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Chapter 1 — The Alpha's Secret Wife
Elaine's POV:
When the names "Blackstone Pack," "Lucas Thorne," and "Caleb Thorne" flashed across the EMR screen, my blood ran cold.
They had arrived with a VIP patient: Scarlett Blackwood, an Omega supermodel with millions of followers on Instagram.
I took a shaky breath, steadying myself against the nurses' station.
Just a coincidence. I lied to myself.
But as I approached the VIP suite, familiar voices bled into the hallway.
"Miss Blackwood, those pics from Six Flags are sick! I'm gonna hang the big one right over my bed!"
That was Caleb Thorne, my son. His voice was bright with a joy he never wasted on me.
"Oh, sweetie, as long as you like them," Scarlett murmured weakly. Her voice was soft and trembling, radiating that distressingly sweet allure unique to an Omega.
Lucas Thorne said, "Alright, Caleb. Dial it down. Let Miss Blackwood rest."
His low rumble vibrated with that undeniable Alpha command.
The intern beside me leaned in, eyes sparkling with gossip. "Mr. Thorne is total goals. Rumor has it Miss Blackwood is his fated love, and the baby is the fruit of that love. Mr. Thorne waited faithfully for six whole years for her to come back. It's honestly so touching," she exclaimed.
I almost laughed. A bitter, jagged thing lodged in my throat.
Lucas and I were secretly married without rings and a ceremony. To the world, I was a ghost. To the Blackstone Pack, I was invisible.
For six years, I had been the perfect servant to father and son. I spent my nights crafting remedies laced with healing pheromones, just to stabilize their volatile Alpha blood, soothe their rages, and tend their wounds.
And in the end, all it earned me was a single sentence, "Mr. Thorne waited faithfully for six whole years for his first love to come back."
I leaned against the cold sterile wall, my nails digging crescents into my palms.
Inside, Caleb delivered the final blow.
"Mom is such a drag. She's always on me about training and controlling my strength. Miss Blackwood is way cooler. She took me to Shake Shack and on the roller coasters. God, I wish you were my mom!" he exclaimed.
"Caleb! You shouldn't say that," Scarlett squeaked, though I could hear the smile in her voice. "Lucas, tell him."
Lucas chuckled, a warm sound I hadn't heard in years, as he replied, "He's just a kid, Scar. I can't police his feelings."
Just a kid.
Witnessing the exchange between them, I realized that my years of service to Lucas and Caleb were a farce.
The son I bore rejected my nurturing instincts, and the Alpha I mated with ignored the value I brought to his pack.
I inhaled sharply, pushed off the wall, and threw open the door.
The room hit me with a wall of scent: Lucas's chilly cedar, Scarlett's cloying, over-sweet gardenia, and the sharp, metallic tang of Caleb's budding wolf.
For the first time, the scent of my family turned my stomach.
All three spun around. Instinctively, Lucas and Caleb moved to shield Scarlett, their eyes hardening. They looked at me like I was an intruder, a threat to their happy little pack.
"Elaine? What the hell are you doing here?" Lucas snapped.
"Mom?" Caleb groaned, rolling his eyes.
Both Thorne and Caleb spoke up at once, questioning me while watching my every move with the utmost wariness.
To them, I was no longer family. I was like a wicked vampire encroaching upon the wolves.
I replied, "I'm the attending physician tonight. Dr. Elaine Green."
I kept my voice flat, crushing down the tremor in my blood. The sheer force of Lucas's Alpha presence was triggering my instincts, threatening to expose my secret.
Not here. He can't know I'm a Breeder.
I swallowed the metallic taste of fear and locked my expression into professional Beta neutrality.
Lucas's brow furrowed, his handsome face twisting into a scowl.
He demanded, "I want a different doctor."
He didn't bother to explain himself. To him, my emotions and my pride in my work were simply worthless.
I watched Caleb clutch a framed photo of the three of them at Six Flags like it was holy scripture.
That was it. The last thread of hope snapped.
Chapter 2 — The Breaking Point
Elaine's POV:
The silence stretched for five agonizing seconds before Lucas spoke again, his tone dripping with arrogance.
He snapped, "You're always at this d*mn hospital. Do you even remember you have a stove at home? When was the last time you cooked for Caleb?"
I wanted to scream. Cook for Caleb? The mere suggestion is a joke.
Ever since I was promoted to attending physician, my schedule has been packed with surgeries. Overtime became my new normal.
But I never forgot my place. Tired as I was, I still personally bought the groceries and prepared home-cooked meals for my mate and son.
Then I remembered last week. I had come home late to find Scarlett there, boxes of greasy pizza and burgers piled high on the granite island.
Lucas, a grown Alpha, and Caleb were devouring it. They acted like it was the best thing they'd ever tasted.
"Mom, your food tastes like cardboard compared to this," Caleb had sneered, wiping grease on his sleeve. "This is real food."
That night, my suppressant had been wearing thin. I couldn't find a fresh dose in time, and as the chemical instability hit me, my emotions spiraled out of control. I caused a scene.
Scarlett had burst into theatrical tears, apologizing, "Oh, please don't be mad. It's all my doing. I just knew how busy you are with your work as a beta doctor, so I brought some fast food to make things easier. I didn't mean to upset anyone! I'm so, so sorry."
However, while I was already enduring the physical agony of withdrawal, Lucas and Caleb glared at me for upsetting the guest.
They had left me writhing in pain on the kitchen floor to take Scarlett for a "calming drive."
I looked at them now. Why dwell on this anymore? I just need to admit it: my mate and my son simply do not love me.
In fact, if they knew I was actually a Breeder masquerading as a Beta just to have a career, they would probably hate me to death.
"Fine," I said, my voice eerily calm. "I'll have the Chief of Medicine assign someone else. Just know that standard protocol applies."
"Mom, don't you dare touch my photo! It's going on my wall!" Caleb barked, hugging the frame.
"Elaine, please don't be jealous," Scarlett chimed in, batting her eyelashes. "It was just a promotional shot from the park staff. We didn't mean to..."
"Hang it wherever you want," I cut her off. "If you want her as your mother so bad, Caleb, I'll grant your wish."
The room went dead silent.
I turned to Lucas and asked, "Are you coming home tonight? We need to talk."
Lucas greeted my request with the usual furrowed brow and a mask of irritation.
He snapped, "Depends."
I replied, "I'll wait until ten."
I planned to speak with Lucas privately about severing our bond. I wanted to give him that final grace, preserving his dignity one last time.
"The driver is downstairs. He can drop you," Lucas said, dismissing me with a wave of his hand, as if everything I owned, even my transportation, was a charity from his pack.
I replied, "No need. My Volvo runs just fine."
I walked out. As the door swung shut, I heard Scarlett's sickeningly sweet voice. "Oh no, I think she got the wrong idea. Lucas, maybe you should go after her?" she said.
"Forget it," Lucas replied. "She'll get over it. She always does."
Over the years, my anger never lasted longer than three hours.
But this time, I was not angry. I was just done.
Back at the villa in the pack's exclusive district, I moved fast. I packed only what I had bought with my own salary.
I looked around the house. When I first chose Lucas, blind as he was back then, it wasn't out of love. In fact, I had already planned my exit the moment his sight was restored.
If I hadn't accidentally ingested that trigger at Howling Cliff, sending me into a sudden heat, Lucas wouldn't have been forced to place a temporary mark on me, and I wouldn't have fallen pregnant with Caleb.
I lived in constant fear during those months, terrified that my true identity as an Omega would be exposed. Fortunately, his pack simply assumed I was a Beta with a unique physiology and didn't dig any deeper.
Once I was pregnant, Lucas seemed to finally accept me. We shared a period of domestic bliss I had never known before, and I foolishly believed it would last forever.
But looking back now, I see it for what it was: nothing but a fragile illusion.
I placed the divorce agreement on the dining table, the papers I had fought tooth and nail to obtain from the Werewolf Alliance Court. I made sure it was the first thing he would see when he woke up tomorrow.
I had already signed my name. All that remained was Lucas's signature. Once he signed, we could go to the altar to formally sever our bond. After that, I would no longer be a member of the Blackstone Pack.
The wall clock chimed precisely on the hour. It was ten o'clock. Lucas still hadn't shown up.
I was such a fool to actually wait for him until ten. I had completely forgotten that Lucas never took a single word I said seriously.
Gripping the handle of my suitcase, I walked out of that cold place without a backward glance.
This time, I would never turn back. I was going to find a life that truly belonged to me.
Chapter 3 — The Peanut Butter Incident
Lucas's POV:
By the time I finally wrestled Caleb into bed, it was nearly one in the morning.
His energy was finally spent when he could barely keep his eyes open.
I was exhausted, too. Between the family business and dealing with the media for Scarlett, the day had been absolute chaos.
I collapsed onto the bed. The spot beside me was empty.
Elaine wasn't there.
She probably worked that d*mn night shift at the hospital again. Just an ordinary Beta, yet she works herself harder than an Alpha. She really thinks she's some kind of social elite.
I didn't have the energy to dwell on it and fell asleep the moment my head hit the pillow.
I woke up to a throbbing pain in my temples.
Hearing noises from the kitchen as I went downstairs, the irritation in my chest instantly vanished.
See? I knew it. Her tantrums never last more than a day. And rightly so. What right does a mere Beta have to lose her temper at me, an Alpha? Even if she is my mate, her status will always be that of a mediocre Beta. Am I supposed to coddle her the way other Alphas coddle their Omega mates? She's certainly not a gentle, understanding Omega.
After washing up, I looked at the bacon and eggs on my plate. Without even looking up, I barked my usual order toward the kitchen, "Prepare another portion. Pack it up. Scarlett was frightened last night, so she needs to regain her strength."
I remembered that Elaine's cooking was actually decent. Scarlett should be able to stomach a breakfast made by her.
"Huh? Mr. Thorne, you didn't say you wanted an extra portion," Maria Day, the maid, said and poked her head out of the kitchen, looking troubled. "The kitchen... the pans are already washed. If I start cooking again now, I'm not sure if there's enough time..."
I frowned, cutting a piece of bacon and putting it in my mouth.
The taste was off.
It wasn't bad, but it was just wrong.
Chewing the bacon, I grew more and more irritable. What the hell is going on?
"I'm gonna be late! Mom! Why didn't you wake me up!" Caleb shrieked as he thundered down the stairs like an out-of-control cannonball.
"Watch your image, Caleb!" I scolded.
An elegant and qualified Alpha needs to be cultivated from childhood. The way he was exploding right now showed zero promise of a future Alpha image.
He charged into the kitchen, bumping into Maria. The little brat glanced at me and quickly muttered an apology to her.
"Maria, where's my mom?" he asked.
Maria replied, "Oh, Mr. Caleb Thorne, I haven't seen her this morning. I assume she went to the hospital."
"Great! She's not here, so it doesn't matter if I'm late!" Caleb exclaimed. His mood swung fast enough to give anyone whiplash. "Maria! I want a peanut butter sandwich!"
He practically devoured the sandwich Maria made, showing no grace whatsoever, before retching and spitting the whole bite out. He really was a nasty little runt.
"Oh! God! This peanut butter tastes weird!" Caleb shrieked.
"Caleb!" I yelled. His high-pitched screaming was making my headache worse.
"Daddy, the peanut butter tastes strange!" Caleb pouted, looking wronged.
"That can't be. I just bought it from the supermarket this morning," Maria said.
"I want the kind I used to eat!" Caleb insisted.
"But that peanut butter is gone. Miss Green made that by hand. I don't know how to make it," Maria explained helplessly. "Mr. Caleb Thorne, aren't you going to eat?"
Caleb stormed out of the house in a huff. I was a bit worried Caleb would be hungry at the nursery later.
What is wrong with Elaine? Even if she's throwing a fit, she should take care of her own pup first. Does she not know that Caleb only eats the breakfast she makes by hand? What a headache. As expected, a Beta is just a Beta. They simply lack the capacity to care for a pup the way a soft, maternal Omega does.
I had lost my appetite entirely. I put down my knife and fork, ready to leave.
"Mr. Thorne, wait a moment!" Maria shouted and trotted over, handing me a brown paper envelope. "I found this on the dining table this morning. I think it's for you."
For me? My subordinates would never just leave documents on the dining table. Did Elaine put it there? She always leaves her messy research notes lying around.
Taking the document, I opened it and scanned the contents. When my eyes landed on the bold black words on the first page, I thought I was hallucinating.
Divorce papers. Divorce papers? Is she insane? A common Beta daring to reject an Alpha? Does she have any idea what she's doing? For a wolf of her rank to sever the bond means suffering excruciating pain and being cast out of the pack forever. D*mn it. I have never hated what she is more than I do right now.
I fooled myself into thinking she was special, an exception among Betas, simply because she managed to carry my child.
Now it seemed she was no different from any common Beta!
Her presentation is utterly mediocre, yet she struts around playing the part of a high-flying career woman. She will never be capable of the soft obedience of an Omega, and she certainly can't compare to the fabled Breeders, content to stay peacefully at home, devoting themselves to their family.
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