Chapter 1

Loretta's POV

At 25 weeks pregnant, I caught my mate with another woman at the hospital.

A sweet, pretty young woman stood beside Zane Sterling, who wore a black coat.

She had on a white fox-fur coat and a soft wool scarf. Her cheeks were rosy, and her delicate features made her look like a doll.

Alpha Zane leaned down to say something to her. I had never seen him look so gentle.

I clutched my prenatal report. The winter wind cut across my cheeks, but the pain in my heart was colder.

Their scents still hung in the air. Hers was sweet gardenia. His was strong cedar and cold iron.

The two scents were tangled together.

The woman noticed me and gave me a puzzled look.

I couldn't hear what she said to Zane, but I read the words on her lips.

"Old woman."

I laughed bitterly to myself.

I'm only 24.

I had always been a little heavy and plain. Now I was bundled in a black puffer coat and a black knit hat. Pregnancy had left me swollen, clumsy, and exhausted. I really could have passed for a woman in her thirties or forties.

Zane opened the car door for her.

He didn't spare me a glance before getting in after her.

I stood frozen and watched the car disappear.

Zane and I had become mates only six months ago.

Only because I was carrying his pup.

To Zane, it was a stain on his life. A powerful Alpha being forced into taking an Omega as his mate because she was pregnant was the ultimate humiliation in our world.

He hated me for it.

And I had loved him in secret for 8 years.

I first saw him as a teenager at the Razor Pack trials. He was a young Alpha who took on ten opponents alone and walked away covered in blood. I fell for him that day.

I knew I wasn't good enough for him, so I worked constantly to follow in his footsteps.

I fought my way into the university he had attended. I trained hard to improve my fighting skills even though I had been born with an average body.

I learned to hide my Omega scent and keep my composure around Alphas.

At last, I became his assistant. I could finally stand beside him.

I never imagined I would become his mate this way.

That night hadn't destroyed only Zane.

It happened during the Razor Pack's Full Moon Festival.

Zane's rut came early without warning.

He locked himself in his room, but the pressure from his out-of-control wolf smothered the entire floor.

I happened to be sorting files in the room next door. Then his cedar scent flooded the hall. It was thick and burning hot, with the wild aggression of a beast that had lost control.

I should have run. I should have called for help.

Instead, I stayed.

The moment the door locked behind me, I saw gold surging through his eyes. His wolf had taken over, and I became nothing more than an outlet for his rut.

Afterward, I sank to my knees and tried to explain.

"I didn't mean for this to happen. I just—"

"Get out." Zane's voice pierced my ears like ice.

He stared at me as if I were something filthy and disgusting.

"Don't ever make me look at that revolting face again."

I would never forget his eyes.

Disgust. Coldness. Hatred.

A hot tear slid down my cheek.

Then pain cramped through my lower belly. The pup twisted inside me, and I grabbed my stomach with one hand and braced myself against a stone column with the other.

A passing nurse helped me into an exam room.

What she said left me numb.

"Your emotions directly affect the pup, Luna. Please stay calm for your baby's sake."

Even my feelings don't belong to me anymore.

Once the pain eased, I dragged my exhausted body back to the Razor Pack residence in Shallow Bay.

Former Luna Margaret had assigned experienced Omegas to take care of me.

Officially, they were caregivers. In truth, they were there to watch me.

Two of them were sitting in the living room, eating and laughing as if they owned the place.

Most Omegas in the Razor Pack were beautiful and proud. They were nothing like me.

They turned at the sound of the door. Susie got up and walked over, her tone careless and rude.

"How did the checkup go?"

She didn't even call me Luna.

I gave her a cold look, ignored her, and headed for the stairs.

Susie frowned and raised her voice. "I asked you a question."

I kept walking.

She scoffed to Ivy under her breath. "She's shaped like a pig, but she really thinks she's the Luna of the Razor Pack."

The words stabbed like needles, but I had gone numb to them.

I shut my bedroom door and stood there, hollow and lost.

Margaret Summers had made Zane take me as his mate only because I was pregnant. His family wanted to continue the Razor Pack bloodline.

That was why the other pack members looked down on me. Respect was out of the question.

My phone vibrated.

The name on the screen made me pause: Professor Winslow.

"There's an opening for an advanced program at the University of Cambridge. Would you like to apply?" Brody Winslow asked in his warm, straightforward way.

I stood speechless for several seconds.

Brody added, "If you don't need—"

"I'll go." I snapped back to my senses, my answer firm.

Brody was quiet for two seconds. "Then come to my office at ten tomorrow morning."

"Okay."

He hung up. I lowered the phone and let out a long breath. It felt as if the clouds had finally parted enough to let in a beam of moonlight.

The pup gave me a light kick, as if asking what was wrong with Mommy.

I looked down and placed my palm over the curve of my belly.

"Baby, Mommy's going to start living her own life."

Soon after that, Margaret called and told me to come to the pack house.

I took a shower, then sat at my vanity and studied myself in the mirror.

My face was round and puffy. Dark circles and deep bags framed my eyes, and spots covered both cheeks.

Pregnancy hormones could change a woman's appearance, but they had hit me especially hard.

I put on makeup, changed into a pink puffer coat, and added a round white hat. At least I looked more awake.

As soon as I stepped outside, my phone rang. It was Zane.

"Come out," he said flatly.