The shrill sound of my phone pulled me out of my daydreaming. My mate had just gotten me another phone early this week. It couldn't be him. He told me he'd be busy today because he wanted to spend our anniversary together in bed all day tomorrow. Was it another hate message? I didn't want to see one so soon. Not when my heart was finally full.
It rang again. Caught my peripheral vision as I passed by the dresser. Unknown. Great. I didn't even know who was calling. Then it stopped. A message tone sounded. Someone had dropped a message. Typical hater act.
Another sound. Another message. Seeing it would only ruin the happiness I felt now. Ignore. But my legs moved to the phone anyway. The screen lit up with a text: Your mate's quite big dow— It was attached to a video.
Without thinking, I tapped to watch. And as it started, it was the countdown to my death. The screen was dark at first. Then light flooded in. Sounds. Moaning. Wet. Rhythmic. My brain couldn't process what I was seeing.
A man. Naked. His back to the camera. Broad shoulders. Dark hair. I knew those shoulders.
The camera panned down. Lower. To where a woman knelt between his legs. Blonde hair. Familiar. Her mouth. On him. My stomach lurched. No.
The angle shifted. Side view now. His face came into view. Mathew. My mate. His head thrown back. Eyes closed. Mouth open in pleasure.
And her. Vivian. My best friend. Her eyes looked up at him. Then sideways. Straight at the camera. She smiled. Around his dick. She knew. She knew someone was recording. She wanted me to see this.
The phone slipped from my hand. Hit the mirror with a loud crack. Glass spiderwebbed across the surface. "No," I whispered. My reflection stared back at me. Fractured into a hundred pieces. "No. No. No."
It wasn't my husband. It couldn't be him. My hands went to my head. Fingers tangled in my hair. Pulled. Hard. The pain sharp and grounding. I refused to believe what I just watched.
But I could still hear them. Behind me. Beside me. Inside.
The sounds looped in my head. His groans. Her wet, eager noises. The slick slide of her mouth on him. My knees hit the floor. I couldn't breathe. Not like when Mathew broke my ribs. Worse.
Like my lungs had collapsed inward. Folded into themselves. No room for air. My chest heaved but nothing came in. "Lily," I gasped. "Lily, please." My wolf didn't answer.
The room spun. Or maybe I was spinning. I couldn't tell anymore. My hands pressed against the cold floor. Steadying myself. Breathe. Just breathe. But every time I tried, I saw them again.
Vivian's mouth on my mate. Mathew's face twisted in pleasure. That smile. Her knowing, cruel smile.
I rushed to take my meds. My hands shook so hard the pills rattled in the bottle. I dumped two into my palm. Swallowed them dry. They scraped down my throat.
It made me calm down a bit. Enough to think. Enough to breathe without my chest splintering apart. I called.
The phone rang once. Then an automated voice: The number you are trying to reach is not available. Blocked. I stared at the screen. Tried again. Same message. He blocked me.
Then I sat to think. If he was cheating on me, I would have felt it through our bond. The mate bond doesn't lie. It can't. If Mathew was with another woman, I'd know. I'd feel it like a knife twisting in my chest.
Besides, if it was true and they were being sincere, why drop this video now? After all this time? It didn't make sense.
I dropped my phone and went to the kitchen to prepare dinner. My hands moved on autopilot. Pulling out cutting boards. Vegetables. A knife.
I felt as if I had forgotten something. Something important. The feeling sat heavy in my stomach. Like I was missing a piece. A crucial detail I couldn't quite reach.
I picked up the knife to cut the vegetables. It slipped. Narrowly missed my finger. I gripped it tighter. Focused.
The second time, I wasn't so lucky. The blade bit into my thumb. Deep. Blood welled up immediately. Bright red against my pale skin.
I didn't feel it. Just watched the blood drip onto the cutting board. One drop. Two. Three.
My wolf wouldn't talk to me. Lily. Please. Nothing. Just silence where she used to be.
I couldn't concentrate. I needed to see. I wanted to prove to whoever sent that video that my husband would never cheat. Lies I told myself.
Because even as I thought it, that feeling in my stomach grew. That familiar room. That's when it hit me.
That room in the video was familiar. Way too familiar. The burgundy walls. The gold trim along the ceiling. The chandelier I'd picked out myself because Mathew said it reminded him of stars.
I had designed that room myself. I picked up my keys and headed for the hotel.
The roads blurred past. I ran two red lights. Cut off three cars. Someone honked. Long and angry. I didn't care. I just wanted to see.
Deluxe Hotels.
My mate and I owned it. The foundation was laid with our love and its walls were built with our devotion to each other. Even if he wanted to betray me, he wouldn't choose here. Right?
I pulled into the parking garage. Tires screeching. Parked crooked across two spaces. My legs carried me to the elevator before I could think.
The lobby was empty. Thank god. I couldn't handle seeing anyone right now. The elevator doors opened. I stepped inside. Pressed the button for the top floor.
The elevator rose. My stomach dropped. My mate would never do this.
The doors opened at the fifth floor. An older couple got on. Smiled at me. I didn't smile back. The doors closed.
What if he— No. Stop.
The elevator climbed higher. Opened again at the tenth floor. A businessman stepped on. Checked his phone. Closed.
Ariana, believe in your mate. But that video. Vivian's smile. The sounds. My hands clenched into fists. Nails digging into my palms.
The businessman got off at fifteen. The doors closed.
Standing here would do nothing. I'd just go and check to prove that video wrong.
The elevator chimed. Top floor. The doors opened. I rushed out.
The hallway stretched before me. Long. Too long. Burgundy carpet. Gold sconces on the walls. My feet moved faster.
Room 3108. 3109. 3110.
My heart pounded in my ears. Louder than my footsteps.
I stopped. Room 3112. Our room.