Chapter 1
The prenatal report was clenched tightly in my hand.
Its corners had been worn soft by my fingertips.
A searing heat crept up through my fingers, making them tremble.
The doctor’s words still echoed in my ears: “Six weeks along. The embryo is healthy. Strong heartbeat.”
My phone buzzed in my pocket.
I stumbled out of the pack hospital in a daze.
The screen lit up: “Lucius.”
That name was buried deep in a hidden, encrypted folder in my contacts.
He was my uncle — Alpha of the Blackthorn Pack.
For three years, I had never dared to let him see this name.
He was my secret, the kind of secret that couldn’t survive the light.
“Hello?”
My voice still carried a trembling I couldn’t suppress.
Lucius’s voice came through the receiver —
Cold, sharp, and heavy with the commanding presence of an Alpha.
Colder than the marble hallway of the pack hospital.
“I won’t make it to your graduation.”
My fingers tightened around the thin sheet of lab results,
knuckles white, nails digging deep into my palms.
“You promised last week. You said you’d definitely come.”
“Olivia’s back,” he said flatly, like he was commenting on the weather.
“She just got off a flight from the Southern Border. Airsick. Very emotional.”
A few pack doctors passed by.
I slumped down against the cold wall, sliding slowly to the floor.
On the other end of the call, I could hear the faint rustle of fabric —
He was adjusting his cufflinks, no doubt frowning as he did.
That was his trademark move in front of outsiders — keeping that cold, elite image.
“Leina, mind your tone.”
His voice dropped suddenly, the Alpha dominance pressing down even through the phone.
“Don’t forget who you are.”
Who I am?
I lowered my gaze to the words “early pregnancy” printed on the lab sheet.
The letters stung my eyes.
Who am I, really?
The orphan he picked up ten years ago on a rainy night?
Or just a plaything he’s kept locked at his side for the past three years?
Three years ago, he was so drunk he could barely think straight and stumbled into my room by mistake.
Back then, I was hopelessly in love with him. Even when he pulled me into his arms and whispered Olivia’s name, I didn’t push him away.
When he sobered up, he didn’t deny what had happened. After that, we were together.
We were like any other couple, practically inseparable. He checked on me when I was sick. He bought me gifts.
And like a fool, I started to believe that was enough. As long as I could stay by his side, I didn’t care if I was only a replacement for someone else.
But I was foolish enough to believe that if I could be in his arms, it didn’t matter what I was to him.
“Understood.”
The rest of the words lodged in my throat.
The call ended without hesitation.
The busy tone was short and cold.
I stared at my pale reflection in the black screen.
The red markings at the corner of my wolf eyes flushed faint pink from the surge of emotion.
My mind flashed back to that torrential night ten years ago.
My parents had just severed their bond, hurling curses and shoving each other as I stood there, forgotten.
Not one of them looked back at me.
Through the downpour, a black car sat waiting, its headlights cutting through the rain.
Alpha Lucius stood beside it, holding a black umbrella.
He bent down and pulled me into his arms.
"From now on, you’ll be with me. I’ll take care of you."
Back then, I truly thought I’d been rescued.
Until six months later, I found that locked diary deep in the back of his study.
On the yellowed pages was a drawing of a girl with a high ponytail.
Beside it, the name Olivia was written.
The last entry was dated the very day he brought me home.
So that’s all I was—
A stand-in. A distraction he picked up after being abandoned by his first love.
“Leina! You’re up next!”
The teacher’s voice echoed down the hallway, urging me to hurry.
I hastily tucked the prenatal report into the inner pocket of my gown.
Standing on stage in my graduation robe, I instinctively scanned the VIP seats.
The front row was empty.
That seat was meant for Lucius.
My uncle.
My Alpha.
The father of the child in my womb.
When I returned home, the bedroom door was ajar.
“You’re back.”
He sat on the edge of the bed, slowly polishing his silver cufflinks.
Three years of memories exploded in my mind all at once.
The first gift he gave me was a lace-trimmed blindfold.
The nightstand drawer always contained restraints and a feather whip.
He never kissed me on the lips — only bit my nape.
I later learned that was Olivia’s most sensitive spot.
To him, I was just an object.
A clean, convenient outlet.
Nothing more.
He held up a black lace lingerie set in his hand.
Seeing me silent, Alpha Lucius leaned in, brushed my neck, and murmured in a raspy voice,
“Put it on for me?”
Just as he was about to say more, his phone rang.
A choked female voice came through the receiver.
Lucius’s expression shifted instantly —
And without hesitation, he turned and left.
I didn’t struggle. Didn’t ask why.
Because I already knew—
I could never make him stay.
