Mighty Female Alpha, Fearless of Betrayal Chapter 02
The way the two of them had just played off each other, I didn’t believe for a second Ethan had been kept in the dark.
Last time, when I felt through the blood bond that my pup was still alive, Ethan had called it grief-induced psychosis. He’d used it to lock me up and claim Alpha authority for himself.
The memory made something feral rise up behind my ribs. I wanted to tear them both apart. Let the whole pack see exactly what they were.
But I couldn’t. Not yet. I was pregnant. And Ethan had already been quietly building a power base inside my pack.
I told them I needed to rest. Asked them to leave.
Ethan made a whole production of it, said he had pack business to handle. Ever since I got pregnant, he’d been stepping up to take meetings I used to run. I’d let him. I’d trusted him.
Vivian did her usual goodbye routine. Sweet smile, little wave, see you soon.
They left one right after the other.
I know they can’t wait to have an affair!
The second the door shut, I yanked the charm off my neck like it was on fire.
I didn’t want it touching my skin for one more second.
I drove straight to the pack shaman’s sanctuary. The moment I walked through his door, I slapped the charm down on his table.
“Is this the one Vivian came to you for?”
He bowed respectfully and reached out to touch my stomach with both hands, blessing the pup. “Yes, Alpha. She was very earnest when she asked for it. Is something wrong?”
I didn’t suspect him. He’d served my family for decades.
Whatever had been done to this charm, Vivian had taken it somewhere else afterward. Some dark witch. Some deal made in the shadows.
“Can you make me an exact replica? As fast as possible.”
He turned it over carefully and didn’t ask a single question. “Every charm is unique, Alpha. But copying this one, give me two hours.”
I exhaled slowly. “I’ll wait right here.”
That afternoon I walked out with the duplicate around my neck. Clean. No curse on it.
Ethan and Vivian wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.
But the cursed original, I still needed to deal with it.
I was still thinking it through when a sound cut across the yard.
A sharp, ragged animal cry.
I followed it around the side of the building and stopped.
A stray cat was locked in a wire cage. She was bone-thin except for her belly, grotesquely swollen. Her fur was matted and filthy, her skin covered in open sores. She was hurling herself at the cage walls over and over, eyes glazed, barely registering pain.
The shaman came up beside me and sighed. “She’s pregnant but she went feral. Attacking anything that got close. I had to contain her.”
I looked at the cursed charm in my hand. Then I looked at the cat.
Something cold and precise settled in my chest.
I leaned down and carefully clipped the charm onto her collar.
“Poor thing,” I said to the shaman, keeping my voice easy. “Take good care of her. Leave that charm on her. Let it watch over her.”
Vivian, you wanted to swap babies?
Let’s see what your hex does when it’s bonded to a cat carrying a litter of ten.
I’d barely stepped off the sanctuary grounds when my phone buzzed. A mind-link from Ethan.
“Aurora, Tom just opened a new restaurant downtown. He’s asking us to come show support tonight. Bring Vivian?”
I stood there, fingertips cold, and answered without hesitating. “Sure.”
Hung up. Let the corners of my mouth curl.
Last time, every dinner we shared was a production. The table always loaded with whatever Vivian wanted. Ethan always had an excuse. “She’s your best friend. I’m just being considerate.”
I’d believed him. I’d thought he was generous.
I pushed open the restaurant door and the smell of sizzling steak hit me hard.
Ethan and Vivian were already at the window table. The surface was stacked with ribeye, fried chicken, loaded fries. Vivian had a chicken wing in one hand and a frosty beer in the other.
“God, this is so good.” She chugged a long pull from her glass. “Hit me again.”
The waiter hesitated. “Ma’am, you’re pregnant. Alcohol can harm the—”
