Chapter 1

James, who had never once taken our daughter to the training grounds, volunteered to take her today.

I sat inside by the fire and casually opened Instagram, only to see a post from Lily, a Beta in our pack:

[Big thanks to Mr. S for mentoring him this past year. My little boy finally passed his pup physical assessment!]

I scrolled down to another post from a few days ago:

[Mr. S is away on pack patrols again. What a headache—my boy will only listen to his father.]

When I zoomed in on the photo and saw the boy wearing a custom white buckskin hunting coat—identical to my daughter's—my blood ran cold.

That coat had been made from the hide of a white stag James hunted last winter. He tanned the leather himself. It was impossible to buy anywhere.

James hadn't just been away on pack duties. He had been playing father to another woman's pup.

James had crafted exactly two coats from that white stag.

I took one out of the wardrobe for my daughter to wear.

The other was supposed to be in the closet, waiting for the right time.

I walked over and yanked the closet doors open. The shelf was empty.

My chest tightened as my suspicions were confirmed.

"James, have you seen the leather coat from the top shelf?" I called out casually. "I was thinking of giving it to Chloe's son."

Chloe is my best friend. She has a seven-year-old boy.

James froze for a second, his expression stiffening.

"No, I haven't. Did you misplace it somewhere?"

My heart dropped, but I slowly closed the door.

I turned around, opened Instagram, and hit like on Lily's post.

[Nice coat, Lily. Where did you get it? I'd love to buy one for my daughter too.]

In the kitchen, James and our daughter were eating dried venison jerky.

Seeing me walk in, he turned to Emma. "Emma, sweetie, your mom can't find that leather coat. Have you seen it?"

Emma blinked her wide, innocent eyes. "I gave it to my friend."

James let out a visible sigh of relief. He ruffled her hair with a smile. "Good girl. Sharing is good. Once you pass your next pup assessment, Dad will get you a very special gift."

Right then, my phone buzzed.

Lily had replied.

[Oh, Lynn! The boy's Alpha father hunted a white stag deep in the pack territory and made it by hand. You can't buy this anywhere!]

I stared at the words *the boy's Alpha father* until my vision blurred.

For the past six months, James had constantly left home claiming he was patrolling the borders of Oak Bay Pack.

And Lily had constantly taken leaves of absence.

Knowing she was a single mother with a pup to raise, I had never questioned her.

Now, an item from my own home was proudly displayed on her feed.

And the "Mr. S" she affectionately referred to matched James's middle name, Scott.

A warning Chloe gave me months ago suddenly echoed in my mind.

"James Wilson is the Alpha of Oak Bay. He's powerful and handsome. You'd better keep an eye on him, Lynn. Half the females in the pack are dying to mate with him."

"Last time he patrolled the border, the young she-wolves couldn't take their eyes off him. Some even tried to catch his scent."

At the time, I had merely taken a sip of red wine and laughed.

"Did he pay attention to any of them?" I asked.

Chloe had rolled her eyes. "Well, no. But males always crave fresh meat."

I had trusted him blindly. "Not James. He wouldn't."

We met years ago at an inter-pack trade summit. The Carter family supplied weapons to Oak Bay, and I attended as my family's representative. James was the young heir of Oak Bay back then.

During a discussion on wilderness tracking, his insights caught my attention, and I asked a few sharp questions. He was surprised that a human knew so much about survival tactics.

One conversation led to another.

After the summit, he sent a messenger asking to see me again.

Over the years, I stood by his side as we built Oak Bay into one of the strongest packs in the mountains.

Everyone envied our bond.

Yet here I was, realizing he had betrayed me all along.

After dinner, I checked Instagram again. Lily's post was gone.

Instead, a new one was up:

[It's snowing. My pup kept begging his father to take him to the training field. But the heavy snow damaged the east fence, so the hunt is postponed.]

I liked the post and left a comment:

[Need James to come over and fix the fence for you?]