Chapter 1

I was four months pregnant with the Alpha's heir, and I had given up everything for Michael.

I hid my identity as the daughter of the powerful Alpha Hayes, stripped away my inheritance, and poured my personal fortune into building his pack.

I thought we were the golden couple.

But one rainy night, Michael came home smelling of vanilla and deception.

Exhausted, his mental barriers slipped, and I heard his thoughts project through our Mind-Link to his mistress, Serena.

"She is just a vessel," his internal voice sneered.

"Once the pup is born, we take the child and reject her. I only need the Hayes money a little longer."

My world shattered. I wasn't his mate; I was a bank account with a pulse.

The cruelty escalated when a waiter tripped at dinner, sending boiling soup flying toward our table.

Michael didn't reach for me or his unborn child.

He lunged to shield Serena, leaving me to take the scalding liquid full force on my pregnant belly.

While I lay in the hospital with burns, he told the doctors to prioritize Serena's "shock" over my injuries.

He thought I was broken. He thought I was trapped.

He was wrong.

I bribed the nurse to write two words on my chart: "Spontaneous Abortion."

Then I froze every asset in the pack, signed the divorce papers, and vanished.

Michael wanted a future without me?

He's about to find out exactly what that costs.

Chapter 1

Olivia POV:

The rain hammered against the windows of the Pack House, a relentless rhythm that matched the throbbing ache in my lower back. I was four months pregnant, my body heavy and unfamiliar, yet my inner wolf remained silent, buried beneath the surge of human hormones that came with carrying an Alpha's heir.

I shifted on the cold leather sofa, pulling the knitted blanket tighter around my shoulders. The Pack House was quiet, save for the distant murmur of the Gamma guards changing shifts outside.

I looked at the clock. It was past midnight.

Michael wasn't home.

Michael Thorne. My Alpha. My Mate.

A bitter smile touched my lips. To the rest of the Thorne Pack, and indeed the neighboring territories, we were the golden couple. He was the ambitious, charismatic Alpha who had built this pack from the ground up. I was his supportive Luna, the woman who stood silently by his side.

They didn't know the truth. They saw the facade, but they didn't see Olivia Hayes.

They didn't know I was the daughter of Alpha Magnus Hayes-heir to one of the most powerful, ancient bloodlines in the country. I had stripped away my surname, my inheritance, and my father's protection to be with Michael. I had poured my personal fortune into this pack, buying the very land we stood on, funding the construction of the walls that now felt like a prison.

I did it for love. I did it because the moment I smelled him-that scent of rain-soaked earth and pine-I knew the Moon Goddess had blessed me.

But lately, the blessing felt like a curse.

The front door creaked open. A gust of wet, cold wind swept through the hallway, carrying a scent that made my stomach turn. It wasn't just rain.

It was *her*.

"Michael?" I called out, my voice raspy from hours of silence.

He walked into the living room, shaking water from his dark hair. He was devastatingly handsome, with a jawline that could cut glass and eyes the color of a stormy sea. But those eyes didn't soften when they landed on me. They flicked over my swollen belly with a detachment that chilled me to the bone.

"You're still up, Liv?" he asked, his tone clipping the ends of the words. "You should be resting. The pup needs strength."

"I couldn't sleep," I said, struggling to sit up. "Where have you been? I tried to Mind-Link you, but I hit a wall."

The Mind-Link is the sacred mental channel shared between mates; it is how we share thoughts, emotions, and location. To be blocked by your other half is not just silence-it is a physical rejection, like a door slamming on your soul.

"Pack business," he dismissed, walking past me toward the stairs. "A rogue was spotted near the northern border. I had to investigate."

"Did you take warriors?" I asked, my instincts prickling. "I didn't hear the alarm."

He stopped on the third step. He didn't turn around. I felt the air in the room grow heavy, the static charge of his Alpha aura expanding until it pressed against my skin.

"Olivia," he said, his voice dropping an octave. This wasn't a conversation anymore.

"Go to sleep. Do not question me."

The Alpha's Command.

It slammed into me like a physical blow. My muscles locked up instantly, betraying my will. My mouth snapped shut against my volition. My wolf, even dormant from the pregnancy, whined in submission deep in my chest.

He was using the sacred authority of the Alpha-authority meant to protect the pack-to silence his own pregnant wife.

I watched him ascend the stairs, tears stinging my eyes. I couldn't move until the command faded, leaving me trembling in the wake of his power.

He used to call me "My Luna."

Now, I was just a subject to be commanded.

I waited ten minutes, until the paralysis fully left my limbs. I needed water. My throat felt like it was filled with sand. I hoisted myself up and walked quietly toward the kitchen.

As I passed the library-Michael's private sanctuary-I heard it.

It wasn't a sound in the air. It was a leak. A slip.

It is a rare flaw in our kind. When an Alpha is exhausted or emotional, their ironclad mental barriers can lower. If they are communicating via Mind-Link with someone nearby, a powerful wolf-or someone with high-ranking blood like mine-can catch the "echo."

*...she's asleep, my love. Don't worry.*

Michael's mental voice was tender, dripping with a warmth he hadn't shown me in months.

I froze in the hallway, pressing my hand over my mouth.

*I hate that you have to go back to her,* a female voice replied. It was sweet, cloying, like honey mixed with venom. *I hate that she carries your pup. It should be ours, Michael.*

I recognized that voice.

Serena.

The "stray" she-wolf Michael had brought in three months ago. He claimed she was injured, found wandering the woods. He had set her up in the guest wing, claiming it was the Alpha's duty to protect the weak.

*It is ours, in spirit,* Michael replied. *The moment she drops the pup, things will change. You know the plan, Serena. I need the Hayes connection a little longer. Her father is dying. Once the inheritance settles...*

*I want to be your Luna, Michael. I'm tired of hiding in the shadows.*

*You are my Luna,* Michael purred in her mind. *You are the only one I see. Olivia is just... a vessel. A bank account. She's weak. She can't even shift right now. She's useless to me without her father's money.*

The world tilted on its axis.

A sharp, tearing pain ripped through my abdomen. It wasn't the baby. It was my heart. It was the mate bond, shrieking in agony as the truth severed the illusion I had built my life around.

I clamped both hands over my mouth to stifle the scream that clawed at my throat. Tears blurred my vision, hot and fast.

I wasn't his mate. Not in his heart.

I was a resource. A vessel.

I sank to the floor, the cold wood biting into my knees. Through the Mind-Link echo, I heard them laughing softly, a sound of intimacy that shattered me completely.

My hand rested on my stomach.

*I'm sorry,* I thought to the life growing inside me. *I am so, so sorry.*