A STARTLING BETRAYAL

~Jemima Wolfsbane Pov

....Her Mate's Pack

I have always wondered where my mate, Connor was always disappearing to every day. He always went to his penthouse around this time and curiosity made me follow him. I made sure to stay far away from him so that he would not pick up my scent. I watched from a distance as he ascended the stairs of the penthouse and a woman came out to hug him. My eyes widened as they kissed.

I refused to believe what I saw, my eyes were deceiving me. I watched as the both of them went inside.

Who was that woman?!

My heart pounded in my chest as I ran towards the penthouse. I quickly ascended the steps of the penthouse as quietly as I could despite my beating heart. I was driven by an unshakable feeling of unease that had already settled inside of my chest.

Ever since I had gotten married to Connor, I knew that he was not really satisfied with me. But, he always strived to treat me well. Still sometimes he would be distant, his gaze cold and other times he would be so warm and genuine towards me that I had wanted to believe in him and see everything that was happening as a phase that he would later overcome.

But right now, I did not think so. The thought of him being with another woman behind my back tore my heart into pieces. It brought an unbearable pain and hurt that compelled me forward, towards the door.

I heard soft moans and a familiar feminine laughter coming from behind the door. That laugh, I would definitely know it any where. It was unmistakably the sound of my step sister, Tamar.

My entire heart stopped as the stark reality of that realization washed over me fiercely. It came upon me like a sudden slap on the face, the kind that happened to send tremors throughout a person's entire body.

My step sister and my mate?

No! I desperately refused to believe that. I needed to confirm that. Seeing was believing. The heavy steel door was slightly open, just enough to let me slip in. I hesitated at the small entrance with my pulse racing. I made up my mind and slipped in through the dimly lit foyer. My eyes quickly adjusted to the shadows of the luxurious space. Their voices drifted down the hall.

“Connor, don’t you see? You can have it all,” came Tamar's sultry whine. “She does not deserve you. She is nothing but a half-breed with no future and no true power. And you of all people know that you truly deserve a Luna who can rule by your side with you and not one who will keep holding you back." I stepped further into the house and that was when I saw them. My eyes widened in hurt and disappointment while my heart broke into a thousand different segments. My legs threatened to give out as I stared at my step sister in the hands of my mate.

“Tamar,” he called her name in a soft and tender way that brought tears to my eyes.  The look on his face gave away the fact that he was considering her vile offer. “If I actually decide to marry you and make you my Luna, then what will become of Jemima and I? What will become of the Omega bond that is between the both of us?”

The horror of his words struck me harshly like a thunderbolt. I clasped my hands over my mouth as I struggled to hold back my sob. Every fiber of my being screamed out to me to turn around and run as far as I could. But my legs remained rooted to the spot as I listened to them.

“Well,” Tamar began to say with a smirk as she slithered up into Connor arms and kissed his neck, something that I could not dare to do even with the fact that he was my husband. “She will be powerless. All you have to do is keep her to wife and make me your Luna. We both get what we want and what you deserve. You will be free to rule the pack with me and with only the marriage ties and the omega bond mistake of a wolf. She is a liability, you know Connor?”

“I think you are right. This idea could have her safely out of the picture. I can have you as my Luna and still keep her as nothing but an ornament,” my mate whispered as he caressed her body with his hands. I watched as Tamar lowered the strap of her gown and offered him her bare breast. He took her nipples in his mouth and sucked on it. They were both enjoying themselves.

My eyes clouded with salty water, my vision blurring with tears. I staggered backwards at the cutting words, a single ragged breath escaping my lips, uncontainable. Connor’s eyes flew up at the slight sound, his eyes spotting me instantly where I stood. My breath hitched in my throat as our eyes met and got a moment I saw a trace of guilt flash in them.

“Jemima ,” he said my name in a flat tone. He sized me up with his eyes like I was a weed while clothing my step sister's breast. Tamar turned to look at me too, giving me a rather triumphant smile.

“Oh is that Jemima ?” she said in mock concern. "Welcome to the party," she giggled softly. The sound infuriated me to the moon and back.

"You want to marry my step sister?" I asked my mate as tears quickly rolled down my cheeks.

“You were not supposed to hear that,” Tamar murmured with a sneer.

“How could you Connor, and with my sister?” I asked him, stepping forward. My voice trembled with the weight of my anger. I was barely holding back the leashed emotion. “And you Tamar, both of you," I said gesturing towards them.

“Point of correction, I am your step sister,” Tamar corrected me with a smirk. She climbed down from Connor's lap and they both rose to their feet. I stepped closer to them, my eyes darting between one and the other.

"You are a disgrace to womanhood, sister or stepsister otherwise," I snapped at her. She scoffed at my words, wrapping herself around Connor while her fingers began to trace his jaw possessively.

“You have always been nothing but a weak, vulnerable and unworthy woman Jemima . And you are still nothing to your mate.”

“Is that true?” I asked Connor looking directly into his eyes. “Do I really mean nothing to you?” He took a deliberate step forward and stared down at me with a mixture of pity and disappointment.

"Well yes Jemima , even you your name sounds like that of a loser. You are merely nothing but a useless half breed to me who can not even shift. How then can you be my Luna?" He asked me. My eyes widened at his words because he was the only person who knew that I could actually shift. He had seen me in my wolf form.

"Then why did you marry me?" I asked him instead of what was on my mind. He smirked at me.

"I did so because your father kept pressuring me to take responsibility for you. It was nothing more than that," he enunciated every word of the second sentence.