Chapter 1

Lyra

The cramp in my right side hit me like a jagged blade, stealing the breath from my lungs.

I gripped the edge of the table, forcing my face to remain perfectly blank. A Luna did not show weakness. Especially not at her own sixth-anniversary gala.

Through the glittering crowd of the Croft pack’s elite, I watched my husband, Alpha Julian, step up to the grand stage. He looked flawless, his golden hair catching the light of the crystal chandeliers, practically glowing with vitality and strength.

Julian tapped the microphone and the grand hall instantly quieted down.

"My loyal pack," his deep, charismatic voice echoed through the speakers. He looked down at me, his green eyes devoid of any of his usual warmth, making my heart skip a beat. "Today marks six years since I took Lyra as my Luna. Yet as you all know, she hasn't been able to give me an heir. But a pack like ours requires a strong bloodline. A heir to take over when I'm no longer here."

My stomach plummeted at his words, the pain in my side suddenly feeling completely irrelevant.

"For six years, my Luna has proven barren," Julian continued, his voice echoing with fake sorrow.

A harsh whisper ripped through the crowd. Eyes turned to me, filled with pity and disgust.

"But the Moon Goddess is merciful," Julian declared, a triumphant smirk finally breaking through his facade. He gestured toward the curtains at the edge of the stage. "I will not leave my pack vulnerable. Therefore, I'll be taking a second wife who already has my son."

The curtains parted.

Vera Lin, Julian’s supposed 'assistant' of the last half decade, stepped onto the stage. She was wearing a stunning, diamond-encrusted silver gown, and holding her hand was a little boy with platinum blonde hair and Julian's exact green eyes.

The boy looked to be about six years old and the fact that Julian had actually called him his son made me rethink our whole marriage.

Today was our sixth anniversary. If the boy was six years old, it meant he'd been sleeping with this secretary of his from the very first year of our marriage.

The crowd erupted into murmurs, and then, sickeningly, applause.

"Alpha Julian is so merciful," a woman near me whispered loudly. "Any other Alpha would have banished a useless, barren orphan to the streets."

"Vera will make a beautiful Luna," another agreed.

"To still keep the barren Luna as his first wife, Alpha Julian must really love her."

Barren.

The word struck me like a blow to the chest.

I wasn't barren. I was just stupid enough to give up motherhood in exchange for my love. Stupid enough to give half my vitality to a man who was busy burying his cock in whatever shithole he sees. Stupid enough to think the last six years of our marriage had actually meant something. Five years ago, when Julian was poisoned by a rival pack, I had secretly donated my left kidney to save his life. I had bribed the doctors to falsify the medical records, letting his fragile Alpha ego believe his own wolf's rapid healing had cured him.

The sacrifice had ruined my health and I couldn't risk a pregnancy because my body was too weak to carry a pup; it would have killed me. As if that wasn't bad enough, a month ago, the doctor had informed me that my second kidney was now failing and I'd have to undergo surgery in under a month. Hell, I had to wear a suffocating, high-collared gowns to this party just to hide how much weight I was losing.

But I had borne the pain in silence. I had smiled anyway. I had given him my body, my health, my youth, and my future, all because I loved him.

Yet he had the fucking audacity to call me barren.

He had the nerve to give me this as a reward.

Julian looked down at me from the stage, probably waiting for my knees to buckle in joy that he was still keeping me. For me to happily accept my place as the discarded, pathetic first wife who would live in Vera’s shadow.

He's always been a sick bastard who liked being put on a pedestal. Too bad I was only seeing his true colours now.

The more I stared at this man I had traded my life for, the more the suffocating pain receded, leaving behind a strange, freezing calm. The gentle, self-sacrificing girl who had let people walk all over her died in that exact second. Something deep inside my chest snapped, leaving nothing but pure hatred.

I couldn't help it and smiled, a single tear coming along with it.

I released my grip on the table, smoothed down the front of my dress, and walked calmly up the short flight of stairs to the stage.

Julian’s smug expression faltered slightly as I approached him. He held out a hand, likely to offer some condescending gesture of comfort for the cameras.

I walked right past it and snatched the microphone from his grip.

"Since my wonderful husband is expanding our family, I have an announcement of my own."

I looked out over the sea of shocked faces and bypassed them entirely. My eyes locked onto the VIP section in the back corner of the room.

All night, I had felt a heavy, suffocating gaze burning into me from that exact spot. Sitting there was a massive, heavily-muscled man in a custom dark suit. He sat completely still, his long legs crossed, exuding a terrifying, dominant aura that made the Alphas around him look like frightened pups. His piercing ice-blue eyes hadn't left my chest all evening, staring intensely at what I supposed was my cleavage.

I didn't know who he was. I just knew he looked like he could snap Julian’s neck with two fingers.

"I will also be taking a second husband," I announced loudly.

I dropped the microphone, leaving it to hit the stage floor with a deafening screech that made the front row flinch.

Without looking back at Julian’s pale, horrified face, I turned on my heel and walked down the stage steps. The crowd parted for me in stunned silence as I marched straight toward the dark VIP corner.

The massive stranger didn't move as I approached, his intense eyes tracking my every step, flashing with something wild.

Deciding he deserved to be a pawn in my revenge just for staring at my chest all night, I didn't give him a chance to speak. I reached out, grabbed the lapels of his suit, pulled him up, and crashed my lips against his.