One

My father was knotting his secretary when I cracked his office door open. Wet slaps and grunts filled the air as he pounded faster.

I had come to surprise him with the homemade lasagna my mother made, his wife of thirty years. He'd kissed her that morning and told her he loved her. She'd asked me to drop off his lunch and the phone he'd forgotten at home. Watching him cheat on her made my stomach lurch. 

My mother didn't deserve this. 

His secretary's eyes flicked to the door. They widened, then she gasped and tapped my father.

"Oh, shoot. Lisa?"

I ran down the hallway, ignoring his voice calling my name. I made it to my car and fumbled with the keys, my hands shaking as I drove off. I was merging onto the highway when I remembered I still had his phone.

I pulled over and tried to unlock it. His birthday. Nothing. Their anniversary. Wrong. Then Mom's name.

It unlocked.

The fact that her name was his password made it hurt worse.

The messages from his secretary loaded immediately. Dozens of photos sent late at night. The messages went back months. Maybe longer.

I kept scrolling. There had to be something about Mom, about what he was planning. I typed ‘divorce’ into the search bar.

Messages loaded. The most recent was from three weeks ago.

‘The lawyer says we can finalize before the end of spring. Can't wait to finally be with you properly.’

We were already in spring.

I scrolled further. Another message from last week:

‘I talked to the realtor today. The house should sell fast in this market. Once it's done, you can move into the new place with me. Fresh start.’

My stomach dropped. He was selling our house and was planning to dump us into pack welfare housing. 

Another text:

‘The kids will adjust. Lisa is twenty. James is seventeen. And honestly, maybe this will teach them some humility. They've had it too easy.’

I had to pull over again because my vision was blurring.

He wasn't just leaving Mom. He was erasing us from his life. 

I took screenshots. Mom would need proof of this.

Then I drove back to the office, dropped the lunch and his phone with the receptionist, and bolted before anyone could stop me.

By the time I got back to my car, Mom had sent me a text.

‘Sweetheart, can you pick up my prescription? The pharmacy called.’

Her eyes had been so bad lately she could barely see. 

The condition started ten years ago. She'd had to give up her nursing career. She'd worked in the pack hospital before the vision loss made it impossible. The doctors said she'd become legally blind.

She'd given up everything to raise us. She'd trusted that their love meant something.

How was I supposed to tell her that her husband was planning to leave her homeless? 

I sat there, staring at nothing.

I'd believed in true love my entire life. Even when my friends' parents were divorcing, even when my own relationships fell apart, I held onto the belief that it existed.

Because I thought I'd seen it in my parents.

It was all lies.

He'd been planning his exit the whole time.

My phone buzzed again. Sasha, my best friend, reminding me about the pack meeting tonight.

There had been rumors for weeks about alliance negotiations with the Lycans. I hadn't paid much attention. But the message said compulsory attendance for all unmarked females.

I texted Sasha.

‘Found out my dad's having an affair. And he's planning to kick us out.’

Her response came immediately.

‘WHAT??? Call me RIGHT NOW.’

‘Can't. I'll explain later.’

I spent the rest of the day driving around, making up an excuse to Mom about helping Luna Catherine with shopping. I couldn't go home yet. Not when I was still shaking with rage. Not when her heart was about to be shattered.

By the time I pulled into the community center parking lot, it was dark and my head was pounding. Alpha Marcus and Luna Catherine sat with their inner circle. The room was packed with over fifty unmated females.

I spotted Sasha near the middle. She waved me over, her face already full of concern.

"You okay?" she whispered as I sat down.

I didn't answer.

She studied my face but didn't push.

Alpha Marcus stood, and the room went quiet.

"Thank you all for coming. I'll get straight to the point. Pack alliances are crucial for our survival, especially in these uncertain times.”

Luna Catherine stood beside him. "Alpha Cameron of Silver Creek has agreed to an alliance with Crescent Falls. This alliance will provide us with protection, trade agreements, and support that our pack desperately needs."

"However," Alpha Marcus continued, "They require something from us in return. A temporary arrangement with an unmated female from our pack. Alpha Cameron's mate is unable to bear children due to a medical condition. He needs an heir to secure his position and his pack's future. He's requesting a one-year contract with a volunteer from Crescent Falls."

The room went dead silent.

Luna Catherine spoke. "The arrangement is clear and legally binding. The chosen female will enter a one-year contract. During that time, she will conceive and carry Alpha Cameron's child. Upon birth, the child will remain with Alpha Cameron as his legitimate heir. The contract dissolves immediately after, and the female returns to Crescent Falls."

My stomach lurched.

"In exchange," Alpha Marcus said, "the volunteer will receive compensation. Protected status during the pregnancy. Complete medical care. Financial security that extends beyond the contract's end. And my personal guarantee of her safety and well-being throughout."

"How much compensation?" someone asked.

"Five hundred thousand tokens," Luna Catherine said. "Paid in increments. First payment upon contract signing. Second upon confirmed pregnancy. Third upon delivery. Final payment when the contract dissolves."

The room erupted again. Five hundred thousand tokens. More money than most families in our pack saw in a decade.

"This is insane," Sasha whispered beside me. "They're asking someone to be a surrogate. To carry a Lycan's baby and just walk away."

She wasn't wrong. But my mind was already calculating.

The compensation was enough to buy Mom a house outright. Enough to pay for James's college. Enough to set up a trust that would support Mom even as her vision failed completely.

Enough to prove that Dad abandoning us didn't mean we'd end up in charity housing.

"You mentioned a ‘bond'?" a girl in the front asked. "What's that about?"

"Oh, that's political jargon," Luna Catherine explained. "For the baby to be formally recognized, there must be a connection between the packs through bloodline. A child born of both packs' blood creates that connection. The 'bond' is the child itself."

"I know this is shocking," Alpha Marcus said. "But I want to be very clear—this is voluntary. No one will be forced. If you're interested, you indicate that tonight. Alpha Cameron will arrive in three days to make his final selection from the volunteers."

My phone buzzed in my lap. 

Mom.

‘Sweetheart, I need you to come home right now.’

Then a voice note. I held the phone to my ear.

Mom’s voice was thick with tears. "Lisa, what happened earlier? Your father came home and said you were at his office today. He wants a divorce. He says the marriage has been over for years. He's packing his things right now and won't explain anything." 

She took a shaky breath. "The house is in his name. The accounts. Everything. Pack law favors the head of household. I have nothing, Lisa. I don't know what we're going to do."

The message ended.

I sat there, phone pressed to my ear, staring at nothing.

All I had to do was spend one year with a stranger. Get pregnant. Carry his child. Give birth. Walk away.

Sasha lowered her voice. "Why would anyone in their right mind volunteer for that? Carrying a stranger's baby? Giving it up? Most Lycans are hot-tempered as fuck. Alpha Cameron is so ruthless that grown men piss themselves."

"I'll do it," I said.

She froze, then laughed. "What?"

Her smile vanished. "Girl, did you hear anything they just said? You'd have to get pregnant. Carry a baby for nine months. Give birth. And then hand that baby over to a man you don't even know and walk away."

"I heard."

"Lisa." She grabbed my arm. "This isn't just sleeping with someone. This is your body. You can't just—"

"I need the money." The words came out flat. “I need to support my mom.“

"There are other ways—"

I pulled my arm free. Sasha stared at me like I'd grown a second head. She opened her mouth to argue more, but I was already standing, already walking toward the platform to indicate my interest.