Chapter 2

The silence in the kitchen was broken only by the sound of Lana’s ragged breathing. She looked from the divorce papers to San, who still had his arm draped possessively over Serena’s waist.

"I am not signing this," Lana said. Her voice was thick with tears, but her eyes flashed with a sudden, desperate fire.

 "You can’t just throw me away because she decided to come crawling back. I have spent two years building this pack’s reputation. I handled the budgets. I handled the community outreach. I am your Luna."

San let out a dark, mocking laugh. He stepped away from Serena, moving toward Lana until he was looming over her. The sheer power of his Alpha aura slammed into her, making her knees weak, but she refused to look away.

"You were a substitute, Lana," San hissed. He leaned down, his face inches from hers. 

"You were the quiet, obedient girl who filled a seat at the table. Do not flatter yourself by thinking you were ever my equal. You were a duty I had to perform for the elders. That duty is over."

"A duty?" Lana choked out. She picked up the papers and ripped them down the middle.

 "Is that all I was? I loved you, San. I gave up my career in the city to come to this godforsaken territory for you!"

San’s eyes turned a predatory shade of gold. He grabbed her wrists, his grip like iron.

 "You gave up a failing career because you knew being an Alpha’s wife was the only way you would ever be relevant. Now, sign the duplicates. Or I will have the guards drag you to the border with nothing but the clothes on your back."

"Let go of me!" Lana screamed, struggling against him. "You’re hurting me!"

"You don't know what pain is yet," San muttered. He shoved her away, and she stumbled, hitting her hip against the sharp corner of the marble island.

Serena stepped forward, picking up a fresh copy of the papers from the counter. She held a pen out to Lana with a fake, sugary sweet smile.

 "Just sign it, honey. You’re making such a mess of yourself. It’s honestly pathetic to watch a woman beg for a man who clearly finds her skin-crawling."

Lana looked at the pen, then at Serena's triumphant face. With a cry of rage, she swiped the pen out of Serena's hand and flung it across the room.

"I won't let you do this!" Lana yelled.

The kitchen door swung open, and Beatrice walked back in, holding a tablet. Her face was twisted in fury.

"It’s already out," Beatrice snapped, shoving the screen toward San.

 "The news outlets are already running the story. 'Alpha San Highwood Reunited with True Mate Serena; Discards Nameless Wife.' The pack is in an uproar. Our stock is dipping because of the scandal."

Lana looked at the screen. Her heart sank. There was a photo of her leaving the pack hospital last week, looking tired and pale, contrasted with a glamorous shot of Serena in Paris. The headline was cruel. It painted her as a boring, fertile-less burden that the Alpha was finally cutting loose.

"See what you’ve done?" Beatrice turned on Lana, her eyes narrowing. "Your incompetence is leaking into the public eye. You are a stain on this family’s legacy."

Before Lana could speak, her phone began to vibrate violently in her pocket. She pulled it out. It was a call from her foster mother.

"Hello?" Lana answered, her voice trembling.

"Lana Baldwin, tell me the rumors are lies!" her foster mother’s voice screamed through the speaker. "The news says San is throwing you out. Do you have any idea what this does to our standing? Your father was counting on that Alpha alliance for his business expansion!"

"Mom, please," Lana sobbed. "He’s cheating on me. He’s divorcing me right now."

"And whose fault is that?" her mother barked. 

"If you had been a better wife, if you hadn't been so boring and plain, he wouldn't have looked elsewhere. You’ve ruined everything. If you lose that marriage, don't you dare come back to this house. We don't take in failures."

The line went dead. Lana stared at the phone, feeling the last bit of ground crumble beneath her feet.

Serena walked closer, leaning in so only Lana could hear her. The scent of her perfume was suffocating.

"You want to know why he’s so desperate to get rid of you today, Lana?" Serena whispered. Her hand drifted down to her own flat stomach, patting it gently.

 "I’m carrying his pup. A real Alpha heir. Something a weak little thing like you could never provide."

Lana felt like she had been punched in the gut. "What?"

"I've been back for a month," Serena smirked. "While you were busy playing house and cooking his dinners, he was spending his nights in my bed. He’s already claimed me, Lana. The bond is sealed."

Lana looked at San. He didn't deny it. He just stood there, cold and indifferent, waiting for her to finish her "fit."

The betrayal was too much. The walls were closing in. Her family had disowned her, her husband had replaced her, and her career was a joke in the eyes of the public.

"Fine," Lana whispered. Her voice was dead. Empty. She picked up a new pen from the drawer. Her hand shook as she scrawled her name on the bottom of the papers. "Take him. Take the pack. Take it all."

She threw the pen at San’s feet. "I hope you both rot."

"Get her out of my sight," San said to the guards standing at the door. "And call the Elders. Tell them the transition is complete."

Lana was marched out of the kitchen. She didn't even have time to pack. As she was led through the foyer, she saw the staff whispering and pointing. People she had treated with kindness for two years were now looking at her like she was a piece of trash being taken to the curb.

The guards led her out to the driveway, but they didn't take her to the gate. A black sedan with tinted windows was waiting. It didn't have the Highwood pack crest on it.

"Where are you taking me?" Lana asked, fear rising in her throat. "This isn't the way to the village."

"The Alpha made a deal," one of the guards said, his voice devoid of emotion. "Your family couldn't pay back the debts they owed to the northern territories. Since you're no longer a Luna, you're just an asset. You've been sold to settle the account."

Lana tried to bolt, but the guard grabbed her arm, shoving her toward the car.

"Sold?" Lana screamed. "You can't do this! This is illegal!"

"In the pack world, the Alpha's word is law," the guard replied.

The back door of the sedan opened. A man she didn't recognize was sitting there. He looked like a professional, a lawyer or an assistant.

"Lana Baldwin?" the man asked.

"Who are you?" she gasped, tears streaming down her face.

"I work for Duran," the man said, sliding a folder across the seat. "Your marriage to San was a waste of time. My employer, however, has a very specific use for someone with your... history."

Lana looked back at the house. San was standing on the balcony, Serena tucked under his arm. He didn't even look down as the guards forced her into the back of the sedan and slammed the door.

As the car began to move, the man in the suit looked at her with a chillingly neutral expression.

"Don't bother crying," he said. "Duran doesn't like noise. We have a long drive to the border, and you have a lot to learn before you meet your new owner."

Lana pressed her forehead against the cool glass of the window. She was being sent away like a prisoner, sold by the man she loved to a stranger the world feared.

And then, her stomach did a strange, familiar flip. A wave of nausea hit her so hard she had to gasp for air. It wasn't just the stress. It was the same feeling she'd had every morning for the last week.

She looked down at her hands. Serena claimed she was pregnant, but Lana realized with a jolt of pure terror that she might be too.

And if she was,she was carrying San’s child into the den of a monster.