The Handprint That Shattered My Bond

Lucian adjusted his glasses, exhaling heavily. "Alright, fine. I'll be real with you. I want to break the bond."

My heart stopped.

"We've known each other since fresh wolf year," he continued. "There's stuff I can only say to you. I've fallen for someone else-a she-wolf who makes my heart race again. I don't want to string her along, so I'm ending things with Natalie. I want to give her a real home, a real life."

He paused, his voice dropping. "But you know I've been scraping by on a teacher's salary. Our joint assets are just the house. That's not enough to give her the life she deserves."

Lucian locked eyes with Mark. "Natalie 's family is loaded. I need to walk away with more of her money. Whatever it takes. You'll help me, right?"

Mark's face twisted, conflicted. After a few seconds, he clapped Lucian's shoulder. "I'll help you, wolf. Let me think it over, and I'll get back to you."

The rest was random small talk. Lucian dropped Mark off and drove away.

I sat frozen in the driver's seat, my hands trembling.

My head was still spinning when the dash cam footage jumped to a new clip.

A she-wolf climbed into the passenger seat. She looked young-high school young. She giggled, leaning toward Lucian. "Where are we eating tonight?"

I stared at her pale neck, my stomach churning. Was this the she-wolf Lucian was cheating with? His own student?

Lucian smiled, his voice dripping with affection. "We're hitting that fancy Italian place I booked. But first, we're picking up your mom."

The car pulled up to an apartment complex. The she-wolf hopped into the backseat, and another she-wolf slid into the front. She wore a sleek, form-fitting dress that hugged her curves, her hair swept up elegantly.

The she-wolf in the back chattered excitedly. "Mom, you look gorgeous. Lucian's gonna lose it."

The she-wolf laughed softly, scolding her. "Chloe, hush. Little wolves shouldn't talk like that. Sit still-Lucian's driving."

Her ears turned pink as she glanced at Lucian, clearly fishing for a reaction.

"You're stunning, Vanessa," Lucian said warmly. "Absolutely beautiful."

So Vanessa was the she-wolf. Chloe was her daughter.

I fast-forwarded. Lucian dropped Chloe off at her boarding school after dinner, leaving just him and Vanessa in the car. They pulled into an underground garage-this garage.

Lucian leaned in, kissing her deeply, his hand gripping the back of her head. The air in the car grew heavy, the windows fogging up as their breathing filled the space. The car rocked slightly, and Vanessa's hand pressed against the passenger window, leaving that damn handprint.

The sounds-raw, unmistakable-echoed through the speakers. I felt bile rise in my throat. I gagged, barely managing to fling the door open before I started retching, clutching the handle for support. The leather seats reeked, the air thick with betrayal.

Tears streamed down my face, not from sadness but from rage. I wiped them away, grabbed the dash cam, and stormed to another car-one that didn't stink of them.

Those two? They're going to pay.

Chapter3

I floored it to my best friend's place, where both of my ride-or-die she-wolves were waiting. The three of us grew up in the same gated community, thick as thieves, no secrets between us.

I slammed the dash cam onto the table, my jaw tight. "Lucian's cheating."

Emily, the youngest, gasped. "That jerk! I'm gonna hunt down that homewrecker and make her regret it!" She rolled up her sleeves, ready to storm out the door.

Grace grabbed Emily's collar, yanking her back, then turned to me, cool as ice. "Bond-breaking. I'll draft the papers."

Emily, still caught in Grace's grip, nodded fiercely. "Yeah, sever the bond with his sorry ass. I'll call Richard-he can send his security wolves to drag those two into an alley and beat the crap out of them."

My heart, heavy as it was, lifted a little. I looked at my she-wolves, gratitude washing over me. Grace is a sworn bachelorette, and Emily's bound to a CEO from a family just as wealthy as hers. Me? I was the one who ignored my parents' warnings and ran off to bond with Lucian, my college sweetheart. I believed our love-high school sweethearts to wedding bells-was the forever kind, unshakable.

Reality slapped me hard. Two years into bond, my mate's not only cheating but plotting to take my money to fund his mistress's life.

Lucian's got his lawyer buddy? Well, I've got my own. He's not getting a dime.

I grabbed Grace's hand. "Lucian wants to clean me out. I'm not just taking back our house-I want him to walk away with nothing."

Grace smirked. "Consider it done."

Emily pouted, poking my arm. "What about me? I'm not sitting this out. Let me at least go smack them around. I'm pissed."

I thought for a second. "Richard's a shareholder at the university, right? Can you get him to pull the security footage from Lucian's school? The mistress's daughter goes there. We might find something useful."

Just then, my phone buzzed. Lucian. "Hey, babe, you at the campsite yet?"

I swallowed the bile in my throat and played along. "Yeah, just got here."

"Have fun, don't rush back," he cooed, his voice all honey. I could hear the scratch of his pen grading papers in the background. "It's a slow week at school, so I'm just chilling. Miss you already."

Before, I would've felt bad for him, thinking how tough teaching was. I'd even buy him cars to cheer him up-his favorite toys. Now? His fake sweet talk just made me picture him smirking, probably thrilled he could sneak off with his sidepiece.

"Won't be back for a while," I said coldly. "I'm beat. Talk later." I hung up, keeping him in the dark so I could dig up more dirt.

I hired a private investigator, paying top dollar for round-the-clock surveillance on Lucian-photos, videos, anything I could get. Then I posted a fake update on X, editing old camping pics of me, Grace, and Emily, setting it so only Lucian could see. Sure enough, he commented: Have a blast, babe.

While we worked, I dug into Vanessa, the mistress. She's bound, has a daughter, but her mate's out of pack, wiring money to her and the pup every month from somewhere else.

Grace was combing through every cent I'd ever spent on Lucian-gifts, cars, you name it. Emily got the school's security footage from Richard and started scouring it for any clips tying Lucian to Vanessa's daughter, Chloe.

The three of us were a machine, holed up at Grace's place, working like our lives depended on it.

My phone rang again. Lucian. His voice was off, laced with something uneasy. "Babe, why didn't you take the BMW? And... where's the dash cam?"