Chapter 1

Damian and I met at the Wolf Academy and became bound after graduation.

Back then, I was only a wolf-less Omega trying to survive. I had no inner wolf, no shift, and no bloodline anyone respected, so the academy was never kind to me.

I grew up with almost nothing. My parents were never part of my life, and the only person who ever truly cared for me was my grandmother.

But after she died, I was left with nowhere to go, and I started envying anyone who had a family waiting for them.

Because I had grown up without love, I became more and more dependent on Damian. At the academy, when other wolves mocked me for being an Omega without a wolf, he was the one who stepped in.

When people made things difficult for me, he shielded me. He was patient, attentive, and never looked down on my background.

I was too young to know the difference between being protected and being loved, so I treated his kindness like it was everything.

When he asked me to bond with him, he promised me a real home and a complete family. I was so happy that I agreed without hesitation.

But once our bond was announced, the Vale pack made their feelings known. They laughed behind my back, called me a stray Omega trying to climb above my station.

They insisted on a fertility examination before the bonding ceremony.

When the results came back, it turned out that Damian had congenital azoospermia. There would be no pup of his blood, and no cure. I loved him too much to let that truth destroy him, so I changed the result before anyone else saw it.

By the time the report reached the pack, the problem was no longer his.

It was mine.

I let everyone believe my body was the reason we could not have children.

I told myself it was worth it. I wanted to protect his pride, protect our future, and build a good life with him. I even convinced myself that as long as we loved each other, it did not matter if we could not have a pup of our own.

We could always adopt. That was how I thought. The rest of the pack did not think that way.

After the bonding ceremony, Catherine Vale began grinding me down in ways that looked small from the outside and unbearable from within.

She first insisted I leave my job. Not because she wanted me idle, but because, in her words, a proper Luna should be devoted to her pack, her Alpha, and the family that had taken her in. I was supposed to stay home, manage the estate, attend pack dinners, receive guests, look after Catherine, and focus on giving the Vale bloodline an heir.

I refused at first.

But Damian kept persuading me. He said I no longer needed to work. He said his mother was getting older and needed someone at home. He said the pack expected more from his mate than a salary and an office badge. He promised he would provide everything, and all I had to do was stand beside him and take care of the family.

I believed him, resigned, and stayed at the Vale estate.

What followed was endless humiliation.

Every morning, I was up before dawn to prepare breakfast, oversee the kitchen, sort the laundry, and make sure the main rooms were ready before Catherine came downstairs. If guests were coming, I had to arrange flowers, set the table, and stay on call the entire day. And even after all of that, she would always find something else to throw at me.

One afternoon, just as I was finally about to sit down, Catherine tossed a bundle of silk slips and stockings onto the sofa beside me.

It was not the first time.

I looked at her and said tiredly, “Those are your personal things. I’m not washing them for you.”

She was sitting there sending voice messages to the women she invited over for cards and gossip. At my words, she slowly lifted her head and looked at me with pure disgust.

“If I tell you to do something, then you do it. Since when did you start talking back?”

I refused.

I dropped the bundle in the laundry room and turned to leave. Behind me, her voice rose at once.

“So now you think you’re above this? Did this pack bring you in to be served? Look at yourself. A wolf-less Omega with no family, no wolf, no heir, and you still act like some noble Luna. Come back here right now, or I’ll have my son deal with you.”

I finally snapped.

“I came into this pack as Damian’s mate, not as your servant. If you want someone to wait on you, hire them.”

I went upstairs, shut the bedroom door, and cried on the bed.

Of course Catherine called Damian first.

When he came home, the first thing he did was pull me up and say, “Serena, apologize to my mother.”

Every single time, he chose her.

I wiped my tears and turned away. “Why should I apologize? She humiliates me every day, treats me like hired help, and you still expect me to bow my head?”

Catherine followed him in and sneered, “I told you not to claim her. It hasn’t even been that long, and she’s already trying to rule this house.”

Damian pushed her back toward the hall. “That’s enough, Mother. I’ll talk to her.”

Then he came back, handed me a tissue, and softened his tone.

“My mother is older. Her health isn’t great. You know how she is. Just let this one go and make peace with her.”

He knew I was soft-hearted. He knew I hated conflict. So every time, with a few gentle words, he got me to yield.

And every time I yielded, Catherine learned she could push harder.