CHAPTER ONE.

MARCH, 15, 2019.

THE CRESCENT PACK HOUSE.

In the moderately decorated living room, two adults, a man, and a woman, were seated on the double seater couch, while another, obviously their daughter, was head bent; kneeling on the floor.

"Are you ready to speak now, Claude?" The man asked her.

"Father, I'm not guilty. You know I wouldn't do-"

She was about to continue when a resounding slap landed on her cheek.

Dumbfounded, she raised her misty eyes and fixated them on her parents.

They were Alpha Michael and Luna Silver. Both governed the affairs of the Crescent pack, and the girl who was kneeling in front of them was their only daughter; Claude.

"Mother, wouldn't you speak to him?" The devastated girl turned to her mother, who also turned her face away.

Sobbing, she got up slowly and threw a hateful look at the both of them.

"Father, mother," she began.

"Don't call me that, Claude. I can't give birth to a slut like you!" Alpha Michael thundered at her.

His words made his daughter halt in her tracks. She swayed slowly and massaged her temples.

"So, you will choose to believe another, over your own daughter? Calling me a slut even. Just great, dear parents." She turned to leave.

"You wouldn't walk out on me, Claude. Stop right there!" Alpha Michael sprang up from his chair.

"Is there any reason why I shouldn't?" Her voice was cracked and her vision of him was blurry to her.

She staggered out of the room without another word and headed to her own room.

She bolted the door, and fell on her bed, as her tears poured out in torrents.

"Where did things go wrong?" Her sobs stopped after a while, and she sat up on her bed.

Her mind wandered to the cause of the drama between herself and her parents.

Denver.

She was mated to Alpha Denver Rocke, the Alpha of the Blood Moon pack, a very powerful pack in the werewolf kingdom.

All had been well, especially for her parents who valued reputation over their own daughter.

They saw the opportunity as an avenue to strengthen their foothold in the werewolf world.

However, a few months ago, her mate started behaving in a funny manner.

Denver wasn't a stranger to her. In fact, they had been friends for years. Childhood playmates.

And throughout all their years of friendship, he had never raised his voice at her.

He had always spoken in a calm and gentle manner.

However, a year ago, he accused her of cheating on him, with a human; Jace; their high schoolmate. All efforts to make him see reason had proven futile, to a point where she began wondering if he was under a spell.

He captured her, against her wish, and took her to his pack, where he imprisoned her in an underground basement.

He even told her parents that she was a cheap slut, and her parents saw no reason why the Alpha of such a powerful pack would cook up such a story.

They believed his story and promptly disowned her.

She turned and looked at the clock, as the thought of her own parents disowning her stabbed into her heart like a thousand needles.

The tears resumed their spills down her cheeks.

The clock continued ticking. Denver would be there anytime soon.

The door pushed open, distracting her thoughts.

She raised her head, and her gaze landed on a lithe, familiar figure.

"Victoria," Her voice was cracked as her shoulders drooped in a sad motion.

Her best friend hurried over to her, and draped her arms over her shoulders, in an attempt to console her.

"What happened? I thought you were in the Blood Moon pack?" Victoria whispered.

"I was, I am rather. My parents begged Denver to allow me to come over for their interrogation as they put it." Claude closed her eyes.

She felt ashamed as she spoke to her friend.

Victoria in turn sighed sympathetically. "I'm sorry about what is happening. I wish there was any way I could help." She sighed again.

Claude turned and flashed a grateful smile at her childhood mate.

Victoria was the daughter of an Omega of their pack, and throwing away the difference between the both of them, Claude had agreed to become her best friend, even against Denver's objection.

Her mother, Luna Silver ignored their friendship after Claude had ignored her several warnings.

Victoria patted her head again and got up calmly.

"I have to tend to the chores I was doing. I hope you scale this phase." Victoria whispered.

"A phase? I wish. Denver literally labeled a lethal accusation against me, and the painful part was the fact that my parents swallowed them, without hesitation." Claude turned her gaze away and fixated them on her window.

But then, she didn't notice the smirk which crossed her friend's face. However, it wiped off as quickly as it came, almost as an illusion.

"Don't you think there is something you can do?" Victoria sat back on the chair.

"Something? I wish there was a way. I've racked my brain, to the point of migraine." Claude sighed.

"Listen to me then, the cause of all these is your pregnancy, right?" Victoria questioned, nervously.

"Yes, and the fact that we bumped into Jace a year back, at that shopping mall," Claude explained the obvious.

"He has a thing on you, which would have been acceptable if you didn't have a mate." Victoria shook her head.

"But, come to think of it, the both of us were the only ones at the shopping mall that day. How then did Denver know about it?" Claude turned and asked her friend.

Victoria fidgeted nervously, which Claude didn't notice.

"Well, maybe he sent someone to tail after us. Forget about it." Claude waved her hands dismissively, earning an inward sigh from Victoria.

She was about to say another word, when the door pushed itself open, in a rough manner.

Both ladies raised their heads up, and their eyes automatically widened when they saw who the intruder was.