Chapter 25

Chapter 25

The instant Alpha Caleb crossed into Moonlight Pack territory, he could feel the weight of unfamiliar gazes on him. He was a stranger here, and every corner of the territory pulsed with a force that was both welcoming and intimidating. But nothing deterred him. He prowled the area, his wolf on edge, nose sharp, senses alert, searching for any trace of Marissa. She couldn’t have gone far. She couldn’t have left him. Not like this.

Just when doubt began gnawing at his mind, he saw her. Marissa was strolling across a clearing, laughter sparkling in her eyes as she walked alongside a tall, dark- haired man with an aura that was unmistakably Alpha. The light in her face was something Caleb had never seen before a kind of softness that made her seem…different. But his surprise quickly morphed into something darker.

“That‘ s her,” Caleb muttered, his voice thick with disbelief. “But…that man, he‘ s not her family. And where’s the Mateship Ceremony?”

His eyes narrowed, and a growl rumbled. from his chest. “She‘ s mated,” he whispered, almost choking on the words. He could smell it–the unmistakable scent of a newly mated pair, the tang of two wolves joined under the moon. Marissa hadn’t just left the pack. She‘ d mated with another Alpha.

“What the fuck. Did she cheat on me?” Caleb growled, the betrayal like ice through his veins. Without another thought, he strode forward, the anger simmering, unchecked.

“Marissa!” Caleb‘ s voice was sharp, raw with confusion and hurt. Marissa turned, her expression shifting as she recognized him. Her eyes held a calm he hadn’t expected, and it only stoked the fire of his resentment.

“Caleb,” she greeted, her voice steady as she faced him. “What are you doing here?”

Caleb scoffed, disbelief twisting his face.

“What are we doing here? Are yo serious? You disappeared, Marissa! No word, no explanation, and this is what we find? You–cheating on me?”

The man beside Marissa–Idris, though Caleb didn’t know it–watched them silently, his gaze as dark and intense as a storm. Caleb’s attention was solely on Marissa, but Idris‘ s protective energy filled the air, and Marissa felt it, like a steady pulse beside her own.

“I didn’t owe you an explanation,” she replied coolly, folding her arms over her chest. “My life isn’t bound to yours. I made broke up with you, remember? You had no right to follow me here. And how dare you accuse me of cheating when you impregnate another she–wolf behind my back? Fuck off.”

“The fuck?” Caleb echoed, his face a mask of fury. “You think I’d let you just walk away like that? You are mine! You- He stopped himself, his voice softening with a mix of confusion and hurt. “You will always be mine!”

Marissa’s eyes remained cold, and her tone remained firm. “The heck, I am not! You both meant everything to me once. But things changed the moment Ivy arrived, and you let her carry your bloodline! You disrespected me, cheated on me, and now you have the audacity to accuse me the things you did first?!”

Caleb clenched his fists, his voice nearly a snarl. “So, what, this is revenge? You‘ re trying to make me jealous by throwing yourself at some random Alpha?”