Chapter 2

Mia and I stood in the entryway like rogues trespassing on someone else's land.

Hearing the noise, Gideon's hand stopped.

He stood up, looking guilty, and walked over to take my bag.

"The security system at Vivian's apartment broke." He avoided my eyes. His voice was stiff. "I couldn't find a totally safe place right away, so I’m letting them stay here for a few days."

Stay here?

I stared coldly at the maids rushing up and down the stairs.

They were packing up my and Mia's clothes, violently shoving them into cheap cardboard boxes, and dragging them toward the dark, damp storage room at the end of the hall.

Vivian put down her wine glass and sighed.

But the smugness in her eyes was spilling over.

She was wearing my nightgown.

And she reeked of him—a scent heavily steeped in his Alpha pheromones that belonged to me.

"Cora, I'm so sorry. My constitution has been so delicate since losing my mate. The doctor said I need a room with the best sunlight and a sunroom. I have to ask you to give up the master bedroom."

Before I could speak, a harsh ripping sound came from the second floor.

Toby ran out of Mia's room. He was clutching Mia's most precious First Gen wolf bone carving.

"What a piece of junk!" he laughed. He smashed the fragile, totem-carved bone onto the marble floor. It shattered into dust.

"My ancestral totem!" Mia cried out. She ignored her weakness and lunged forward, desperately scooping up the bone dust with her bare hands.

Because of her defect, she couldn't shift. That carving was her only link to the wolf spirit world!

Gideon's face dropped. He rushed over to help Mia up, his eyes full of pity. "Mia, don't use your hands, you'll get cut! Daddy will buy you a new one..."

"Fine," I cut him off, my voice totally calm. I held my hand out directly to him.

Gideon froze. "What?"

"They can stay." I looked him dead in the eye, saying every word clearly. "But the rent stays the same. Plus, the turf fee for taking the master bedroom and this villa, and my daughter's emotional damage. That's extra."

The hall went dead silent.

Vivian's eyes widened in shock.

Then she shrank behind Gideon, acting like a victim. "Gideon, how could Cora treat us like..."

Gideon's guilt instantly turned into pure, blind rage. He grabbed my handbag off the console table and smashed it onto the floor.

"Cora, have you lost your mind?!" he roared.

His massive Alpha pressure literally shook the house. "Do you have any dignity left as a Luna?!"

I sneered internally.

He let another woman claim my bedroom. Did he leave me any dignity?

"I only care about cash." I met his furious glare without flinching. "You want them to stay, pay up."

"Good! Very good!"

Gideon laughed out of pure anger. He pulled a black card from his coat and whipped it hard at my face.

"Ten million!" he gritted out, his eyes full of disgust. "Take it! Just go spend the rest of your life with your money!"

He grabbed Vivian and Toby by the arm and stormed out, the door slamming shut behind them like a gunshot.

The house fell into a deathly silence. I stood there. My cheek burned with a sharp, stinging pain.

"Mommy... don't be sad..."

Mia's tiny body pressed against mine. She wiped my face with trembling hands. I realized then that he had thrown the card so hard it sliced my lip open.

I closed my eyes and held my daughter tight. The last bit of warmth in my eyes froze completely.

"Mommy's not sad. Once the surgery is done, Mia will wake her wolf and live a healthy life."

My daughter, who once couldn't sleep without her Alpha daddy's tales of wolf legends, drifted off in my arms with tears on her face.

I looked at her knitted brows.

My wolf whimpered in sorrow.

Everything changed after Vivian's Beta mate died protecting Gideon.

Gideon was terrified Vivian would be too sad, so he soothed her with his Alpha scent every night.

Gideon worried Toby would get bullied by other Pack pups for having no dad, so he never missed a single hunting practice.

Time and time again, he abandoned us.

His fated mate. His own flesh and blood.

The day Mia first collapsed from a fever, he was on a private island with them, ignoring my frantic calls for help.

I had to beg a retired pack doctor to come stabilize her.

It was clear now.

This man hadn't been worthy of the title 'Mate' for a long, long time.

I took a deep breath and packed our bags.

I picked up my sleeping daughter and left this broken home without looking back.

We settled into a new place for a week. Gideon never called.

Vivian somehow got my new number.

She sent me a dozen photos. Sun, beach, yachts.

Vivian in a bikini, leaning into Gideon's chest.

Toby riding a jet ski in the shallows of a private island.

Then came a voice memo designed to provoke.

"Cora, so sorry. The Alpha insisted on bringing us to the island to relax. This moonstone pendant is just so heavy, it's really annoying to wear in the water."

The old me would have rushed over and torn everything apart. But now, I just replied lightly, "Good for you."

Vivian's chat showed 'typing' for a long time, but no new message came.

I picked up my coffee, ready to check Mia's surgery list for next month. Just when I thought I finally had peace, ten million hit my account.

The moment I read the memo, my blood ran cold!