One

Chapter One

Kira’s POV

I was pregnant.

I stared at the pregnancy test in my hand, unable to stop the smile spreading across my face.

I was going to be a mother.

Nikolai and I were finally going to have a child.

For five years, I had been his wife. For five years, I had hoped that one day, he would look at me and love me the way I loved him. Maybe this baby would bring us closer. Maybe things would finally change between us.

I placed a hand on my stomach, even though there was nothing to feel yet.

“Your daddy is going to be so happy to meet you,” I whispered.

I couldn’t wait to tell Nikolai, but I wanted to share the news with someone first.

Bella, my sister, had always been there for me. She was the person I ran to whenever I was sad, the person I shared my secrets with, and the one who had comforted me whenever I cried over my marriage.

I picked up my bag and hurried out.

Today, I would tell her that I was pregnant.

Perhaps she would even help me plan a special way to tell Nikolai.

I arrived at her house a short while later and stepped out of the car, still smiling.

Then I heard a little voice.

“Daddy!”

I stopped.

Ellie, my sister’s four-year-old daughter, called out excitedly.

Daddy?

Who was she calling daddy?

I remembered Bella had returned from her trip with a baby, and I had never known she was pregnant. She simply told me that the child’s father had abandoned them and refused to take responsibility.

I had comforted her. I had promised to always be there for her and Ellie.

Had Ellie’s father finally come back?

I shook my head, pushing the thought aside. Perhaps Bella had met someone new. That would be wonderful for her.

I walked toward the open door.

“Daddy, you came!” Ellie squealed.

“Yes, sweetheart.”

I froze. I knew that voice. I knew it so well that I could recognize it even in my sleep.

My heart began to pound as I stepped into the living room, and then I saw him.

Nikolai, my husband, the Alpha of our pack, was sitting on the couch with Ellie on his lap.

His shirt was unbuttoned, and his hair was messy. Bella stood beside him, smiling as she ran her fingers through his hair.

For a moment, I couldn’t breathe.

I stared at them, waiting for someone to explain what I was seeing.

Why was my husband in my sister’s house?

Why was he dressed like that?

And why was her daughter sitting on his lap, calling him Daddy?

I forced myself to take a step forward.

“Ellie,” I called, my voice shaking. “Who is your daddy?”

The little girl turned to look at me.

She smiled innocently and pointed at Nikolai.

“He is my daddy!”

My ears began to ring. I didn’t want to think much about it. Kids can be so funny, especially when they like someone.

He looked at me.

There was no surprise on his face. No guilt. Not even the slightest attempt to hide what he was doing.

He simply stared at me as if I were an unexpected visitor.

“What are you doing here?” I asked again.

My eyes moved to his unbuttoned shirt before returning to his face.

“And why aren’t you wearing your shirt properly? This is my sister’s house!”

Bella suddenly laughed.

The sound made my stomach twist.

“Oh, Kira.” She shook her head. “You really had to find out this way?”

I turned toward her.

“What do you mean?”

She folded her arms and leaned against the couch.

“Since you’ve already seen us, there’s no point pretending anymore. Let’s be direct.”

I stared at her, confused.

“Bella, what are you talking about?”

She smiled.

“Nikolai is my man, Kira. He has always been mine.”

The room became strangely quiet.

I looked at Nikolai, then back at my sister.

“No.”

The word escaped my lips before I could stop it.

“No, that’s not true.”

Bella rolled her eyes.

“You really think an Alpha would willingly marry you? An adopted girl with no wolf? Please.”

My heart sank.

“Bella…”

“I let you have him because he was your fated mate, and I didn’t want people laughing at you for being rejected by your own mate. I thought I was doing you a favor.”

She paused, then smiled at Nikolai.

“But I’m tired of hiding now that you’ve caught us.”

My legs felt weak. I had known Bella since childhood. We had shared a home, meals, secrets, and so many memories. She was the person I trusted most after Nikolai, and now she was standing before me, telling me that my husband belonged to her.

I turned to him.

“Tell her she’s lying.”

Nikolai said nothing.

“Please,” I whispered, taking a step toward him. “Look at me and tell me this is a lie.”

He finally spoke.

“It’s not a lie, Kira.”

My chest tightened.

“I don’t understand. You’re my husband.”

“And I never denied that.”

He said it so calmly that I almost wished he would shout at me instead.

“How can you do this to me?” My voice cracked. “How can you stand here with my sister and tell me this as if it means nothing?”

Nikolai’s expression remained cold.

“You should be grateful to Bella. I wouldn’t have accepted you if she hadn’t begged me to.”

I stared at him. The words sank into my heart one by one, each one hurting more than the last.

Begged him?

I remembered the day we became mates. I remembered how I had cried tears of happiness because I thought the boy I had loved for years had finally chosen me.

I had believed that even if he didn’t love me at first, he would learn to love me eventually.

I had been wrong.

“You married me because Bella begged you?” I asked.

“Yes.”

One word. That was all it took to destroy five years of hope.

Bella laughed again.

“Don’t look so shocked, Kira. Nikolai and I were together long before your mating ceremony. I was the one who told him to accept you.”

My eyes widened.

“Before our mating ceremony?”

“Of course. And Ellie, she’s our daughter. Ours, me and him.”

She picked Ellie up and kissed her cheek.

“Nikolai has always been her father. He has always been here for us.”

I stared at the little girl, four years old.

For four years, Bella had been raising a child with my husband while I was trying to build a marriage with him.

For four years, I had trusted her, and for five years, I had slept beside a man who had never truly wanted me.

My hand slowly moved to my stomach.

The pregnancy test was still inside my bag.

I had come here with the happiest news of my life, hoping to share it with my sister before telling my husband.

Now, I couldn’t even bring myself to say the words.

What was I supposed to tell him?

That I was carrying his child?

Would he even care?

Would he look at me and see the woman he had married, or would he only see another burden he had been forced to accept?

Tears blurred my vision.

I quickly wiped them away. I wouldn’t cry in front of them, not like this, not when they were looking at me as if I were a fool.

I lifted my head and looked directly at Nikolai.

“I want a divorce.”

Bella’s smile widened.

Nikolai, however, slowly stood up.

For a moment, I thought he might finally take me seriously.

Then he looked down at me with cold eyes.

“A divorce?”

“Yes.”

“You don’t decide that, Kira.”

My fingers curled into my palms.

“What?”

“I am the Alpha of this pack. I decide what happens in the pack, and of course, our marriage. I decide when it ends.”

I stared at the man I had loved since I was a little girl.