Chapter 1

Elara POV

A sharp, tearing agony ripped through my swollen abdomen, forcing a breathless gasp from my lungs. I curled tighter into the velvet sofa of the Alpha's Manor, my fingers digging into the rich fabric. The pup-the future heir of the Blackwood Pack-was restless, sending waves of distress through my body.

"Luna, please, breathe," Bastian, the Pack's head butler, urged. Sweat beaded on his wrinkled forehead as his eyes glazed over, a clear sign he was trying to force a Mind-Link.

"Where is he, Bastian?" I whispered, my voice trembling. My fated mate, Alpha Gavin Blackwood, hadn't been home in three days.

Bastian blinked, his expression crumbling into defeat. "He... he blocked the link, Luna."

The rejection stung worse than the physical pain. Desperate, Bastian pulled out his cell phone and dialed Gavin's human number. The room was so quiet I could hear the faint, tinny voice of my husband when he finally answered.

"Take her to the Healer," Gavin's voice was ice, devoid of any mate's warmth. "I'm not a Healer."

The line went dead.

Bastian quickly pocketed the phone and turned to me, forcing a tight, reassuring smile. "The Alpha is deeply concerned, Luna. He is tied up with urgent Pack business, but he promised to meet us at the clinic as soon as he can."

It was a lie, but my desperate heart swallowed it whole. The hollow ache in my chest, tethered by our frayed Mate-bond, eased just a fraction. He was busy. He still cared about me and our pup.

"Let's go," I breathed, letting Bastian help me to my feet.

Ten minutes later, I was shivering in the back of the Pack's armored SUV. The sterile smell of the leather interior did nothing to calm my racing heart. Suddenly, the screen of my phone, resting on the seat beside me, lit up with a breaking news notification from a human tabloid.

*Billionaire Gavin Blackwood Rekindles Romance with Holloway Pack Jewel, Piper Holloway.*

My blood ran cold. With trembling fingers, I tapped the screen. A high-definition photo filled the display. It was Gavin, standing outside an exclusive restaurant in the city. His fingers were intertwined with a stunning brunette's. But it was the look on his face that shattered me-a proud, tender, utterly devoted smile. A smile he had never, not once, directed at me.

My inner White Wolf let out a pathetic, agonizing whimper, clawing at the confines of my mind.

*No,* I told myself, squeezing my eyes shut. *It's a fake. Rival packs are just trying to destabilize my position.*

Driven by a frantic need for the truth, I ignored the stabbing pain in my stomach and dialed Gavin's human number. It rang three times before the line clicked open.

"Hello?"

It wasn't Gavin. It was a woman's voice-sweet, breathy, and dripping with satisfaction.

"Where is Gavin?" I demanded, my voice cracking.

"Oh, he's in the shower right now," the woman purred. "Who is this?"

"I am his wife," I choked out. "Who the hell are you?"

A soft, mocking laugh echoed through the speaker. "I'm Piper. His future Luna."

The words were a silver blade plunged directly into my heart. The call disconnected, leaving me in a suffocating silence. The Mate-bond flared with a phantom, burning agony. Bastian had lied. There was no "urgent Pack business." My Alpha was with another woman.

*

Gavin POV

I pushed open the heavy oak doors of the luxury penthouse suite, my tie already loosened. The secret, three-hour political negotiation with the Holloway Pack Alpha had been exhausting, but necessary for my expansion plans.

I walked into the bedroom and stopped dead. Piper was sprawled across my unmade bed in a sheer silk slip, holding my cell phone.

"Why do you have my phone?" I growled, my inner Alpha surging with dark irritation.

Piper sat up, entirely unbothered by my tone. "Just answering a call from your little breeder. I told her he was in the shower. Oh, and I introduced myself as the future Luna."

My jaw clenched. I crossed the room in two long strides and snatched the device from her hand. "You do not make moves without my command, Piper," I warned, my voice dropping to a dangerous, lethal octave. "Our alliance stays quiet until the heir is born and I formally Reject her. You are jeopardizing my timeline."

"But what if she's hurt?" Piper pouted, though her eyes danced with malicious glee. "She called twice."

I looked down at the cracked screen, staring at Elara's missed call. I felt absolutely nothing. No guilt. No concern. Only the bitter annoyance of a disrupted schedule.

I tossed the phone onto the nightstand and turned my back on it. "Nothing about Elara is ever urgent."