I became my Alpha’s wife for money. Not love. Not fate.Just a contract marriage.My scent isn't strong. So weak that most wolves barely notice me. But my father was sick and dying, and I had no choice. When the Alpha asked me to marry him, I signed my name with shaking hands.Three years.That was our deal.Three years as his wife. Three years in his den. Three years to pretend to be someone else.Because he did not choose me.He chose my face.I look like the one he loved before. The mate he lost. My brother.At night, my Alpha held me close. His hand on my waist. I could feel his breath on my neck. But when he spoke in his sleep, it was never my name.“It’s okay,” I whispered when his wolf cried. “I’m here.”I learned how to smile like his lost mate. How to sit, how to speak, how to calm my husband’s broken wolf the way my brother once did.And my Alpha kept me safe.He growled when others stared too long at me. When things got dangerous, he pulled me behind him. Yet his eyes always looked through me.When the contract ended, I gave it back to him.“It’s over,” I said softly. “You’re free now.”I thought he would let me go.Instead, his smell hit me hard. His eyes turned gold. He tore the contract apart.“Leave?” he growled, his teeth brushing my neck.“My little wolf... your scent has soaked into my den for three years.”.”He wrapped his strong arms around me and wouldn't let go.“My wolf knows your smell,” he whispered darkly.“And now you want to run? Too late.”