The Alpha's Betrayal Made Me Legendary

Aria's POV

The sweat from training is still cooling on my skin as I walk down the familiar hallway, clutching two cups of hot coffee. Damien Blackwood's favorite: black, two sugars, just the way he likes it.

My fingers trace the rim of the cup. He's been drowning in pack business all week, barely coming up for air. Maybe surprising him is exactly what he needs right now. A hot drink, a quick kiss, and I'll let him get back to whatever Alpha responsibilities are eating up his time.

The hallway stretches ahead, quiet except for the sound of my boots on polished wood. I pick up my pace, already imagining the way his face will light up when he sees me. The way those deep blue eyes will soften, just for me.

But then I freeze.

The air near his office door carries something foreign. Sweet. Cloying. A perfume that doesn't belong here. My wolf stirs beneath my skin, hackles rising.

The door to Damien's office is half-open. Voices drift from inside. My hand hovers over the doorknob, but I don't push it yet. Can't explain why.

Then a woman's voice floats out. Soft, almost musical.

"Damien, the baby's kicking. Feel it."

The coffee cups tremble in my hands. My breath catches. I lean closer to the crack in the door, every instinct screaming at me to look, even though part of me already knows I won't like what I see.

Golden curls. Green eyes. A delicate hand resting on a rounded belly.

Serena Knox.

The Omega who joined the pack three months ago, claiming she was running from some abusive ex down south. I remember how everyone rallied around her, offering shelter and protection. How Damien personally assured her she'd be safe here.

And Damien. My Damien. Standing so close his shadow falls across her swollen stomach. His hand reaches out, fingers hovering just inches from that bump.

"I'll give you and the child everything you need. I promise."

His voice is soft. Tender. A tone I thought belonged to me alone.

The coffee cups slip from my fingers. The crash of shattering ceramic echoes down the hallway, jagged and too loud.

I don't wait to see if they heard. Don't wait to see Damien's face, to hear whatever bullshit excuse he might scramble together. My legs move on autopilot, carrying me away from that door, away from the sight that just ripped my world in half.

One week ago, I sat in the pack hospital, staring at sterile white walls and trying to process what the doctor had just told me.

"Miss Storm, I'm sorry, but your chances of conception are extremely low. The damage from that battle when you protected the pack from those rogues... it affected your reproductive system."

The doctor's voice was careful, like he thought I might shatter. My hands gripped the armrests so tight my knuckles went white.

I was a Delta warrior. I'd fought off five rogues single-handedly to protect this territory. The scars on my body proved my loyalty, my strength. But this invisible wound was tearing me apart from the inside out.

"There are options," the doctor continued. "Treatments, specialists we could consult. It's not impossible, just... unlikely."

Unlikely. That word echoed in my head the entire walk home. How do you tell your Alpha fiancé, whose pack desperately needs an heir, that you probably can't give him one?

I told Damien that night. Sat him down, hands shaking, forced the words out through a throat that felt like it was closing up.

"Damien, the doctor said... I might not be able to have children. The injury from the rogue attack, it..."

He didn't let me finish. He pulled me into his arms, so tight I could barely breathe.

"Aria, listen to me. I only want you. Children, heirs, all of that? It doesn't matter. What matters is you. You're my mate, my future Luna. That's all I need."

I cried into his chest while his fingers stroked my hair. I believed every single word that came out of his mouth.

God, I was so stupid.

Because Serena is three months pregnant. Which means when Damien was holding me, promising that I was all he needed, his mistress was already carrying his child.

That promise? It was a lie from the very beginning.

I burst through my bedroom door to find Maya Sinclair waiting for me. My best friend takes one look at my face and shoots to her feet.

"Holy shit, Aria. You look like you've seen a ghost. What happened?"

"Serena's pregnant." The words come out cold. Flat. "With Damien's baby."

Maya's eyes go wide. "What? No. No fucking way. Damien wouldn't..."

"I saw it myself. Heard it with my own ears." My voice gets colder with every word. "He was touching her belly, Maya. Promising to give her and the child everything they need."

"That bastard! You told him about your condition just a week ago, and he..."

"I need you to do something for me." I cut her off, my tone suddenly calm. Too calm. "Dig into Serena's background. Check all the security footage, visitor logs, everything. I want to know who she really is."

Maya stares at me. "Aria, what are you planning..."

"Before I make any decisions, I need to know the whole truth. All of it."

Maya studies me for a long moment, then slowly nods. She's seen me in battle mode before. She knows that look in my eyes. This isn't grief. This is a warrior preparing for war.

After Maya leaves, I sit on the edge of my bed, staring at the engagement necklace around my neck. A silver crescent moon, the symbol of our promised bond.

Two weeks. The full moon marking ceremony is in two weeks. Once that bite seals our bond, I'll be tied to Damien for life. Soul-bound. Unbreakable.

But Serena is three months pregnant. Three months.

The timeline adds up perfectly, doesn't it? When I told him about the diagnosis, she was already over two months along. So when he was holding me, whispering those sweet lies about how I was all he needed... he already knew. He already had his heir growing in another woman's belly.

My phone buzzes. A text from Damien.

Babe, I've got some pack business to handle tonight. Don't wait up for dinner.

A cold smile curves my lips.

Pack business? Or rushing to Serena's side to discuss baby names?

I stand and walk to my closet. Start pulling out clothes, folding them methodically. Maya needs time to investigate, but I already know I won't be staying much longer.

Outside my window, the moon hangs in the sky, not quite full yet. Two weeks until the ceremony. Two weeks until I'm supposed to bind myself to a man who's been lying to my face while another woman carries his child.

But my heart? It had already started saying goodbye.