Chapter 3

 Lana stared at her phone screen. Her entire world was collapsing in real time.

The pack news channels were having a field day. Every social media platform was flooded with the same cruel headline. Alpha San Discards Barren Wife For True Mate.

There were videos of San and Serena kissing on the balcony of the pack. There were official statements from her own accounting firm, publicly suspending her license due to "conflicts of interest" with the Highwood pack. Everything she had worked for was gone.

Her phone vibrated in her hand. It was a video message from Serena.

Lana hesitated. Then she tapped the screen.

Serena’s flawless face filled the frame. She was lying on Lana’s bed, wearing San’s favorite shirt.

"Look at you, running away like a pathetic stray dog," Serena laughed. The sound was high and malicious. "San is having the maids burn your clothes as we speak. Did you really think you could keep him? My pup is going to inherit this entire territory, and you are going to be forgotten by tomorrow. Have fun freezing to death in the north, you barren freak."

The video ended.

Lana dropped the phone onto the leather seat. A sob tore through her throat. She pulled her knees up to her chest and cried until she could not breathe. She was completely broken.

She picked up her phone again and dialed the only person she had left.

"Lana?" Chloe’s voice was frantic on the other end. "Oh my god, I have been calling you for an hour. I saw the news. Where are you? What did that bastard do to you?"

"Chloe," Lana gasped, trying to catch her breath. "They threw me out. He divorced me. He let Serena throw my things away."

"I am coming to get you," Chloe said fiercely. "Tell me where you are. I will borrow my brother's truck."

"You cannot," Lana whispered. Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks. "San forced me into a car. My family signed some kind of treaty. They sent me to the Northern Peak. They sent me to him."

The line went dead quiet.

"Lana, please tell me you are joking," Chloe said. Her voice was suddenly trembling. "Please tell me you are not going to Duran."

"I am."

"Lana, no! You have to jump out of that car," Chloe yelled. "He is a monster. The rumors say he is a scarred recluse who tortures his pack. He has not been seen in public for five years. They say he is completely insane."

"I am locked in," Lana cried, pulling at the door handle. It would not budge. "I am so scared, Chloe. What is he going to do to me?"

"I will go to the council. I will tell the elders," Chloe promised.

"The elders signed off on it," Lana sobbed.

The car hit a massive bump, slowing down. Outside the window, Lana saw towering iron gates surrounded by thick, dark pine trees. The temperature had dropped freezing cold.

"We are here," Lana whispered. "I have to go."

She hung up the phone before Chloe could say another word.

The car pulled into a massive courtyard. The pack looked like a gothic castle, built from black stone and surrounded by shadows. The driver opened the door and grabbed her arm, pulling her out into the freezing wind.

He dragged her up the stone steps and shoved her through the heavy oak doors.

Lana stumbled onto the marble floor of the foyer. The house was dead quiet. It smelled like rich tobacco, aged whiskey, and a terrifyingly dominant Alpha aura that made her knees weak.

"Get up."

The voice was deep, rough, and completely devoid of warmth.

Lana slowly pushed herself off the floor. She looked up, expecting to see the scarred, hideous old man the rumors had promised.

Her breath caught in her throat.

The man standing at the top of the sweeping staircase was breathtaking. He was tall, with broad shoulders and a lean, muscular build. He wore a simple black t-shirt and dark jeans. Both of his arms were covered in intricate, dark tattoos that coiled around his muscles. He had piercing grey eyes and a sharp jawline. He was young. He was lethal.

And he was looking at her like she was a piece of dirt.

Duran slowly walked down the stairs. The sheer power radiating from him made the air feel thick.

He stopped a few feet away from her, crossing his heavily tattooed arms. "San always did have terrible taste."

Lana felt a spark of anger ignite through her fear. "Where am I? Why did you bring me here?"

"Do not ask me questions in my own house," Duran snapped. "You are here because your pathetic father offered you up to secure a trade route through my territory. You are the payment. Now stop crying. It is fucking pathetic."

"I am not a payment," Lana fired back, lifting her chin. "I want to speak to the council."

Duran let out a dark, mocking laugh. "The council works for me, sweetheart. Nobody gives a shit about you. You are nothing but discarded trash."

The front doors opened again. Three men walked in. They were tall, heavily muscled, and shared the same sharp, aristocratic features. The triplets.

She'd seen them before, on a podcast.

She had followed up for a week but gave up.

The blonde one in the front looked at Lana and sneered.

 "She looks fragile, Duran. Are you sure she can handle the breeding process? The elders want a pureblood heir. She looks like she would snap in half."

Lana felt all the blood drain from her face. "Breeding?"

Ansel laughed. It was a vicious sound. "Did they forget to mention that part in the divorce settlement? You are here to be a fake Luna. You will smile for the cameras, pretend our pack is stable, and give Duran an heir. That is your only purpose."

The second triplet, Remy, stood quietly in the background. He had dark hair falling into his eyes and his hands shoved into his pockets. He looked like an introvert, but the dark, hollow look in his eyes was far more terrifying than Ansel's loud cruelty. He was watching Lana like a predator calculating a kill.

"Shut the fuck up, Ansel," Duran growled, not taking his eyes off Lana. "I will handle my own property."

Duran stepped closer. He leaned down, burying his face in the crook of her neck. Lana froze, terrified to move. He inhaled deeply.

Duran violently pulled back. His grey eyes flashed with a dangerous, predatory gold.

"Your scent is a fucking mess," Duran snarled, stepping away from her in disgust. "You smell like fear, sadness, and something else. Something foul."

He turned his head and shouted toward the dark hallway.

"Get the pack healer down here. Now."

Lana’s heart stopped beating. The panic she had been holding back finally exploded in her chest.

If the healer examined her, they would draw her blood. They would check her vitals. They would find out the secret she was hiding.

"No," Lana gasped, taking a step backward toward the heavy doors. "I do not need a healer. I am fine."

Duran grabbed her arm, his grip bruising her skin. "You do not tell me what you need. If you are sick or broken, I am sending you back to your old pack in a body bag."

An older woman with a medical bag hurried into the foyer, her head bowed in submission to Duran.

"Take her to the medical wing," Duran ordered the healer. "Strip her down martha. Do a full fertility scan and a blood test. I want to know exactly what is wrong with her."

The healer nodded and reached out to grab Lana’s hand.

Lana’s vision blurred. She was carrying San’s baby. If this monster found out she was already pregnant with his enemy's child, he would kill her right here on the marble floor.