The Alpha King's Secret White Wolf Mate

Celesta Chen POV:

After enduring three years of agonizing herbal injections to bear an heir for Alpha Hazen, I stood at the Healing Sanctuary with my positive pregnancy report, only for the Beta Healer to inform me that my mate-bond certificate was a fake.

A bucket of ice water seemed to pour directly over my head, freezing the blood in my veins.

"I'm sorry," the Beta Healer said, looking at me with a complex mix of pity and hesitation. "Alpha Hazen already opened a pup-bearing registry with another female. Your Luna registry... it doesn't exist in our system."

"That's impossible," I forced a trembling smile. "We've been bonded for five years."

"There is no mistake," she said softly. "Half a month ago, Alpha Hazen brought his pregnant mate here for her first checkup."

A wave of dizzying nausea hit me. I steadied myself against the counter, refusing to believe it. Hazen loved me. He was the one who saved me, a frail orphan, and made me his Luna.

Because my inner wolf was dormant due to a rare immune disorder, everyone in the Holden Pack considered me a "wolfless defect." For three years, to give Hazen a strong heir, I endured toxic moon-herb treatments that left my arms covered in dark, swollen bruises.

Hazen had been away on a "border patrol" for half a month. I came here today to confirm my pregnancy, wanting to surprise him when he returned.

This had to be a misunderstanding.

I stumbled toward the elevator, planning to go to the Pack registry to check my bond status. Suddenly, a thick wave of cedarwood tangled with cloying sweet roses slammed into my nose.

Every werewolf possessed a unique scent. Cedarwood belonged to Hazen.

I instinctively hid behind a marble pillar, my breath catching in my throat.

It was my husband. His muscular arm was wrapped securely around the waist of a young, beautiful woman, his large hand gently caressing her flat stomach.

My eyes turned bloodshot as I recognized her. Kerri Talley. The twenty-year-old beloved daughter of the most powerful Pack Elder. She was everything I wasn't: young, fertile, and backed by immense political power.

"Hazen," Kerri whined, wrapping her arms around his neck without a care in the world. "Do you think our pup will look like you or me?"

Hazen's voice, the same voice that whispered sweet nothings to me every night, dripped with absolute doting. "I hope the pup looks like you, beautiful."

They walked right past my hiding spot. I dug my fingernails so hard into my palms that they pierced the skin, but I couldn't feel the pain.

This man had called my phone every night for the past two weeks, telling me how much he missed me. Yet, he was spending every second with another woman.

I felt like the biggest fool in the world.

Driven by a desperate need for the whole truth, I followed their scent to a high-end Pack lounge across the street.

Standing outside the slightly ajar door of their private VIP den, I heard the loud laughter of Hazen's Beta warriors.

"Alpha, you and Luna Kerri are too sweet! You're making us jealous!"

"Yeah, Alpha is so lucky. He has the obedient Celesta keeping the Pack house clean, and Kerri warming his bed. What a life!"

Kerri giggled, burying her flushed face into Hazen's chest.

Hazen chuckled lazily. "Enough. Kerri is shy."

My heart felt like it was being crushed by a boulder.

They all knew. They called Kerri "Luna" to her face. I was the only idiot kept in the dark!

"But Hazen," Kerri pouted, tracing his jawline. "What about Celesta? She still thinks she's your true Luna."

Hazen let out a cold, disdainful snort.

"Her bond certificate is a fake. A wolfless orphan like her could never pass the Elder Council's approval. Kerri's father controls the Pack's military budget. Marrying Kerri cements my absolute rule, and she will give me a strong, pure-blooded heir."

"Then why keep her around?" a warrior asked.

"She's stubborn," Hazen said casually. "If I didn't use the fake bond to trap her, she would have left. It's been five years, and she never suspected a thing."

Through the gap in the door, I saw Kerri tilt her neck proudly, revealing a deep, permanent bite scar where her shoulder met her throat-the undeniable Marking of an Alpha claiming his mate for life.

My brain buzzed as if a bomb had gone off inside my skull.

A fake bond. Five years of marriage, all a lie. His promises, his love, all a disgusting illusion.

He didn't just betray me; he orchestrated a massive fraud to keep me as his docile pet while he built a real family with another woman.

Tears blurred my vision, but I didn't cry out. With trembling fingers, I pulled out my phone and recorded their voices. I wouldn't let this slide. I would make him pay.

Dragging my exhausted, shattered body out of the lounge, I walked aimlessly down the bleak street.

Lost in my agonizing thoughts, I didn't notice a speeding black SUV swerving toward the sidewalk.

Just as the metal bumper was about to strike me, a large, powerful hand shot out and gripped my waist, pulling me hard against a rock-solid chest.

An overwhelming scent of arctic snow and pine instantly wrapped around me. A terrifying, electrifying jolt sizzled across my skin where his hand gripped my waist-a sensation so intense it made the blood in my veins boil.

I gasped, jerking my head up.

I found myself staring straight into a pair of deep, icy blue eyes that radiated the suffocating, absolute Dominion of an apex Alpha King.

The world around me seemed to freeze. Under his predatory gaze, my previously deadened heart began to hammer wildly against my ribs, an unprecedented, dangerous shiver tearing straight through my soul.