Chapter 1
I clutched the pregnancy test results in my hand, heart pounding in my chest, the word “positive” still ringing in my ears like a distant melody of hope. I had to tell him—William had to know.
I rushed toward the construction site of the amusement park he was overseeing. The carousel gleamed in the distance, spinning slowly under the early morning sun.
That’s when I saw them.
William…and Quinn.
His arms were wrapped tightly around her, his face buried in her hair. And her belly—Swollen. Pregnant.
I froze.
His voice floated toward me, sharp and careless. “So what if she finds out?”
The ground shifted beneath my feet. Loose stones crunched, giving me away.
Both their heads whipped in my direction.
William's eyes widened when he saw me. He let go of her like he’d just been caught stealing. “Caroline? What are you doing here?”
Quinn turned too, a smug expression blooming across her face like a poisonous flower.
William stepped forward, his voice trembling with guilt—or maybe just fear.
“How long have you been standing there? Look, it’s not what it looks like—don’t misunderstand—Quinn and I, we just—”
“Save it.” I wiped the tears from my cheeks with the back of my hand. “What exactly are you going to explain, William? That you’re just comforting her? That this is all some… big misunderstanding?”
“I—Caroline, I—” He stuttered, scrambling for excuses, but the look in his eyes said everything.
I raised the envelope in my hand, shaking slightly.
“I used my money to save Ember Claw Pack. I didn’t do it to buy you. If you didn’t want the Moon Ceremony, why didn’t you just say so? Why go through with it and then do this behind my back?”
His mask slipped. The lies, the shame, the rehearsed apologies—he dropped them all.
“Caroline, please,” he said, his voice quieter now. “I never meant to hurt you. I didn’t plan for this to happen.”
I stared at him, my chest hollowing.
“When did it start?” I asked, my voice barely more than a whisper.
William looked away.
“After my brother died,” he said finally. “Quinn jumped into the river. Everyone thought she drowned.”
I nodded slowly.
“So you started sleeping with her after that? After we were married?”
His silence was an answer enough.
A bitter laugh escaped my lips. Of course.
I had been a fool—believing that love could grow where betrayal already had roots. I thought if I worked hard enough, sacrificed enough, he’d eventually see me. If I became his Luna, his mate in every way that mattered, he would learn to love me.
I was wrong.
I was always the second place. A consolation prize. Gratitude in the shape of a bride.
The wolf inside me howled in pain, clawing at the walls of my soul. But the grief was too heavy. It choked out my shift, drowned out my strength. I could feel something breaking inside me—something deep and primal.
A year ago, William's brother died of cancer. And Quinn—his fated mate—threw herself into the river in grief. Nobody was ever recovered. William spiraled into a darkness I couldn’t reach.
So I tried. God, I tried.
I organized search teams, begged elders for blessings, scoured the banks myself until my feet bled. I searched for her, mourned her with him.
All this time… she wasn’t dead. She was alive. Living in secret. Sleeping with my mate.
And now she was carrying his child.
