Chapter 1

It took a whole year for me to realize this "surrogate" pup might not be mine.

"Type B?"

I stared at the lab results, my mind blank.

I am Type A. My Alpha, Arthur, is Type O.

How could we possibly have a Type B pup?

"Is the machine broken?" I muttered, my hands turning ice cold. "Or did the clinic mix up the embryos?"

I went through three brutal, anesthesia-free egg retrievals for this baby. I fought through the silver poison rotting in my blood. I nearly died for those embryos.

It couldn't be a mistake. Absolutely not.

The ER door flew open.

Arthur rushed in. Mia was right behind him, her eyes red, nervously twisting her fingers.

"Serena." Arthur walked up to me, his eyes full of pain, and pulled me into a gentle hug. "I'm sorry I'm late. How is Leo?"

His warm hand rubbed my back. His anxiety and love felt so real, just like it had for the last ten years we’d been together.

"Don't be afraid, baby," he whispered in my ear. "The pack doctor said it's just an infection. Our pup will be fine."

Our pup.

I should have felt safe hearing that. But leaning against his chest, my entire body went stiff.

Beneath his cedarwood scent, I smelled something deeply wrong.

White camellias. Mia's scent.

It wasn't just a faint trace from living in the same house. It was heavy, completely tangled and mashed into Arthur's cedar scent.

My stomach flipped. My heart skipped a beat.

That heavy scent only meant one thing. Mating.

Arthur must have sensed my stiffness. He sighed and hugged me tighter.

"I'm sorry, baby. When Mia heard Leo passed out, she had a massive panic attack. She almost shifted in the street. I had to hold her and use my Alpha pheromones to force her wolf to calm down. That's why I smell like her."

He sounded so honest, so guilty.

"Luna..." Mia cried softly. "I was so worried about Leo. Thank the Goddess Arthur was helping me pick out Leo's birthday gift and caught me in time."

It was the perfect excuse. Protecting a fragile Omega was an Alpha's instinct.

But looking at Arthur's loving, concerned face, I felt sick to my stomach.

"Let me go," I said, fighting off a shiver, gently pushing him away.

Arthur let go, looking worried. "What's wrong? You look pale."

"I... I'm just overwhelmed. I'm in shock," I said, forcing my restless wolf to calm down. "I'm glad you guys are here. Pack duties wore me out today. I want to go home and rest."

Arthur didn't suspect a thing. He touched my cheek, his eyes full of adoration.

"Okay, go home. I'll handle things here with Mia. You've been working too hard for this family. Don't exhaust yourself."

I nodded and walked out.

But as I passed the nurse's station, I quickly bent down and grabbed the bloody cotton swab they had just used on Leo out of the trash.

Then, I snatched the paper water cup Mia had left on a chair.

I didn't go back to the packhouse.

I slammed on the gas, drove straight out of Silver Moon territory, and headed to the Lycan Council Medical Center in the neutral zone.

"Rush this DNA test. Keep it off the pack records."

I slid the samples and a stack of cash to the lab tech.

Sitting in the freezing waiting room, my mind was a mess.

I kept telling myself I was overthinking it. It had to be a clinic mistake. Arthur loved me. He always looked at me with so much love. He even cried when he saw the pain I was in during the egg retrievals. How could he betray me?

My phone buzzed. It was Arthur.

"Serena, you aren't home?" His voice was as gentle as ever. "The guards said they didn't see your car. I'm worried."

I took a deep breath.

"There was an emergency at the southern mines. I just got here," I lied, keeping my voice steady. "I left in a hurry."

"You always push yourself too hard, carrying the whole world on your shoulders," Arthur sighed fondly. "Be safe. Come home early. I've got Leo."

He hung up.

Flawless. Nothing but a caring, perfect mate.

"Ms. Serena? Your results."

The nurse handed me a sealed envelope.

I took it, my fingers shaking violently. I ripped it open, skipping all the medical jargon, my eyes dropping straight to the conclusion at the bottom.

Tears smashed onto the thin paper without warning.

Leo and Mia are biological mother and son.

My entire world shattered.

I went through three egg retrievals! I watched my embryos get cultivated!

If Leo was Mia's biological son, where did my embryos go?

Was this whole "surrogacy" a lie from the very beginning?!

I was shaking so hard my lungs burned.

If this was true... if they had betrayed me all along...

I had been played for an absolute fool by the man I loved, raising their bastard pup for a whole year!