Chapter 1

After I returned from studying overseas, my Alpha fiancé, Lucas Thorn, couldn’t wait to seal our Mate Bond.

On our wedding night, he called my name over and over, his voice thick with emotion.

He kept me tangled beneath him again and again, until my limbs went completely weak, tears soaking the pillow. Only then did Lucas finally slow down, letting out a low laugh.

“Lydia,” he murmured, brushing my hair aside, “I waited seven years for you. You owe me a little compensation.”

Before I could even catch my breath, he took me all over again.

But the very next day, after the ritual was complete, I received a photo.

Lucas, near the family cemetery, was tangled in the back seat of a car with Isabella, the wife of his late brother, Daniel.

I stared at the image of their bodies pressed together, and every relative around me rushed to comfort me.

“Maybe… it’s just a misunderstanding. After Daniel passed away, Alpha Lucas has only been taking extra care of her…”

Taking care of her? Did it require sticking that close?

I spent the entire night flipping through the love letters Lucas wrote me when he was seventeen, crying until my eyes burned.

At dawn, I took off the ring. And I canceled the Mate Bond application filed with the Elder Council.

Less than five minutes later, my phone rang. It was Elder Eleanor of Thorn Pack.

“Lydia, don’t be so sensitive,” Eleanor said gently, her tone full of concern, “Lucas would never… she’s his sister-in-law, after all.”

I listened quietly.

“Elder,” I interrupted, calm and flat, “There’s no need to explain.”

There was a brief silence on the other end. “Lydia, this isn’t a small matter. Don’t act on impulse.”

“It’s over between Lucas and me,” I replied, “The moment he chose Isabella, it was over.”

I hung up.

The faint mark of the ring was still there on my finger.

The warmth from last night was gone, replaced by a bone-deep chill.

I packed my things and was about to leave when the door suddenly flew open.

Lucas rushed in and grabbed my wrist.

“Come with me to see the Elders,” he snapped, “Canceling the application? Who gave you permission?”

“Let go!” I struggled. “You slept with Isabella. We’re done!”

Lucas let out a cold laugh. “Done? You’re my fiancée, the future Luna of Thorn Pack. Besides me, the Alpha, who else could ever give you that status?”

He forced his temper down, voice turning low and dangerous.

“Last night was a mistake. I’ll deal with Isabella. Now go restore the application.”

“A mistake?”

I stared at him. “Climbing into your sister-in-law’s bed is a mistake?”

I looked at the man in front of me, and for the first time, he felt like a stranger.

“What’s wrong with you? Does being Alpha really make you this arrogant?”

Lucas’s expression darkened.

“Lydia, don’t push me. Keep this up, and neither you nor that little design company of yours will come out of it intact.”

“You know what Thorn Pack is capable of.”

My heart sank.

My family’s design firm was small. It had survived all these years on collaboration projects with Thorn Pack.

This wasn’t a warning. It was a threat.

I bit down hard on my lip and stared at him.

The man I’d known for over twenty years now felt terrifyingly unfamiliar.

Seeing my silence, Lucas thought I was scared.

He reached out to touch my face. “Lydia, be good. We can still...”

A wave of nausea surged up.

My wolf screamed inside my chest, warning me not to let this man touch me.

I lowered my head and bit down hard on the back of Lucas’s hand.

“Ah!” He cried out, instantly enraged. The next second, his hand swung back and slapped across my face.

Pain exploded along my cheek.

I covered my face and stared at his twisted expression.

Seven years of waiting and more than twenty years of affection, all of it shattered in that single slap.

Lucas seemed startled by his own violence and by the resolve in my eyes. A flicker of panic crossed his face.

“I...”

I didn’t wait for him to finish. Summoning all my strength, I tore my hand free.

While he hesitated, I shoved him aside and bolted for the door.

I didn’t take my suitcase. I grabbed only the backpack by the entryway.

I ran, out of the house, down the street, until I flagged a taxi.

After giving the driver the address of the apartment I’d rented in advance, I collapsed into the back seat.

My cheek was still burning.