Chapter 1

Three years ago, Drake Whitaker dumped me to curry favor with an elder on the Eastvale Region's High Council. He even marked the elder's daughter as his Luna.

But now, Drake had the nerve to ask me to be his mistress. He had no idea I was already the Luna of Alpha King Damien Caldwell.

In less than five minutes, Drake showed up in my garden. He vaulted the ten-foot wall effortlessly and sat down beneath my favorite oak tree like he owned the place.

"Aria, your temper hasn't changed," he said, lighting a cigar and exhaling a slow stream of smoke. "But I like that. You're strong. No one out there can push you around.

"Isabella's different. She's too soft. When the elders on the High Council set her up, she hides in the restroom to cry. If I didn't protect her, they'd tear her apart.

"Honestly, who wears the Luna title doesn't matter. You're my one true love. I'll treat you both fairly."

I kept working through the Ridgefield pack territory briefs without looking up.

"Drake, what makes you so sure I'd stand in line to be your mistress? Have you ever considered I might have found my true mate in the last three years?"

Drake let out a laugh, full of disbelief and disdain. "A mate? You? With who? Some alpha from a minor pack? Or did some old alpha take you in as his plaything?

"Come on, Aria. We grew up together. Everyone in Eastvale knows you've always liked me.

"And status matters. Ridgefield slipped from the top tier to third. Your father's trade routes were cut. Your mother's healing center is hemorrhaging cash. Which powerful pack would take you now?"

He stood and met my eyes through the window glass. "You're 25 years old. You've missed the prime bonding window. Keep waiting, and you'll be stuck with leftovers or alphas old enough to be your father. Better to accept reality."

I set the file down.

So that was all I was to him—a depreciating asset.

I remembered the summer five years ago when he stood at the pack gathering and announced, "Aria Bennett is my fated mate. I'll mark no one else."

I remembered him kneeling in front of my father and vowing, "Alpha Graham, I swear to the Moon Goddess, I will never fail Aria. If I do, may I lose my wolf."

However, three years ago, Isabella's father, Kenneth Hartman, called Drake. "I can give you the Silvermoon Coalition's full support, but only if you mark Isabella as your Luna."

Drake didn't even blink before agreeing.

When I confronted him, he hadn't apologized. "Isabella's a Crestmoor University graduate. She's competent and can help run the pack. And she's understanding. She knows about us and says she can accept you as my mistress.

"Babe, give me three years to stabilize the Coalition. Then, the three of us can live together like open-minded packs. Isn't that better for everyone?"

I let out a cold laugh and cut the mind-link between us.

At the time, Damien came to Ridgefield for a property deal. We met across a negotiating table. He pursued me for three months, marked me as his Luna, and we completed the mate bond.