He Chose The Precious Healer, I Awoke The White Wolf Queen

Arianna Pierce POV

The sterile stench of bleach and wolfsbane in the Pack Hospital couldn't mask the metallic tang of my own blood. I pressed a trembling hand to my lower abdomen, gasping as a fresh wave of agony radiated from the bandages. The silver-laced blade of the Rogue hadn't just sliced through my flesh this afternoon; the toxic burn of the silver had mercilessly destroyed the tiny, fragile life growing inside me.

My Alpha pup. Gone.

Because I was a *wolfless*-a broken creature without an inner wolf, entirely cut off from the Pack's mind-link-I had to dial Chase's number on a human cell phone. My fingers were slick with cold sweat.

When he finally answered, the sheer force of his icy Alpha aura seemed to bleed through the speaker, suffocating me.

"Chase..." I choked out, fighting the tears burning my eyes. "The hospital... the pup is gone."

"A wolfless body could never handle an Alpha's bloodline anyway," Chase's voice was a cruel, indifferent drawl. There was no shock, no grief. Just the same disdain he had harbored since his grandfather, former Alpha Hobert, forced him to marry me three years ago to repay a life debt. "The pup is gone. What's there to cry about?"

"I was attacked. I need you," I whispered, my voice breaking.

"I have extremely important Pack business right now, Arianna. Don't bother me with your pathetic tears."

*Click.*

The dial tone echoed in my ear. I slowly lowered the phone, swallowing the bitter taste of betrayal. I forced myself up, ignoring the condescending whispers of the Pack nurses as I dragged my battered body out of the ward.

Stepping out into the chilly afternoon air at the edge of the territory, my phone buzzed. It was a video message from Gamma Brandin Bennett.

I tapped play.

The screen filled with the dazzling, opulent lights of the Grand Banquet Hall. Chase hadn't been dealing with a Rogue threat or a Pack crisis. He had mobilized the Pack's resources to fill the hall with thousands of rare, glowing Moonflowers.

The camera panned left. There was my mate, Chase Wilder. The cold, ruthless Alpha who couldn't spare a second for his bleeding wife was smiling. He gently pulled Carly Knowles-the Pack's only Healer-into his arms. Even through the screen, the memory of her sickeningly sweet lily scent made my stomach churn.

"Welcome back, Carly, my Healer," Chase murmured, his voice dripping with a tenderness he had never once shown me. The surrounding high-ranking wolves cheered.

*Sorry, wrong chat,* Brandin texted a second later, immediately deleting the video.

But the damage was done. The illusion was shattered.

The mate bond inside my chest violently twisted, a soul-shredding agony that eclipsed the burning silver wound on my stomach. It felt as if a jagged claw was ripping my heart out of my ribcage. For three years, I had endured his coldness, his emotional abuse, thinking my devotion-and our pup-could eventually thaw his heart.

I was wrong. My dignity had been trampled into the dirt, and I was nothing but a joke to him.

The tears I had been holding back instantly dried up, replaced by a chilling, absolute clarity.

By the time I returned to the Alpha's Estate, the massive house felt like a tomb. It reeked of Chase's oppressive pine and storm scent, a smell that used to bring me comfort but now only made me nauseous.

I didn't waste a single second. I pulled a 26-inch suitcase from the closet and began to pack. I moved with a mechanical, emotionless precision. A few basic clothes, my ID, and the encrypted hard drive containing the core data for my Lugi-X defense system.

I left the closet full of haute couture dresses untouched. I left the millions of dollars worth of diamonds sitting on the vanity. I didn't want a single thing that reeked of his arrogant charity.

In less than thirty minutes, my entire three-year marriage was reduced to one suitcase.

I zipped it shut and wheeled it into the living room. Sitting on the edge of the cold leather sofa, I stared blankly at the heavy oak front door. I was done being the pathetic, unloved wolfless wife. I just had to wait for him to walk through that door so I could finally sever this rotting bond once and for all.