Chapter 1

Shannon

Three minutes…Just three minutes away from I got cheated on.

***

"Luna Shannon, Happy Anniversary. I hope you enjoy your stay here." The receptionist said as she handed the Key Card to the presidential suite.

"Thank you." I smiled back at her and took the Key Card from her.

This was my fifth anniversary with Terry. We have been together for seven years, and married for five.

Terry Steuber, my husband of five years was the Alpha of the Crescent Manes Pack, and I was his Luna. We were not fated mates but he chose me to be his chosen mate five years ago.

He was this 6-foot-tall, hot, and handsome Alpha with piercing dark eyes and chiseled features. And I couldn't say I matched him that well. I was just an ordinary orphan, I didn't even know my bloodline, but I was certainly not of Alpha blood. I was a mere warrior. Yet he chose me to be his Luna, to help him run the Pack beside him. And we worked great together.

He didn't treat me differently because I wasn't his fated mate, he loved me all the same.

We passed the first four anniversaries like usual, we would go out for a date night and exchange gifts. But this year he said he had something special for me, and he booked this presidential suite in a luxurious hotel. I couldn't help but blush at the implication. And I also prepared something special for him, in turn.

The presidential suite was located on the highest floor of this hotel, I stepped into the private elevator, and I felt my heart beating faster as the number on the screen got higher and higher. I wondered what kind of surprise he had for me. He said he would head to the room first and prepare for my surprise, and I could join him later.

But as I heard the elevator pinged, I felt a wave of overwhelming panic raised in my heart. Something was clearly wrong, and then I felt it. A sharp pain shot through my heart at the moment I walked out of the elevator. I was nearly brought down by how intense it was. What was going on?

"Our mate has betrayed us!" Kaela, my wolf, growled in my head.

"No, why would he do that? It's our anniversary, why would he betray us like this? At least he wouldn't invite me to witness it." I shook my head, refusing to believe that my husband of 5 years would do something like this.

But the pain was so unbearable, it nearly brought me to my knees. I held my chest as if doing so would stop the pain I was feeling, but it did nothing. I began to question myself, I had never felt this pain before, and Kaela said that it was because he betrayed us, was he really cheating on me?

Getting closer to the room, I heard Terry was groaning...

The louder he groaned, the more intense the pain felt in my body. Every step I took, I felt like I was walking barefoot on shattered glass.

"Alpha Terry, please, fuck me harder, I'm close, I'm so close..." My hopes were dashed when I heard a female voice, and it was oddly familiar.

"He betrayed us! Don't you see it now?" Kaela screamed in agony again, she was feeling the pain too.

I held back myself to push the door open as quietly as I could. The rose petals were all over the floor leading to the room.

"Terry, please give it to me..." The woman jerked her head to kiss Terry.

I was being placed in hell at the moment I saw the woman's face. It was Kaia, my fucking personal assistant!

My body reacted before I did, I reached for the wine on the table and rushed to splash the wine on him and Kaia.

They were too focused on making love to know that there was someone else in the room. Kaia's scream almost pierced my eardrum, and Terry's face went from shame to furious. The wrinkled white sheet was stained scarlet by the blood dripping down from both of them. He immediately pulled Kaia off him, I suddenly noticed their very obvious nakedness.

Kaia had the look of fear in her eyes, and Terry looked surprised when they saw me. Why? Did he not expect me to come here? I mean, he did invite me and all. But he didn't look like himself, he looked like his body was taken over by his wolf.

"What are you doing here? Get out!" He yelled at me. It was then that I noticed the Balloon that said Happy 5th year anniversary was still hanging on the wall.

Fucking anniversary!

"What am I doing here? I was going to ask the same thing about her." I pointed at Kaia.

"Luna Shannon, I didn't mean to..."

Hearing her high-pitch voice only made my blood boil even more.

"Shut up! I'm talking to you." I used my Luna tone to her, and she was trembling and crying at this point like she was the one being cheated on.

Seeing Kaia cry, Terry rushed towards me, I could see his eyes were bloodshot from the anger, I thought he was going to hit me so I raised my hand to defend myself on instinct. But he did something unexpected, he wrapped his hand around my neck to choke me.

"How dare you talk to my fated mate like this?" He leaned closer to growl into my ear, I could feel his hot breath brushing against the shell of my ear. In any other scenario, it was an intimate act. But not right now, all I feel right now is how he defended her just because I told her to shut up.

As I looked at the man I loved for so many years, I felt like I hardly knew him at all. My eyes started to get blurry maybe from the lack of oxygen, or the tears welling up in my eyes. I didn't want to cry in front of them, but I couldn't hold it back either. I struggled to speak as his hand tightened around my neck.

"How... How could you do this? On the day of our anniversary?"

I felt the tears fell, hitting the back of his hand, and then bounce to my chin. He immediately withdrew his hand, he did it so fast like my tears burned his hand.

"I'm sorry, Shannon, I didn't mean to do this." He apologized and tried to reach for my hand.

It was very ironic for him to say that when his dick is still wet. I recoiled out of instinct. But he didn't back down and even took a step forward, he was trying to hug me with his dick still hanging. I had to push him to keep my distance from him.

"You betrayed me!"

"I didn't mean to. I'm sorry, I was under the influence of the mate bond..." He continued.

His voice was laced with pleading I had never heard before, but I knew it meant nothing if he was talking about mate bond.

I was his chosen mate, not fated mate. Of course, I knew what it meant, but I just couldn't believe he would betray me like this, and of all the days, he chose the day of our anniversary that he was supposed to celebrate with me.

"Reject her. You said so before, you said you would choose me no matter what."

He looked conflicted. But I was holding out hope that he would choose me like he said he would, and if he did, I... I guess I could forgive him.

"I, Terry Steuber, Alpha of the Crescent Manes Pack, re..."

He didn't get to finish before Kaia cried even harder, she was hiccupping because of the crying. Terry looked at her intensely and then looked back at me.

"Shannon, I couldn't do it." He shook his head to me.

I almost laugh out loud sarcastically at this. "Well…Too bad." I said with a slight tremble, managing a firm voice, "Take your pick, Terry Steuber. It's either me or her, you can only have one of us."

Terry's head snapped up, there was panic in his eyes but I forced myself to be insensible. Kaia cast a poor look at him with teary eyes.

His stares fell between Kaia and me, and they finally met Kaia's teary eyes, "I, I choose…"