Chapter 4
I stared at the lacy white panties crumpled in my fist, my entire body trembling.
Then, without a word, I pulled out my phone and took a photo. Evidence. Not for him. Not even for court. For me. Proof that I hadn’t imagined it and proof that my trust had been shattered by two people I once called family.
With trembling hands, I sealed the underwear in an evidence bag, the kind we used for important documents. It felt fitting.
Just as I zipped the bag shut, my phone rang.
Mom.
I picked up, heart already bracing for the truth.
“Fiona, where’s Eli? Carl said he was bringing him over, but they haven’t come by.”
The world around me went still.
They’d been gone for over an hour. He told me he was taking Eli to visit my parents. Of course, I already had my suspicions, but I needed confirmation.
I dialed Carl immediately.
The call connected on the second ring. The background was loud—too loud to be a quiet drive to my parents' house. Laughter, music… life.
Carl’s voice came through, smooth and sweet, like honey hiding poison. “Darling! I forgot to tell you—Eli’s piano teacher called at the last minute. She wanted to reassess his last lesson, so we’re at the tutoring center right now. Eli’s right next to me.”
There was a pause.
Then Eli’s cheerful voice piped in, “Mommy! I can’t go to Grandma’s today. Miss Bonnie is giving me an extra lesson, and there’s something new she wants to teach me tonight! Don’t worry, okay? Daddy and I will be home really late!”
Miss Bonnie.
Of course.
I didn’t respond. Instead, I picked up my second phone and opened Facebook. I refreshed Bonnie’s page.
Posted three minutes ago:
“So many people say we look like a family of three today.”
Attached was a photo. Bonnie crouched in the middle, smiling like she’d won the damn lottery, while Carl and Eli kissed her on each cheek.
Family of three.
Assessment? Lesson? What a sick joke.
I bit down hard on my bottom lip until I tasted blood. My breath came in sharp, shallow bursts as betrayal bled through every vein.
He lied. They both lied.
I didn’t understand. Carl choosing someone younger, someone “new”—fine. I could almost stomach that.
But Eli? My son?
The little boy I’d nursed when he was sick, who I’d rocked to sleep night after night, whose lunches I packed, whose nightmares I soothed?
Why would he lie to me too?
How awful did I have to be for my own son to help hide this affair?
Still… I held onto a sliver of hope like it was my last breath. I called back and asked softly, “Eli, sweetheart… Mommy has a question.”
“Yes, Mommy?”
“I’m your mother. Would you… would you lie to me for someone else?”
There was a pause.
One second.
Two.
Then Eli chirped, “Of course not! I love you the most, Mommy! How could I lie to you? Anyway, I got to go now, my assessment’s starting! Love you!”
The line went dead.
And so did something inside me.
The phone slipped from my fingers, and I stared at the floor through a veil of tears I didn’t even try to stop. I’d give this family everything. My youth. My love. My loyalty. My entire soul.
And this was how they repaid me?
I let out a hollow, bitter laugh. It echoed through the silence like a cracked mirror shattering in slow motion.
Carl’s rejection of the mate bond broke me. But Eli’s betrayal—that carved out what was left of my heart.
I couldn’t stay here.
Not another second.
I dragged my unopened suitcase to the front door. My hand didn’t tremble as I placed the separation agreement squarely on the living room table—right where Carl would see it. Then I walked out.
I didn’t look back.
I checked into a hotel. Cold white sheets, a sterile room that smelled nothing like home—but it didn’t matter. At least it didn’t stink of lies.
I had one last thing to do.
I boxed up Bonnie’s forgotten panties and a printout of her smiling Facebook post and addressed it to her workplace—the school where she taught.
With it, I included a note:
"Personal items belonging to one of your staff members were found on my bed. I trust you'll return them to her. —Mrs. Fiona, Luna of the White Moon Pack."
Petty? Maybe. But fair.
From discovering Carl’s infidelity to packing up my life, it had only been a matter of hours.
So this was what a decade of love was worth.
I’d thought I would scream. Cry. Demand answers. I thought I’d beg him to tell me it wasn’t real. But now I saw it for what it was: a slow, cruel unraveling that had begun long before I noticed.
I’d wasted years trying to be the perfect mate. The perfect Luna. The perfect mother.
And for what? Carl was weak.
And Eli… maybe Carl’s blood ran too strong in him. Maybe betrayal was just inherited like eye color and jawlines.
My phone sat quietly beside me. I left it on.
I wanted him to see the agreement. I wanted him to read it, feel it. But hours passed.
Then, finally—8:04 p.m.
Carl. Calling.
I answered.
“Fiona, are you feeling better?” His voice was breathy, too casual, too smooth.
“I dropped Eli off at your parents’ house. I still have some work to handle so…”
And then I heard it.
A low, unmistakable moan in the background. Faint. But not faint enough.
My heart clenched violently in my chest. I'd known that sound for years. I’d pulled it from his throat more times than I could count.
There was no mistaking it.
I curled into myself as pain shot through my entire being. My wolf howled inside me, writhing in agony. Our mate. He’s with someone else. Right now.
I swallowed the scream in my throat. “What’s wrong?” I asked, voice eerily calm.
“Nothing,” he lied. “I just… bumped into the coffee table. Don’t worry.”
He pressed the phone to his shoulder, whispering something to Bonnie, probably begging her to be quiet.
The guilt in his voice was almost laughable.
“If you’re hungry,” he added quickly, “ask the nanny to make something. I must finish this report. I’ll call you later.”
And just like that, he hung up. I stared at the screen. Then at the room. And I realized something I should’ve seen long ago.
Carl didn’t fall in love with Bonnie. He just never truly loved me. Not enough to stay faithful. Not enough to protect my heart. Not enough to reject her.
Back at home...Carl tossed his phone aside and turned to Bonnie, eyes full of fire.
“I told you not to interrupt.”
Bonnie giggled, curling into his lap. “Are you really that scared of Fiona finding out? Then just reject the bond already. Be with me.”
Carl’s face darkened instantly. “I told you before we even started—I will never reject the bond with Fiona. Don’t bring it up again.”
Bonnie blinked, then smiled seductively. “Alright, alright… don’t be mad. The mood was just getting good.”
She kissed him, slowly and deep.
And Carl let her.
