Chapter 1: Cold Coffee and Broken Promises

 Devlin’s POV

For four years, I gave everything I had to the Red Moon Pack. I ran the welfare programs, visited wounded warriors, sorted out family disputes, and stood right beside Jason whenever he needed me. When families came to the pack house with problems they couldn't solve themselves, I listened and helped them find solutions. The work wasn't always easy, but I took pride in knowing that people could depend on me.

Still, most of the pack looked down on me.

My wolf never came. Not at eighteen, not during the full moons, not ever. In a pack that only cared about claws and teeth, I was just a wolfless Luna. Some wolves didn't bother hiding their disappointment when I walked into a room, while others greeted me politely before turning away to whisper. They could acknowledge everything I did for the pack and still believe I wasn't good enough to lead them.

I put up with the dirty looks because Jason used to tell me none of it mattered. He swore that being wolfless didn't change my worth and that he would always love me just the same.

Back then, I believed him. Whenever someone questioned my place beside him, Jason would remind them that I was his mate and their Luna. Those moments had meant everything to me, especially on days when the pack made me feel like an outsider in my own home.

Lately, though, even those memories had become difficult to hold on to. Jason had grown distant, spending more time in meetings and less time talking to me. Whenever I asked if something was wrong, he blamed his responsibilities. I understood the pressure of being an Alpha, but I was his mate, not another pack member waiting for an appointment with him.

Tonight, carrying a tray of hot tea up to his study, I was worried about him. He'd been quiet and cold lately, always buried in meetings. I wanted to remind him that he didn't have to carry the pack alone. A little time together might help us talk about whatever had come between us.

The hallway was quiet. I pushed the study door open and froze.

Jason wasn't alone.

Chloe, my stepsister, was leaning over his desk. Her fingers were curled into his shirt collar, pulling him close.

Jason didn't push her away. He didn't tell her to stop. He was looking down at her with a soft, gentle expression he hadn't given me in months.

My hands went numb.

The tray suddenly felt too heavy. Chloe had been visiting the pack house more often lately, always finding a reason to be around Jason. I'd tried not to read too much into it because she was my stepsister, and I never imagined she would deliberately come between my mate and me.

But there she was, standing close enough to kiss him, with her hands on his clothes and no sign that either of them thought they were doing anything wrong.

The tray slipped. The porcelain mugs shattered on the hardwood, hot tea splashing everywhere.

Jason's head snapped up. Chloe turned around, too.

I stared at Jason, waiting for him to look guilty or explain what was going on. But there was nothing. No shame, no shock. Just pure annoyance that I had walked in.

"Jason?" My voice came out small.

Chloe didn't even look embarrassed. She just smiled, a slow, smug grin that told me she was pleased I'd caught them.

"Devlin," Jason said, his voice flat.

"What is she doing here?" I looked at Chloe, my hands curling into tight fists. "Get your hands off my mate."

"Watch your tone," Jason snapped, immediately stepping between us to shield her.

That hit harder than anything else. He was protecting her from me.

"We were talking about pack business," he said.

"At midnight?" My voice shook. "With her touching you like that?"

Chloe stepped out from behind him, sighing like I was an annoying child. "Devlin, calm down. Jason has a lot of pressure on him. But I guess I can't expect a wolfless girl to understand what an Alpha needs."

"Shut up, Chloe," I snapped.

"That's enough!" Jason's voice boomed with pure Alpha power. The force of it hit my chest, nearly knocking the wind out of me.

For a moment, I struggled to breathe. His command had always carried authority, but I'd never imagined he would use that power against me. The room seemed to go still as I tried to steady myself, humiliated that he'd silenced me in front of the very woman he was protecting.

In four years, Jason had never once used his Alpha voice on me. Now, he was using it to shut me up for her.

"Chloe is here because I invited her," Jason said coldly. "You're making a scene out of nothing. Get the maids to clean up the mess you made, lock the balcony door, and go to bed."

He turned his back on me and started talking to Chloe again.

There was no apology or explanation, not even a glance at the broken mugs scattered across the floor. Whatever had been happening between them, Jason clearly thought my reaction was the problem.

I swallowed the lump in my throat, turned around, and walked out. I kept my head high and my back straight. I refused to let them see me cry.

At the bottom of the stairs, voices drifted out from the sitting room. Jason's parents.

They were speaking in French. It was their favorite trick, a way to insult me right in front of my face without having to say it to me. They often switched languages when they wanted a private conversation, assuming I wouldn't understand enough to catch their meaning.

"Incapable..." Isabelle scoffed. "Une Luna inutile."

"Jason va la remplacer bientôt," Charles said. "La meute a besoin d'une vraie lignée, pas d'une errante sans loup."

I didn't know fluent French, but I wasn't stupid.

Incapable. Incapable.

Inutile. Useless.

Remplacer. Replace.

Sans loup. Wolfless.

I couldn't follow their entire conversation, but the words I recognized told me enough. They were talking about throwing me out and replacing me, right inside my own home, thinking I was too dumb to notice.

My grip tightened on the wooden banister. The humiliation from Jason's study was still fresh, but hearing his parents discuss my replacement made the situation painfully clear. This wasn't just about Chloe getting too comfortable around my mate. His family might already be planning a future that didn't include me.

That was it. I was done being their punchline.

I went straight to our bedroom, pulled out my phone, and downloaded a French language app. I shoved my earbuds in, started the first lesson, and repeated the words under my breath until they stuck.

The first lesson wouldn't make me fluent overnight, but it was a start. If French was the language they used to keep me out of their conversations, I would learn enough to understand them. They could whisper all they wanted, but I wasn't going to remain ignorant just because it suited them.

They thought French was their secret code. I was going to make it my weapon.

An hour later, Jason walked into the bedroom. He didn't even look at me on his way to the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

Not a word about the scene in his study. Not a question about whether the hot tea had burned me. His silence made it painfully obvious that he had already moved on, while I was still trying to understand how the man who once promised to protect me could treat me like an inconvenience.

As the shower turned on, a sudden wave of heat flared in the center of my chest.

I froze.

It wasn't pain. It was a deep, burning pulse spreading through my veins, making my breath hitch. For a second, it felt like something was waking up under my skin, something that had been buried for a very long time.

My palm pressed against my ribs as I tried to understand the strange sensation. It wasn't ordinary heat or the lingering effect of Jason's Alpha command. Something was stirring deep inside me, and for those few seconds, I couldn't think about anything else.

Then, just as quickly as it came, the feeling faded.

I stared at the bathroom door, my heart hammering. The shower continued running, and Jason remained completely unaware of what had happened only a few feet away from him.

I'd spent years waiting for my wolf, slowly learning to live with the disappointment of her absence. Now, something unfamiliar had stirred inside me, and I had no explanation for it. Whatever it meant, I couldn't ignore the feeling that something had changed.

I didn't know what that warmth was. But sitting there in the dark, watching my marriage burn to the ground, I knew one thing for sure.

Whatever was waking up inside me, they weren't going to break me without a fight.