Chapter 1

My father’s gaze locked onto the pack mating contract in my hand.

On the line marked Bride, I had written——Amelia Ashford.

For a moment he simply stared.Then he lunged forward to snatch it away.

I lifted the contract over my head before he could reach it.

His expression darkened instantly.

“You’re not thinking of backing out, are you?”

I shrugged.

“Ten million dollars.”

He stared at me as if lightning had struck him.

“Have you lost your mind?!”

I let out a quiet laugh.

“A bastard daughter marrying into the Ironcrest Pack… becoming an Alpha’s Luna.”

“That kind of opportunity for only ten million dollars.”

“Sounds like a bargain to me.”

His face turned an ugly.

“You’re bargaining with your own father. Have you no shame?”

“You’re free to refuse,” I said with a mocking smile.

“After all, you’re the father who dumped me in an orphanage for ten years and only brought me home for a political mating alliance.”

I pinched the edge of the contract.

Then I tore a small slit in the paper.

“Three.”

“Two.”

“One.”

“FINE!”

He practically roared the word.

“If your mother could see how greedy you’ve become, she’d die of shame!”

I met his furious stare.

“A man who betrayed his own mate doesn’t get to judge how I live my life.”

His jaw clenched so hard.

A few seconds later, my phone chimed.

Transfer received: 5,000,000 USD.

“The remaining five million will be transferred to you on the day of the marking ceremony,” he said impatiently.

“Deal.”

I nodded in satisfaction.

He snatched the document from my hands like a starving wolf grabbing meat.

I turned to leave.

“Wait,The Luna’s crown. Hand it over.”

I picked up a velvet box from the table and passed it to him.

“Amelia suits that title far better than you,” he sneered.

“You’re wild, rude, completely lacking in pack manners.”

“The Ironcrest Pack will prefer her.”

He shot me one last look of disdain, clutching the contract and the crown, and hurried out of the room.

Silence returned.

Then suddenly my eyes burned.Tears slipped down my cheeks before I could stop them.

A father paying ten million dollars to buy a mating contract from his own daughter—just so his bastard child could marry an Alpha.

How poetic.

The glass of the floor-to-ceiling window reflected my image.

Green curls.Blue eyes framed by heavy smoky makeup.

A leopard-print skirt and a thin black camisole.

Reckless. Untamed. Completely unfit for a perfect Luna.

For the first time—I didn’t have to pretend anymore.

This time, I would never love Gabriel Steele again.

I had already submitted my pack withdrawal request.Once the Ironcrest Pack confirmed Amelia as the new bride…

I would leave.

From that moment on—I belonged only to myself.

I was young.I was rich.

Why would I trap myself inside the suffocating rules of the Ironcrest Pack, becoming a perfectly obedient Luna for a man who had never loved me?

Half an hour later,I walked into the most notorious underground wolf casino in the city.

Chips clattered against the tables.

The air was thick with whiskey, cigar smoke, and the mingled scent of wolves.

Exactly the kind of place a “perfect Luna” would never be caught dead in.

I walked up to the central table and tossed a thick stack of cash onto the felt.

“Exchange this for chips.”

“And send your most handsome attendant to keep me company.”

The casino manager’s face changed the moment he saw me.

“Miss Ashford?!”

He practically ran over.

“We can’t serve you here.”

“Everyone in the city knows you’re about to marry Gabriel Steele, Alpha of the Ironcrest Pack.”

“His pack rules forbid the Luna from entering places like this. If he finds out you were here, my casino is finished!”

“I gave the marriage alliance to my dear half-sister,” I said lightly.

“The Ironcrest Pack’s rules don’t apply to me anymore.”

The manager froze.

“You… gave up the alliance?”

Several gamblers nearby turned to stare.

“Miss Ashford doesn’t love the Alpha anymore?”

“Yesterday she personally gave him a wolfsilver pocket watch.”

“And didn’t she promise to dye that green hair back to a proper color?”

Low laughter spread through the casino.

“Everyone in the Northern Territories knows how obsessed she is with Steele.”

“So many Alpha heirs chased her. She rejected every one of them.”

“Then she met Gabriel at that banquet and declared—”The man mimicked my voice mockingly.“Only an Alpha like him is worthy of me.”

I laughed along with them.

That was the woman I used to be. Now? The only person I love is myself.

I swirled the liquor in my glass and downed it in one gulp.

The burn made my eyes water.

But the thought of freedom made my heart soar.

That’s when I noticed him.

A young wolf attendant.

Black hair.Broad shoulders.A body sculpted like a statue.

I reached out and hooked a finger under his chin.

“You’re the most handsome one here,” I said lazily.“You’ll do for tonight.”

His face flushed instantly.

And then—

A cold, lethal voice cut through the noise of the casino.

“Who did you just call handsome?”

“Him?”

The entire room went silent.

Slowly…

I turned around.