Chapter 2

"Your real family?" I repeated the words slowly. I felt like the entire room was spinning out of control.

I looked past Julian's broad shoulders and stared directly at Scarlett. She rested her hands on her swollen stomach and smiled a very small and mocking smile at me. The pack members stood in absolute silence. They watched the drama unfold with eager and curious eyes. They were not my friends. They had always hated me because I was a wolfless woman sitting in the Luna position.

"Julian please tell me this is a terrible joke," I begged him with tears spilling down my face. "I called you from the hospital two hours ago. I called your office. We lost the baby. Our baby is gone."

"I know you lost the baby," Julian stated coldly. He did not flinch. His green eyes were completely empty of any emotion. "Dr. Lewis called my private line while you were filling out the discharge paperwork. He told me the pregnancy failed."

"You knew?" I gasped loudly and clutched my chest. The pain was far worse than the miscarriage. "You knew I was sitting in that sterile room completely alone and you did not come for me? You stayed here to drink champagne?"

Julian let out a heavy sigh and adjusted his expensive silk tie. He looked at me like I was a highly annoying business problem he needed to solve.

"Do not make a dramatic scene in front of my important guests Sienna," Julian ordered strictly. "It is a terrible tragedy that you miscarried. But it is also a very clear sign from the Moon Goddess. You are a defective omega. Your body is simply not strong enough to carry an Alpha heir. I cannot waste any more years waiting for a miracle that will never happen."

"You are blaming me for losing our child?" I screamed at him. My voice echoed loudly off the high glass windows of the penthouse.

"I am stating a simple medical fact," Julian replied smoothly. He reached his hand behind his back. Scarlett walked gracefully across the marble floor and stood directly beside him. Julian wrapped his arm around her shoulders proudly. "Scarlett is a purebred wolf. She is strong and healthy. And more importantly she is my true fated mate."

The words hit me like a physical punch to the throat.

"Your fated mate?" I shook my head in total denial. "You told me you did not have a fated mate. You told me the Moon Goddess skipped you. You promised me you only wanted me."

"I lied," Julian admitted without a single ounce of shame. "I found Scarlett over a year ago at a corporate gala. The mate bond snapped into place the exact second our eyes met. I wanted to claim her immediately."

"Then why did you stay with me for another year?" I demanded fiercely. Anger finally began to replace the crushing grief in my heart. "Why did you let me take those painful fertility injections? Why did you let me believe we were building a family?"

Scarlett laughed a soft and musical laugh. She looked at me with fake sympathy in her bright blue eyes.

"Julian is a very practical businessman," Scarlett explained smoothly. "He wanted to make absolutely sure my pregnancy was viable and healthy before he caused a public scandal. He kept you around as a convenient backup plan just in case I could not produce a male heir. But the doctors confirmed I am carrying a strong boy. We do not need your defective body anymore."

The cruel calculation behind their actions was completely terrifying. My husband treated my life and my womb like a risky stock investment. He kept me on a shelf while he built a secret life with another woman.

"You used me," I whispered with absolute disgust. "I paid your rent when you had nothing. I supported you when every single investor laughed in your face. I built you into the man you are today."

"You were a temporary stepping stone Sienna," Julian said harshly. He reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a folded white envelope. He threw it directly at my chest. The envelope hit my wet coat and fell to the floor. "Those are the official divorce papers. My lawyers filed them this morning. I am taking full ownership of the Vanguard Corporation and this penthouse. I transferred a small severance package into your personal account to help you relocate."

I looked down at the white envelope on the floor. I felt completely sick to my stomach.

"I will not sign anything," I said firmly and raised my chin to look him in the eyes. "I will hire a lawyer. I will tell the press exactly what kind of monster you really are. I will ruin your public image right before your company goes public."

Julian's handsome face darkened with pure fury. His inner Alpha flared aggressively. The dominating energy pushed against me and made my knees tremble but I refused to look away.

"If you try to fight me I will crush you into dust," Julian threatened in a low and dangerous growl. "You have no money and no power. You are a wolfless nobody. I froze our joint bank accounts three hours ago. If you speak to a single reporter I will make sure you never find a job in this city again. I will leave you starving on the streets."

He snapped his fingers loudly in the air.

Four massive pack security guards stepped out from the hallway. They wore dark suits and earpieces. They looked incredibly intimidating and highly trained.

"Escort my former wife out of the building," Julian commanded the guards without looking at me again. He turned his attention back to Scarlett and kissed her blonde hair. "Throw her luggage in the alley and make sure she never steps foot in the Vanguard lobby again."

"Do not touch me," I yelled fiercely as the guards marched toward me.

Two of the massive guards grabbed my arms. Their heavy hands bruised my skin instantly. They pulled me backward with brutal force. I kicked my legs and fought them with everything I had. But my body was incredibly weak from the hospital procedure and the deep emotional trauma. I was completely helpless against their werewolf strength.

"You are going to regret this Julian," I screamed as they dragged me toward the private elevator. "You are going to pay for every single thing you did to me tonight."

The pack members laughed and whispered cruel insults as I was pulled away from the party. The elevator doors slammed shut and cut off my view of my husband smiling with his pregnant mistress. The heavy metal box dropped down to the ground floor very quickly.

The guards dragged me through the dark loading dock at the back of the building. They pushed open the heavy metal door and threw me out onto the concrete pavement. I hit the ground hard and scraped my palms against the rough stone. A heavy black suitcase was thrown out right behind me. It hit my shoulder painfully.

"Do not come back here," the head guard warned me harshly.

The metal door slammed shut and locked from the inside with a loud click.

I was completely alone in the freezing alleyway.

The rain was pouring down in heavy sheets. I pulled my knees tightly to my chest and wrapped my wet coat around my shivering body. I had absolutely nothing left. My husband was gone. My baby was gone. My home and my money were completely gone. I was entirely destitute and broken.

I sat on the wet concrete and cried until my throat burned and my lungs ached. I wanted the cold rain to wash me away completely. I wanted to disappear into the dark pavement.

Suddenly a pair of shiny black leather shoes stopped directly in front of me. A large black umbrella shielded my body from the freezing rain.

I looked up slowly.

A sleek and massive black Maybach was parked at the end of the alleyway. The engine purred quietly in the dark.

"You look absolutely pathetic crying over a man who never loved you."

The voice was deep and smooth. It did not hold a single ounce of warmth or pity. It sounded like cold and hard steel.