The Signature

【Can you see it? He's bored of you. I'm the one he really loves. If you have any dignity left, walk away and hand over the Luna title.】

【If it weren't for you, Damien would've had his mating ceremony with me by now. Bitch! You're the one who's stopping me from becoming Luna! Go die!】

I ignored Vivian's barrage of messages — petty little games weren't worth my attention — and sent a mind-link to my father, the Alpha of Northwind Pack.

"Dad. The arranged mating — I'm in."

There was a beat of stunned silence before he answered, barely containing his excitement. "Are you sure? That Alpha was injured in battle. He has... complications. I'm worried—"

"I've made up my mind. But I have two conditions."

"Name them. Whatever you need, it's done."

"I want my citizenship restored to our pack. And every partnership, every project you've funded for Damien's pack — pull it all."

Damien spent his days drinking and living it up while his pack thrived — largely because my father kept pouring money into it, worried about how I was being treated. Half the pack's assets came from my family. The moment my father cut that lifeline, the whole thing would crumble.

My father understood instantly. "Done. How dare he bully my daughter! That bastard's going to wish he was never born."

After the link ended, I gently touched my barely-showing belly, my resolve hardening.

This baby deserved better than him.

I went straight to the Pack Registry to file for separation from the pack and to prepare the mate bond dissolution papers.

Inside the Registry, our mating ceremony portrait still hung on the wall. We'd looked so happy then. He'd loved me so deeply.

Three days before our ceremony, he'd knelt alone before the Moon Goddess statue at the altar, praying for three days and nights, just to bring me a protective amulet. He'd told me I was his whole life — that his greatest wish was for me to be safe and happy.

I'd cried in his arms and vowed to spend the rest of my life with him.

Now that vow made me sick.

The man who swore to love me had gotten another woman pregnant.

I closed my eyes against the pain as the video played on in my memory — the conversation between Damien and his friend afterward.

"Damien, didn't you promise Elena you'd end things with her? How did you get her pregnant? Elena won't stand for this. If she finds out and leaves you —"

Damien's expression was utterly indifferent. He stroked Vivian's hair like she was a kitten and said flatly, "What Alpha doesn't have someone on the side? Elena will deal with it."

"Besides, I'm the Alpha. I take responsibility for my people. Vivian's carrying my pup — what am I supposed to do, abandon her?"

His friend gaped for a long moment before stammering, "Elena's father is the Alpha of Northwind Pack — one of the most powerful packs in existence. He'd never let his daughter be humiliated like this. What if—"

Damien cut him off. "Elena cut ties with her father over the arranged mating ages ago. Relax — she'd never go running to her family over something this small."

His friend opened his mouth to say more, but Vivian's eyes reddened. She pressed her face against Damien's chest, whimpering softly.

"I used to have parents who loved me too. But they died in a rebellion, and my home was destroyed. I had no choice but to become a hostess just to survive. No one cares about me. I can't give you power or alliances — all I can give you is me. I hope you won't look down on me."

Damien melted. He wiped her tears gently. "That means more than any title or alliance. I could never look down on you."

He glanced at his still-sputtering friend, his voice going cold. "If anyone talks behind your back, I'll deal with them personally."

The video ended there. I knew exactly who had sent it, and exactly what she wanted.

You want the Luna title so badly? Fine. It's yours.