Chapter 1

Aurelia POV

The crisp medical paper in my trembling hands felt heavier than a silver blade.

*Positive.*

I stared at the word until the sterile, chemical scent of the human hospital faded from my memory, replaced by the rushing pine breeze outside my car window. I was pregnant. Against all odds, my wolfless body was carrying the heir of Alpha Graves Buchanan, a man whose veins burned with ancient Lycan blood.

Today was our third Union Anniversary. When Graves's Beta texted me an hour ago, ordering me to the Grand Hall, my foolish heart had fluttered. For three years, our political marriage had been a cold, silent cage. But as the car approached the Pack's center, I saw the Grand Hall draped in magnificent black banners and expensive white lilies.

*He remembered,* I thought, pressing a hand to my still-flat stomach. *Maybe this pup is the miracle we need. Maybe today, he will finally look at me as his Luna.*

I stepped out of the car, my chest tight with the biggest hope I had dared to harbor in years. The heavy oak doors of the Grand Hall stood open, spilling golden light and the overwhelming energy of hundreds of shifting wolves into the twilight.

But as I crossed the threshold, the smile died on my lips.

This wasn't an anniversary celebration.

The air was thick with a sickeningly sweet scent-crushed poppies. It cut through the musk of the Pack, suffocating and familiar. I froze at the edge of the red carpet.

There, in the center of the room, stood my husband. Alpha Graves was a god among mortals, his broad shoulders straining the fabric of his tailored suit, his aura commanding absolute submission. But he wasn't looking at the door waiting for me. He was looking down at the woman tucked intimately against his side.

Davina Stewart. His first love. The "savior" who had supposedly died years ago.

She wore a stunning red dress, her cheeks flushed as she leaned into Graves's chest. When a clumsy warrior bumped a table, sending a glass of champagne toppling, Graves moved with lightning speed. He pulled Davina behind him, his arm wrapping protectively around her waist, his chest rumbling with a low, possessive growl that sent shivers down the spines of everyone nearby.

The look in his eyes as he checked her for glass shards-it was a tender, consuming fire I had never, ever seen directed at me.

Because I was wolfless, I couldn't hear the Pack's Mind-Link. But I didn't need to. The hushed whispers of the Warriors standing near me were loud enough.

"The real Luna is finally home," a burly guard muttered.

"Thank the Goddess. That wolfless Fitzgerald girl was just a useless placeholder to appease Elder Cecelia anyway. It's embarrassing having her around."

Every word was a silver bullet tearing through my chest. The joy of the life growing inside me turned to ash. Graves hadn't summoned me to celebrate our union. He had summoned me to witness my replacement. He wanted me to see exactly where I stood so I would quietly step aside.

I couldn't breathe. The scent of her poppies and his storm-and-leather aura intertwined perfectly, mocking my very existence. I turned on my heel and fled.

I didn't know how long I walked. The sky broke open, unleashing a torrential downpour that soaked through my thin dress, chilling me to the bone. I welcomed the freezing rain; it numbed the tearing agony in my soul.

By the time the towering iron gates of the Alpha's Estate loomed in the darkness, my tears had dried. This massive, empty house was a prison built on a transaction. Graves had his true love back. It was time for me to take the only thing that truly belonged to me-my baby-and leave. I would perform the Rejection.

I stood in the driveway, staring at the marble steps, gathering the shattered pieces of my dignity.

Suddenly, the blinding headlights of a black SUV pierced the rain. The vehicle screeched to a halt inches from me. The driver's door swung open, and heavy boots splashed onto the wet asphalt.

Alpha Graves towered over me, his expensive suit instantly darkened by the downpour. His jaw was clenched, his dark eyes flashing with an irritation that made my stomach twist. There was no tenderness here. No protective embrace like the one he had just given Davina.

He looked at my shivering, drenched form, his voice a cold, commanding whip that sliced through the roar of the storm.

"What are you doing standing in the rain?"