Chapter 2 The Injury Deception

• Delia's POV:
• Today was the day for my marking ritual with Alpha Nathan.
• Six months ago, when I abandoned Nathan, I never imagined that the man I chose would meet an untimely death. And now, the one I dismissed had became the new Alpha.
• The former Alpha of the Stormclaw Pack had two sons, the eldest son was Micah, and Nathan was the younger son.
• Micah showed extraordinary Alpha qualities from a young age and was groomed to be the next Alpha, while Nathan was his loyal supporter.
• I met Nathan in college. He had a robust figure and a captivating leadership charisma, like a natural-born Alpha. When I found out his father was the Alpha of a pack, I quickly fell in love with him.
• When I returned to his pack with him, I discovered he had an elder brother, and it was his brother who was destined to be the next Alpha.
• I quickly adjusted my plan, seducing Micah and getting him into my bed. When Nathan found out, all he could do was watch in agony as the brother he revered most had violated his girlfriend.
• I achieved what I wanted—becoming Micah's mate. But fate played a cruel joke. Micah died from severe injuries during a rogue attack, and the man I discarded became the new Alpha.
• What made me even more jealous was that my cousin, Riley, turned out to be Nathan's fated mate!
• Even if I didn't want something, I would never let her take it.
• Armed with a collection of fabricated intimate photos, I went to Riley. Today, I will not only make her give up on Nathan for good, but I'll also turn her into a laughingstock for the entire Stormclaw Pack.
• Riley's POV:
• The grand hall was crowded with guests. I watched as Nathan cradled Delia, who lay on the floor, in his arms.
• Delia had returned to her human form. She was covered in blood as she curled up in Nathan's arms. Weakly, she whispered, "She tried to kill me."
• In the crowd, Nathan's cold gaze locked onto me. His Alpha's aura made my scalp tingle and suffocated me.
• "Doctor!" Nathan placed Delia on the soft couch. The pack's doctor had already arrived.
• "Alpha, these are claw marks from a wolf," the doctor said as he began to stop Delia's bleeding and bandage her wounds.
• I stayed in wolf form, leaping to Nathan's side.
• Nathan looked at me and asked, "It was you?"
• I had just arrived, immediately paled, and defended myself. "It wasn't me!"
• But in my wolf form, Delia's blood stained my grayish fur, giving me the appearance of a murderer fresh off a crime.
• I quickly shifted back into my human form, which others perceived as an attempt to destroy the evidence. I hurriedly tried to explain the absurd truth, "Delia injured herself on purpose! She threw herself down the stairs!"
• "Nathan, it hurts so much!" Delia reached out to Nathan weakly.
• Nathan crouched down and gently took her hand. "Hang on there! The doctor is almost done."
• It turned out he wasn't cold to everyone. He had a tender side after all.
• All strength drained from me. It felt like I was drowning and unable to save myself. I watched helplessly as my mate shared an intimate moment with his ex-girlfriend. The images from the photos Delia had just shown me flashed through my mind again and again.
• A surge of anger and frustration overwhelmed me. "Were you with her last night?"
• Nathan frowned and chided, "Don't change the subject. I hate liars!"
• He didn't even deny what happened last night; those pictures were real. I felt like my heart was being torn into pieces.
• Nathan's green eyes held a complexity I couldn't understand. He asked me, "Why would you do something so cruel? Today is our marking ritual!"
• "Yes, today is our marking ritual." Tears welled up in my eyes.
• No matter what I said, he would never trust me. He only believed his beloved ex-girlfriend.
• Cheating on his mate with his brother's mate—my hero, my Alpha—how did he become someone like this?
• Moon Goddess, was this man truly my mate?
• "If you knew, why did you still do it?" Nathan's voice trembled with anger, and he wondered, "My Luna is supposed to fight by my side to protect the pack, not hurt the weak like this!"
• "Who wants to fight alongside someone like you?" I snapped, pointing at Delia lying on the couch. "Only three months have passed since your brother's death, and you're already in a relationship with her? Aren't you disgusting, Nathan?"
• "You wrench!" Nathan's eyes instantly turned red, and a ghostly image of his wolf appeared behind him. "I should never have let you become my Luna!"
• "You jerk!" My heart pounded painfully with each word, like being cut by a dagger. I endured the immense pain and asked Nathan, "Are you going to reject me?"