CHAPTER 1

The night I was supposed to get engaged became the night my entire world fell apart.

I wasn’t supposed to walk in on Ethan, my fated mate, the man who promised me forever, bent over my best friend in his apartment. I wasn’t supposed to hear their shameless moans, the sound of their skin colliding, or the desperate way he groaned her name instead of mine.

For a moment, I couldn’t even breathe. My engagement dress slipped from my hand as if my body knew before my mind caught up. All those years of dreaming, of believing in the sacred bond the Moon Goddess herself had tied, went up in flames.

“Aria! Wait....” Ethan called out to me in shock, on the brink of his release, I guessed. His voice was breathless, and he didn’t even pull out of her. He released everything inside her.

That told me everything I needed to know about them.

I turned, rage and humiliation burning through my chest, but the tears betrayed me anyway. I wasn’t strong in that moment. I was broken, gutted, ripped apart in a way no rejection could match.

That was my best friend right there with my man. My mate. And he was moaning her name so shamelessly.

By the time I stumbled out into the city streets, the night was already buzzing. Neon lights blurred through my tears, and my heels clicked like knives against the pavement as I found the nearest bar.

Whiskey. Vodka. I didn’t care. I needed fire to drown this ache.

By the fourth drink, I didn’t even notice the man sliding into the seat across from me, until his presence made the air itself shift.

He didn’t belong here. Too sharp, too powerful, too untouchable. His suit looked like it cost more than Ethan’s car. His shoulders were broad, posture radiating command, and his face… gods, his face was carved perfection.

Steel-gray eyes pinned me like I was prey. One he wouldn't mind eating right away.

“You look like you’re celebrating the end of the world,” he said smoothly, signaling the bartender with a flick of his hand. His voice was deep velvet, laced with danger. One I should avoid.

“I might be,” I muttered, knocking back the rest of my glass.

The bartender brought us whiskey. Top shelf. The man didn’t even glance at the price. Like money was nothing to him.

“Drink with me,” he ordered. He didn't ask.

Maybe it was the alcohol. Maybe it was the void inside me. But I did.

One drink became two. His lips curved faintly as I muttered something bitter about love being a lie. He leaned closer, and the faint scent of his cologne hit me. Dark wood, smoke, and something primal that had my wolf stirring in my chest.

When I finally pushed back to leave, the room spun, and my heel caught on the edge of the stool.

I fell, straight into his chest.

Strong arms caught me, steady as steel. My torn dress slipped against his suit jacket, and when I looked up, his face was inches from mine.

The world stopped.

Sharp jaw. Sinful lips. Eyes that seemed to strip me bare in an instant.

My breath hitched, and my body betrayed me. Heat pooling low, my wolf clawing to get closer.

“Careful,” he murmured, voice so low it rumbled against me. “You might break.”

The tear in my dress widened as I shifted, cheeks flushing. He noticed. His gaze flicked down, lingering. My skin prickled with awareness.

“I—” I tried to pull away, but he didn’t let me. His hand slid down my arm, fingers brushing bare skin. It was like being branded.

“You need a new dress,” he said finally, and before I could protest, he was guiding me, commanding me towards a staircase guarded by men in black suits.

A few words to them, and we were inside a private suite.

Velvet curtains. Crystal glasses. A king-sized bed.

“This is… yours?” I whispered.

“Everything here is mine.” His eyes never left me. “Including tonight.”

Something inside me cracked. Maybe it was the betrayal still bleeding me out. Maybe it was the way he looked at me, not like Ethan ever did, but like I was already his.

“I don’t even know your name,” I whispered.

“Damian Storm,” he said, almost amused.

The name hit me like thunder. The Lycan Chairman. Ruthless multi-billionaire. The man whispered about in every pack. And worse, the notorious playboy who never touched the same woman twice.

And yet, he looked at me as if he wanted to devour me.

My chest rose and fell too fast. I should’ve left. I should’ve run. But instead, when he reached out and brushed a strand of hair from my face, I leaned into the touch.

“You don’t want me,” I whispered, though my voice shook.

His smirk was sin incarnate. “I decide what I want.”

And then he kissed me without my permission.

It wasn’t gentle.

It was fire. A claiming. His lips crushed mine, and my body lit up like dry tinder. My hands fisted in his suit jacket as he pressed me against the wall, his mouth demanding, tongue sweeping in, consuming me.

A moan slipped out before I could stop it.

His hands slid down, gripping my hips, grinding me against the hard length of him. Sparks exploded through me. My wolf whimpered, desperate, aroused.

“You taste like sin,” he growled against my lips, nipping at my lower one before capturing my mouth again.

I gasped when his hand slid under my torn dress, fingers grazing the sensitive skin of my thigh. My knees threatened to buckle, heat pooling between them.

Every touch was fire. Every movement screamed dominance.

His mouth left mine to trail down my neck, hot and wet, leaving marks only he could put there. My head fell back, breathless, as his teeth grazed the sensitive skin near my collarbone.

“Damian…” I breathed, trembling.

“You want this,” he rasped, his voice low, dangerous, certain. His hips ground against mine, and my body arched to meet him, shameless, needy.

I hated Ethan. I hated myself. But gods, I wanted this man.

“Yes,” I gasped.

The word broke him. His mouth crashed against mine again, bruising, devouring. His hands roamed, tugging at fabric, sliding higher, higher.

My body was on fire, ready to burn.

And then....

My phone rang.

The shrill sound cut through the haze. Damian growled in frustration, ripping his mouth from mine, eyes blazing as if he might kill whoever dared to interrupt this moment.

“Don’t,” he warned darkly, but I shoved at his chest with trembling hands, fumbling for my bag.

“Mom?” My voice shook as I answered.

Her voice came out frantic, terrified. “Aria....your father! The Gammas... they took him! They said he defied the Council. You need to come home. Now!”

The world tilted.

Damian’s hands were still on me, his breath hot against my ear. His eyes narrowed, watching me with dangerous intensity.

“You’re not leaving,” he said, voice like steel.

But my mother’s sobs echoed through the phone, and my heart froze.