Cast Aside

Valerie POV

Darius’s dark eyes turn rigid and cold, stripping away any lingering warmth that existed between us just moments ago. The visceral force of his clinical detachment hits me harder than a physical blow. The air vanishes from my lungs. Instead of offering comfort or denying my darkest fears, his posture stiffens. He straightens his broad shoulders, looking down at me not as a loving husband, but as an Alpha evaluating a failing asset.

"Securing an heir through Giselle is a political necessity for the Silver Lake Pack. It is as simple as that."

He delivers the words with a chilling, matter-of-fact tone. In that agonizing instant, the heavy veil finally drops from my eyes. The man standing before me is a total stranger. To Darius, possessing a pureblooded werewolf heir matters infinitely more than our sacred mate bond. It eclipses the love we shared, the late-night promises we whispered in the dark, and the future we planned together. I stare at his hardened jaw and impassive expression, realizing the devastating truth. I will never be enough. No matter how much I bleed for this pack, a human mate cannot give him the royal lineage his ego so desperately craves.

Before I can even catch my breath to respond to his cruelty, the heavy oak office doors fly open with a deafening crash.

Giselle bursts into the room like a chaotic storm. She is accompanied by Darius’s mother, Helena, and his younger sister, Corinna. The three of them form a united front, sweeping into the private sanctuary of the Alpha's office without a shred of hesitation.

Giselle collapses into theatrical hysterics the moment she crosses the threshold. She clutches her flat stomach, sobbing wildly as her knees strategically buckle.

"I will never abort my pregnancy! I will never allow my child to be ripped away from my maternal care!"

Darius doesn't hesitate for a single second. He steps right past me, brushing my shoulder aside, to catch Giselle before she hits the floor. He wraps his strong arms around her, pulling her close to his chest to soothe her frantic trembling. He showers her with more care and gentle attention in five seconds than he has given me throughout our entire devastating argument.

He murmurs the assurances into her hair, rubbing her back to calm her sobs. "You are safe, Giselle. I promise you, nobody is going to harm you or the baby. Your noble Beta lineage is far too essential to cast aside."

Giselle gazes up at him through her wet eyelashes. I stand just a few feet away, watching as a gleam of predatory satisfaction flashes in her eyes. The tears are real, but the intention behind them is cold and calculated. She leans deeper into my husband's embrace, making sure her voice carries across the quiet room to hit me square in the chest.

"I’m your family now too, Darius. Me and this child I carry."

They look like a picture-perfect royal werewolf family. The powerful Alpha holding the beautiful, high-ranking Beta female who carries his future heir. The sight makes my stomach churn with fresh nausea. I am the outsider intruding on their grand destiny.

Helena and Corinna immediately seize the opportunity to round on me. They step forward in unison, their designer heels clicking sharply on the hardwood floor. They box me in, physically blocking my line of sight to Darius and isolating me from the rest of the room. Their aristocratic faces twist with undisguised venom.

Helena sneers, her voice dripping with icy contempt. "Your barren human womb is the sole reason the Alpha Council stripped Darius of his rightful leadership seat. You are an ungrateful, selfish child throwing an embarrassing tantrum over pack duty. You have dragged his name through the mud for years."

Corinna folds her arms across her chest, her eyes glittering with malicious delight. She has always hated my presence in the pack, and today she finally gets to watch me break. She spits the insults right at my face.

"My brother needs an heir. Giselle can make that happen. You are just being stupid and petty."

Darius raises a hand weakly from where he is still holding Giselle. "You have said enough."

He mutters the reprimand, but there is no real Alpha command behind his voice. The irrevocable damage is already done. His weak defense feels worse than deafening silence. My chest tightens as the sheer injustice of their words crashes over me. I spent two years of total sacrifice for this man and this pack. I left behind the safety of my human world. I endured unending pack isolation, suffering the constant whispers and blatant disrespect from werewolves who viewed me as a fragile liability. I poisoned my own body with agonizing fertility drugs, enduring the bruising injections, the hormonal crashes, and the heartbreaking negative tests month after month. I did all of it for him.

Now, his family is ruthlessly trampling what little dignity I possess, and he is letting them do it.

Straightening my posture, I summon every ounce of strength left in my battered soul. I step out from between Helena and Corinna, forcing them to move back. I look directly into my husband’s eyes, ignoring the woman clinging to his shirt.

"I want a divorce."

The words hang in the air, sharp and final.

Darius scoffs, waving his hand dismissively as his expression hardens into Alpha authority. "Stop being irrational, Valerie. You are fighting a decision made for the greater good of the pack. You just need time to cool down and see sense."

I refuse to yield to his domineering tone, planting my feet firmly on the hardwood floor. "If Giselle and her child stay… I refuse to allow children to grow up in a toxic environment like this."

Darius narrows his predatory werewolf eyes instantly. "Children?"

His gaze drops down. He zeroes in on the crisp hospital report clutched tightly in my white knuckles. I didn't even realize I was gripping Dr. Lowell's paperwork so fiercely.

A jolt of pure terror shoots through my spine. The plural slip of the tongue hangs between us like a lit fuse. I am terrified of what he might do if he discovers I am carrying his child while Giselle’s pregnancy hangs in the balance. Would he trap me here? Would he take my baby to raise alongside Giselle's?

I pivot on my heel and flee the building. The pristine white walls of the Pack Administration Building blur together as I run. My chest heaves with every ragged breath. I dodge past bewildered pack members in the lobby, ignoring their startled gasps and pointing fingers. I need to get home and pack my belongings before he can stop me.

Darius POV

Valerie’s hasty retreat leaves a nagging suspicion burning like acid in my gut. The image of her pale face and panicked eyes flashes in my mind. What was that medical paper she was hiding in her hand? Why did she say *children* in the plural?

I take a step toward the door to go after her, but my family blocks my path. My mother and Corinna seize my arms, their grips tight and demanding.

Helena urges passionately, her eyes wide with desperate ambition. "Let the human walk away, Darius! This is your chance to fix everything!"

Corinna nods in furious agreement, tugging at my sleeve. "She just asked for a divorce! Let her have it. We can officially install Giselle as the Luna for the sake of the pack's pureblood legacy. Everyone will finally respect you again."

They paint a convenient, flawless picture. I can have my Beta-blooded Luna. I can have my guaranteed strong heir. I can regain my seat on the Alpha Council. All I have to do is let my fated mate walk out the door and never come back.

I snap, roughly shoving past their grasping hands. "Not a chance."

I ignore Giselle's soft gasp and my mother's outraged protests. Valerie is my fated mate. The Moon Goddess tied our souls together, and I will not let our bond unravel over a pack arrangement she simply refuses to comprehend. She is being emotional and stubborn, but I can make her see reason.

I storm out of the building and jump into my SUV. I grip the leather steering wheel until my knuckles turn bone-white. The powerful engine roars as I break every speed limit in the territory, the tires screeching as I take the sharp turns. Roaring into the driveway of our sprawling estate minutes later, I slam the car door shut and take the front stairs three at a time. I burst through the front door and track her scent straight to the master bedroom.

Valerie is furiously shoving clothes into an open suitcase on the bed. Her movements are erratic and panicked.

I cross the room in two long strides and grab her wrist to stop her.

She yanks her arm away with a snarl of pure disgust, backing up against the dresser. "Don’t touch me, Darius! Don’t you dare touch me!"

Desperate to break through her icy wall, I step into her space. I try to pull her against my chest, attempting to invoke the dormant heat of our mate bond to soothe her frayed nerves. My wolf whines, wanting to blanket her in our scent and calm her racing heart.

She sharply twists her face away, slamming her hands against my chest to push me back. The physical rejection stings, but the emotional rejection is a crushing blow. She puts an emotional gulf of a million miles between us with that single, defiant movement.

Before I can force her to listen to reason, my phone shrills in my pocket. The jarring ringtone shatters the tense silence in the bedroom. I pull it out, ready to send it to voicemail, but I see my mother's name flashing on the screen.

I answer it, keeping my eyes locked on Valerie.

Helena screams into the receiver, her voice pitched in a state of high agitation. "Darius, you need to get to the hospital right now! The chaotic shouting match in your office triggered severe stress in Giselle. She collapsed in the hallway, and the doctors are warning that the unborn heir is in grave medical distress!"

The words hit me like a bucket of ice water. Torn down the middle, a savage curse rips from my throat.

Giselle is carrying my future heir. That baby is my flesh and blood, the key to the pack's survival and my legacy. I cannot abandon them when their lives are on the line. But I look at Valerie, who is already reaching for her suitcase again, and I know I cannot allow my mate to abandon our home either. If she leaves now, she might disappear into the human world forever.

I bark the command, pocketing my phone. "Damnit, Valerie. I have to leave—but this isn’t over! And you’re not leaving until we talk about this."

She ignores me. She grabs the handle of her suitcase and tries to shoulder past me toward the bedroom door.

I react on pure instinct. Ignoring her frantic thrashing and desperate pleas, I hoist her off the floor. I toss her over my shoulder, securing her legs with one strong arm.

She screams, pounding her fists against my back. "Put me down! Let me go, you monster!"

I carry her down the flights of stairs, ignoring the sharp sting of her nails biting through my shirt. We reach the main floor, but I don't stop. I head straight for the heavy oak door leading to the finished basement. I kick it open and haul her down the wooden steps. The cold, damp air of the lower level hits me. The basement is furnished, but it is a cage nonetheless. A prison for the woman meant to rule by my side.

The household security staff rushes into the hallway above, alerted by her screaming.

I bark the orders at the bewildered guards, my Alpha aura flaring to ensure obedience. "Lock down every perimeter! Nobody gets in or out without my express permission. Guard this heavy door with your lives!"

I reach the bottom of the stairs and dump Valerie unceremoniously onto the plush basement sofa. She scrambles backward, her chest heaving, staring at me with a mixture of hatred and terror that makes my wolf claw at my ribs.

I stand over her, staring down with cold, unyielding resolve. I need her to stay safe. I need her to stay put until I can fix this mess at the hospital and come back to make her understand. I make sure the harsh reality of her situation sinks in.

"No one loves you more than I do, Valerie. You’ll stay here until I can come back and we can talk. Until then—don’t even think about running away."

I turn my back on my mate, ignoring the crushing guilt in my chest, and march up the stairs. I slam the heavy basement door shut behind me, the loud click of the deadbolt echoing through the quiet house.