Chapter 1

They called me a hellcat. A she-wolf tyrant. The Luna who made her Alpha husband obey.

I held him together when his father died. Built his dying pack into a powerhouse while he flirted with she-wolves.

Then he brought home his "fated mate."

Everyone waited for me to explode.

Instead, I smiled. "I'll help you prepare the ceremony."

That's when my wolf—dormant for years—began to wake.

---

"Get out of that bar, Cade, or I'm dragging you out by your ear!"

That was me, two years ago. The Luna everyone called a hellcat.

I'd thrown files at my husband's head during council meetings. I'd roared at him in front of the entire pack when he gambled away trade funds. They whispered about how Alpha Cade was "whipped."

But I got things done. Our pack went from nearly bankrupt to thriving in three years. Territory doubled. Alliances strengthened. Other packs started coming to us for trade deals.

All because someone had to be the adult.

For a while, we were happy. I remembered nights on the roof, watching stars. Cade would pull me close and say, "I'm glad I chose you, Rhea. I wouldn't be the Alpha I am without you."

I believed him.

Today, when Cade walked through the door with another woman, I didn't yell. I didn't throw anything.

I smiled.

"Mother! Mira!" Cade's voice cracked as he pulled a she-wolf forward. She was younger than me, delicate in a way that made you want to protect her. She clutched his arm, head down, shoulders hunched.

And that scarf. Thick burgundy wool wrapped around her neck despite the warm evening.

Vivian appeared from the kitchen. Her eyes went straight to the scarf. Shock. Then hope.

"This is Lyra Moss." Cade swallowed. "She's my fated mate."

Fated mate. The Moon Goddess's gift. The rarest of bonds.

The one thing a chosen mate like me could never compete with.

"The bond appeared two weeks ago." His voice steadied. "She's already given herself to me."

While still married to me.

"This is wonderful!" Vivian pulled Lyra into an embrace. "A true fated mate bond—Cade, this is such a blessing!"

I watched Mira's face go pale. Cade's seventeen-year-old sister looked at me, then at her brother, horror dawning in her eyes. She was almost eighteen, weeks away from her wolf awakening. I'd been teaching her pack management for the past year. She knew exactly what this meant.

Lyra's gaze flickered to me. Testing. Waiting for the explosion.

I stepped forward.

"Lyra." I kept my voice pleasant. "Welcome to our home."

She blinked. "Luna Rhea... I'm so sorry—"

"The heart wants what it wants." I turned to Cade. "Why don't you show her to a guest room? I'll help prepare the marking ceremony."

Cade stared at me. "Rhea—"

"I insist. A Luna should be supportive of her Alpha's happiness."

Relief and guilt flickered across his face.

Coward.

Three years ago, he'd signed a contract with three conditions. The third one said if he ever found his fated mate, he had to ask me before marking her.

He didn't ask.

He just brought her home, already marked. Or so he claimed.

Vivian bustled off, planning decorations. Cade led Lyra upstairs. The she-wolf kept her head down, one hand pressed to that scarf.

For just a moment, as Lyra turned, the scarf shifted. My wolf-enhanced vision caught smooth, unmarked skin.

No bite. No scar.

Interesting.

That night, I started packing. Not everything. Just essentials. Documents. The deed to properties in my name.

Mira appeared at my door. "Sister? What are you doing?"

"Preparing."

"You can't leave." Her voice cracked. "The pack needs you."

"The pack needs someone who respects them." I folded a shirt into my bag. "Not someone who sees them as a burden."

"Cade loved you. I saw it."

"Maybe." I met her eyes. "For a while. When I was useful."

She started to cry.

"Remember what I taught you, little wolf." I touched her face. "A mate is a partner, not a necessity. Never shrink yourself for anyone.