Chapter 2

Alison’s POV 

Reid’s beta, Ethan, reported that a large crowd of reporters had gathered outside. Was Reid going to go ahead with his plan right now?  

“It’s good that Ms. Britta is here already. As your future Luna, it’s good that our pack gets to know her.”  

Ethan looked at me with a hint of contempt. As the second-in-command of Reid’s team, he had long hoped that Reid would find a wife with more power and influence. 

Reid nodded, signalling Ethan to get everything ready.  

“Make sure everything is ready for tonight. Check the lighting in the Grand Hall and tell the Omegas to run all final details with Britta. Tonight has to be perfect. Our engagement will be broadcast, and I want all the most influential families to attend.” 

He was going to propose to Britta in public. I grabbed myself hard from the corner table, but I did not flinch.  

“Should we send an invitation to the Alpha King, Reid?” Britta suggested it sweetly. Reid paused thoughtfully, and a soft, crooked smile formed on his lips. 

“He wouldn’t bother to come, but once I make it to the cabinet, we will be regulars at his banquets and balls. Great things are coming for us, and it’s all thanks to you, Britta.” He looked at her with a tenderness he had not shown me in a while.  

He then left, barking orders to Ethan as he maneuvered with his cell phone, no doubt sending a copy of the divorce agreement to his lawyer.  

Britta looked at me, her mask falling, giving me a derisive smile. Reid was still a few feet away from us on a call. Britta stepped closer and whispered in my ear with glee.  

“Dear Alison, you would have never been able to stand by Reid’s side as openly as I am. How long were you planning to wait until he decided to introduce you to everyone as his Luna?” She giggled. “That title now belongs to me, and you, his lowly fated mate, are nothing but his mistress.”  

I was about to retort, but Reid approached at that moment. I was not going to give her the satisfaction of seeing me hurt.   

“Britta, sweetheart. Everything is ready for the press interview.” 

Reid took Britta’s hand and walked up to the press to give an interview. Later, he would propose to her in front of everyone. 

I sat in the solitaire living room watching the interview. They were practically finishing each other's sentences. They had known each other longer than I did.  

 “Yes, Britta is my fated mate. It came as a surprise to both of us as well.” Reid chuckled as he interlaced fingers with her and lied with a straight face to the camera.  

“We have known each other for so long that everything else just fell into place,” Britta added charmingly.  

The netizens sent well wishes to the happy couple and were already calling them the people’s sweethearts.  

From the balcony that night, I watched as my mate of three years promised himself to another woman in front of all the city elites. On a bended knee, he gave Britta the Luna’s ancestral ring, the same one he promised to me one day when he declared me his Luna publicly. That day came, but his Luna was not me.  

Britta openly kissed Reid on the lips, sealing the proposal, and Reid did not refuse the kiss. He pressed her firmly against his chest as if she was his everything.  

I turned away, unable to keep watching. I drank the champagne flute that one of the Omegas had given me to cheer for their Alpha and Luna. It was time for me to leave; there was nothing left for me here.  

I started packing the little belongings I had. I tossed the photo album I had filled with our pictures in the chimney’s fire.  We looked so happy together in those photos. How would I have thought that Reid had never been happy with me, at least not completely?  

Reid had never publicly acknowledged our relationship. The only one who knew that we were fated mates was Ethan, and he was more determined to take that knowledge to the grave than Reid.  

I will not entertain their charade any longer. I finished packing my things and closed my suitcase with finality. I looked around before I closed the door behind. Three years of my life fit in a single suitcase. Only now did I realize how foolish I had been. 

Just as I stepped into the hallway, I heard Britta’s careless laughter. Reid’s grave chuckle made my stomach drop. I was hoping to leave without his knowledge. He had an arm around Britta as Britta put a hand on his chest; they were the picture of a romance novel in that moment. 

Reid dropped his arms as soon as he saw me. He looked embarrassed, but then his expression turned to panic when he noticed my suitcase. 

“Alison, where are you going with that suitcase?” He almost pushed Britta away, crossing the distance between us and grabbing my wrist to prevent me from walking away. 

I looked at his hand coldly as I scoffed. “Alpha Reid, please unhand me.” I sneered. 

“Alison, what is the meaning of this? I’m your husband...” 

“Did you forget that we are no longer married? Wherever I go is no longer your concern.” I said, pulling my hand away. Britta’s smile only grew unbeknownst to Reid.  

“For fucks sake, Alison. Not now!!” He snarled, throwing his hands in the air as if he was dealing with an unruly child.  

“How many times do I need to explain that this is a sham marriage? A contract marriage, Alison! What on earth are you throwing a fit about?”  

“Was that kiss just for show, too, dear ex-husband?” I asked sarcastically. 

Reid got all awkward trying to explain and did badly at it.  

“It was just for show. It didn’t mean anything. We didn’t plan it, but we have to look like a real couple; there will be occasional kisses, but just for the cameras.” 

Britta, linking her arm through Reid’s, talked to him sweetly.  

“Let her move out for a few days, Reid. At least until after our wedding ceremony and your campaign kicks in. If the media finds out there was another woman living in the Alpha house, they could start speculating, and if this reaches my father’s ears, I can guarantee that he will not continue to help you with your campaign.”  

“But she is my mate. My wolf needs her...” Reid's eyes widened. He was cornered. On one side was his dream to become a cabinet member, and on the other side was his mate. Reid, choose wisely.  

“Reid, I insist. It will be best for Alison to move out.” Britta said firmly.  

“Alison, love. This will only be temporary. I will arrange with Ethan the best accommodation in the city for you. You will see, once everything is over, it will all be as before.” He rambled orders to Ethan, who was never far from his side. 

“Furnish the penthouse in midtown to my mate’s taste. I make you fully responsible for that. If you screwed and Alison complains, I will deduct your monthly payment.” 

“Understood, Alpha,” Ethan replied politely, although he looked at me with distaste.  

“I will have the bank issue you a black card, and you can go shopping every time you feel unhappy. Will that be good, love?” Britta opened her mouth, but said nothing, seeing how Reid was desperately trying to coerce me into complying with his demands.  

Reid made me sick to my stomach; Acting like the devoted husband with another woman in his arms. 

“You’re forgetting one thing,” I reminded him. 

“What is that, my love? Anything you want, just...” 

“I, Alison Lockwood, reject you, Reid Brooks, Alpha of the Red Moon Pack, as my mate.” 

Britta’s eyes flickered upon hearing my surname but recovered immediately. Of course, she wouldn’t dream I would have a connection to the Lockwoods she knew about. To her, I was no one, impossible.  

“No!” Reid panicked; he certainly hadn’t intended to reject me. He wanted to have his cake and eat it. He wanted to keep us both, his mate and his trophy wife.  

Reid clutched my arm tightly, making me wince.  

“Alison, why are you doing this?!” He growled. I had never seen him like this, so out of character. I was slipping through his hands; the plan he had concocted failed dramatically, and for the first time things were out of his control.