Chapter 1

Freya's POV

“You’re a wretched little wolf from a wretched little pack. The worst mistake of my life… a mistake I’ll regret for the rest of my days.”

Those were the words my mate spat at me on our wedding night.

He had hated me ever since.

I met Alpha Leo Cowell of the Ironveil Pack three years ago at the coming-of-age summit ball.

My pack, Asheville, wasn’t even invited,

though my father was its Alpha.

We were weak, poor, and constantly targeted by stronger packs.

Still, I went. For once in my life, I wanted to feel like I belonged somewhere.

Leo was everything our pack

wasn’t.

He was the youngest Alpha present, richest, and easily the most handsome.

The entire ballroom seemed to orbit around him. I never imagined he’d notice me, let alone speak to me.

Yet somehow, he crossed the crowded floor and stopped in front of me.

“I haven’t been able to concentrate since you walked in,” he said quietly. “For a moment, I thought you were the Moon Goddess. My wolf has been going crazy because of you. Do me a favor… dance with me.”

I stared. “Alpha, I’m from Asheville. We’re not exactly—”

“Identity shouldn’t be the only way people judge others,” he interrupted, holding out his hand.

We danced all night. By the end, I had already fallen for him.

Less than a month later, he proposed.

Our mating ceremony became the largest the eastern territory had ever seen.

At the time, I believed the Moon Goddess had finally blessed me.

I could not have been more wrong.

Three years later, Leo still reminded me that marrying me was the greatest mistake of his life.

And he proved it in the cruelest way possible.

In three years of marriage, my mate had never touched me.

The pack never bothered hiding their contempt either.

“I bet our Luna has never seen a table set like this before.”

“Did you see her face when the caviar arrived? She didn’t even know which fork to use.”

Their laughter followed me everywhere until eventually I learned to pretend I did not hear it.

What I could never ignore was the fact that I still loved him.

Pathetic, I know.

Leo was cold and distant, and whenever he looked at me it was as if I were something unpleasant he had stepped on.

Yet a part of me still remembered the man who had crossed an entire ballroom just to ask me for a dance.

I kept telling myself that man still existed somewhere beneath all the anger.

But Leo only grew more distant.

First came the late nights at the packhouse office.

Then he stopped coming home for dinner.

Eventually, he stopped coming home altogether.

The first time I tried bringing him coffee, his Beta blocked the door.

“Alpha doesn’t want to be disturbed.”

“I’m his wife,” I said angrily.

“I follow orders. And Alpha was very clear. You are not allowed near the office.”

The worst moment came during our second year of marriage.

That night I dropped to my knees beside his chair, clutching his leg while tears blurred my vision.

“Leo, please. Tell me what I did wrong. Tell me what changed. I will fix it. I will do anything. I love you. I just want us to work.”

For a long moment he did not even look at me.

Finally he raised his eyes from the documents in his hands.

“Nothing changed.”

“That’s not true,” I whispered. “You barely even look at me anymore.”

Leo leaned back in his chair, already impatient.

“I’m busy.”

His gaze hardened.

“And you are starting to irritate me.”

Even then, I never stopped hoping.

I told myself he was just stressed from pack duties. Every night I prayed to the Moon Goddess, begging her to soften his heart.

Two weeks ago, it finally happened.

Leo came home drunk.

For the first time in three years, my mate touched me.

Now the result of that night rested in my trembling hands.

I was pregnant.

Maybe this was what our marriage had been missing.

People changed when they became parents.

Maybe this baby would finally make Leo look at me the way he once did.

Hope fluttered inside my chest as I slipped the test into my pocket and went downstairs to find him.

A guard stood outside Leo’s office.

When I asked where the Alpha was, he suddenly found the floor very interesting.

“Alpha gave orders that Miss Caroline is unwell and must not be disturbed,” he said carefully. “He’s at the guest villa with her.”

I did not need to ask who he meant.

Caroline Voss.

The daughter of Leo’s father’s Beta.

They had grown up together, and she had never hidden the fact that she believed the Luna title belonged to her.

The pack whispered about them constantly.

Once I tried asking Leo about it, hoping for reassurance.

Instead he dismissed it as gossip and told me to focus on becoming a better Luna.

After that, I stopped asking.

But tonight those whispers felt impossible to ignore.

Two guards blocked the entrance of the guest villa when I arrived.

My maid Sera stepped forward immediately.

“Stand down. This is Luna Freya. Let her through.”

The taller guard barely glanced at me.

“This villa answers to Miss Caroline.”

Sera stared at him in disbelief.

“She is your Luna.”

The guard smirked.

“The Alpha decides who matters. Right now, Miss Caroline is the one he cares about.”

Something inside me snapped.

“Open the gate,” I said coldly.

He did not move.

“Did you not hear me?” I shouted. “Open the gate.”

When he still refused, I released my Luna aura.

Every Luna carries authority granted by the pack bond and the Moon Goddess, and when that power is released weaker wolves cannot help but submit.

“GET. OUT. OF. MY. WAY”

Both guards collapsed to their knees.

I shoved the gate open and walked into the villa.

At the entrance I froze.

Two pairs of shoes sat by the door.

My heart pounded as I stepped further inside.

A framed photograph on the wall caught my attention.

Leo and Caroline stood on a beach somewhere, his arm draped around her shoulders as they laughed together.

I stared at the picture longer than I should have.

In three years of marriage, I had never once seen Leo smile like that with me.

A cold realization settled in my chest.

All those nights he claimed he needed time to think… he had been here with her.

Before I could stop myself, I pushed the living room door open.

Caroline was curled against Leo’s side on the sofa, her head resting comfortably on his shoulder while his arm was wrapped around her.

He was smiling.

The moment he saw me, the smile vanished.

“Freya,” he said flatly. “Why are you here?”

“You haven’t been home in five days,” I said. “I have been trying to reach you. I need to talk to you, Leo. It is important.”

“I told you I was busy,” he replied coldly. “We can talk another time.”

“You cannot give me five minutes?”

“Freya…”

“Five minutes, Leo. Please.”

He did not answer.

Instead he looked past me as if waiting for me to leave.

Caroline slowly stood and walked toward me, looking me up and down with a mocking smile.

“Can’t you take a hint?” she said. “He told you he is busy. Leo has been taking care of me because I am not feeling well, and you barging in here like this is honestly embarrassing.”

“I was not talking to you,” I said.

Her smile widened.

“No, but you should be.”

She stepped closer.

“Because I am about to tell you something that changes everything.”

Her eyes gleamed with satisfaction.

“I am pregnant,” she said slowly. “With Leo’s child.”

The words rang loudly in my ears.

I turned to Leo, waiting for him to deny it.

But he did not say a word.

“Leo,” I said quietly. “Look at me. Is that true?”

He sighed as though the entire situation bored him.

“The first trimester is sensitive,” he said coldly. “She needs someone around. I will be staying here for now.”

The words twisted painfully in my chest.

“I’m your mate,” I said in disbelief. “You told me she was like a sister to you.”

“Oh please,” Caroline laughed. “Stop acting pathetic. The signs were there, but you chose to ignore them”

She crossed her arms.

“You got the Luna title. A nobody from a useless pack suddenly became Luna of Ironveil. You got a house, status, and protection for your pathetic little pack. That was the deal.”

Her smile sharpened.

“Did you really think he married you for love?”

“Leo,” I said hoarsely. “Say something.”

He finally looked at me, and the coldness in his eyes hurt worse than hatred.

“I saved your miserable life, Freya. Your pack is safe because of this alliance. You have a title and a comfortable life. What else do you want from me?”

“I did not marry you for protection,” I said quietly. “I married you because I believed you were different. Because you made me feel like I mattered.”

Leo rolled his eyes.

“Stop being dramatic”

That was all it took.

I looked at the two of them standing together and realized something important.

I would keep begging forever if I stayed.

Slowly I reached into my pocket and felt the pregnancy test strip in my hand.

My child deserved a better father.

And it certainly was not Leo.

I stepped back.

“You are right,” I said quietly. “I should be grateful.”

Leo frowned.

“What are you talking about?”

“I have spent three years chasing a man who never wanted me,” I said. “Three years humiliating myself in this hell you call a marriage.”

I drew a slow breath.

“You know what, Leo?”

I met his eyes one last time.

“I’m done.”

Caroline scoffed.

“Oh please. Quit the act, where would you even go?”

I ignored her.

“I am tired of begging for love and pretending this marriage means something.”

Leo's eyes narrowed.

“What are you saying?”

My voice was calm when I answered.

“I want a divorce.”