LOGINAubrey Castile is the "stray" of the BloodMoon Beta family, living in the shadows of her cruel half sister, Eileen. After a devastating betrayal, Aubrey spends one wild, nameless night with a powerful stranger—only to wake up pregnant with a forbidden heir. She’s ready to run away to protect her pup, but her plans shatter at her sister's engagement party. The groom is Travis Thorne, the coldest Alpha in the north—and the man from her one-night stand. In front of the entire pack, Travis rejects Eileen and points to the girl in the shadows. "I’m not marrying her. I’m taking Aubrey, because she’s carrying my child." Now, the unwanted daughter is the Alpha’s Mate. But in a world of pack wars and family secrets, can she survive being the woman he chose?
View MoreI stared at my boyfriend, my vision blurring as tears streamed down my face, refusing to stop no matter how hard I blinked. My chest ached, tight and burning, as reality finally settled in. I couldn’t believe he had done this to me. Not just as my partner, but as the future Alpha of the BloodMoon Pack. The man who was supposed to lead with honor. The man who had sworn himself to me.
“Since when?” My voice cracked as I shoved my hands against his chest, anger and heartbreak colliding. “Tell me how long you’ve been playing me for a fool!”
My wolf screamed inside me, clawing at my ribs, trapped in silent agony. “I ignored the whispers in the pack house. I shut my ears to the rumors because I trusted you. I defended you!” My breath hitched. “But the omegas were right all along.”
The pain felt physical, like a crushing weight pressing down on my lungs. I thought he loved me. I believed in our bond. I had no idea he had been desecrating it for months. If I hadn’t decided to surprise him at his private wing in the pack estate today, I never would have walked into this filth.
He scoffed, eyes cold and unrepentant. “You’re so boring and childish, Aubrey. You can’t give me what a man, what an Alpha, needs. Can you really blame me for seeking heat elsewhere?”
My knees weakened, his words slicing through me like silver blades straight to the heart.
Before I could stop myself, my hand connected with his face. The sharp sound echoed through the high-ceilinged room. The woman on the bed, half-hidden beneath silk sheets, flinched and shrank back. She looked terrified, as she should be. If shock hadn’t frozen me in place, I would have shifted right then and there, dragged her off that bed, and painted the marble floors with her fear.
“You said you were willing to wait until our mating ceremony,” I whispered, my voice trembling with disgust. “You promised me. Where are those promises now, Rave?”
Everything clicked into place. His growing distance. The way his eyes slid past me during pack meetings. It all started that night I found him drunk here at the estate, hands roaming, trying to force something I wasn’t ready to give. When I told him I wanted to wait. For marriage. For the Moon Goddess’s blessing. He had snapped then, anger flashing across his face before he masked it. I truly believed he respected my choice.
I was wrong.
I wiped my tears away roughly, my Beta blood simmering with rage, humiliation, and shame. “Right,” I said bitterly. “It’s my fault. It’s always my fault, isn’t it? The perfect Beta’s daughter just isn’t enough for the great Alpha heir.”
I didn’t wait for a response. I turned on my heel and walked out, leaving them both behind in that room filled with lies.
I called for a car and sank into the backseat, staring blankly at the passing trees that marked the edges of our territory. Outside, life went on. Families laughed in the town square. Pups chased one another through the parks. It all felt distant, like I was watching it from another world.
I felt like a ghost.
Even in my own home, I had always been an outsider. My father, the current Beta, and my brother, the Beta-in-waiting, saw me as nothing more than a political piece. Something to be traded, married off, used. They showed more warmth to strangers than they ever did to me.
When the car stopped at a bar near the neutral zone, I stepped out without caring how I looked. I wore a simple dress and cheap shoes. No designer labels. No symbols of rank. Just me.
Inside, the smell of cedar, stale beer, and sweat washed over me. The place was loud and crowded, but I welcomed the noise. I pushed my way to the bar and slapped my hand on the counter.
“Hardest thing you’ve got.”
The bartender hesitated, his gaze sharpening as he sensed the strength in my blood despite my disheveled state.
“I’m over twenty-one,” I snapped. “And I’m a Beta’s daughter. I can handle it. Just pour.”
He nodded and slid the glass over. I downed it in one swallow, the burn tearing down my throat, dulling the ache in my chest.
“Another.”
Ten shots later, the world tilted and spun, but I welcomed the numbness. That was when a man took the stool beside me. Even through my blurred vision, I felt his presence. Heavy. Dark. Predatory.
I turned to him, pointing a shaky finger at his chest. “Tell me...” I slurred. “Is there something wrong with me? Am I really that unlovable that everyone in this pack treats me like garbage?”
Fresh tears spilled over as I weakly hit his shoulder. “Tell me! So I can fix it! So they’ll stop leaving me!”
He didn’t interrupt. Didn’t look away. His eyes stayed on me, dark and intense, as if he was actually listening. Not to my rank. Not to my name. Just to me.
“I was top of my class,” I laughed bitterly. “Valedictorian. And my parents didn’t even show up. They were too busy training my brother.” My voice broke. “They hate me. Why is it so unfair?”
I collapsed forward, burying my face in my arms on the counter, sobbing. Unwanted. Unmated. Alone.
When I finally lifted my head, he was still there.
I tried to stand, but the room tilted violently. Strong arms caught me before I could fall. The contact sent a jolt through my body. His touch was nothing like Rave’s. It felt steady. Dangerous. Real.
I looked up into his eyes. They weren’t just dark. They were ancient. Cold and captivating.
My gaze dropped to his lips, my thoughts clouded by grief and alcohol. I leaned in and pressed my mouth to his.
When we pulled apart, the air between us felt charged, heavy with something unfamiliar.
“Can you,” I whispered, my voice barely holding together, “make me happy tonight? Bed me, please?”
I didn’t wait for his answer. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him again, desperate and reckless.
“You asked for this, little wolf,” he growled against my lips, his voice low and dangerous. “You don’t get to run away tomorrow.”
That night, I didn’t go back to the estate.
I went with him.
I felt a wave of dizziness as the results were announced, my vision blurring for a moment as the words sank in. When Fred spoke, everything finally clicked into place. He had tampered with the results. He had used his Beta influence within the Thorne Pack hospital to protect our family name, just as he always did when things were about to spiral out of control.What I couldn’t wrap my head around was the fact that we were in Travis’s territory. Everyone here lived in fear of him. One wrong move and you were done. So how did Fred have connections in a place like this? And how was he able to slip a fake test through without anyone catching on?"See, Dad?" Fred said, his voice calm and convincing, as if this were nothing more than a business discussion. "It’s as Aubrey said. Travis isn't the father. We can't force this on her.""That doesn’t mean she’s off the hook," my father snapped, his eyes sharp and unyielding. "She still has to present the real father to us."Without waiting for a
My father’s ultimatum left me hollow. It felt like the ground had vanished beneath my feet, leaving me trapped in a nightmare I could not wake from. I couldn't marry Travis. Eileen and her mother would make my life hell if I stole the man she’d spent years chasing. But I couldn't terminate the pregnancy either. This child was the only piece of real happiness I had left, the only thing that still felt mine."Dad... there’s no need for this. Travis isn't the father. We’ve... never even met before today. Please, just believe me. Fred... please," I begged, my voice breaking as I looked between them.My father’s gaze remained stony, unreadable. But I caught a flicker of pity in Fred’s eyes. He stepped forward and pulled me into a tight embrace, his grip firm as if trying to hold me together."Shh, don't cry, Aubrey. We have to do this to end the scandal," Fred whispered. "If you refuse the lineage test, the pack will assume Travis is telling the truth and you're just hiding it for Eileen's
The world went silent around me. My knees turned to water as I stared at the man whose dark eyes were locked onto mine with a terrifying intensity. It felt as if the floor beneath my feet could give way at any moment.What was he doing? How could he drop a bombshell like that in front of my entire family?Every gaze in the room was a weapon. My father’s disbelief, my brother’s shock, and Eileen. Her eyes were twin pools of pure, murderous rage, fixed entirely on me. My heart hammered against my ribs so hard I could barely breathe, each beat echoing with dread."What?! How is this even possible?" my brother Fred roared. Out of everyone, he was the one I feared disappointing the most. He was the future Beta, the one who held the family’s honor together. Seeing his faith in me crack hurt more than the accusations.Eileen, still clutching a jagged piece of the broken vase, stopped sobbing. Her face contorted as she turned toward me. "Aubrey, is this true?!" she demanded. There was a flick
I could see the triumph in Eileen’s eyes all night. It shone in the way she smiled too wide, in how she lifted her chin whenever someone congratulated her. This was her dream. Marrying into one of the wealthiest Alpha lineages in the country. To her, the money and the status were the real prizes. The fact that Travis was devastatingly handsome was just a bonus she liked to show off.I stood up and excused myself, heading toward the buffet. I could not stand the conversation at our table anymore. Every word revolved around mergers, territory assets, offshore accounts, and power plays that felt heavy and suffocating. It made my skin crawl.“Eileen never mentioned her sister was this stunning.”I turned and saw William standing there with an easy smile. I returned it awkwardly as he slid into the seat beside me. If I remembered correctly, he was Travis’s cousin. I had felt his gaze on me throughout the ceremony, lingering longer than necessary, but I had brushed it off as my imagination.
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