STIGMA

Lianne's POV:

Three months into my pregnancy, I, Lianne Riley, was caught in a car accident.

Half-conscious and shaking, I kept calling my husband, Alpha Ethan Voss, but he never answered.

When the pain finally eased enough for me to stay awake, I opened my phone and saw a post from his first love, Ivy Brooks.

"I have to thank Ethan for staying with me all night because he knows I'm afraid of the dark. He even canceled all his meetings today to take me to an auction and bought me the most beautiful gift in the world. I'm so happy!"

That was the moment I understood everything. When I was seriously injured while protecting my child, he chose to stay beside another she-wolf.

Without a word, I liked the post and closed the app.

If he wanted his first love back, then he could have her.

Seven days from now, I would disappear from his life forever-with our child.

...

Clutching the freshly printed Rejection, I dragged my injured body back home.

I shoved open the heavy oak door. The living room sat in darkness, with only the faint glow from the wall lamps cutting through the shadows.

In the faint light, a tall figure sat on the couch, his presence heavy and suffocating. The pressure rolling off him belonged only to a top-tier Alpha.

He was none other than my mate, Ethan.

"So you still remember this is your home?" His voice cut through the silence like frost.

Before I could answer, he rose from the couch and crossed the room in a few long strides.

His hand clamped around my wrist with brutal force, pain shooting through my arm as though he meant to snap the bones.

"Lianne, what was the point of that like on Ivy's post?" he snapped, glaring down at me with open contempt. "She only just came back, and her condition isn't stable yet. She can't deal with stress right now. Were you trying to remind her that you're my Luna?"

I lifted my eyes to him, my blurred vision making his face hard to see clearly.

Three years ago, Ethan had been poisoned with silver. The toxin ruined his legs.

After Ivy dumped him and ran overseas, he spiraled completely, numbing himself with alcohol day after day.

The Elders of the Thorn Pack arranged our bond.

For the last three years, I'd stayed by his side as his mate, calming the rage and pain eating away at him. At the same time, I'd given him my blood again and again, using my healing ability to help repair his body until he could finally stand on his own once more.

But now, there wasn't even a trace of warmth left in him. His breath brushed lightly against my neck while his voice stayed cold. "I already told you before-stop letting your jealousy control you. Can't you act reasonable for once?"

Reasonable.

The word hit harder than a slap against my already numb heart.

He didn't know that not long ago, I'd been trapped in a wrecked car after the crash.

Pinned inside the overturned vehicle with blood running down my face, I'd called him again and again, hoping he would come to save me and our unborn baby.

But before I could explain anything, all he said was, "Ivy's not feeling well right now. I can't leave her side. Whatever it is, deal with it yourself."

Then he ended the call.

I forced myself out of the crushed driver's seat with the last bit of strength I had left. After that, I walked three miles through heavy rain before a passing car finally stopped for me.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, lowering my gaze so he wouldn't see the sadness in my eyes. "It won't happen again."

Ethan looked caught off guard by how quickly I apologized. He fell silent for a moment, the anger in his eyes easing slightly, though suspicion soon took its place.

Letting go of my wrist, he looked me over slowly, from my tangled hair to my pale face.

"The staff said you were out all day, and you weren't answering your phone." He frowned. "And those calls you kept making... were you throwing a fit because of Ivy?"