His Betrayal, My Command

For five years, I was Kyle’s second-in-command.

For another five, I was his secret mate—the one he never acknowledged.

On our anniversary, his ex sent me a text:

Guess what position we just unlocked?

In the photo, it was the exact same position Kyle had asked me to try last week in bed.

That was the moment I understood—

every trick he knew, she had taught him first.

I took a picture of the transfer order I had been hiding for three months and replied:

Congrats. While you’re busy unlocking new positions, I’m mapping out a patrol route he’ll never be able to follow.

Then I signed it—

transfer to the Western Frontier, to become commander of Patrol Unit 28 of the Northern Wild Wolf Clan.

Five years of playing the supporting role ended there.

From now on, I would guard the West, and he would hold the East.

Under the moonlit territory, our patrol ranges would never cross again.

Now, I was my own commander.

…

After serving as Kyle Blackthorn’s deputy for five years, I finally decided to accept the transfer order that would change my life.

“Layla, you’ve been Kyle’s second for five years,” Gideon said, pulling a promotion file from his drawer and sliding it across the desk. “With your ability, you should’ve been leading your own unit years ago. Are you really going to spend another year living in his shadow?”

He tapped the document in front of me.

“A she-wolf like you should’ve had her own patrol team three years ago. Think about it these next few days—do you want to stay Kyle’s deputy, or do you want to take the chance and become the first female commander in our clan?”

The second I heard Kyle’s name, my eyes burned.

I lowered my gaze and took the file. “Thank you. I’ll think about it.”

Ten p.m.

Manhattan apartment.

I pushed the door open and stepped into the wide, quiet living room. The only sound was the low hum of the air conditioner.

I slipped off my heels and walked barefoot toward the entryway.

That photo was still there—

Kyle and I standing side by side in front of the clan’s main fortress, both in black combat uniforms, both smiling like we owned the world.

Five years.

A full five years.

Everyone in the clan thought Kyle and I were just the perfect battlefield partners. None of them knew how perfectly we fit together in bed too.

After graduating from the wolf academy and joining the clan, I met Kyle. Together, we shattered patrol record after patrol record.

Back then, he chased me relentlessly.

For my birthday, he spent three months planning a patrol route that traced my name across the territory map.

When I was injured, he learned an entire recovery regimen just to take care of me—even though he had never done anything domestic in his life. Every day, for two straight hours, he treated my wounds with his own hands.

Under Kyle’s relentless care, I fell in love.

To protect his future—the Blackthorn family rules forbade the heir Alpha from publicly bonding with his direct deputy before succession—I agreed to keep us secret.

By day, we patrolled together, crossing from the eastern territory of New York to the western territory of Los Angeles, covering the entire map of the North American wolf domain.

By night, we shared a bed. His kisses could be blazing hot one moment, unbearably tender the next. He gave me eighty-one different positions, eighty-one different ways to come apart under him.

We fit in every way that mattered—body and soul.

And now, when I looked back on it, all I tasted was bitterness.

I did not know how long I stood there until the lock clicked and Kyle walked in, still in his black uniform.

“Still awake?”

The unfamiliar perfume on him made me frown.

“Too many night patrols,” he said. “My whole schedule’s a mess.”

This time, I had taken leave. I had not been on patrol with him.

Kyle did not notice my exhaustion. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a velvet box.

“Picked up a gift for you on the last mission.”

When I reached for it, my gaze flickered.

Inside the box lay a Cartier diamond bracelet, glittering against the satin lining.

Three months ago, I had casually mentioned it at a clan banquet. He remembered.

I should have been touched.

I would have been—if I had not seen that exact same bracelet on Selena’s Instagram two days ago.

In the photo, she wore it on her wrist while taking a mirror selfie. Her tight black dress showed off her perfect figure, and the diamond bracelet flashed against her skin.

Caption:

The Blackthorn heir has such good taste. This Cartier bracelet symbolizes eternity.

In the comments, one of our packmates wrote:

Did you and Kyle get back together? That bracelet looks perfect on you.

Selena replied:

Don’t read too much into it.

Now, staring at the bracelet in the box, I felt like there was a boulder crushing my chest.

Five years together.

And only now did I find out Selena was Kyle’s ex.

No wonder he always drove her home himself after team gatherings.

And me?

To keep our relationship hidden, I had to take a cab home alone.

The bracelet he bought for me had appeared on his ex’s wrist first.

At that moment, I honestly wanted to laugh.

“What’s wrong?” Kyle noticed my silence. “You don’t like it? I stood in line for six hours to get it. Didn’t you say you really wanted it before?”

I closed the lid and said quietly, “I don’t want it anymore.”

Just like I did not want the man I had loved for five years anymore.

Kyle frowned.

“If you don’t like it, I’ll get you something else next time.”

He headed for the bathroom.

I watched his back and felt my heart splitting open.

Next time, would he buy me something else—

and let Selena have it first too?

Or would he buy two identical pieces and call that fair?

I forced myself to calm down.

Then my eyes landed on the promotion file tucked beneath the jewelry box, and I let out a bitter laugh.

I had deliberately left it where he could not miss it.

And he had missed it completely.

This relationship—so unequal, so absurd—

maybe I had been the only one performing from the very beginning.

I took a deep breath and called Gideon.

“Gideon, I’ll take the transfer. I’m requesting Western Frontier Patrol Unit 28.”

There was silence on the other end for two seconds.

“Unit 28 is the exact opposite of Kyle’s current territory,” he said. “One guards the West, one holds the East. If you take that route, your patrol ranges will never cross again. Are you sure?”

I gripped the phone so tightly my knuckles turned white.

“I’m sure.”

Even if it meant I would never see him again, I would still take that road.

“All right,” Gideon said with a sigh. “I’ll submit your promotion request. Finish your handover by the end of the month and report to the Northern Wild Wolf Clan in Seattle.”

A flicker of light passed through my eyes.

“Thank you.”

After I hung up, I signed the paperwork.

Layla Evans.

Every stroke drew a line in the sand.