3.

Kat smiled as she looked at herself in the mirror.

"Perfect." She purred, applying some lipstick and adjusted her long silky blonde hair, feeling satisfied with her appearance. She turned to her waitress, Olga, who was standing behind her with a tablet in her hands.

“So, Olga, how did it go?” Kat asked casually, as if she didn’t already know.

Olga smiled eagerly and bowed her head. “Everything went perfectly, Miss Kat. The video of the.... incident has gone viral on social media. Everyone is talking about how her days were numbered the moment she dared to betray the Alpha." She tapped on the tablet and showed Kat the screen.

It was a video of a man and a woman kissing passionately on a bed, their clothes scattered on the floor. The man's face was blurred, but the woman's face was crystal clear. You could recognize Natalia's wavy red hair and sharp green eyes at a glance. Her tanned skin coupled with her toned frame made her stand out among her peers.

Kat had them filmed and photoshopped purposely to ruin their relationship and humiliate the beta in front of the whole pack.

“It went just as you expected, ma’am,” Olga said, her voice dripping with hope. “Alpha Vitale and Natalia have no idea what happened. I made sure they woke up in separate rooms, with no marks or memories of the previous night."

Kat laughed wickedly. She had made sure that the drugs she used would not leave any traces of their bond on their skin or their minds.

“That’s brilliant, Olga. You did a great job, I'm pleased” Kat praised her omega, who beamed with pride.

“Thank you, ma’am. It was all thanks to your genius plan, I just hope you stick to your end of the bargain.” Olga said, flattering the future Luna.

Kat nodded smugly. Ever since she laid her eyes on the Alpha last, she knew he was the perfect man for her. As the daughter of the renowned Alpha of the Volkovaya Vlast pack, she gets everything she wished for in the blink of an eye. Thus when her mate turned out to be some lowly omega, he was bound to disappear without a trace.

Kat would only mate someone worthy of her status. All the so-called alphas introduced by her father failed to meet her standard.

No one except Vitale Moretti.

The fact that he has a mate meant nothing to Kat. Because Kat gets what Kat wants.

“What about the beta?” She asked. “Did she see the video?”

Olga shook her head eagerly. “No, Miss Kat. She is still out cold. The drug must've hit her head.”

Kat laughed wickedly, enjoying how easy it was for her. “That’s what she gets for wanting what's mine. And what about my Alpha? Hope you've taken care of the evidence.”

"You won't be disappointed, ma'am."

She hummed and glanced at the clock on the wall. It was almost time for the pack meeting, the two mates would soon face the storm awaiting them. Alpha Vitale was famous for one thing– friend or foe, no one betrays him and gets away with it. Imagine his reaction when it came from his own mate.

Kat could not wait to see the violence that would occur when he sees the video.

“Come on, Olga. Let’s go. Time to enjoy the show,” She said, grabbing her purse and walking out of the room.

Olga followed her obediently, carrying the tablet with the video. They headed to the meeting hall, waiting for the storm that was rapidly submerging the pack in chaos.

Kat smiled wickedly as she walked. She felt like she had just won a game, and she was ready to claim her prize.

...

In the matrimonial room, Vitale opened his eyes and blinked at the morning light.

"How long have I been asleep?" He wondered, reaching out for his mate, expecting to feel her warm body next to him, but his hand met only cold sheets.

He frowned and sat up, his broad muscular shoulders, covered in snake tattoos, flexing as he popped his neck observing the room. There was no sign of Natalia, no trace of their passionate night. A pang of disappointment and confusion washed over him.

"Where is Natalia?" He asked his wolf, Viper, but all he got in reply was silence.

He couldn't fantom what was so urgent that she had to leave him right after consummating their bond.

Vitale got out of bed and walked to the bathroom, hoping to find some clues. But the more he checked, the angrier he got. Looking back at his reflection on the mirror only added to his fury.

There was no bond mark on his neck, no evidence that he had claimed his mate as his own. Vitale tried to remember what happened last night, but his mind was blank.

He only recalled entering the room and waiting for Natalia, who said she wanted to freshen up before joining him. He waited for her, but didn't know what happened afterwards. Judging by his appearance, he must have fallen asleep at some point, but he didn’t know how or why.

He felt a sudden headache and rubbed his temples. Something was wrong, very wrong. He had a bad feeling in his gut, as he did whenever he was betrayed. He quickly dressed and left the room, heading to the pack house. He needed answers, and he needed them now.

As he walked through the hallways, he noticed that people were staring at him with pity, disgust or amusement. Yet they cower in fright whenever their eyes meet his. Vitale growled, trying his best to ignore them and kept walking, but he felt his blood boiling with every step. What was going on? What had they heard? Did something happen to his mate?

He reached the pack house and headed straight to his office, where he saw the Delta, Luca, waiting for him with a grim expression.

“Alpha.....,” Luca greeted.

“What?” Vitale snapped impatiently.

“It's... About your mate,” Luca said, shifting on his legs.

“Speak, what about her?” Vitale asked.

Luca hesitated, then sighed.

“We've found a mole amidst us, alpha. It's none other than Beta Natalia, your mate. She has betrayed us,” Luca said.

“Come again?” Vitale inquired, doubting his ears.

Luca looked at him hesitantly. At last, he decided to hand the Alpha over his phone and disappeared from the room.

"Oh god... Baby, yes!" Natalia's voice rang throughout the office the moment Vitale played the video.

"You want my c*ock, don't you?"

"Of course I do, baby."

"That's why you left your mate stranded on the night of your consummation to be with me."

"Nngh... don't ruin our moment by mentioning that bastard. The mere thought of doing it with me gives me creeps."

"But you would have done it for me anyways, wouldn't you?"

"You know I would. In order to make you the Alpha, I'm willing to put up with V. It's almost ov-"

With a fling of his wrist, V flung the phone across the room, howling loudly in pain as a wave of nausea and rage washed over him. He couldn’t believe what he had seen and heard.

His mate, his soulmate, had lied to him, cheated on him and plotted against him. She had made a fool of him in front of his pack and his enemies. He slumped against the wall, trying to contain the agony rapidly engulfing his heart.

"Why?! Why?" He clenched his fists and punched the wall.

“Where the fuck is that whore?” Vitale growled, yanking open the office doors.

“W-we have no idea, S-sir!” the guards standing outside stuttered.

“Who the fuck was that bastar- oh, nevermind. I don't give a fuck who the bastard is."

He turned around and stormed out of the pack house, leaving behind a tense silence. He didn’t care who her lover was or why she did what she did. He only cared about one thing: making her pay for her betrayal.

"I, Alpha Vitale Moretti of the Sanguinari wolf pack, rejected Natalia Popov as my mate. Now and forever!" He vowed.

He would find her, reject her and kill her. And then he would kill her lover too.

He would make them suffer as they had made him suffer.

He would show them no mercy.

For in a world of serpents, he is the king cobra. One wrong move, one ounce of treachery, and you'll witness his venomous strike that leaves no survivors. That had been his motto, and he'd be damned if they got away with it.

...