Chapter 1

In the fifth year of my mating to Alpha Manfred,his childhood sweetheart, Jessica Bell, was splashed across every tabloid in the territory.

Pregnant. Unmated. And accused of shattering another couple’s bond.

The rumors hit like a rogue’s ambush. But it was his reaction that truly gutted me.

“Jessica’s father once saved me, She has no pack, no family left. Everything she’s accomplished… she clawed her way to it. Alone.”

My fingers clenched tighter around the pregnancy test tucked away in my purse.

“And the only way to protect her now,” he continued, not even looking me in the eye, “is for me to marry her. To claim the pup as mine.”

A muscle twitched in my jaw. Goddess, my wolf let out a low growl inside me, begging to lunge forward and leave claw marks down his perfectly tragic face.

“And what about me?” I asked, barely more than a whisper. My voice cracked.

The Silver Claw Pack and the Eclipse Pack—my pack—had been allies for over a century.

“How do I explain this sudden rejection to my parents? To my pack? To the elders? They know we're mate bond.”

Alpha Manfred inhaled sharply. “Just tell them it was always a business arrangement. That there was no real love between us.”

My wolf bared her teeth at that.

No real love?

Was that what last night was? His hands in my hair, his scent tangled with mine, his whispered promise that I was his forever—was that part of the business contract?

He had the audacity to look away. “Once the media frenzy dies down, I’ll come for you. I’ll bring you back to Silver Claw and give you the grand wedding you deserve.”

I stared at him.

This Alpha—was seriously telling me he was going to marry another she-wolf, claim her pup, let me get torn apart by pack gossip and speculation, and then what? he's offering me his marriage like it’s some kind of charity?

“You’ll come for me?” I repeated slowly. “After you’re done playing house with your mistress and her bastard pup?”

His jaw tightened. “Don’t say that.”

“Why not?” I snapped. My wolf surged to the surface, eyes glowing faintly. “Oh right, because Jessica’s the victim here, right? Unmated, pregnant, abandoned by the whole world except you. Must be hard carrying a pup with no one to protect you.”

He didn't respond.

“And meanwhile,” I said, stepping closer “you’re leaving me to face a scandal you created.”

My fingers twitched, aching to throw the pregnancy test at him. But I didn’t.

I laughed.

For three years, I had been the one he discarded—over and over. And now, even my marriage was to be sacrificed for her sake.

It hit me then, sharp and cold: Alpha Manfred had never loved me.

There was no reason for the one who loved to always be the one who suffered.