My Cheating Mate Regretted It When I Chose Someone Else

Aurelia's POV

Three days before the Moon Blessing Banquet, I was still buried in work.

The marketing proposal for our biggest client this quarter had to be submitted before noon tomorrow, and perfection had always been my worst habit.

"Done," I whispered with a satisfied smile as I clicked Save.

I leaned back in my chair and glanced at the clock. It was well past midnight.

My phone buzzed on the vanity. Expecting another work email, I reached for it, only to find a reminder lighting up the screen.

Moon Blessing Banquet: 3 Days Remaining.

The Moon Blessing Banquet was the most prestigious event of the year for the Crimson Fang Pack. Damien would officially announce me as his Luna before the entire pack that night.

Damien and I had been high school sweethearts. He was the Alpha heir, I was the Beta's daughter, and everyone believed our future had been written long before either of us fell in love.

I stretched, finally feeling the exhaustion catch up with me. My throat was dry, so I reached for the crystal water jug on my vanity.

Empty. With a quiet sigh, I left my room to get some water.

The Ashwood mansion was unusually quiet. The only sound was the soft ticking of the grandfather clock as I walked past the bedrooms.

Until I walked past my younger sister's room.

I froze halfway down the hall. Strained, breathless noises filtered through the door.

Selene, of course, my spoiled younger sister was as wild as she was beautiful. I shook my head, deciding to mind my own business and keep walking.

I took two steps toward the staircase when a low, husky growl escaped from behind her door.

My heart skipped a beat. Then I heard a man's voice.

"Selene..."

I knew that voice. Slowly, almost against my own will, I turned back and walked towards Selene's room. My trembling hand rested on the doorknob. Then I pushed the door open.

The scene inside left me speechless.

Damien was tangled in the sheets of Selene's bed. His eyes widened when he saw me. He scrambled off the bed and reached for his trousers.

Selene didn't even bother covering herself. She sat up and looked at me without a trace of guilt.

"How could you?"

"Aurelia, wait. Let me explain..."

"Explain what? Explain why you're in my sister's bed?"

Damien opened his mouth, but no words came out.

Selene laughed, "Stop acting like you're the victim."

My hands clenched. "He's my fiancé!"

"Not anymore."

"Selene!"

Our voices carried down the hallway. A door opened nearby.

"What the hell is going on? Why are you making so much noise this late at night?" my brother, Samuel stepped out of his room, looking annoyed.

He stopped when he saw us. His eyes moved from me to Damien, then to Selene. His expression changed and then took a step back.

"Samuel?"

"I...I didn't see anything!" He turned toward his room.

I reached out and caught his arm. "Wait! Why are you leaving?"

"Let go of me!"

"You knew, didn't you?"

Samuel froze. "I don't know anything!"

"Then look at me and tell me that."

"Mom! Dad!" Samuel pulled his arm free. His shout brought footsteps from the other end of the hallway. My parents appeared moments later.

"What is going on here?" my father demanded.

Relief washed over me. I turned to them, "Damien... Damien is cheating on me with Selene."

Neither of my parents looked surprised.

My relief disappeared. "You... you all knew?"

"Aurelia..." My mother started.

"Enough!" Damien snapped. "I don't want you anymore, okay? I was forced into this betrothal by tradition, but I'm done playing along."

Selene purred, stepping up beside him and wrapping her arm intimately around his bare waist.

"This is unjust. We are betrothed by pack decree! I am going to expose you both to the entire pack!"

"There will be no need for all of that," my father cut me off.

I froze, "Dad?"

"Damien has made his choice. He is the future Alpha of the Crimson Fang Pack, Aurelia. He has the ultimate right to decide who stands beside him as Luna."

I stood alone in the center of the room, surrounded by my family and the man who was supposed to become my mate.

Turning on my heel, I bolted down the hallway toward my bedroom while my parents ran after me.

"Aurelia, wait. Sweetheart, please, just stop for a moment," my mother said.

"We didn't want to hurt you," my father said. "But I have to think about this family's future. Whichever daughter Damien marries, our family benefits."

I looked at them until my mother offered a hopeful smile.

"Besides, this might actually be a blessing in disguise for you, Aurelia. You're twenty-seven now. You're getting old, and without a wolf, your options are limited."

My eyes narrowed, "What are you talking about?"

"We actually have a wonderful suitor in mind for you. He's a respectable man. It would be best if we announced your engagement immediately." my father chimed in seamlessly.

The fog in my mind cleared, revealing the sickening game they were playing. They didn't care about my feelings, nor were they trying to comfort me. They were terrified of the scandal.

If Damien broke off his engagement with me to marry my younger sister, the pack elders would view it as a dishonorable scandal.

"No way. I am not marrying anyone to save face for Damien and Selene. I'm leaving."

"Aurelia, don't be stubborn!" My father's calm facade instantly shattered. "You don't have a choice in this! Richard promised a massive financial and territorial alliance with Crimson Fang. If you marry him, Selene's position as future Luna becomes completely secure!"

"I don't care about the alliance, and I certainly don't care about Selene!" I yelled, turning toward the stairs.

"You can't refuse, Aurelia," I heard my father say.

"The contract has already been signed."

Aurelia's POV

I thought catching my mate in bed with my sister was the worst thing that could happen to me.

Apparently, I had underestimated how creative my family could be.

By the next morning, I was sitting in the back of the car on my way to meet Richard, a man nearly twice my age, whom my parents had decided would make a perfectly acceptable replacement for the fiancé my sister had stolen.

It would have been almost funny if my father hadn't given me an ultimatum.

Marry Richard, or leave the Crimson Fang Pack.

Unfortunately, leaving wasn't an option. In Crimson Fang Pack, being disowned meant losing my family, my home, and my place in the pack. I'd become a rogue, with nowhere to go and no way back.

I wasn't exactly thrilled about either option. But I didn't need to reject Richard. I just needed to make him reject me.

"Ma'am? We are here." My driver's voice pulled me from my thoughts.

L'Étoile was as grand as ever.

I spo