Chapter 1

My Alpha fiancé Kieran used to be just another warrior from the Northern Territories. With my help as his Beta, he won the Alpha position of Shadowmoon Pack.While he publicly accused me of cheating and attributed all the credit to someone else.

As Beta, I handled all diplomatic affairs with other packs. Under my leadership and decision-making, Shadowmoon Pack absorbed neighboring packs, nearly doubling our territory. This qualified Kieran to compete for the Alpha King position.

The night before the territory expansion ceremony, Alpha Kieran couldn't wait to gather the pack's core members for a celebration feast. He publicly announced that his Omega secretary, Ivy, had contributed the most to the pack's territorial expansion. He invited Ivy to the stage to give a speech.

Ivy solemnly read out every core member's name, thanking them for their efforts and allocating hunting territories and resources to each of them. Everyone except me.

When I approached her to ask about this oversight, she shoved me aside. "Know your place, slut!"

I stared at her, confused. "What do you mean?"

She sneered and slammed an expulsion order from Shadowmoon Pack against my face. "You traitorous bitch who consorts with foreign packs! You have no right to any spoils of war. Get out before you dirty our sight!"

With her gesture, the screen displayed a series of photos showing me meeting with Alphas from other packs.

The final revelation was tonight's resource allocation list. All core members received shares based on their contributions. I got nothing. I was being expelled from Shadowmoon Pack.

As a core member of the werewolf alliance, being expelled from your pack without another pack accepting you meant losing territory and hunting grounds. You'd become a rogue wolf.

I clenched my fists and looked up at Kieran in the distance. "Are you really going to expel me? After everything I've done for this pack? You know I'm loyal to the pack, loyal to you."

On the screen, photos continued scrolling—images of me alongside different Alpha males, entering upscale venues.

In the photos, I walked shoulder-to-shoulder with these men, raised glasses with them. One photo even showed a man's arm around my waist as we entered a hotel.

Hearing my question, Kieran pulled his gaze from the screen and looked at me coldly, saying nothing.

"Are you certain, Kieran?"

I asked again.

All eyes turned to him, filled with pity and sympathy.

Ignoring the other pack members' stares, he slowly approached me. Looking down at me from his towering height, his voice was ice-cold:

"Aria, what right do you have to remain in Shadowmoon Pack? Pack members fight and bleed for territory. But you? How did you get yours? Every inch of our land, every piece of prey was earned through everyone's effort. Everyone except you!"

"Am I lacking in money or love that you need to humiliate me this way?"

"As my fiancée, as Shadowmoon Pack's future Luna, you don't care for pack members or tend to my needs. You're always out there showing your face, wanting to sleep around with these men!"

He suddenly pulled out a stack of photos from his pocket and hurled them at my face.

The sharp edges of the photos cut across my cheek as they scattered to the ground.

A sharp pain shot through me. I raised my hand and felt something wet and warm. Three days ago, I had taken a silver arrow laced with wolfsbane meant for Kieran. The poison hadn't been fully purged, so my wolf couldn't heal the wound quickly.

But Kieran didn't care about my bleeding cut. His voice grew harsher as he questioned me:

"The pack's territorial expansion is glorious. I'm about to qualify for the Alpha King competition. At this crucial moment, I absolutely cannot allow scum like you to exist, even if you are my fiancée!"

Looking at the cold, noble man before me, I assumed he was just misunderstanding because of the photos. I patiently explained:

"Kieran, if others don't trust me, can't you? Don't forget that Ghostclaw Pack's territory was secured through my negotiations. My value comes from my own efforts, not from those photos!"

"Your own efforts?"

Ivy suddenly interrupted, her voice dripping with mockery:

"You? Your bedroom skills? We've all heard about it. You're always secretly meeting with wolves from other packs. Who knows if those alliance agreements were signed in exchange for your body? It's spread throughout the Northern Territories. Last week during border negotiations, you spent the entire night in the former Ghostclaw Pack Alpha's tent. Who knows what you two did!"

Laughter erupted around us. Someone whispered:

"Exactly. Who knows how many wolves she slept with to achieve those successes? We used to admire her so much, even tried to learn from her!"

When the wall falls, everyone pushes. I never expected pack members I had decent relationships with would kick me when I was down.

I gritted my teeth, trying to stay calm:

"Those photos don't prove anything. My interactions with them were normal diplomatic relations!"

"Normal bedroom diplomacy?"

"Then explain this photo!"

Ivy picked up the photo of me being embraced by a man entering the hotel.

"This is a high-definition video screenshot. Should I play the full video for everyone to see?"

I stared at that photo and suddenly smiled with relief.

The man in the photo was my biological father.

Three months ago, to secure a cooperation agreement with Duskwalker Pack, I traveled alone through Shadow Forest to negotiate in their territory. On my way back, I was attacked by rogue wolves in Shadow Forest and was badly injured.

I called Kieran over a dozen times, but he hung up every time. Finally, I used our mindlink to call for help, but he blocked our communication, claiming he was too busy with pack business. Before he cut the connection, I clearly heard a woman's moaning on his end.

I had no choice but to call my father, who was visiting the Northern Territories.

He rescued me just in time from a pack of bloodthirsty rogues.

Who would have thought that my father bringing me to a hotel to rest and calling a healer to treat my wounds would be photographed by someone with ulterior motives.

No wonder Kieran's attitude toward me had been so strange since that night—hot and cold.

He certainly had patience. He waited until I secured cooperation agreements with other packs and used my brother's influence to absorb neighboring pack territories, expanding Shadowmoon Pack's power, before erupting tonight.