Chapter 1: what a cruel joke

Valeria’s POV 

"Happy fifth anniversary to us," I whispered to the cold, empty air, staring at the melting candles on the table.

My heart had done a little flip earlier that evening when a servant handed me the folded note, telling me Alpha Lucien had requested my presence at the private gardens—a beautifully decorated spot on the outer edge of the Sovereign Conclave Pack house.

I had walked in to find soft rose petals scattered along the stone path and warm candlelight flickering in the breeze. 

After years of cold shoulders, distant looks, and empty promises, I foolishly thought this was the turning point. I thought Lucien was finally ready to treat me like his real wife and Luna.

So, I sat down. And I waited.

One hour passed. Then two. Then three.

The night air grew chilly, biting at my skin, but I stayed in that chair, staring at the flames until they flickered out one by one. The silence surrounding me felt heavier with every passing minute.

I finally stood up, my legs stiff, wiping away a stray tear that managed to escape. I needed to know what happened. Just as I was about to call a servant and ask where my husband was, fast footsteps hurried toward me.

It was one of Lucien’s personal aides. He stopped in front of me, breathing heavily, but he wouldn't look me in the eye.

"Luna Valeria," he said, bowing his head slightly.

"Where is Lucien?" my voice trembled, despite my best efforts to keep it steady. 

"The Alpha... he won't be coming to spend the evening with you, my lady," the aide muttered, scratching the back of his neck nervously. "An urgent matter came up. It required his immediate presence."

My heart sank straight to the bottom of my stomach. "An urgent matter? Did something bad happen?"

"I don’t know, Luna. He just left in a hurry," the aide replied calmly. "I'm sorry."

He turned and walked away, leaving me standing alone in the dark.

I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to stop the dull ache growing in my chest. What could possibly be so important that he forgot our fifth anniversary? Pack business? I tried so hard to make excuses for him. I wanted to believe he had a good reason. I needed to believe it.

I slowly made my way out of the private gardens, dragging my feet along the paved walkway. But as I rounded the corner near the main garage, the sound of low, muffled voices caught my attention. Two Betas were standing near the pillars, smoking and laughing.

"Man, you should have seen it," one of the Betas said, shaking his head with a grin. "Alpha Lucien was actually on his way to the gardens when she blocked him."

"No way," the other Beta chuckled. "He was really heading to see his wife?"

"Yeah! But then she stepped right in front of his car, grabbed him by the jacket, and begged him to ride for her group tonight in the Moon Drive. And you know what the Alpha did?"

"What?"

"He didn't even hesitate! He threw his keys to the valet, hopped on the bike, and sped off with her holding onto his waist." Both of them burst into fits of laughter.

Every word felt like a sharp dagger driving straight into my heart.

The Moon Drive.

I staggered back, my head spinning as the bitter truth slammed into me. Lucien had left me on our anniversary... for the Moon Drive competition.

My mind raced back to two years ago. I remembered crying in front of Lucien, begging him on my knees to race in the Moon Drive. 

My best friend was dying in a hospital bed, and her family couldn't afford the surgery. The prize money from the Moon Drive was the exact amount we needed to save her life.

I could still hear Lucien's harsh, cold voice echoing in my memory from that night.

"The Moon Drive is beneath me, Valeria," he had sneered at me, throwing his paperwork onto his desk. "It's a dirty, low-class event for rogue trash and street scum. An Alpha of my status does not step foot on those tracks. And I strictly forbid you from ever bringing it up again!"

"Please, Lucien!" I had sobbed, clutching his sleeve. 

"Enough of this nonsense." he had growled, shoving my hand away. 

He had forbidden me. He had judged it. He had called it trash and let my friend suffer until a charity group stepped in.

And now? The moment another woman begged him... the moment she asked him to ride in that exact same "low-class" event... he dropped everything. He dropped his pride, his rules, his pack duties, and his own wife. Without a single second of hesitation.

Tears blurred my vision, but a hot, furious fire began to burn beneath the pain.

I didn't head back to my empty room. I got into my car and drove like crazy, pressing the gas pedal all the way to the floor until I reached the loud, flashing lights of the Moon Drive arena.

The roar of the engines and the screaming crowd hit me the second I stepped out. I pushed my way through the thick mob of people, my eyes searching wildly until I saw the main stage.

Lucien was standing up there under the bright spotlights.

He was holding a trophy over his head, sweat glistening on his neck, his face flushed with triumph. The crowd was going wild, chanting his name over and over again.

He stepped up to the microphone, wiping his brow with the back of his hand, an arrogant smile on his face.

"Thank you. Thank you everyone.” Lucien's voice boomed over the giant speakers, drowning out the noise of the crowd. "Winning tonight... it wasn't just about the trophy. It was about showing everyone who really owns these tracks.” 

The crowd cheered loudly.

"But I couldn't have done this alone," Lucien continued, his eyes scanning the arena. "I owe this victory to someone very special. To the woman who coached me, who stayed up with me, who believed in my skill when no one else in the world did. The woman who made me the racer I am today."

My heart skipped a beat.

A memory flashed through my mind—of the freezing cold nights at the old academy garage years ago. 

Back when his father refused to let him touch a bike and banned him from getting tutors. I was the one who sat in the dirt with him. I was the one who coached him endlessly until he perfected every single move. I couldn’t ride due to a traumatic event I had, but I could tutor someone else perfectly. 

I looked up at him on that stage, a soft, pathetic ray of hope blossoming in my chest.

He remembers, I thought to myself, tears spilling down my cheeks. 

I smoothed down my dress with trembling hands and took a small step forward, ready to hear my name.

"Please give a round of applause..." Lucien shouted into the mic, his face lighting up with a soft, affectionate smile I hadn't seen in five years. "...for the love of my life, Jessica!"

The crowd erupted into deafening screams.

Jessica stepped out from backstage, wearing a tight leather jacket, her long hair blowing in the wind. 

She strutted right up to my husband, wrapping her arms around his waist. Lucien didn't pull back. He wrapped his arm tightly around her waist, leaned down, and kissed her passionately right in front of thousands of people. Right in front of the entire pack.

"Jessica is the best coach in the northern packs!" a man nearby screamed, throwing his hands in the air.

I stood completely still in the middle of the cheering crowd.

The world around me lost all its color. The noise turned into a painful buzzing in my ears.

Five years of my life. Five years of hiding in his shadow, cooking his meals, fixing his mistakes, begging for an ounce of his affection, and sacrificing my own dreams just so he could shine.

He didn't just break my heart tonight. He shattered it into a million bloody pieces and stomped on it.

A deadly pain washed over my body as I watched my husband kiss another woman on our anniversary.