Chapter one

Chiara's POV

“…10,000,000 euros! Going once! Going twice! La Collana della Regina, sold—to Re Alfa Luciano De Luca himself. Congratulations!”

At the announcement, everyone’s disbelieving and shocked gazes turned toward me—his neglected Luna.

My heart began to race. In truth, I could hardly believe it more than anyone else. Could it be that he remembered today was our anniversario di matrimonio…?

Luciano, my husband and the greatest Re Alfa of Branco Nottefallo, rose from his seat at the front of the grand Teatro Aurelio and walked toward the stage.

He had short, dark curls and strikingly handsome features. Even with his perpetually cold expression, he remained the most admired man in the entire branco.

I softly pressed a hand to my chest. I used to believe he had forgotten how much that necklace meant to me…

Because I was his neglected, stay-at-home Luna.

I am Luciano’s second-chance mate, his Luna…

A Luna with the past of an orphan.

“Look at what she’s wearing tonight… She doesn’t even deserve that necklace.”

“I heard Luciano’s first mate, Silvia Romano, is here tonight too. Maybe the necklace is for her…”

“But Silvia is only an ex-mate. Isn’t Luciano married? It’s called La Collana della Regina!”

I heard someone whisper quietly.

Everyone looked down on our marriage—that much was clear. Who would believe that an orphan like me deserved to stand beside the Re Alfa?

Over the years, I had endured countless insults like these. Still, my gaze remained fixed on Luciano—the man I loved.

I could endure it.

My relationship with Luciano had been strained for a long time. For my love for him, I gave up everything I had been and everything I dreamed of, becoming his stay-at-home spouse, as tradition demanded of the Alfa King’s wife. Yet the harder I tried to please him, the farther away he seemed to drift.

A “first mate,” also called a “fated mate,” shared a bond far deeper than that of a second-chance mate. I had always known this.

But love gave me the courage to endure it all.

And now, it felt like hope had finally arrived. My heart pounded faster with every breath.

On the stage, the master of ceremonies presented the prize Luciano had won—a delicate pearl necklace I had admired since the beginning of the charity auction. It was eerily similar to the one my mother had once longed for when she was still alive.

The necklace had begun with an outrageous starting bid, climbing to impossible heights. But for the Re Alfa, no price was too high—and today was our wedding anniversary.

Maybe… just maybe… this year, he wanted to celebrate it.

With the necklace in his hand, Luciano turned to face the room, his cool blue gaze sweeping across the audience.

Then—

He began walking toward me.

I rose to my feet at once, eager and trembling, my heart leaping straight into my throat with anticipation.

Luciano began walking down the aisle. Row after row, my heart thundered so loudly I could barely hear my own thoughts. When he reached the row where I stood waiting, I froze completely. I didn’t even breathe.

He stepped into the row, drawing closer—his gaze fixed slightly beyond me.

Then he was beside me.

“Luciano,” I whispered.

But he walked past me, as though I didn’t exist at all.

He kept going.

Toward someone else.

Not me.

Two seats down stood his ex-mate—Silvia Romano.

“Turn around,” Luciano said calmly.

When she did, he lifted the necklace and carefully draped it around her neck, fastening the clasp behind her. His hands lingered on her shoulders as he said softly, “Congratulations on your new beginning.”

Silvia laughed lightly as she turned toward him. “I didn’t expect you to believe the gossip magazines.”

Her smile matched her elegant black gown perfectly. She was born noble—graceful, admired, dignified. A flawless lady of society. And most importantly… she was his fated mate.

Even though they never married, they had shared a love affair.

The necklace was never meant for me.

It was for her.

“Were they wrong?” Luciano asked quietly.

“No,” she replied. “I officially announced my divorce this morning.”

The noble werewolves nearby, sensing a moment worthy of celebration, began to clap politely. The applause grew louder, swelling into cheers.

Reporters and photographers rushed closer, camera flashes bursting like fireworks—straight into my eyes.

I stumbled backward, slipping out of my row and into the aisle. Luciano didn’t notice. His hand now rested comfortably on Silvia’s lower back. Smiling, she leaned closer into him.

The cameras caught everything.

So did I.

Heat rushed to my face as humiliation burned through me. I turned and hurried down the aisle until I reached the wall, pressing myself against it, grateful for the shadow where I could hide.

But not for long.

Silvia’s eyes found me immediately. The moment the attention drifted back to the auction, she stepped away from Luciano and approached me.

Her smile was radiant.

“Chiara, why are you hiding here in the corner?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “You look sad. Did you want the necklace? Here—it should be yours anyway.”

She reached up, unclasped the necklace, and held it out toward me.

She had always taken the spotlight from me. Naturally, I disliked her. Seeing her act this way now, I wondered if I had judged her too harshly.

Maybe she truly was kind.

But the instant I reached out—

Silvia cried out and threw herself backward as if I had shoved her.

“Chiara!” she screamed.

Her heel twisted beneath her, and she fell hard to the floor. The necklace slipped from her grasp. The string snagged, snapped—and pearls scattered across the marble floor of the auditorium.

The room fell into complete silence.

Everyone stared.

“Chiara! How could you?!” Silvia cried from the floor. “I knew you were jealous of me, but to behave like this—here, in front of everyone!”

“I didn’t—” I tried to speak.

The crowd’s eyes darkened with anger. They were already against me.

“Why would you push me?”

So it had all been an act.

I had been right to doubt her from the beginning—and now I was paying for lowering my guard.

Reporters and photographers surged forward again, flashes exploding around us. This scandal would be splashed across every gossip magazine by morning. Bright, vivid, unavoidable.

And here I was—with no way to prove my innocence.

Luciano pushed through the crowd, moving toward us. For a brief moment, our eyes met—and hope surged painfully inside my chest.

Our marriage hadn’t been perfect, but I was still his wife.

Surely… surely he would choose me.

Please believe me, I begged silently. Please. It’s our wedding anniversary.

Luciano’s face remained cold and unreadable. Still, I hoped. I believed.

Right up until he stopped, knelt beside Silvia, and helped her to her feet. He wrapped an arm around her as she pressed her hands to his chest, leaning into his shoulder—hiding her triumphant smile from everyone else.

Everyone except me.

“Chiara,” Luciano snapped.

“Yes, husband?” I forced myself into the posture of a devoted, obedient Luna, clinging to my last fragile hope.

Please, Luciano… please.

“Apologize to Silvia.”

The hope in my chest shattered instantly, sinking back into despair.

“But—Luciano, I—”

“Apologize.”

I recognized that tone. He would not repeat himself.

“Now,” Luciano said coldly.

To me.