No Longer the Alpha’s Guardian Chapter 01

No Longer the Alpha’s Guardian Chapter 01

[Audrey’s POV]

Rumor said an Alpha never betrayed his mate.

That’s a lie.

The door to the Alpha’s office was cracked open. The second I got close, I heard it—a muffled gasp from inside.

I knew that sound.

My wolf howled inside me, claws raking against my heart, each scratch a new wave of pain.

I didn’t stop. I shoved the door open.

The first thing I saw was a pair of feet in black nail polish tucked under the desk.

Behind the desk, the man leaned back with a look of pleasure frozen mid-stroke. The moment he saw me, it died.

“Audrey.” Alpha Elijah’s voice was rough, barely composed. “What are you doing here?”

My wolf seethed under my skin at his betrayal.

I forced the anger down. “I have papers for you to sign. Your secretary wasn’t there, so I came in myself. What, am I interrupting?”

“No.” Elijah tapped at his keyboard, pretending to be calm. “Just leave them. I’ve got some things to handle.”

The second he finished, the woman under the table lost her balance and rolled right out.

Her hair was a mess. Two buttons on her shirt were popped open. Her black stockings were torn at the thigh. Her neck was covered in hickeys.

Kelly Carter. The woman who’d joined the pack less than six months ago, the one Elijah had immediately made his secretary.

She saw me and scrambled to button her shirt, hiding behind him.

“I’m sorry, Luna Audrey. I—”

“Don’t be scared.” Elijah draped his jacket over her shoulders. “You go first. I’ll handle this.”

Kelly nodded and practically ran out of the office.

“You saw everything. I won’t lie to you.” He shrugged. “But it was just fun. You’re still the one I love most.”

His tone was light, like the Alpha who’d just betrayed me didn’t exist.

My hands shook around the papers. After a long moment, my voice came out barely steady. “Elijah, do you even know what betrayal means?”

“Audrey, don’t make a thing out of this.”

Elijah frowned as he walked over, brushing it off. “It’s just for show. Kelly’s innocent—she reminds me of you back in the day. Sleeping with her doesn’t change anything. You’re still my mate, my Luna. That’ll never change.”

He reached for my face.

I recoiled and stepped back.

His scent was drenched in gardenias—not mine. It choked me.

“Elijah, you know what? You stink.”

“Enough. What do you want from me? I made the same mistake every guy makes. Compared to men who sleep around with everyone, I’ve been pretty loyal, haven’t I?”

I stared at his impatient face and couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

“Do you even hear yourself?”

Seven years. That was all it took. The Elijah who once swore in the Moon Temple that he’d never betray me was gone.

When I first met him, I was the princess of the Moon Shadow Pack, treasured by everyone.

He was just a rogue. No pack.

I was walking back to my hotel after an Alpha Summit when a group of wolves jumped me.

I was alone. No guards. Too many of them.

Elijah appeared and saved me.

The moment our eyes met, my wolf roared inside me. Mate. He’s our mate.

I thanked the Moon Goddess for her blessing.

I brought him into the pack without a second thought. Gave him a job at my father’s tech company.

Then my father found out about the bond and kicked Elijah out—rogue, unknown, not good enough.

For love, I cut ties with my Alpha father. Left the Moon Shadow Pack. Started over with Elijah from nothing.

That first year was brutal. I worked under the table, sold blood, even pawned my family’s moonstone necklace to help him build his pack and start his company.

I collapsed. Ended up weak in a hospital bed. Elijah knelt beside me, sobbing.

“Audrey, I swear on my life, I will never love anyone but you. I’ll make something of myself. I’ll give you everything. I’ll never let you suffer again, never let you sell your blood again.”

I believed him. For years, I put aside my pride as the pack princess. I drank with people, smiled at people. All for his resources, his connections.

And Elijah didn’t disappoint. His talent brought good wolves into our pack. His company took off fast.

I handled pack business, then joined his company as his secretary. Ran everything.

I kept our home perfect, too—me, who never lifted a finger before.

I thought we’d be like that forever. Then Kelly came.

He gave me a new title: HR Director.

The second I was gone, he hired a girl fresh out of college who’d been in the pack less than six months.

I never questioned it. I never thought he’d burn my world down five years later.

“I get it. Just sign.”

I handed him the pen.

He signed without even looking.

He didn’t know I’d given him my resignation.

I came to tell him my father was dying. My mother called—she wanted me back to take over as Alpha. Inherit everything.

I was going to take it all and hand it over to Elijah.

Not anymore. I’m severing the bond.

“There. All signed. Audrey, want to get dinner tonight?”

“No. I’m busy.”

I turned to leave. His voice turned soft.

“One more thing. Kelly keeps crying that she’s the other woman. To keep her happy, I think we should temporarily break the bond. Just until I’ve had my fun, then we’ll put it back. What do you think? I promise—you’re my only Luna.”

I clenched my resignation letter until my knuckles went white.

My wolf and I sat in silence.

Finally, I nodded. “Okay. Whatever you say. Sign the papers and give them to me whenever.”

Elijah lit up. “Audrey, you’re amazing!”

I looked at his face, showed nothing, and walked out.

He doesn’t know that in my dictionary, bonds don’t go back together. You break them, they stay broken.

Elijah, you chose betrayal. That means you gave us up.

From now on, our paths never cross again.