stepped out, I caught my reflection in the full-length mirror. My honey-brown hair fell in wet waves down my back. My green eyes-usually bright with healing energy-looked dull and tired. The jade pendant that enhanced my healing powers hung between my breasts, a stark contrast against my pale skin.

I studied my body critically, comparing myself to what I'd seen of Isolde. She was petite, curved in all the right places, with the kind of figure that turned heads. I was taller, leaner, with the muscled physique of a working healer who spent hours gathering herbs in difficult terrain.

Was that why Everett had strayed? Because I looked like this?

The bedroom door opened without warning.

"Enjoying the view?" Everett's deep voice made me jump.

I grabbed a towel, wrapping it around myself as I turned to face him. His amber eyes gleamed with something between amusement and irritation as he stalked toward me.

"You're back early," I said, keeping my voice neutral.

Everett's lips curved into a mocking smile. "Funny thing about that. The power and water at the border den suddenly stopped working." He stopped just behind me, close enough that I could feel his heat against my back. "Did you cut the utilities because you were jealous of my attention to the Beta's daughter?"

There it was. Not even a denial. Just the assumption that I would accept his affair as an Alpha's right.

"It's my property too," I reminded him, meeting his gaze in the mirror. "I have every right to manage it as I see fit."

His hands came to rest on my shoulders, sliding down my arms in a gesture that once would have made me lean into him. Now it took everything I had not to pull away.

"It's the full moon tomorrow night," he murmured, his lips grazing my ear. "Your most fertile time."

Of course. It always came back to this. Everett didn't want me-he wanted what I could give him. Pups. Heirs. Leverage to claim the remaining territory shares still controlled by Elder Thorn, his grandfather.

What he didn't know-what I'd never told him-was that I would likely never bear pups. The rogue wolf attack three years ago, when I'd been protecting him from attack, had left me with severe internal injuries. The pack doctor had warned me privately that pregnancy would be difficult, if not impossible.

I'd been waiting for the right moment to tell Everett. Now, I wondered if I should tell him at all.

"Astrid." His voice deepened as his hands slid to my waist. "It's been too long."

I should push him away. I should hand him the severance papers right now.

Instead, I stood frozen as he lifted me effortlessly, carrying me to our bed. The scent of another female still clung to him, faint but unmistakable to my heightened senses. Yet when he lowered his face to my neck, breathing in my scent, something inside me responded against my will.

The mate bond. The biological connection that made rejecting him physically painful.

"Everett," I began, intending to stop this.

But then his lips found mine, and my treacherous body arched toward him. Zoe, my wolf, succumbed immediately to the mate bond, whimpering with need as Everett's musky scent enveloped us.

I felt my wolf responding in a way I hadn't for months, revealing a rare sexy side that seemed to surprise even Everett.

His wolf, Rett, surged forward, eyes glowing with primal desire as he growled against my throat.