1| Luna’s Return.

Excitement bubbled through me the moment my feet touched the polished floor of Brighton City International Airport. My heart raced with anticipation. I couldn’t wait to share the secret I had been keeping from my husband. He’d be so proud of me. Hopefully, this would pull us together after the distance that had quietly formed between us over the years.

I had been away for six months, studying a course abroad. But I hopped on a thirty-six-hour flight home to surprise Theodore on our six-year anniversary.

The Uber I had booked ahead of time was already waiting outside the terminal.

“The Diamond Moon Pack’s estate, Rose Hall, right?” the driver asked to confirm.

“Yes,” I told him as I adjusted my large glasses that were starting to slide down my face.

He looked at me strangely through the mirror, as though I didn’t belong to that hall. But I wouldn’t blame him. Only a handful of people knew that I was the Luna of the Diamond Moon Pack.

Dressed the way I was, plain clothes over my slender body, messy brown hair, oversized glasses on my face, I looked nothing like the elegant, composed Luna they were used to seeing.

The ride was silent. When we arrived, I paid him and dragged my luggage toward the large wooden doors of the dark stoned building. The guards froze when they saw me.

“Luna?” one of them exclaimed, hurrying forward to take my bags. “We weren’t informed of your arrival.”

“It’s a surprise,” I said with a smile. “Where’s Theodore?”

“The Alpha?” he hesitated, rubbing the back of his neck. “Uh… the Alpha—”

“I’ll go look for him,” I interrupted quickly, already walking past him. “He should be in his office.”

“Luna, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he called after me, his voice laced with something close to panic.

I ignored him.

I knew Theodore. He was always in his office. Always working. Always busy. In six years of marriage, we had barely spent real time together. There was always a meeting at the company, a crisis, or some pack matter that demanded his attention.

The door was slightly ajar. Just as I was about to enter, my eyes caught the most heart-wrenching sight imaginable. I froze.

On his office desk, my husband’s desk, was Layla. Our son’s nanny. Receiving backshots from Theodore, her moans echoing obscenely through the room. Then suddenly, her eyes met mine, but she didn’t flinch. Instead, a mocking smirk touched her lips as the moans intensified.

Theodore, however, ran his fingers roughly through his brown hair, his green eyes turning a brighter shade of delight as he continued driving into her from behind with profound agility. He was too consumed to even notice me.

In our six years of marriage, he had never fucked me like that before. He barely even touched me. He always claimed to be busy, managing the pack’s affairs. Perhaps this was how he had been getting his pleasure.

An invisible knife stabbed my heart violently, excruciating pain consuming it. Something dreadful and dangerous twisted in my chest, balling up and climbing to my throat before escaping as a sob.

I couldn’t bear it anymore. Without hesitation, I turned around and ran away. I went straight to my room and buried my face in my bed, crying my life out. And I meant that literally. It felt as though my life was ending.

I cried and cried until there were no tears left. I didn’t know how much time had passed, but when I finally forced myself up, an urgent need to see my son overtook me.

Leo.

He was the only thing that mattered now.

I walked barefoot through the long hallways of the penthouse, painfully aware of the way the staff stared at me with pity in their eyes. Some whispered to one another as I passed, pretending to smile when I looked their way.

They all knew.

Every single one of them.

Everyone except me.

The realization burned worse than the betrayal itself.

Damn. I had been a very big fool all this while.

All the sacrifices I had made for this marriage over the years, only to be repaid this way. In the most humiliating manner possible. I hated him with every living cell in my body.

When I reached Leo’s room, my heart softened at the sight of him sitting on his bed, carefully threading seashells together into a bracelet.

“Leo, darling,” I breathed.

My sweet, sweet boy. He was probably making it for my birthday next tomorrow.

He glanced up briefly, staring at me with blue eyes that looked just like mine. “You’re back,” he said flatly, then returned his attention to his task.

My heart stopped for a moment. He didn’t even seem excited after not seeing me for so long. This wasn’t the reaction I had expected.

Anyway, I stepped closer and sat beside him, gently brushing my fingers through his soft brown hair. “What are you making, baby?”

“Stop,” he said sharply, pushing my hand away. “You’re distracting me.”

My chest tightened, but I forced a small smile and continued. “Who are you making it for? Me?”

“You?” He shot me a look, and I couldn’t miss the pang of disgust in his eyes. “No.” He shook his head. “It’s for Aunt Layla. I gathered them from the beach, and she said she liked them. So I’m making them into a necklace. I want to gift it to her,” he said excitedly before returning to his task.

Something sour curled in my stomach, climbing to my chest and tightening painfully. He had never gifted me anything before. Yet here he was, enthusiastically making something for Layla, completely ignoring me in the process.

“Baby, next tomorrow is my birthday. Remember? Do you have anything for me?” I asked gently.

He shrugged. “No. I didn’t think of that. Happy birthday in advance.”

It felt as if my world came crashing down around me. It was clear that my five year old son preferred Layla over me. His own mother. Nothing could be more devastating than that.

It felt as though my world shattered in that moment. My own son preferred her. The woman who was sleeping with my husband. The woman who had taken my place in every way that mattered.

My life was fucked.

Theodore had betrayed me in ways I never imagined, and I swear by my life, he wouldn’t get away with this. He had no idea that his entire empire depended on me. The secret I had wanted to reveal to him tonight was that—

The door suddenly burst open, and Theodore appeared before me. Shirtless, breathless, and reeking of her.