Chapter 1

{Seraphina's POV}

“After running the test on you, my Luna, we discovered something. The mate mark on your neck is fake. You were never truly claimed!”

Hearing what the doctor just said, my lips parted but no words came out.

I had only gone to the Royal Medical Academy for a routine health examination. But for three years now, I had been mated to the Alpha of Star Moon Pack, and yet, I couldn't feel the mate bond or any of the feelings that were supposed to come with being marked by my mate.

That was why I decided to run a test.

But now, the doctor is telling me that I wasn't truly marked and that the bite on my neck was fake.

“How is that possible, Doctor?” I asked, desperately trying to find any explanation that could convince me that what I was hearing wasn't true.

“Alex bit me three years ago. I could feel his scent, and the bite mark on my neck clearly shows that I was marked by him. So how can you say that it's all fake?”

“The mark on your neck is not a real mate mark, my Luna.” The doctor's words struck me harder this time. “The bite itself from three years ago was real, and so was the Alpha's scent. But the person who bit you used suppressants to deliberately prevent the mate bond from forming. You and the Alpha have never truly completed the mate bond.”

Suppressants?

No. No, I couldn't accept this.

Three years ago, after turning eighteen, the Moon Goddess blessed me with my mate.

Alpha Alex of the Star Moon Pack visited my pack and found that we were mates. I remembered feeling the mate bond at first.

He didn't just claim me as his Luna.

He married me.

And on our wedding night, he marked me right in front of all the elders and every wolf in his pack.

But after that night, Alex said something that had never left my mind.

“You can't stay in the main Alpha's house, Seraphina. The Luna Wing has already been built and prepared for you. From today onward, you'll stay there. And you're only permitted to come over to the main Alpha's house when I say so.”

We lived separately, even though we were mates and husband and wife.

Alex never involved me in his personal life. He did everything on his own, while I remained a Luna only in the eyes of the pack.

Even when I was in danger, he rarely came to me.

The only time he would appear was when the mate bond somehow affected him and made him realize that his Luna needed him.

And whenever he arrived, his words were almost always the same.

“Don't get yourself into danger, always waiting for me to save you! I've got way more things to do for this pack!”

I told myself it was because of the responsibilities he carried as Alpha and that he was always busy that was why he didn't give me the attention or affection I craved as his Luna.

So I kept hoping. Waiting. Praying and Believing that one day, just one day, he would finally accept me.

But three years had already passed.

And now, I was discovering that he had deliberately suppressed our mate bond.

He never truly marked me.

“Luna Seraphina, do you need me to call your mate and inquire if—”

I quickly stood up, grabbed my bags, brushed my hair away from my face, and walked out before the doctor could finish.

My phone vibrated before I reached the end of the hallway.

It was a message from an unknown number. An ultrasound photograph was attached to it.

I stared at the small image on the screen before reading the words beneath it.

“I am pregnant with Alex's child. He is going to move me into the Alpha's Main Dom so his heir can remain close to him. You should start preparing yourself.”

The message ended with one name.

Barbara.

My fingers tightened around the phone.

Barbara Thompson. The Beta's daughter. The woman who had grown up beside Alexander.

For a moment, I told myself it could be a cruel lie. Anyone could send a message from an unknown number. Anyone could attach an ultrasound photograph.

I would not believe it until I heard the truth from Alexander himself.

******

When the car stopped in front of the pack's main compound, I stepped out and stared straight ahead.

Instead of heading toward the Luna Wing like I always did, I decided to meet Alex.

I needed answers.

For the first time in three years, I was going to enter the Alpha's Main Dom without his permission.

I pushed open the entrance door.

Immediately, one of the guards stepped forward.

“Luna Seraphina, did you get the Alpha's permission before entering—”

“Hold on, Luna. I'll call the Alpha to inquire if he was aware of your presence.”

“Luna Seraphina, this…”

“Luna, you can't just…”

BUT I ignored them all.

At that moment, nothing mattered except getting answers from Alexander.

Why had he suppressed our mate bond?

Why had he never truly claimed me?

I clutched the medical report in my hand as I walked toward Alexander's study because I knew he would be there rather than in his room.

When I finally reached the door, I wrapped my fingers around the doorknob and took a deep breath.

I had never entered the Alpha's Main Dom without being announced before. But if knowing the truth required me to break a few rules, then I was ready to do it.

I twisted the doorknob, pushed the door open and—

BOOM!

My eyes widened.

Right in front of me was my mate, Alexander, hugging another woman.

Not only was he holding her closely, but he was gently rubbing her head as though she were someone precious to him.

My heart seemed to have left my body.

Even Tears immediately began forming at the corners of my eyes.

In three years of marriage, Alexander had never held me like that.

Not once.

I stood there for almost a minute, watching them, and they didn't even notice my presence.

Not until I cleared my throat that Barbara finally pulled away from his arms.

She brushed her hair back and smiled.

“I think I just got a little dizzy, Alpha. You really don't have to catch me next time. As a soon-to-be mother, I'm already used to feeling dizzy all the time!”

A soon-to-be mother?

My eyes shifted toward the desk.

There, beside several documents and a bottle of prenatal vitamins, was a printed ultrasound photograph.

It was the same photograph I had received in the message.

Barbara had grown up with Alexander and his friends. They had trained together and even gone on border missions together.

I supposed that was why she had the privilege she did now.

She could enter Alex's Main Dom freely.

She could walk into his study without fear.

She could stay around him whenever she wanted.

And, most importantly, she was the only woman who could make Alexander relax and laugh.

People always said Barbara was a better match for the Alpha than I was. They said the two of them suited each other and should have been mates.

But Alexander always shut those rumors down.

He had told me countless times that Barbara was like a sister to him.

That he only saw her as a younger sister.

A younger sister…

Who was now pregnant for him?

I could hear the heartbreak of my wolf, Alissa, inside my head.

Her ears had flattened as she watched Alexander hold Barbara again.

“You sure you're okay, Barb?” Alexander asked, his voice filled with concern. “You should sit down first and relax…”

I had never seen him this worried about someone before.

Immediately his eyes landed on me, Alex’s expression instantly changed.

“What are you doing here, Seraphina? Didn't I tell you never to enter the Alpha's Main Dom without being announced?”

His cold voice sent a chill through me.

I quickly hid the medical report behind my back.

“I need to speak with you, Alex. In private.”

He looked at Barbara first.

For a moment, it seemed as though he was about to refuse.

But Barbara quickly spoke.

“Luna Seraphina, it's never my intention to have all of Alpha's attention to myself. If you want to speak with him in private, I guess I'll give you both some time.”

“But…”

Alexander seemed ready to object.

Was he really going to ask her to stay?

Barbara simply smiled at him.

“I don't want to stand in the middle of a conversation between you and your mate, Alpha Alex. I'll take my leave.”

She walked past me and left the study.

The moment the door closed behind her, Alexander spoke.

“From today onward, Barb will be staying with me here in the Alpha's Main Dom.”

A disbelieving smile escaped my lips.

“What?”

“It really goes beyond your discussion with me, Seraphina,” Alex continued calmly. “Barbara is pregnant with a child. That child needs my utmost protection and I can't watch her stay any distance away from care!”

The message had been true.

Alex truly got another woman pregnant. He had never shared a bed with me, his own mate, but he had found the time to sleep with another woman and give her a child.

A broken laugh escaped my lips.

“Alex, we have been married for three years, but we have never lived together. We have never even shared a bed. If Barbara can stay here with you, why can't I? I'm your Luna too.”

“This is a pack arrangement, Seraphina.”

“Pack arrangement?”

I scoffed.

“So it is a pack arrangement for me to stay in the Luna Wing, but Barbara and her child are allowed to live here with you?”

“Is this really the time to get jealous, Seraphina?”

Alexander cut into my words. The sharpness in his voice made my wolf, Alissa, flinch.

“Our marriage arrangement has been in place for three years already, and there is no need to start changing it now. At the end of the day, you are still the Luna.”

My hand tightened around the medical report behind my back.

“Are we truly mates, Alexander?” I asked quietly.

For the first time, his expression changed.

His gaze moved to the mark on my neck, and his fingers tightened at his side.

“What kind of question is that?”

“We have never lived together. We have never shared a bed. I cannot feel you through our bond.” My voice almost broke, but I forced myself to continue. “Did we ever become real mates? Do you ever intend to complete our bond, live with me and build a family with me?”

Alexander remained silent for a moment.

I waited for him to tell me the truth.

Instead, his expression became cold again.

“The elders witnessed our marking ceremony. You are my Luna, and that position has never been taken away from you.”

“That wasn't what I asked.”

“Our current arrangement has kept the pack stable for three years,” he replied. “It works, and I see no reason to change it now.”

His answer hurt more than I expected.

The fake mark was not a mistake. Alexander had never intended to live with me as my mate. He was willing to give Barbara a place in his home and protect the child she claimed was his, but the only thing he would offer me was an empty Luna title.

He looked at me again.

“You said you needed to speak with me. What did you want?”

I looked at the report hidden behind my back.

I had come here because I thought there was still something worth discussing between us. But he had already given me his answer.

“Nothing,” I said. “It isn't important anymore.”

“When is Barbara moving in?”

The anger on his face immediately disappeared.

A smile replaced it.

“I knew you'd understand, Seraphina. You're always so understanding of every situation.”

I turned around. I didn't say another word. I simply walked straight back to the Luna Wing.

Once I reached my room, those tears finally had the freedom to pull out.

I kept on crying, wondering what I have done that made Alexander use Suppressants on me.

What did I do that made him got another woman pregnant? Was I not there for him enough? Is this all of my fault?

As those tears slid down, I opened my bag and pulled out an envelope from the Royal Medical Academy.

It was a conditional admission offer.

Becoming a certified doctor had always been my dream. I had planned to ask Alexander whether I should accept the offer and attend the required qualification examination.

But I wasn't going to ask him anymore. I didn't need his permission to choose my own life.

I picked up a pen and signed the acceptance form.

The qualification examination would take place in a few days. A fresh semester would begin in ninety days.

Alexander still thought I would remain here, waiting for him to eventually accept me. He had no idea that I only had ninety days left in this house.

Ninety days. After that, I would pack my belongings and leave this pack.