Fate's Broken Bond

My son Sylvan looked up at me with pitiful eyes as tears streamed down his cheeks. He insisted he couldn't sleep until he saw his dad tonight.

If it hadn't been for that heartbreaking sight, I don't think I would have found myself standing at Lydia's door.

I hesitated, my hand hovering over the door. This door always brought back painful memories.

A year ago, I had been playing with Sylvan when a sharp, suffocating pain suddenly gripped my chest. When I came to, I found my mate, Kaelen, in bed with Lydia.

The sting from my mate's betrayal hit me hard, and I blacked out.

"The Elders drugged me…," Kaelen had said, kneeling beside my sickbed, his voice desperate. "My brother—he was killed by rogues. He didn't have kids, so according to the pack's law…"

"So, you got into bed with your brother's mate?" I interrupted, my nails digging into my palms.

He grabbed my wrist tightly. "It was only to have a pup! The Elders said that once Lydia is with pup, I'll fully inherit the Alpha position—"

"I want to sever our mate bond."

But as soon as I said that, Kaelen dropped to his knees in front of me, a silver knife pressed to his chest.

He said, "Violetta, I need to give Lydia a pup to claim Grayswood Pack. I swear that you're the only one I love. Once she's with pup, you and I can be together openly!"

Before I could respond, he forced me to drink a potion a witch had made. It was supposed to dull the pain of the bond from his betrayal.

He imprisoned me in the castle and forced me to cut off all contact with the outside world.

At first, Kaelen was reluctant to visit Lydia. He only went to her once a month. But soon, that turned into once a week, and then once every two days.

Now, he went to her willingly. The Elders no longer needed to force him.

However, something felt different today. It was the sixth time he had been to her room.

As I recalled Sylvan's request, I steeled myself and was about to knock on the door. But just then, I happened to glance through the window.

What I saw made my stomach drop. Kaelen had Lydia pressed up against the desk, his low moan mixed with a rhythmic creak from the wooden surface filled the room.

"I agreed to give you a pup, but don't think for a second you'll ever compare to Violetta."

Lydia's face was flushed as she gasped. "But you said… she's boring in bed, that she's nothing like me. You can't get enough of me, can you? Always coming back for more after just a few days!"

Kaelen didn't answer. Instead, he thrust into her harder.

The sounds from inside became increasingly unbearable.

Lydia must have sensed my presence because she looked over at me with a mocking glint in her eyes. She knew I was there.

I shut my eyes in despair, then turned away without knocking.

While I still held onto the fragile hope that our relationship could be saved, Kaelen had already fallen deeper into Lydia's allure. Night after night, he became more and more obsessed with her body.