Chapter 1

My husband had been with his stepsister, not just once or twice, but repeatedly. What hurt most was that he never bothered to hide it. I heard them myself, inside the very house where he had once marked me as his Luna.

Suddenly, every part of that house felt contaminated. The bedroom, the sofa, even the kitchen counter held memories I no longer wanted. I stood frozen in the hallway, unable to move, as though my body had forgotten how to breathe.

“Daemon,” Yvette murmured, her voice soft and pleading. “When are you finally going to reject her? You promised me.”

“Soon, sweetheart. Just not yet. She’s still grieving our twins.”

Our twins. A son and a daughter.

He said it so casually that the words nearly destroyed what little strength I had left.

“Poor Rhea,” Yvette said with a quiet laugh. “She’s still mourning those pups. I honestly don’t know how you put up with her anymore. But you don’t have to worry. I’ll give you another heir. I’ll carry your pups soon.”

There was a brief silence.

“I’m counting on you, Yvette.”

My hands curled into fists until my nails cut into my palms. I refused to make a sound. If I broke down right then, I would be giving them the last piece of me they hadn’t already taken.

“Tell me honestly, Alpha. Do you still love her? Your Luna?”

The silence that followed seemed endless.

Finally, Daemon answered, “Yes. I love Rhea. She’s my bonded mate.”

Bonded mate.

He could still say those words as though they meant something.

I stepped away before my legs could give out and forced myself to breathe. My mate. My Alpha. The man the entire Targaryen Pack respected and feared was the same man who once crossed frozen mountains just to bring me chestnut cake because I had casually mentioned craving it.

Now he was standing in our home, speaking of love while destroying everything we had built.

Thirteen days.

That was all I needed.

In thirteen days, my human exit papers would be approved, and I could leave pack territory behind. Once I entered the human world, the bond could no longer force me back.

The following morning, I went to the consulate. My hands trembled so badly that I nearly dropped my documents.

“Good morning,” I said quietly. “I’d like to apply for an exit permit.”

The clerk accepted the papers without much reaction and stamped them one after another.

“Processing will take thirteen days. You’ll receive confirmation once it’s approved.”

As I stepped outside, I heard people whispering behind me.

“Isn’t that Luna Rhea Targaryen?”

“She’s really leaving the pack?”

“But Alpha Daemon is completely devoted to her. Didn’t he nearly bleed to death for her after that accident?”

“I heard he once turned the whole city upside down when she disappeared.”

“Then why would she leave him?”

I almost laughed.

That was the version of our marriage everyone knew: the powerful Alpha and the Luna he supposedly adored.

Nobody had seen what happened behind closed doors. Nobody noticed how his expression changed whenever Yvette called him, or how the hands that once treated me like something precious eventually began making me feel like an inconvenience.

I remembered how everything had started.

Daemon had first seen me at a pack gathering and immediately decided I was his. After that, he filled my life with gifts, jewelry, rare herbs, and even territories placed under my name. When I once mentioned that I loved fireworks, he had them launched along the pack border for three nights.

When I told him I liked chestnut cake, he crossed frozen mountain roads alone just to bring me one. By the time he arrived, his hands were badly affected by the cold, yet he smiled as though the pain meant nothing.

When my parents were killed during a rogue attack, he abandoned an important meeting with three allied packs and came straight to me. He held me until I finally stopped crying.

“I’m here, Rhea,” he whispered. “You’re mine, and I’ll always protect you.”

I believed him.

I trusted him enough to give him everything—my name, my life, my body, and my bond.

Even after we had twins and lost them before they reached their third year, I remained by his side. Losing our children had left a wound inside me that never truly healed.

Then, about nine months ago, I began noticing the changes.

Her scent lingered on his clothes, our sofa, and even the sheets I used to carefully fold for him. At first, I convinced myself that grief was making me paranoid.

Then I heard her voice inside my own home.

After that, nothing was ever the same.

I stood outside the consulate, clutching my papers as though they were the only things keeping me upright.

“How long are you going to keep living like you’re already dead?” I whispered to myself.

There was no answer.

So I climbed into a cab and gave the driver the address of the Targaryen Estate. I wasn’t returning because I still belonged to Daemon.

I was going back because I was finally ready to stop pretending that I did.

When I entered the villa, I immediately sensed something wrong. The air felt heavy, and an unfamiliar scent lingered throughout the room. My wolf became restless, and my stomach tightened before I even saw them.

Daemon stood near the wall, arranging silver ribbons and flowers.

Yvette Rose was beside him, standing far too close.

She smiled at him with the kind of expression that made it obvious she believed she already belonged there.

The door closed behind me, and the sound seemed to echo through the entire room.

Daemon turned.

For a brief moment, he froze.

Then he walked toward me, and just as quickly, his expression changed. The cold Alpha everyone feared disappeared, replaced by the gentle husband I had known for years.

“Rhea,” he said warmly, reaching toward me. “Why are you dressed so lightly? It’s cold outside. You’ll get sick. Didn’t you go out with your friends? Why did you come home so early? I was preparing something for you. I wanted it to be a surprise.”

A surprise.

My eyes moved to his neck.

A fresh mark was visible against his skin, sitting exactly where my own mark had once been.

My chest tightened.

“Rhea,” Yvette said sweetly, though there was something cruel beneath her tone, “you really are fortunate. My stepbrother cares about you so much. He prepared all of this just for your fifth anniversary.”

She gestured toward the sofa.

Only then did I notice the neatly arranged presents. Silk-wrapped boxes sat beneath carefully tied ribbons.

Then I noticed the dark stain spreading across the fabric underneath them.

That scent filled my senses again.

My fingers tightened at my sides.

So this was his idea of love?

He had brought me gifts and arranged a celebration in the same place where he had betrayed me.

The pain came slowly, settling deeper until I could barely feel anything else.

I said nothing.

What could I possibly say?

Daemon approached and opened a small velvet box. Inside was a delicate silver necklace with a moonstone pendant.

My Luna stone.

He stepped behind me and gently moved my hair aside.

“Happy anniversary, Rhea,” he murmured. “I had dinner prepared for us tonight. Just the two of us. I thought maybe it would help you smile again.”

His fingers brushed my neck as he fastened the necklace.

I felt nothing but cold.

Then I stepped away from him.