Counter Attack

My Don husband, just to indulge his little mistress's fantasy of playing Don's wife, pretended to have lost his memory at sea and tried to push me out of the family. By chance, I overheard his mistress teasing him: "Can I borrow Don's wife for a few days? And… Can I borrow the Don too?" My husband, all smiles and indulgence, replied, "Of course. Both are yours for a few days." I froze for a moment, then turned away, pretending it did not bother me. The next day, at the family meeting, he announced that his mistress was then his wife, ordered me out of the family business, and demanded I hand over every ounce of authority I held. The elders all turned to me, silently hoping I would defy his ridiculous decree. I said nothing. I handed over the keys and authority without a word. However, he did not know that our next arms deal was just nine days away, and the other party was Amestia's most powerful mafia, the Romano family. They dealt with no one but me.

For our college graduation trip, I spent a whole week glued to various travel apps, finally snagging a half-price couples' train package. I was just about to share the good news with my boyfriend and call it a night when his message came through. "Anna's going through a breakup. She needs to get away and clear her head. We're gonna use those tickets." "See if you can grab yourself another single ticket. It's not that much anyway - like five or six hundred bucks." For a moment, I was speechless. Before he received the scholarship my dad’s pack had specifically established for him, five or six hundred dollars used to be his entire monthly allowance. After a moment of silence, I picked up my phone: “Dad, prepare a private jet for me. I want to take a trip alone before graduation.”

The night of our engagement party, I found my best friend playing a dangerous game with my fiancé. The casino on our family's private yacht was where I found them. Clara was sitting on the lap of my fiancé, Killian, the Falcone family heir. Killian held a sharp family dagger, its tip snagging the thin strap of her dress. The blade traced a path along her collarbone. The slightest pressure would snap the silk. It was a dangerous, intimate scene. I stepped forward with a frown, but Killian just scoffed. "It's just a little game to liven things up, Principessa. Don't be so tense." Clara's eyes narrowed, her voice dripping with false sweetness. "We're just playing a traditional family game. The knife game. You don't mind, do you, sweetie?" I was about to speak, but Killian's expression hardened. "We just got engaged and you're already trying to control me?" So I said nothing. I just drew my custom pistol from its holster on my thigh. "So, it's a game," I said. "Then let's play for something real."

I was eight months pregnant, at a charity gala with my husband, Don Massimo, when a rival family hit us. The crowd panicked. I was shoved to the floor, hard. Blood everywhere. Massimo lost his mind, screaming for medics, desperate to save my baby. But when I woke up, they were gone. Both of them. No baby, no Massimo. I remembered the gunfire, Massimo shielding me with his body. A cold dread washed over me. I hauled myself into a wheelchair and raced down the hall. That’s when I heard them—Massimo and the doctor. "Boss, I'm sorry. We did everything we could. The baby… he didn't make it." Tears streamed down my face. They killed my baby. The rival family killed my baby. But his next words shattered my world. "There was only one medical team. I had to make a choice. Bianca… she was carrying my child, too." Massimo sighed, then gave the order. "No one tells Arabella. She'll raise Bianca's son as her own. He will be my only heir." I slapped a hand over my mouth, my vision blurred by tears as I turned away. The man I loved was a lie. Fine. If he wants a war, he'll get one.

Upon discovering I was pregnant, I excitedly rushed to my husband’s company to put our baby down as our insurance beneficiary. However, I was shocked to read my husband’s file. Partner: Victoria Winston Children: Jack Hudson, Sophia Hudson. I froze. The HR manager said the woman was his legally wedded wife and the heiress to the largest hotel chain on the East Coast. Their children were already seven years old. It felt like my world was crumbling down around me. If she was his wife, what was I? His mistress of five years? His friend with benefits? Even more absurdly, I was now pregnant with his child. A child who would never be acknowledged by their father. An illegitimate child. I nodded dazedly. My whole body felt weak. The man I considered my husband was never mine. Even after death, his gravestone would not have my name!

When we were eight, Kaelen burned down an entire pack territory just to save me. He swore an oath before the Moon Goddess to be with me forever, to never leave my side. Not even his own father could keep us apart. Then, a pregnant human girl reeking of his scent strutted into my office, a smug smirk on her face. "He says you're old and boring," she gloated. "That your scars turn his stomach." He seems to forget that he's the reason I have every last one of them. And I am not some weak woman he can just humiliate.

I dropped off lunch for my husband at the Conglomerate HQ, only to bump into my ex from two years ago. The man who'd ditched me at our marking ceremony to go "take care of his sister." I'd changed my hair, my makeup, everything. But he spotted me in the crowd as if it were nothing. "Elena, I'm back to finish what we started. Happy now?" I felt that familiar knot of doubt in my gut. "Sorry, who are you again...?" He let out a shaky laugh. "Babe, come on. Don't be mad. I didn't mean to leave you hanging. The ceremony back then? Ivy's wolf spirit was too weak. I had to find the Wolf God ruins to pray for her. She's my only sister; I couldn't just watch her fade." "Yeah, the healing took a while. So, I got myself an assignment overseas." "Anyway, I just got her wolf spirit stabilized, and I rushed back to bring you home to the packhouse!" That's when it hit me. This scruffy guy, with the stubble and all… this was my ex-fiancé. No. Did nobody tell him? The night he walked out on me? I married his uncle. Alpha Damian. The Wolf King.

My mate, Jasper Morrison, says coldly, "Elena, I'm breaking our mate bond." We stand on the open ground at the edge of the Silvermoon pack's territory. The full moon hangs high overhead, and this should be the sweetest moment for fated mates. We've loved each other for ten years. And now, he's about to break the bond Moon Goddess has given us. "Why?" I ask in a shaky voice. "You're an orphaned wolf," he says, turning his face away. "You don't have the bloodline to match me. The pack Elders have already approved this." A tearing pain rips through my chest. Having the mate bond stripped from me feels like my soul is being torn apart. I collapse to my knees, gasping for air. "Serena's father is one of the strongest Alphas in the North," Jasper says, looking down at me without a trace of guilt. "She'll help me rise as the strongest Beta in the Silvermoon pack's history." "You said…" I clench my teeth, fighting the pain. "You said you'd spend your life with me." "I was young and foolish," Jasper replies, already turning away. "The bonding ceremony is in three days. I suggest you don't cause trouble." Moonlight glints off his retreating form. I watch him walk away, my fingers clutching the moonstone bracelet my mother left me. It's my only keepsake. A message from an unknown number appears. "Elena, this is Damon, your older brother. I've been looking for you for 20 years." "I've attached a black card with unlimited credit. The resources of the entire Blackwood pack are at your disposal. No matter what you're facing, I've got you." I stare at the screen. The Blackwood pack? The top wolf pack in North Anthica? Another message soon pops up. "I'll come get you in three days. Wait for me." My finger hovers over the delete button. It has to be a scam. I'm just an orphaned wolf. How could I possibly have a brother from the Blackwood pack? Just then, a voice message from Jasper arrives. "Elena, for old times' sake, I'll arrange a place for you in one of the pack's spare houses when the ceremony ends. You can stay as part of the pack. I'll take care of you." He wants me to watch him bond with another she-wolf and thank him for keeping me in the pack. I delete Jasper's contact, then rename the unknown number in my phone to "Damon". My fingers tremble as I type a single word. "Okay."

On our wedding night, my husband Grayson's sister-in-law, Scarlette, stumbled drunkenly into our bridal suite and threw her arms around him, refusing to let go. "Kayla, my husband died young, and I really just want a child. Please, lend him to me for one night," she cried through her tears, shoving a toy into my hand. "I promise I'll return him tomorrow. And if you get lonely… you can use this to comfort yourself." I stood there, dumbfounded, my gaze shifting in confusion to Grayson, who was already helping Scarlette steady herself. "You're really going to sleep with her?" He avoided my eyes, his tone strangely urgent. "Don't overthink it. She's drunk and talking nonsense. I'll take her back to her room to rest." As he started to leave with her, I stepped in front of them, blocking their way. "Grayson, it's our wedding night tonight. Are you seriously going to walk out with her?" His expression darkened as he pushed me aside. "You're my wife now—try to be more sensible. Don't get jealous over something so trivial." Then, carefully, he guided her out of the room. I wanted to run after him and stop them, but when I saw the deep concern in his eyes as he looked at her, the truth finally hit me. The love this man had for me was no longer mine alone. And if that was the case, why should I cling to a marriage that had already soured? I might as well walk away with my head held high.

My fated mate, Alpha Baton, had once shackled his bloodlust for me. He’d built a corporate empire from the ashes of his bloody conquests, all to give me a civilized home. Even when my father was framed for murdering the brother of his first love, Seraphina, he held me gently. "Don't worry, Tricia. I'll face this with you." But on the day of the trial, my father was condemned as a murderer and exiled to the North. And Baton? He was celebrating, with his arm wrapped around Seraphina. I hunted down the witness, demanding answers, only to find him trembling as he stared at Baton, who stood right behind me. It was Baton. He had threatened the witness into lying. He was willing to destroy my father, just to make Seraphina happy. "Seraphina's brother is dead. Someone has to pay the price." The mate bond between us didn't just snap—it shattered. Agony ripped through my soul. If I meant nothing to him, our marking ceremony was a promise. And now, it was one I had to break.