Chapter 1 Breaking the Contract

Evelyn's POV

Elder Marcus Reed stared at me, his face grim. "Evelyn, are you sure you want to dissolve your mate contract?"

I clenched my hands in my lap. Beneath them, on my thigh, the wound from a silver blade laced with wolfsbane still throbbed.

It reminded me that leaving Liam was the right choice.

"Yes," I said softly, meeting Marcus's eyes. "I can't keep being a Luna nobody in the pack knows about, stuck beside a mate who doesn't love me."

Marcus gave a scornful laugh, as if he'd seen this coming. "This should've happened a long time ago. You're an Omega who showed up here on the run. Becoming the Alpha's contract mate was already more mercy than the Moon Goddess owed you."

I was used to Marcus's sneers by now. After all, I was nobody. I was 15 when I first saw Liam, the heir to the Frostridge Pack. He was so dazzling that I couldn't help falling for him.

I'd always thought I'd take this crush to my grave. I never expected to land a job as Liam's assistant after college, much less become his wife by contract.

Everything had gone so smoothly that I could overlook how cold and dismissive Liam had been for three years, treating me only as his assistant and the mate he kept hidden in the bedroom.

A week ago, when I got the test results from the hospital and confirmed I was pregnant with twins, I almost cried.

For three years, I'd been so careful. Every time we slept together, I cleaned up right away and took the pill, because the contract forbade pregnancy.

But now I had babies of my own, two little ones growing inside me.

I cried in the parking lot of the pack hospital, gripping the report. I couldn't tell if it was fear or joy.

Would it be a boy and a girl? Would the girl have my looks? Would the boy be as remarkable as his father? Would Liam be happy?

I took a deep breath, pulled myself out of the tangle of feelings, and went to Liam's office to tell him about the babies.

The elevator reached his floor, and I stopped outside his office. He hadn't shut the door all the way, and my sharp hearing picked up his voice as he spoke to his Beta, Henry.

"Lily's really back?"

That was Henry's voice. At the sound of Lily's name, my fingers tightened around my purse. She was my half sister. She had a pretty face and the one thing I'd always envied: our father's love.

"We met last night," Liam said.

Henry laughed. "Evelyn's going to be upset now. Three years as your secret Luna, and now the girl you never got over is back. The only way I can think of for her to win this one is to get pregnant with your kid right away."

Liam's voice went cold. "She won't get pregnant."

"Fine." Henry changed the subject. "I bet you had a great time last night. Lily's a very passionate girl, after all."

Last night?

I stood frozen. And what had my night been like? I'd been mugged on the way home. The attacker seemed to be after my wedding ring. I sprained my ankle. The silver blade in his hand cut my thigh, and it wouldn't stop bleeding.

I finally managed to call Liam, but he never picked up.

It took every bit of calm I had just to get away. When I got home, I bandaged my wounds alone in the empty estate, and that was when Liam came back.

He reeked of alcohol. His eyes went to my wounds, but before he could say anything, I asked him what he'd been doing when I called.

Liam just said, "Busy."

And I'd believed him. I thought Liam had spent the night entertaining the pack's business partners, but in reality... he'd been on a cozy date with Lily.

Henry kept cracking crude jokes. When Liam didn't answer, he laughed. "Okay, okay, dumb question. Boring Evelyn's got nothing on Lily."

I stood there, humiliated. The tears came no matter what I did, and I had to bite down hard on my lip to keep from making a sound.

This marriage was just a deal. Liam had made that very clear before I signed. He wanted us to be nothing more than business partners, but I couldn't do it. I'd loved him before he even knew me. Back then, I'd been naive enough to think that maybe someday, he'd love me too.

But I was wrong. Three years were enough to prove how stupid I'd been.

I couldn't take it anymore. Liam would never love me, and he'd never let me keep these twins. If not for my own sake, then for my babies', I had to leave.

"The dissolution will take effect in five days. Then your bond with Liam will be gone for good." Marcus's haughty voice pulled me out of my memories.

I lowered my eyes and laid my hand over my flat belly. "All right. Thank you."

Just five more days, and my babies and I would be free of him.