The Alpha's Heir, My Unwanted Heart

My husband, Bennett, and I were New York's golden couple. But our perfect marriage was a lie, childless because of a rare genetic condition he claimed would kill any woman who carried his baby.

When his dying father demanded an heir, Bennett proposed a solution: a surrogate. The woman he chose, Aria, was a younger, more vibrant version of me.

Suddenly, Bennett was always busy with her. He missed my birthday. He forgot our anniversary. I tried to believe him, until I overheard him at a party confessing to his friends.

"With Kelsey, it's a deep connection, but with Aria... it's fire. It's exhilarating."

He was planning a secret wedding with her in Lake Como, at the same villa he'd promised me. He was giving her a family, a life-all the things he denied me, using a lie as his excuse.

The betrayal was so complete it felt like a physical shock.

When he came home that night, lying about a business trip, I smiled and played the part of the loving wife. He didn't know I'd heard everything. He didn't know that while he was planning his new life, I was already planning my escape. And he certainly didn't know I had just made a call to a service that specialized in one thing: making people disappear.

Chapter 1

KELSEY POV:

The lie was a beautiful one, I'll admit. Bennett had crafted it with the same care he used to run his multinational corporation, the Silver Moon Pack.

"My mother died giving birth to me, Kels," he'd told me years ago, his voice a low rumble that vibrated through my bones. His large, warm hand covered mine. "The Randolph line... it's cursed. The Moon Goddess took my mother as payment for my Alpha strength. It means I can never find my true mate. The bond would kill her."

I believed him. I loved him, so I believed him.

I suppressed my own longing for that fated connection, the one every she-wolf dreams of. The one where your souls click into place like ancient locks finding their key. I accepted my role as his "Covenant Partner," a political match, a future Luna in title but not in soul. I was the perfect, elegant accessory for the powerful Alpha CEO.

Tonight, the beautiful lie began to unravel.

We were in his father's study. The air was thick with the scent of old leather and disapproval. Elder Randolph, a man whose face was a roadmap of harsh decisions, stared at Bennett from across a massive oak desk.

"Your life force is waning, Bennett," the Elder said, his voice like gravel. "I can feel it. The pack feels it. This pack needs an heir. The bloodline needs an heir. You have until the next blood moon to name one, or I will pass the Alpha title to your cousin."

The threat hung in the air, heavy and suffocating.

Bennett didn't flinch. "I have a solution," he said, his tone clipped and cool. "A Blood Fusion ritual. It's an old way, but it will ensure the purity of the line. It is... a form of surrogacy."

My breath hitched. He hadn't discussed this with me.

"It will be purely for the continuation of the pack," he added, finally glancing at me. His eyes, usually the color of warm honey, were distant.

The Omega he chose was named Aria. She was from a smaller, struggling pack, and she looked unnervingly like a younger, more fragile version of me.

"I need to help her acclimate to my Alpha energy," Bennett explained in the days that followed. "The ritual will be taxing on her. It's my duty to ensure she's prepared."

His "duty" began to involve long evenings spent at her private apartment. Then, entire nights.

My birthday came and went, the grand celebration he'd promised canceled with a brief, apologetic message. *Aria is having a negative reaction to my energy. I need to stabilize her.*

On our bonding anniversary, I waited all night. The clock ticked past midnight. Just as I was about to give up, a whisper came through our Mind-Link, the psychic connection all bonded pairs share.

*Happy anniversary, Kelsey.*

That was it. No emotion. No presence. Just words in my head from miles away.

Tonight, the lie shattered completely.

I was driving back from a charity meeting when a small group of Rogues-packless, feral wolves-ambushed my car on a deserted road. Their stench, a mix of sour desperation and madness, filled the air. I fought them off, my claws tearing through flesh, my wolf rising to the surface with a snarl. It was messy, but I was an Alpha's partner. I was not weak.

When I was done, my car was a wreck and I was covered in scratches. I reached for Bennett through our link.

*Bennett, I need you. I was attacked.*

Silence.

*Bennett, please! Where are you?*

The silence was a physical thing, a cold wall in my mind. He had blocked me.

I limped the last two miles home, my heart a cold, heavy stone in my chest. As I approached our penthouse, another scent hit me, carried on the night air. It was sweet. Cloyingly sweet. The pheromones of a female wolf, and it wasn't mine.

I found them outside the pack's private club. I didn't see them, but Bennett's mental block must have slipped for a second. A stray thought, a boast meant for his Beta, slammed into my mind with the force of a physical blow.

*Kelsey is the perfect fit for my soul, a calm harbor. But Aria... Aria is the wildfire my wolf craves.*

My legs almost gave out. Wildfire.

He was planning a secret bonding ceremony for her. At the Moon Goddess's Hallowed Ground, the sacred place he had once promised to take me.

My hands trembled as I pulled out my phone. Bennett had told me he was leaving to inspect the northern border tonight. But a notification glowed on his synced tablet, which I still had in my bag. A message from Aria.

"Can't wait for our date tonight! I picked out the perfect dress. <3"

My heart didn't break. It just stopped. It turned to ice, then to dust.

I didn't go home. I turned the car around and drove to a part of the city the packs pretended didn't exist. I walked up to a nondescript door marked with a single, faint crescent moon.

The sign read: "Shadow Sanctuary."

This was the place you went when you needed to disappear. And tonight, I realized that was exactly what I needed to do.

---