Damon's POV
My phone won't stop buzzing.
Seventeen missed calls from Mira. Twelve from my mother. Eight from various pack members.
I silence it and toss it on the nightstand.
"Is it her again?" Selene asks from beside me. Her voice is soft, worried. Everything about her is soft—her skin, her hair, her wolf's gentle nature.
Nothing like Mira's sharp edges and constant demands.
"Yes. She's being dramatic as usual." I pull Selene closer. "Ignore it. She'll calm down eventually."
"But Damon, she saw us. She knows." Selene sits up, the sheet falling away. "What if she goes to the Council? What if she tries to fight the rejection?"
"Let her try. The Moon Goddess chose you as my true mate. Not her." I run my hand through Selene's hair. "The bond between us proves it. What Mira and I have—had—was just a chosen mate bond. Inferior. Temporary."
"But you married her. You have a son together."
"A mistake I'm about to correct." I check my phone again. A new message from Mira makes me freeze.
I know everything. About Selene. About the affair. About your plan to reject me and take Kai. See you at the Council meeting tomorrow. Bring a lawyer. You're going to need one.
Anger floods through me. How does she know about the Council meeting? I haven't scheduled it yet.
Who's been talking?
"What's wrong?" Selene asks.
"Someone's been feeding Mira information. About our plans. About the rejection." I stand up, pacing. "This wasn't supposed to happen yet. I needed more time to prepare. To get everything in order."
"Maybe we should wait. Give her time to calm down. Let her accept—"
"Accept what? That she was never my true mate? That our marriage was a lie?" I shake my head. "No. She needs to understand. The Moon Goddess made a mistake pairing us through a chosen bond. You're my destiny, Selene. Not her."
Selene bites her lip. "What about Kai?"
"What about him?"
"He's your son. Her son. If we reject Mira, if we take him from her—" Selene's eyes fill with tears. "Damon, I love you. I love our bond. But I don't want to destroy a mother and child."
Something twists in my chest. Guilt? Regret?
No. I crush it immediately.
"Mira isn't fit to raise my heir. She's too emotional. Too weak. Kai needs stability. Structure. A Luna who understands pack politics." I sit beside Selene, take her hand. "You'll be a better mother to him than she ever was."
"You don't mean that."
"I do." And I realize I actually believe it. "Mira spent more time visiting her sick mother than raising our son. She prioritized her human family over pack duties. Over me. Over everything."
"Because her mother was dying!"
"And what about my needs? What about the pack's needs?" My voice rises. "I'm Alpha. I needed a strong Luna by my side. Instead, I got a wife who abandoned me for months."
Selene pulls her hand away. "She didn't abandon you. She was caring for her mother."
"Same thing." I stand up again. "The point is, she failed as a Luna. Failed as a mate. And now she's trying to manipulate the Council against me."
"Or she's just hurt. Betrayed. Trying to protect herself and her son."
Why is Selene defending her? She should be on my side.
"Whose side are you on?" I demand.
"Yours! Always yours!" Selene stands, wrapping the sheet around herself. "But Damon, this is wrong. The way we started—sneaking around, lying, hurting her—it's wrong. I feel it in my soul."
"The Moon Goddess paired us. How can destiny be wrong?"
"Because we acted on it while you were still married! While Mira was suffering!" Selene's crying now. "I love you. I love our bond. But I hate what we did to get here."
I stare at her. My true mate. The woman the Moon Goddess chose for me.
Why isn't she happy? Why isn't this perfect?
A knock on the door interrupts us.
"Alpha?" It's Marcus, my Beta. "We have a situation."
I open the door slightly. "What situation?"
"Mira's at the Council building. With Alpha Grayson from the Silver Moon Pack. They're calling an emergency session." Marcus looks grim. "She's filing for rejection. Tonight. And she has evidence. Photos. Videos. Text messages. Everything."
My blood runs cold.
"That's impossible. How did she—"
"Someone's been helping her. Gathering evidence for months. Feeding her information." Marcus glances past me at Selene. "Alpha, this is bad. Really bad. The elders are furious. They're saying you violated pack law. That you committed adultery. That you're unfit to lead."
"I'm not unfit! Selene is my true mate! The Moon Goddess—"
"Doesn't matter. You were still married when the affair started. That's a crime under pack law. Punishable by removal from Alpha position."
The room spins.
Removal? They can't remove me. I'm Alpha. This is my pack. My birthright.
"There's more," Marcus continues. "Mira's petitioning for full custody of Kai. She has witnesses ready to testify that you're an unfit father. That you neglected your son for months while carrying on the affair."
"That's a lie!"
"Is it?" Marcus's eyes are hard. "When's the last time you spent real time with Kai? Talked to him? Played with him? Put him to bed?"
I open my mouth. Close it. Can't remember.
"Exactly," Marcus says. "You've been too busy with her." He nods toward Selene. "And now Mira's going to use that against you."
Panic claws at my throat. "What do I do?"
"Get to that Council meeting. Now. With a lawyer. And pray you can salvage this before you lose everything."
He leaves.
I turn to Selene. She's staring at me with horror.
"You can't remember the last time you saw your son?" she whispers.
"I've been busy! Running a pack isn't easy!"
"He's three years old, Damon. He's your child. And you can't remember spending time with him."
"Whose side are you on?" I demand again.
"The side that's right." Selene backs away from me. "And right now? That's not yours."
She grabs her clothes and runs out, leaving me alone in the bedroom that smells like betrayal.
No. Not betrayal. Love. True love. The kind the Moon Goddess intended.
So why does everything feel wrong?
My wolf is pacing inside me. Agitated. Conflicted.
He feels the mate bond with Mira stretching. Straining. Breaking.
And he doesn't want it to break.
But that's impossible. Selene is our true mate. The bond with her is stronger, purer, destined.
The bond with Mira was just... convenient. A political marriage. A way to unite two packs.
It was never real.
Was it?
I grab my phone. Scroll through old photos. Find one from three years ago. Our wedding day.
Mira's smiling at me like I hung the moon. And I'm smiling back with genuine happiness.
I remember that day. Remember thinking I was the luckiest man alive. Remember promising to love her forever.
When did that change?
When did "forever" become "until someone better comes along"?
Another photo. Mira pregnant with Kai. Glowing. Beautiful. Holding her stomach like it contains the whole world.
Another. Kai's birth. Mira exhausted but radiant. Me holding our tiny son, overwhelmed with love and fear and wonder.
Another. The three of us at Kai's first birthday. A real family. Happy. Complete.
What happened to us?
When did I stop seeing her as my wife and start seeing her as an obligation?
My phone buzzes. Text from Selene.
I can't do this. I'm sorry. I love you, but not like this. Not by destroying someone else's life. Figure out your mess with Mira first. Then maybe we can talk about destiny.
No. No, she can't leave me too.
I call her. She doesn't answer.
I call again. Again. Again.
Nothing.
I'm alone.
Alone in a bedroom that suddenly feels like a crime scene. Evidence of my betrayal everywhere. Selene's perfume. Her clothes. The tangled sheets.
What have I done?
Another knock. My mother this time.
"Damon, open this door right now."
I open it. She slaps me across the face.
"How dare you," she hisses. "How DARE you disgrace this family. This pack. Your son."
"Mother—"
"Don't 'Mother' me. I raised you better than this. Your father would be ashamed."
The words hit like daggers. My father was a great Alpha. Honorable. Faithful. Everything I'm supposed to be.
Everything I'm not.
"Where's Kai?" I ask suddenly.
"Safe. Away from you. With people who actually care about him."
"He's my son!"
"Then act like his father!" She steps closer. "You abandoned him, Damon. For months. While Mira was suffering, caring for her dying mother, you were here. Playing house with her best friend. What kind of man does that?"
"I—I didn't mean—"
"You didn't mean to get caught. That's different." Her eyes are cold. "Get dressed. Get to that Council meeting. And pray they don't strip you of everything. Because right now? You deserve to lose it all."
She leaves.
I sink onto the bed, my head in my hands.
How did this become my life?
I was supposed to be a good Alpha. A good husband. A good father.
Instead, I'm the villain in my own story.
My phone buzzes again. Marcus.
Council meeting starting in 30 minutes. You need to be there. And Damon? Mira has Alpha Grayson backing her. He's called in favors from three other allied packs. If they vote against you, you're done. Not just as Alpha. As anything.
I read the message three times.
Alpha Grayson. Mira's childhood friend. The man she called instead of me when she needed help.
Because I wasn't there for her. Wasn't reliable. Wasn't trustworthy.
I grab my clothes and dress quickly. No time for a shower. No time for anything except damage control.
As I head downstairs, I pass Kai's room. The door is open. His toys are scattered everywhere. His favorite stuffed wolf—the one Mira bought him last Christmas—sits on his pillow.
When did I last read him a bedtime story? Last play with him? Last tell him I love him?
I can't remember.
Marcus was right. I've been a terrible father.
And an even worse husband.
My phone rings. Unknown number. I answer.
"Hello?"
"Alpha Damon. This is Elder Thorne from the Council. I'm calling to inform you that your wife has filed for immediate rejection on grounds of adultery and abandonment. The emergency session begins in twenty minutes. Failure to attend will result in automatic approval of her petition and loss of all parental rights."
"I'll be there."
"Bring legal representation. You're going to need it." He hangs up.
I stand in my son's empty room, surrounded by evidence of everything I've neglected, everything I've destroyed, and finally let myself feel it.
Regret.
Not for being with Selene. But for how I did it. For the lies. The sneaking. The betrayal.
For choosing my own happiness over everyone else's.
My wolf howls inside me. Mourning. Grieving.
Not for what we're losing. But for what we already lost.
The woman who loved us unconditionally. The family we built. The life we threw away.
For what? For a bond that might be real but was built on ruins?
I leave Kai's room and head for the Council building.
I don't know what I'm going to say. Don't know how to defend the indefensible.
But I know one thing.
Mira was right about me.
I am a coward.
Not brave enough to be honest. Not strong enough to do the right thing. Not man enough to be the Alpha my pack deserves.
The father my son deserves.
The husband Mira deserved.
And now? Now everyone will see it.
The great Alpha Damon. Brought down not by enemies or war or politics.
But by his own selfishness.
His own weakness.
His own betrayal.
As I drive to face the Council, one thought consumes me.
I wanted Selene because she was my true mate. My destiny.
But maybe destiny isn't about who the Moon Goddess chooses.
Maybe it's about who you choose. Who you fight for. Who you honor with your actions, not just your words.
And if that's true?
Then I chose wrong.
I chose desire over duty. Passion over commitment. My own happiness over everyone else's.
And now I'm going to pay the price.
I pull into the Council parking lot. The building is lit up like a beacon. Inside, my fate—and my family's fate—will be decided.
I see Alpha Grayson's car. Mira's lawyer's car. Elder Thorne's car.
Everyone who matters is already here.
Already judging me.
Already finding me guilty.
I step out of my car and freeze.
Because standing in the entrance, backlit by the Council chamber lights, is Mira.
She's not crying. Not broken. Not the desperate, pleading wife I expected.
She's standing tall. Strong. Fierce.
And she's looking at me not with love or even hatred.
But with disappointment.
Like I'm nothing. No one. Not worth her tears or her time.
And that look—that cold, dismissive look—hurts worse than any rejection ever could.
Because she's right.
I'm not worth it.
Not anymore.
Maybe I never was.
"Hello, Damon," she says as I approach. "Ready to face what you've done?"
I want to say yes. Want to be brave. Want to own my mistakes like a real Alpha should.
But instead, I say what I've been saying all along.
"You weren't supposed to come home early."
The words hang in the air. Pathetic. Cowardly. Exactly what she expects from me now.
Mira doesn't flinch. Doesn't react. Just turns and walks into the Council chamber.
And I follow.
To my judgment. To my destruction. To the end of everything I thought I was.
Because she's right about one more thing.
I feel no shame.
And that? That's the most shameful thing of all.