Chapter 1

They call me the "invisible wife," the domestic servant with a title. For eighteen years, I played the role of the weak, submissive Luna to my Alpha husband, Anthony.

But the scent of overripe peaches and another wolf's musk on his custom suit shattered my illusion.

He wasn't just cheating; he was popping illegal Bond-Blockers to numb our sacred connection, hiding his betrayal while I catered to his every whim.

Desperate for the truth, I tracked him to the Moonlight Hotel. I expected to find him in bed with his mistress, Katia.

I didn't expect to hear my own teenage son, Jacob, laughing with them.

"Mom is just a human in a wolf's skin," he sneered through the door. "I'm ashamed she's my mother. Katia is what a real Luna looks like."

His words cut deeper than any blade. They mocked my lack of scent. They called me a defect.

They didn't know the jagged scar on my chest exists because I poured my entire essence into Jacob's dying lungs the night he was born.

I became "weak" solely to keep him alive.

And this is how they repay me? By plotting to replace me with the woman spending my inheritance?

They want a powerful Luna? They're about to get one.

I wiped my tears and looked in the mirror, my hazel eyes flashing a blinding, predatory silver.

The White Wolf has been dormant for sixteen years, but tonight, at the Pack Gala, she wakes up to hunt.

Chapter 1

Alexandra POV:

The suit was expensive. Italian silk, custom-tailored to fit the broad, muscular shoulders of an Alpha.

I smoothed the lapel of my husband's jacket, preparing it for the dry cleaners. It was a mundane task, one fitting for Alexandra Wright, the "weak" Luna of the Silver Moon Pack. That's what they called me. The invisible wife. The domestic servant with a title.

Then, the scent hit me.

It wasn't subtle. It was an assault on my senses.

Buried beneath Anthony's usual cologne-a crisp sandalwood-was something else. It was cloying and sweet, like overripe peaches left to rot in the sun. Mixed with it was the undeniable, biological musk of a female wolf in heat.

My hands froze on the fabric.

Wolves have sensitive noses. Even an "Omega-level" weakling like me could distinguish scents. My chest tightened, an old ache throbbing beneath my sternum-the phantom pain of a sacrifice I made sixteen years ago.

My stomach churned. I dropped the jacket onto the bed as if it were burning.

I needed to sit down. I walked to the vanity, my legs trembling. On the counter sat the family iPad. It wasn't unlocked by mistake; I was the one who managed the pack's cloud synchronization. Anthony was too arrogant to understand how family sharing worked on Apple devices. He thought deleting a text on his phone deleted it everywhere.

I tapped the message icon.

It wasn't a text message. It was a transcription from the encrypted Mind-Link channel that I had set to auto-archive for "legal protection" years ago.

You owe me for round two, Alpha.

The text was followed by a crude emoji representing 'Knotting'-the biological lock that happens during wolf mating.

My breath hitched.

"Round two," I whispered, the words tasting like ash.

Panic, cold and sharp, clawed at my throat. Was it Jacob? Was some older she-wolf preying on my son before his first shift?

I didn't know who to turn to. I couldn't go to the Elders; they adored Anthony. I opened a browser tab and navigated to "PackConfessions," an anonymous forum for wolves. My fingers flew across the screen.

User: AnonymousLuna12

Help. Found message on family pad. "You owe me for round two, Alpha." Is my teenage son being groomed?

Replies came instantly. The internet never sleeps.

User: NightHowler: Honey, that's not for a pup. That's Alpha talk. "Alpha" is a title, not a nickname for a kid.

User: SheWolf_XX: Also, look at the timestamp. That was sent from the Moonlight Hotel's secure Wi-Fi zone. No pup gets in there. That's an adults-only nest.

The room spun.

It wasn't Jacob.

The front door downstairs slammed shut. Heavy footsteps echoed in the hallway.

"Alex? I'm home!"

Anthony's voice boomed, full of that charismatic confidence that made the pack worship him.

I quickly locked the iPad and stood up, smoothing my expression. I had to be the perfect, submissive wife. The role I had played for eighteen years.

Anthony walked into the bedroom. He looked handsome, his dark hair slightly disheveled. But the moment he stepped close to kiss my cheek, I smelled it again. The peaches. The musk.

And something else.

He smelled like sage and peppermint. Strong herbs. He had tried to mask the scent.

"You're late," I said, my voice surprisingly steady.

"Council meeting ran long," he lied, loosening his tie. "Old man Gregor wouldn't stop arguing about the border patrols. Exhausting."

"I'll unpack your briefcase," I offered, reaching for the leather bag in his hand.

He flinched, pulling it back slightly. "No need. I have sensitive documents in there."

"Anthony," I said softly, lowering my eyes. "You look tired. Go shower. I'll just set it on the desk."

He hesitated, then sighed. "Fine. Pour me a drink?"

He walked into the bathroom. The water turned on.

I didn't pour a drink. I opened the briefcase.

There were no council papers. Instead, hidden in a side pocket, was a blister pack of pills. The foil was popped on two of them.

Bond-Blockers.

I gasped. These were illegal. Highly illegal.

The Mate Bond is sacred. It's the spiritual and biological tether that connects two souls chosen by the Moon Goddess. It allows us to feel each other's emotions, to sense when the other is near.

Bond-Blockers are a narcotic designed to numb that connection. They dull the guilt. They silence the mate's pull so an Alpha can cheat without his partner sensing the betrayal through the bond.

I remembered seeing a similar empty wrapper in Jacob's trash can last week. I had assumed it was some strange teenage candy.

My heart hammered against my ribs.

It wasn't just a fling. This was premeditated. He was drugging himself to hide his infidelity from me. He was severing the holy connection the Goddess gave us, just to sleep with someone who smelled like rotting fruit.

Deep inside me, in a place I had walled off for years, something stirred.

My Inner Wolf.

She had been dormant since the night Jacob was born, drained to a flicker to keep my son alive. But betrayal is a powerful fuel. For the first time in a decade, I felt a spark.

It was a sound of pure, unadulterated rage.

I looked at the bathroom door. I could hear Anthony humming a tune over the sound of the shower.

I pulled out my phone and took a photo of the pills. Then I logged back into the forum.

User: LegalWolf: Gather evidence. If you challenge him without proof, the Pack laws will crush you. He is an Alpha. You are... well, you.

I typed my reply, my thumbs pressing hard against the glass.

User: AnonymousLuna12: I will make him regret being born a wolf.