SERAPHINA'S POV
"Yes! Harder!"
"You like that, don't you, you little wench?"
"Yes! Goddess, Yes! More! More!"
The woman's saccharine moan slipped through the crack of the study door.
My footsteps came to an abrupt halt.
My brother-in-law Ray's funeral wasn't even over yet. The mansion was still packed with mourners, pack members, and business associates paying their respects.
And somehow, in the middle of all this, someone was having sex.
At first, I almost laughed.
Honestly, my first thought was that some distant relative had gotten a little too drunk and a little too bold. If I'd had the energy, I probably would've posted an anonymous story about it on Reddit.
But after three straight days of hosting guests following the devastating news delivered by my mother-in-law—the former Luna of the Thornley Pack—I was exhausted.
All I wanted was to find an empty room and sleep.
I was about to walk away.
Then I heard a name that turned my blood to ice.
"Caspian..."
My husband.
My breath caught instantly.
Fina, my wolf, jolted awake inside me, releasing a furious growl.
Slowly, I stepped closer to the door.
And then—
I saw something I would never forget for the rest of my life.
My sister-in-law, Rose, was bent over the desk.
Her black mourning dress had been shoved up around her waist.
The flash of a red thong beneath it stabbed at my eyes.
And my so-called husband, Caspian Thornley, was kneeling between her legs.
His hands gripped her hips.
His face buried between her thighs.
A hungry groan escaped him.
He looked like a devoted worshipper.
Or a starving addict finally getting his next fix.
"Caspian..." Rose moaned.
"Doesn't your wife satisfy you?"
A low laugh escaped him.
I'd never heard that sound before.
Deep.
Sexy.
Filled with desire.
"My wife?" he scoffed.
"I've never touched her."
The world tilted.
Five years.
For five entire years.
Everyone blamed me.
Everyone whispered that I couldn't give him an heir.
Everyone assumed I was the reason our marriage remained childless.
And now my husband was admitting to another woman that he had never slept with me.
The worst part?
He wasn't lying.
Not once.
Not a single time.
Since the day I married him at eighteen, he had never marked me.
Never claimed me.
Never made love to me.
Every excuse had sounded reasonable.
You're too young.
I'm willing to wait.
I don't want to rush you.
And like an idiot, I'd believed him.
Inside my head, Fina snarled.
"I told you so."
"Then why marry her?" Rose asked.
Her painted red toes brushed against my husband's chest.
The sight made me sick.
I wanted that answer too.
Five years ago, he had pursued me.
He had courted me.
He had proposed.
He had asked me to become his chosen mate.
How dare he betray me?
"Go in there!" Fina hissed.
"Rip her mouth apart! Slap him!"
I almost did.
I almost kicked the door open.
Almost.
But I forced Fina back.
Forced myself to think.
If I stormed in now, what would happen?
They'd be embarrassed.
Maybe.
But I'd be the one thrown out of the pack.
They'd make sure of it.
For years I'd endured the title of "the barren Luna."
One accusation.
One fabricated story.
And I'd lose everything in front of the Pack Council.
No.
I refused to leave with nothing.
For five years I'd helped run this pack.
I had poured my education, my strategies, and my knowledge into its growth.
When Caspian became Alpha, he wasn't even expected to inherit.
His older brother had always been the obvious successor.
I was the one who helped modernize the pack's finances.
I was the one who negotiated contracts.
I was the one who strengthened alliances behind the scenes.
And now that his brother was dead...
Did Caspian think he could inherit the pack, the company, and the widow?
My stomach twisted.
No.
I wouldn't make it that easy for him.
The betrayal lodged in my throat like a peach pit.
The first spark of revenge ignited inside me.
Step one:
Get my phone.
Get evidence.
Destroy him.
Five years ago, I'd insisted on marrying Caspian.
I promised my adoptive family I'd be happy.
My adoptive family had wealth beyond imagination.
But love?
That was another matter.
Their pack dominated Washington and controlled enormous economic influence across North America.
My grandmother ruled it with an iron fist.
Her strength made the pack powerful.
It also made the family cold.
To her, usefulness was everything.
Even when I earned perfect grades, she'd find fault in my posture.
My manners.
The way I sat.
The way I spoke.
After discovering my husband's betrayal, I couldn't simply run home like a heartbroken daughter.