Once Love, Double Betrayal Chapter 01

Once Love, Double Betrayal Chapter 01

A week before the mating ceremony, my best friend flew back from overseas to help me prepare.

That night, while she was still in the shower, her phone buzzed.

“Claire, can you check who it is for me?” she called out.

I grinned. “What, scared I’ll catch you hiding a rogue wolf in there?”

Swiping open the screen, my gaze fell on her pinned contact at the top. A new message glowed:

[Babe, wanna do it tonight?]

Below it was a photo—Candy dressed in a skimpy bunny outfit, pink cuffs locked around her wrists.

Another voice message followed: “I’ve missed you so damn much. How about we play with these tonight?”

I froze. Played it again.

Heat rushed to my face, then drained away, leaving me cold all over. Because that voice didn’t belong to just anyone.

It belonged to my Alpha fiancé—Adrian Baker.

The room felt stifling.

Water drummed from the bathroom, every drop pounding against my chest until I could barely breathe.

I stared at the screen—Adrian, texting Candy Vaelen from a number I’d never seen before, saying things so filthy it felt like I’d never truly known either of them.

A desperate thought flickered through my mind:

Was I wrong? Could the voice just sound similar?

After all, Candy and I had grown up together. She’d never dated, never even liked guys.

The first time she met Adrian, she’d looked him up and down and sneered, “So you’re the toad chasing the princess?”

I’d wanted to crawl under the table from embarrassment, but she wasn’t done. She jabbed a finger at him and warned, “Listen, stinky toad—treat my princess right, or I’ll make sure you die quick.”

That meeting had been a total disaster.

Even now, Adrian still grumbled about her. “The only reason I put up with that psycho she-wolf is you. Otherwise, I’d have ripped her throat out the first day.”

The phone buzzed again. The man using a couple’s avatar with Candy sent a single question mark.

I jerked as if shocked, slammed the screen shut, and pulled up Adrian’s contact on my own phone.

The video call rang a few seconds before he picked up.

“Babe.” His familiar face filled the frame, all easy smiles.

He angled the camera, and a chorus of his brothers waved from behind him.

“Future Luna’s doing a bed check?”

“Relax, Luna! We’ve got Alpha Adrian on a short leash!”

“Alpha’s got eyes only for you—no worries!”

Those were his childhood friends, his most trusted warriors—the ones who’d followed him on this trip to seal trade deals and expand the pack’s territory.

Adrian’s gaze softened. “Miss me, babe?”

He leaned closer, voice dropping. “I’ve been dying to get back to you. Trying to wrap things up fast so I can ditch work and hold you again.”

Every “babe” still sent warmth rushing to my cheeks. My heart softened, and I forced a smile. “Just checking in. Work comes first—you don’t have to rush.”

I told myself not to doubt him. Not my fated mate. Not the bond we were about to seal.

But that voice message echoed in my mind.

“Adrian,” I asked lightly, meeting his laughing eyes, “what do you think of Candy?”

He paused. “Why?”

I smiled, pretending casual. “Sounds like she’s finally seeing someone.”

For a split second, his expression froze, then smoothed into indifference. “Who cares about that crazy she-wolf?”

Disgust crept into his tone. “I couldn’t care less.”

He shrugged. “If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t even want her name in my mouth.”

Then he grinned. “Gotta run, babe. I’ll bring you something nice when I’m back.”

The call ended.

I sat on the balcony, staring at the night beyond the glass. The mystery man texting Candy lingered in my mind like a thick fog I couldn’t shake off.

Before I could gather my thoughts, a hand landed gently on my shoulder.

“Claire.”