CHAPTER 1
Laura's fingers trembled as she stared at the pregnancy test in her hand. Two pink lines. Positive.
"This changes everything," her wolf, Sage, whispered in her mind, but there was no joy in her voice, only worry.
Laura sat on the cold bathroom floor of the apartment she shared with Kyle, her boyfriend of three years. They had met at university, and he had promised her the world. He said he loved her, that they would build a future together after graduation.
That was before she found out who he really was.
Kyle wasn't just some regular guy studying business. He was Kyle Hartson, the only son of Marcus Hartson, the billionaire CEO of Hartson Industries and also the Alpha of the Moonridge Pack, one of the most powerful packs in the region.
Laura had discovered this truth just two months ago when Kyle's father showed up at their apartment unannounced. The look of disgust on Marcus Hartson's face when he saw her still burned in her memory.
"My son will never end up with an Omega," Marcus had said, his voice cold as ice. "You're nothing but a distraction."
Kyle had defended her that day, or at least she thought he had. He told his father to leave, held her close, and promised that his father's opinion didn't matter.
But things had changed since then.
Kyle started coming home late, sometimes not at all. He stopped looking at her the way he used to. The warmth in his eyes had been replaced with something else, something that made her stomach twist.
"Laura, are you in there?" Kyle's voice came from outside the bathroom door, making her jump.
She quickly wrapped the pregnancy test in tissue and shoved it into her pocket. "Yeah, I'll be out in a minute."
When she opened the door, Kyle was standing there in an expensive suit, his dark hair perfectly styled. He looked every bit the billionaire's son he was.
"We need to talk," he said, his voice flat.
Laura's heart sank. Those four words never meant anything good.
"Okay," she managed to say, following him to the living room.
Kyle didn't sit down. He stood by the window, his back to her, his hands in his pockets.
"My father wants me to take over the company next year," he said. "And the pack leadership as well."
"That's good news, isn't it?" Laura asked, even though every instinct told her this conversation was heading somewhere dark.
"It means I need to make certain choices," Kyle continued, still not looking at her. "Choices that will benefit the pack and the company."
"Kyle, what are you trying to say?"
He finally turned around, and the look in his eyes made her blood run cold.
"Veronica Sterling is back in town," he said. "Her father owns Sterling Enterprises. A marriage between our families would create the most powerful business alliance in the country."
Laura felt like she'd been slapped. "Marriage? Kyle, we've been together for three years."
"We were kids, Laura. We had fun. But this is real life now." His voice was so casual, like he was discussing the weather. "Veronica and I are meeting for dinner tonight. My father arranged it."
"You're going on a date with another woman?" Laura's voice cracked. "Just like that?"
"It's not a date, it's a business meeting."
"Does she know that?" Laura asked, her anger rising. "Does your father know that you already have a girlfriend? That we've built a life together?"
Kyle's jaw tightened. "You're not my girlfriend, Laura. You're an Omega who got lucky when I paid attention to her. Did you really think this was going to last forever?"
The words hit her like physical blows. "How can you say that? After everything we've been through?"
"I need someone who can stand beside me as an equal," Kyle said, his voice growing colder. "Someone with the right connections, the right bloodline. Veronica is an Alpha's daughter. What are you?"
Laura's wolf howled in pain inside her mind. "I'm the woman who loved you when you had nothing to prove. Before you cared about money and power."
"I've always cared about those things," Kyle shot back. "You just chose not to see it."
Laura's hand instinctively moved to her stomach, where their child was growing. Should she tell him? Would it make a difference?
"So what now?" she asked quietly. "You're just going to throw away three years like they meant nothing?"
"I'm not throwing anything away. I'm making a smart choice for my future." Kyle checked his watch. "I have to go. I'm meeting Veronica in an hour."
"Kyle, please." Laura hated how desperate she sounded, but she couldn't help it. "Don't do this."
For a moment, just a moment, something flickered in his eyes. Regret? Guilt? But it was gone as quickly as it appeared.
"I'll be back late. Don't wait up," he said, grabbing his keys from the table.
"If you walk out that door, we're done," Laura said, surprising herself with the strength in her voice.
Kyle paused at the door. He didn't turn around.
"We've been done for a while now, Laura. You just didn't want to see it."
The door closed behind him with a soft click that sounded like a gunshot in the silence.
Laura stood there, frozen, her hand still pressed against her stomach. Sage was whimpering in her mind, and tears were streaming down her face.
Her phone buzzed. A text message from an unknown number.
She opened it, and her blood turned to ice.
It was a photo of Kyle and a beautiful blonde woman, clearly taken just minutes ago. They were standing close together, and Kyle was smiling at her in a way he hadn't smiled at Laura in months.
Below the photo was a message: "He was never yours to keep. Some of us are born to be queens. Others are born to serve. Know your place, Omega."
