Sacrificed By My Fated Mate

It’s been five years since Zuri and I were transported into the werewolf world, and we ended up mated to the Grant brothers. I became the mate of Houston Grant, the Beta of the Silver Moon Pack, while Zuri bonded with Jimmy Grant, the Alpha. Back then, the brothers had been cast out of their pack, stripped of their titles and power. Zuri and I stood by them, becoming their strongest allies as they fought to reclaim their positions.

The journey was far from easy. Pack politics were brutal—betrayals, sabotage, and even rogue attacks threatened us at every turn. There were moments when I thought we wouldn’t make it, but we did. After five years of struggle, Houston and Jimmy finally regained their rightful place in the Silver Moon Pack.

I thought the story was over, that we’d finally completed whatever mission brought us here. But we’re still stuck, unable to return to our world. Still, I wasn’t entirely upset. Houston and I had found love, and our life together was sweet, filled with the kind of warmth I’d never imagined possible.

As for Zuri, her relationship with Jimmy was... different. She’d saved his life more than once, and though their bond lacked the passion Houston and I shared, Jimmy respected her deeply. He gave her authority within the pack, publicly acknowledging her as his Luna and training her to take on a leadership role.

There were plenty of werewolves—especially high-ranking ones—who tried to replace us, but Jimmy made it clear that Zuri was his chosen mate. Houston, on the other hand, adored me to the point of obsession. He’d promised me the world, and for a while, it felt like he’d delivered.

Houston loved me. Jimmy respected Zuri. We’d all fought so hard to get here, and the brothers vowed that no one would ever hurt us, that our family would remain unbroken.

But Zuri once told me something that stayed with me. “Ariyah,” she said, her voice steady, “I don’t believe in love. It’s the most fragile thing in the world. I believe in power, in loyalty, in the promises Jimmy has made to me. If he keeps his word, I’ll give him my loyalty in return. But if he betrays me, I’ll make sure he regrets it.”

I laughed it off at the time. Zuri’s always been the cautious one, the one who protects herself fiercely, while I’ve always been the optimist, the one who believes in the good in people. I told her that positivity attracts good fortune.

But I was wrong.

When Kiara Mitchell returned—Houston and Jimmy’s childhood friend—everything changed. The love Houston had shown me, the promises he’d made, shattered like glass.

The first time Houston used his Alpha tone against me, when he accused me of framing Kiara, of being jealous of her, I felt my heart break. He believed her over me, humiliating me in front of the pack, forcing me to kneel before her and apologize.

It didn’t matter how many times I’d fought for him, how many times I’d nearly died for him. Kiara’s return erased it all in six months.

The mate bond between us, once so strong, now felt like a chain, binding me to a man who no longer saw me as his equal. And as I knelt before Kiara, I realized that the love I’d cherished was nothing more than a fragile illusion, one that had shattered at the first sign of pressure.

Zuri was right. Love is fragile. And in the werewolf world, where power and loyalty reign supreme, it’s a luxury few can afford.