Chapter 1

Victoria’s POV

Today was my twenty-second birthday, and for the first time in nineteen years, I had a reason to look forward to celebrating it. After everything I had suffered, my life was finally about to change. Tonight, the man I loved would publicly claim me as his fated mate.

For six months, I had waited patiently for this day, counting down the weeks and holding on to every promise Adrian had made to me. Tonight, during the royal banquet, he would finally announce to everyone that I was his fated mate. And perhaps, for the first time in nineteen years, I would no longer have to live as a servant in my own father’s house.

My name was Victoria Timothy, the first daughter of Alpha Timothy of the Blood Moon Pack. By birth, I was supposed to be a princess, respected and treated like royalty. Unfortunately, my life had been anything but that.

According to the rumors, when I was three years old, my mother was accused of cheating on my father with another man. My father was so furious that he banished her from the pack without giving her a chance to defend herself. Not long after her banishment, news reached the pack that she had died.

I was too young to remember exactly what happened, and nobody ever wanted to tell me the full story. Whenever I asked about my mother, I was either ignored or punished for bringing up her name. My father never forgave her for what she had supposedly done, and somehow, I became the one who had to suffer for her alleged mistakes.

He stripped me of my position as his daughter and ordered that I be raised among the servants. From the age of three, the maids became my family, and as soon as I was old enough to work, I was made to clean rooms, wash clothes, scrub floors, and serve the very people who should have been serving me.

Things became even worse when my father married my stepmother, Lady Martha, who later gave birth to my half-sister, Vanessa.

Vanessa was everything I was not allowed to be. She was recognized as the princess of the Blood Moon Pack, dressed in expensive clothes, and given everything she wanted. Meanwhile, I slept in a small room in the servants’ quarters and wore whatever old clothes the other maids no longer needed. Even though we shared the same father, Vanessa never missed an opportunity to remind me that I was nothing more than a maid.

But tonight, I hoped everything would finally change.

Adrian was the future Beta of our pack, and he was also my fated mate. We had discovered our bond six months ago, but he had insisted that we keep it a secret until my twenty-second birthday.

“Trust me, Victoria,” he had whispered that night, holding my face gently between his hands. “My father wants me to marry someone of high status, and if he finds out about us now, he might try to separate us. Just give me six months. On your birthday, I promise I’ll claim you in front of everyone.”

I had believed him, and tonight, he was finally going to fulfill that promise.

“Victoria! What are you still doing here?”

Mrs. Agnes’s sharp voice shattered my thoughts. The head maid glared at me from the kitchen doorway.

“Her Majesty’s refreshments are getting cold! Do you want Alpha Timothy to have all our heads?”

“I’m sorry, ma’am. I’m going right now.”

I picked up the heavy silver tray and hurried toward the royal guest wing. The Alpha King and his pregnant wife had arrived earlier that afternoon for the summit, which had brought powerful Alphas together from across the kingdom. To my shock, I had been handpicked to serve as the Queen’s personal maid.

After knocking and entering her grand suite, I found the Queen resting on a couch, her hand placed gently over her rounded stomach.

Despite her royal status, she treated me with unexpected warmth, even making sure I promised to eat something before the evening banquet.

After bowing and leaving her room, I checked the clock in the grand corridor. It was almost six.

My heart thudded with breathless excitement. Only a few more hours until the banquet, and my whole life would change.

“Victoria!”

Sarah, another maid, came running down the hall toward me.

“Princess Vanessa is demanding fresh juice and pastries. Mrs. Agnes said you have to attend to her immediately.”

I scoffed. Vanessa had several personal maids assigned to her, but whenever she wanted to make my life miserable, she would demand that I serve her instead.

“Alright. I’ll go now.”

“Please hurry. She’s already in a bad mood.”

I nodded and made my way back to the kitchen. After arranging a fresh glass of juice and some pastries on another silver tray, I headed toward the private wing where Vanessa’s bedroom was located.

As I walked, I silently prayed that she wouldn’t find another excuse to humiliate me. Today was my birthday, after all. Surely, the Moon Goddess wouldn’t allow Vanessa to ruin the one day I had been looking forward to for so long.

When I reached her bedroom, I raised my hand to knock. But before my knuckles touched the door, I heard something that made me freeze.

A man’s laughter. A very familiar man’s laughter.

My heart skipped a beat. Adrian?

For a moment, I thought I had imagined it. What would Adrian be doing inside Vanessa’s bedroom?

I was about to knock when Vanessa’s voice came through the slightly open door.

“Does that stupid girl still believe you’re going to claim her tonight?”

My hand slowly dropped to my side. What?

Adrian laughed. “Of course she does.”

My stomach twisted painfully. I recognized that voice. I would recognize it anywhere. It was Adrian. My Adrian.

Vanessa giggled. “She’s so pathetic. I almost feel sorry for her.”

“Don’t,” Adrian replied. “She’s the one who keeps believing everything I tell her.”

I stood completely still, struggling to understand what I was hearing. No. There had to be some misunderstanding. Adrian loved me.

Gathering my courage, I slowly opened the door and stepped inside. What I saw made my heart shatter.

Vanessa was sitting on her bed, dressed in a short silk robe that barely covered her thighs. And Adrian was right there with her. His arms were wrapped around her waist, holding her close while she ran her fingers through his hair.

Then, right before my eyes, he leaned forward and kissed her. Not on the cheek. Not on the forehead. He kissed her on the lips, and Vanessa kissed him back.

I felt as though someone had driven a knife straight through my chest. My wolf let out a painful whimper inside me.

Mate…

I could barely breathe. The man I had loved for six months was kissing my half-sister. The same half-sister who had spent her entire life making me miserable.

The tray slipped from my trembling hands.

CRASH!

The glass shattered against the marble floor, sending juice and broken shards scattering in every direction.

Adrian’s eyes locked on mine, wide with shock. Vanessa only smiled wider, slow and cruel, still straddling his lap in that barely-there silk robe.

She tilted her head, studying me like I was something amusing that had crawled into her room.

“Aww… look at her face.” She leaned in and nuzzled Adrian’s neck, never breaking eye contact with me. “She really thought you were going to claim her tonight.”

Adrian’s jaw tightened. For one second I thought—hoped—he would push her away, come to me, explain. Instead he exhaled, long and resigned, and looked back at Vanessa.

“Get on your hands and knees.”

​Vanessa’s smile turned ugly. She slid off his lap without a word, turned, and got down on all fours on the edge of the bed. The short robe rode up, and she looked back over her shoulder at me with total, proud victory.

​Adrian didn't wait. He stepped up behind her, crossing the line we were supposed to share, and was with her right there in front of me.

​Vanessa let out a breathless, loud cry, her fingers gripping the sheets as he moved with a rough, steady rhythm. The sounds filled the quiet room, hitting me like a physical blow to the chest. Vanessa pushed back to meet him, making sure I heard every sound.

​“Claim me,” she panted, her voice high and wild. “Make her watch.”

​Adrian didn’t look away from me either. His grip on her hips tightened as he pushed deeper, his face completely without guilt. Every movement was a planned message, sealing the painful truth of their affair right before my eyes. Vanessa tilted her head back, her eyes glassy with meanness and pleasure, soaking up my pain until they both reached the end with rough, heavy breaths.

He stayed buried for a few long seconds, breathing hard, one hand still splayed across her lower back. Then he pulled out slowly. Vanessa collapsed fully onto the bed, spent and smug, come already starting to leak down her thigh.

Only then did Adrian finally look at me.

There was no apology in his eyes. Just cold hatred.

“You weren’t supposed to see that,” he said quietly. “But now you know.”

Vanessa laughed softly into the sheets, still face-down, ass still raised.

“Happy birthday, Victoria.”