Chapter 1 No.1

Alvera POV

The air in the Alpha's Den was thick, suffocatingly heavy with the scent of him-blizzard and cedar, a crisp, biting aroma that clung to my skin and invaded my lungs. It was the smell of power, of the Apex Alpha, and for the last hour, it had been the smell of a lover.

But as the early morning light filtered through the floor-to-ceiling windows, illuminating the chaotic tangle of black silk sheets we had just abandoned, the temperature in the room seemed to plummet.

Brennan Dawson stood by the window, buttoning his pristine white dress shirt. His back was a wall of muscle, tense and unyielding. The intimacy of moments ago, where his touch had been possessive and his growls had vibrated against my throat, was gone. In its place stood the Alpha.

"Kassie is back."

His voice was devoid of warmth, a flat statement of fact that hit me with the force of a physical blow.

I froze in the middle of pulling up my pencil skirt. My heart stuttered, a painful lurch in my chest, and my inner wolf let out a low, mournful whimper. *Kassie.* The name tasted like ash. His "Chosen Mate." The woman he had decided to wait for, the woman who would become Luna, while I remained his dirty little secret.

"I see," I said, my voice steady. It was a practiced calm, the mask of the perfect personal assistant sliding into place over the shattered woman. "Her flight lands at ten. I have the itinerary ready."

Brennan turned to face me. His golden eyes, usually so sharp, held a flicker of something unreadable-annoyance? Guilt? It vanished as quickly as it appeared.

"There is one more thing, Alvera." He walked over to his desk, his presence dominating the room. "Before she takes her place as Luna, I need the past cleaned up. Completely."

I smoothed my blouse, my fingers trembling slightly. "What do you need, Alpha?"

"Draft a Severance Declaration," he commanded, his tone dropping an octave, vibrating with the subtle power of an Alpha's order. "For the mate I rejected six years ago. I want the bond formally dissolved by the Elders. Today."

The air left my lungs.

He didn't know. He still didn't know.

Six years ago, in a dark corridor during a chaotic gathering, a young, arrogant Brennan had rejected a shadowed figure he deemed unworthy, snapping the bond before he even caught her scent. He didn't know that the girl was me. He didn't know that the woman warming his bed for the past three years, the assistant organizing his life, was the very mate he was trying to erase.

"A... Severance Declaration," I repeated, the words scraping my throat like broken glass.

"Yes. I owe Kassie a clean slate," he said, looking past me. "And add a clause for compensation. Transfer a significant sum from the Pack Treasury to the rejected mate's account."

My head snapped up. "Alpha, Pack Law forbids compensation for rejected mates. It sets a dangerous precedent."

"Do it," he growled, his eyes flashing. "She has been quiet for six years. She never caused trouble, never begged. That silence deserves a reward."

The irony was so sharp it nearly drew blood. He was rewarding me for suffering in silence, paying me off to disappear from a life I was never truly part of.

"As you wish, Alpha," I whispered, bowing my head in submission.

*

The International Airport was a chaotic sea of bodies and noise, but the scent hit me before I even saw her.

Artificial sakura. Sickly sweet, cloying cherry blossoms that smelled like cheap perfume and entitlement. It clashed violently with the earthy, grounded scents of the werewolf populace.

"Brennan!"

A squeal pierced the air. Kassie Warren emerged from the arrivals gate, a vision of carefully curated perfection. She didn't walk; she launched herself at him.

I stood three steps behind Brennan, clutching his briefcase and her luggage tags like a lifeline, rendering myself invisible. I watched as Brennan caught her. For a second, he stiffened, his body rigid, before he wrapped his arms around her.

"I missed you so much!" she cried, burying her face in his neck, right over the scent gland.

My wolf snarled in my head, clawing at my ribcage, demanding I tear her away. *Mine! He is ours!*

But he wasn't.

Brennan pulled back slightly, his expression tight, his smile not quite reaching his eyes. He looked over Kassie's shoulder, his gaze colliding with mine. For a heartbeat, the world narrowed to just us. I saw a flash of that same unreadable frustration in his gold eyes, a silent storm brewing beneath the surface.

Then Kassie turned, her smile dazzling and predatory. "Oh, and you brought the help! How thoughtful." She looked me up and down, dismissing me in a single glance. "You can take my carry-on. It's heavy."

She shoved a pink leather bag into my arms.

"Welcome back, Miss Warren," I said, my voice devoid of emotion, though my soul was screaming.

Brennan turned away, guiding Kassie toward the exit with a hand on the small of her back-a spot his fingers had traced on my skin only hours ago.

"Let's go," Brennan said, his voice rough.

I followed them, dragging the luggage of the woman who was here to replace me, while the Severance Declaration burned a hole in my mind. I would write it. I would sign my own execution. And then, I would be free.