༄Chapter 1

Bella's POV

“Julie, have you had the maids prepare everything I asked for?”

“Yes Luna,” she answered from somewhere behind me.

I was already halfway down the stairs, one hand trailing the banister, grinning to myself. Andrew had been gone three days on patrol and I'd spent the better part of this morning making sure everything was perfect. His favorite food, fresh flowers in the entrance hall. I'd even put on the red dress he once said looked nice on me, which I would never in a million years admit out loud.

I heard the front door open and my whole chest lifted.

There he was.

My alpha. My husband. Looking so… and then I stopped, right there on the stairs, one foot suspended mid-step.

He wasn't alone.

She walked in behind him, blonde and curvy, her hand hovering near his arm like she already knew she belonged there.

Every bit of excitement I'd carried down those stairs just left. Gone as if someone opened the window and blew it away.

“Andrew.” My voice came out sharper than I meant it to. “Who is she?”

He looked up at me with no form of acknowledgement as his wife.

"This is Hailey," he said. "She's my mate and she'll be staying here with us."

Just like that. Like he was telling me about a new piece of furniture.

“Without my consent?” I came down the last few steps because I was not having this conversation from up there. “Andrew, I am the Luna of Blood Moon pack. Your wife. How dare you walk through that door and openly humiliate me like this…"

“I've been waiting to tell you.” He cut me off with that cold, flat voice he saves specifically to make me feel stupid. “I'm done with this marriage. It was forced from the beginning. I never loved you. I am fed up with your attitude, your complaining, your spoiled princess behavior…”

I almost laughed.

He was inside me four nights ago. Four nights ago he was groaning my name and now he was standing in our entrance hall telling me he was fed up. Bile climbed up my throat and I swallowed it back down hard.

Hailey leaned toward him and whispered to his ear, not even quietly, she wanted me to hear it. “Maybe I shouldn't have come. Your wife seems to hate me.”

Oh wow, she was playing cute. I saw exactly what she was doing and she was far, far from cute.

Andrew turned to her and his whole face changed. Soft, patient and gentle in a way I had never once received from him.

“Don't worry about her,” he said. “She wouldn't dare touch you. Not while I'm here.”

I wouldn't dare.

He took her hand and started walking toward the stairs.

“And where exactly do you think you're taking her?” I moved in front of them.

“Step aside Bella.” His voice dropped. “Don't make me lose my temper on you.”

“I asked you a question.”

He pushed me, just enough to move me out of his path like I was a door he needed to open, and walked past me with her.

I grabbed his free arm.

“Andrew I'm talking to you…”

He yanked his arm free and shoved me, this time with everything he had and I was already off balance, I was falling, actually falling, the stairs coming up behind me fast and my back hitting them one by one until my head cracked against the floor at the bottom and everything went black.

༺ ✦ ༻

I woke up with a headache that sat behind my eyes.

I blinked while surveying my environment. High ceiling. Beautiful room. A bed so wide.

A girl shot up from the chair in the corner and rushed toward me.

“Luna you're awake, thank the moon goddess, I was so worried, I didn't know how long you'd be out.” She was talking fast, her hands hovering over me like she wanted to check me for damage but was too scared to touch me. “What do we do about the woman Alpha Andrew brought?”

I stared at her.

“Who are you?”

She froze.

“Who's Alpha Andrew,” I continued, “and what exactly is my business with any woman?”

The girl, young, anxious, dressed like a servant looked at me like I'd just told her the sky was green.

“My name is Julie,” she said carefully. “I'm your Omega servant. Alpha Andrew is your husband. You're the Luna of Blood Moon pack.” She paused. “The woman he brought, she's his fated mate.”

I lay there and let that settle.

His fated mate. Which meant I wasn't his fated mate. I'd married an Alpha who never wanted me, in a pack that wasn't originally mine. How the hell did I get married to him in the first place?

“You asked what we should do about her?” I said.

“Yes Luna.”

“We welcome her.” I sat up. “She's my husband's mate. As a good Luna, it's my job to take care of him, and that means taking care of her. Go and call all the Omega servants here.”

Julie's face did something complicated. “In your room, Luna?”

“What?” I arc my brow looking at her.

“You don't…you've never let the Omega servants into your room. Only me. You said…”

“Julie.” I looked at her. “Go and call them.”

She bowed and left. I heard the quick shuffle of her footsteps down the hall and then, about thirty seconds later, they filed in, lined up along the wall looking at me with wide uncertain eyes.

“I want this packhouse cleaned,” I said. “The Alpha's room especially, fresh linens, everything restocked, make it nice. And I want a proper meal prepared for the Alpha's mate. Go.”

Not one of them moved for a full three seconds. They just stood there, shock sitting plainly on every single face like they'd walked into the wrong house.

“Go, get to work.” I said again.

They all left remaining one person.

Julie. She stood near the door with her head down, wringing her hands together.

“What is it, Julie?”

“Luna.” She looked up. “If you're really hurting right now, and you have every right to be, you should go back to Blackthron. Tell your father. Alpha Alexander is powerful, he would get justice for you, he would never let Andrew treat you this way. You don't have to stay here and suffer through this.”

I waved my hand dismissively.

“I'm the Luna,” I said. “It's my responsibility to think about this pack and its Alpha. Andrew found his fated mate, and that's a good thing. I should be happy for him. I should be taking care of them both, not making this difficult.”

“But Luna…”

“No buts.” I leaned back against the headboard. “Actually before you go, have the servants put new sets of sexy lingerie in their room. And some aphrodisiac supplements in the nightstand. Discreetly.” I waved my hand again. “And I want a massage arranged. And a proper meal, something lavish, whatever the cook does best. For me.”

Julie stood there with her mouth slightly open.

“Today, Julie.”

She bowed and left.

I settled back into the pillows and let out a long slow breath. Outside the window I could hear the packhouse coming alive.

So my father is the Alpha of Blackthron. Which meant I had a powerful man in my corner, a whole territory behind my name, and apparently money I hadn't even begun to look at yet.

Who cared about this husband and his so-called mate? I scoffed softly, still smiling, and closed my eyes.