Too Late For His Regret: Rise Of The Betrayed Luna

When Simone called me that afternoon, I was in the meditation garden in the backyard, reading a rare edition of the aeronautical textbooks I used to devour in college.

"Evelyn, I need to tell you something." Simone's voice was tight with tension. "I saw Damien last night at The Riverside Hotel with a woman."

I quickly marked my page, rolling my eyes. My best friend was convinced that Damien, my husband, was hiding something. I always told her she was watching too many conspiracy videos and probably had too much time on her hands.

"Simone—"

"They weren't just having a business dinner, Eve. The way he touched her… it wasn't professional."

I smiled even though she couldn't see me. "Simone, Damien has meetings all the time. Female clients, pack associates. It doesn't mean anything."

"This was different. I'm telling you, something felt off—"

"Then you're wrong." My voice came out sharper than I intended. "We've been together for thirteen years. We're married. A mate bond doesn't lie."

The silence on her end felt heavy. Simone did not have a mate yet, so she would never understand what it meant to be connected to someone at a soul level, to feel them through an invisible thread that couldn't be severed.

We've been together for thirteen years and most importantly, we are mates. The Moon Goddess herself chose us.

Simone's sigh carried through the phone, soft and sad. "Okay. Maybe I overreacted. I just worry about you, Eve. You know that, right?"

"I know." My throat felt tight. "Thank you for caring."

When I hung up, my hands were shaking.

I sat there on the stone bench, staring at nothing, trying to convince myself that Simone had misread the situation.

But my wolf was agitated now, clawing at my insides. That restless feeling had intensified into something uncomfortably close to dread.

I pulled out the envelope from my bag, the one Dr. Thorne had given me this morning. Inside were test results I'd been waiting six months to receive. Six months of treatments, medications, hoping and praying that my body had finally healed enough from the rogue attack.

I'd been so excited when Dr. Thorne handed me the envelope with that warm smile. "Good news," she'd said, and I'd nearly cried right there in her office.

My wolf had finally healed. My body could sustain a pregnancy.

Tonight was supposed to be special. I was going to tell Damien, and we'd finally start the family we'd been dreaming about. I dropped the journal I was reading and got ready to go to my husband's office to tell him the good news, prompted by the exchange I had with Simone.

The private elevator to the executive floor required a key card. My hands shook so badly it took two tries to get it to scan. I'd had this card since before we were married, back when I'd worked alongside Damien to build Silvercrest from nothing.

Back when I'd thought we were partners in everything.

The elevator ride felt endless, but once it stopped, I was met with two wolves standing in the hallway. Marcus, Damien's Beta, and a young woman I'd never seen before.

She wore a tight black dress that was completely inappropriate for an office setting, the kind that screamed for attention. Her scent hit me immediately, irritating me for some reason.

My wolf's hackles rose instantly.

"I don't care who you think you are," the girl snarled, her hand outstretched to block the hallway. Her voice dripped with arrogance. "The Alpha is in a private meeting. No one gets through without proper clearance—"

"Riley!" Marcus's voice cracked, and I saw genuine fear flash across his face. His eyes darted to me, then back to her. "This is Mrs. Cross. Alpha Cross's wife."

Riley looked stunned for a moment. "Oh." She didn't lower her hand or move aside. "You must be Luna Cross. I'm Riley Hartwell. Alpha Damien is sponsoring my education.” Her smile was sugar-sweet and venomous. "I'm interning here, and I take my responsibilities very seriously. I'm sure you understand the need for proper protocol."

The audacity hit me like a physical blow. This girl, who couldn't be more than twenty, was trying to keep me, the Luna, from seeing my own mate?

Then I noticed a detail that made everything else fade into background noise. A familiar bracelet on her wrist. A delicate silver one with a crescent moon charm that caught the light as she gestured.

It was identical to mine. The one Damien had given me for our first anniversary.

I remembered that night so clearly it hurt. We'd been sitting on our balcony, and he pulled out the small box. "I had it custom made," he had whispered, fastening it around my wrist. "One of a kind. Just like you. You're the only one who will ever wear my symbol."

I'd cried. God, I'd actually cried over it. And now this girl, a stranger, was wearing an identical one. The world tilted as my breath caught in my throat.

My eyes traveled up against my will, following the column of her neck. She was tucking her hair behind her ear, a casual gesture, but it revealed something that made my heart stop.

The mating mark spot. She wasn't fully marked, but the bite was just enough to make a cut. I knew that spot. Damien always teased me there, sinking his fangs in whenever we made out.

My wolf howled, throwing herself against my control with such violence that I nearly shifted right there. But I kept my face blank. Years of practice in the Morgan household had taught me how to hide every emotion behind a perfect mask.

"Marcus," I said quietly, amazed that my voice didn't shake. "Is my husband available?"

"Luna, he's with your brother, but I'm certain—" Marcus was practically tripping over his words, his distress obvious.

"I'm sure he will make time to see me." I moved past Riley, and her scent clung to me as I passed. Jasmine and something else. Something that had been on Damien's clothes for weeks. I'd thought it was a new air freshener in his office.

How fucking stupid I'd been. I suddenly felt dizzy. My heels were silent on the plush carpet as I walked toward Damien's office. I was about to open the door, but something stopped me right as I reached for the knob. I leaned in to listen.

"You're playing with fire keeping her this close." That was Kieran, my brother. "What happens when Evelyn figures it out?"

My heart dropped. My fingers dug into the wood hard enough that I felt a splinter pierce my skin, but I barely noticed the pain.

"She won't." Damien's response was so casual it made me nauseous. "Eve sees what she wants to see. She's so focused on getting pregnant that she doesn't notice anything else. It's almost too easy."

Each word was a knife sliding between my ribs.

Kieran laughed. Actually laughed. "Still. That rogue attack nearly killed her. Everyone knows her wolf is damaged. She might never carry a pup. Are you sure this is worth the risk?"

My hand found my stomach, pressing against the scars hidden beneath my clothes. I could still remember the feeling of claws ripping through flesh, of my own blood pooling warm beneath me while I gasped for air.

"It had to be done." Damien's voice lowered, and I had to strain to hear. "Vanessa couldn't control her jealousy. She was sloppy. If she'd been caught hiring those rogues, she would've been executed." He paused, and I heard him take a drink. "Evelyn was already the family disappointment. The attack gave me the perfect excuse."

My legs went weak. I grabbed the wall, needing something solid because the floor felt like it was dropping away beneath me. The rogue attack, the one that had nearly killed me. The one that had left me broken and scarred and damaged.

Vanessa had done that. My adopted sister, the one my entire family loved more than me, had hired rogues to kill me. And Damien had known. Tears burned in my eyes, but I blinked them back furiously. I wouldn't cry. Not here. Not where they might hear me.

"What excuse?" Kieran asked, sounding curious. Interested, not horrified, not disgusted.

"To complete the mate bond in front of the entire pack." Papers rustled as Damien shuffled through documents while discussing my destruction like it was a business deal. "Everyone expected me to reject her after the attack. Damaged goods, you know? But I played the devoted mate instead. It bought us time to cover Vanessa's tracks and get her out of the pack before anyone could connect her to it."

"Clever," Kieran admitted. "Though I'm surprised you actually marked her."

"A bite mark means nothing without consummation." Damien sounded almost bored now. "And conveniently, Eve's injuries make that impossible. I can play the patient and loving husband while keeping my options open. She actually thanks me for waiting. Cries about how understanding I am."

They both laughed. The sound broke something fundamental inside me. My vision blurred, and I couldn't tell if it was from tears or rage or the way my wolf was tearing me apart from the inside.

I'd been so grateful. So thankful that he'd stayed with me despite my broken body. I'd felt guilty every single time he'd pulled away, every time I'd seen the frustration in his eyes because I couldn't have sex with him in fear of getting pregnant.

But he'd been fucking someone else the whole time.

"And Riley?" Kieran asked.

"Vanessa's distant cousin. Close enough to her bloodline that my wolf accepts her. Different enough that Vanessa won't realize when she comes back." Ice clinked against glass as Damien poured another drink. "The girl's eager too. None of this 'I'm too damaged' bullshit. She knows how to please an Alpha."

My hand pressed against my mouth, trying to hold back the sob that wanted to escape. I tasted blood from biting my lip without realizing it.

"Just keep it quiet," Kieran warned. "We need Eve compliant until the merger with the Morgan pack shares goes through. After that…"

"After that, tragic accidents happen during border patrols." Damien's voice held a casual shrug. "Rogues are so unpredictable. Who knows what might happen to a weak, damaged wolf who wandered too far from protection?"

They were going to kill me. Once I'd served my purpose, once they'd bled my family's fortune dry, they were going to kill me and make it look like an accident.

My wolf was screaming now, throwing herself against my control with such force that I felt my bones start to shift. I bit down on my tongue hard enough to taste blood, using the pain to anchor myself.

I couldn't break. Not here. Not now. Not when they'd hear me and know I'd discovered everything. I stepped back as it crashed over me that everything had been a lie from the beginning. The rogue attack that destroyed me was orchestrated by Vanessa, and my husband was an accomplice too.

"Who's there?" Damien spoke, his voice sharp. I could feel his wolf pushing forward through our bond, alert. I suddenly hated how connected to him I felt, something I used to love with every fiber of my being.

I walked away from the office, hurrying to the terrace as I tried to calm my heart that was beating wildly in my chest. I felt tears crowd in my eyes, threatening to fall, but I would be a coward to let them fall for a man like that.

I swallowed it down as I heard the transparent glass doors of the balcony slide open and the familiar scent of my mate filled my nose.

"Evelyn?"

I turned slowly, tightening my hand around my phone to make it look like I’d just ended a call. Damien stood in the doorway, and the tension radiated off him in waves that made the air feel thick.

“Hey, you.” I kept my voice steady, even bored, like I hadn’t just heard him casually discussing my murder.

The second he saw my expression, or lack of one, his shoulders dropped. Relief flooded his face so obviously it made bile rise in my throat. Damien crossed the terrace and reached for my hand. “There you are. Why didn’t you come inside?”

“I didn’t want to interrupt,” I said, fighting to keep my voice from cracking. “Sounded important.”

“Nothing is more important than you.” He squeezed my hand, and I wanted to rip it away. “Come on, let’s go back to my office.”

He guided me inside, his hand on the small of my back. The touch that used to feel protective now felt possessive, like a collar I’d willingly put on myself.

Kieran was still there, leaning against Damien’s desk with his arms crossed. He looked me up and down with that familiar expression of disappointment I’d grown up seeing.

“You know, Evelyn, you really need to learn boundaries,” he said, his voice dripping with condescension. “Showing up unannounced, disrupting meetings… it’s embarrassing. For all of us.”

My wolf snarled, but I kept my face neutral. I’d learnt years ago that reacting only made it worse.

Damien held up a hand. “Kieran, that’s enough. She is my wife. She’s welcome here anytime.”

“Maybe she shouldn’t be.” Kieran rolled his eyes. “Because Vanessa always understood protocol. She knew when to stay away, when her presence would be helpful versus when it would be a distraction.” He looked at me pointedly.

The comparison hit exactly where he’d intended. It always did. Vanessa. Perfect, beautiful Vanessa, who’d tried to have me killed and was still somehow the golden child.

“I said that’s enough.” Damien’s voice carried Alpha command now, and Kieran backed off with a shrug.

“Fine. Just remember what we discussed. Dinner tomorrow night, seven sharp. Don’t keep Dad waiting.” He shot me one last dismissive look before leaving, closing the door behind him with more force than necessary.

The silence that followed felt suffocating.

“Don’t listen to him,” Damien said, turning to me with what looked like genuine concern. “You know how he gets.”

I did know. I’d spent years being compared to Vanessa and found wanting every single time, even though I was the one who’d worked for everything while she floated through life on her looks and charm.

“I should go,” I said, reaching for my bag. My fingers brushed the envelope inside and I remembered the test results I’d been so excited to share just hours ago.

“Wait.” Damien caught my wrist gently. “I’m sorry about Kieran. And I’m sorry I’ve been so busy lately.” His thumb stroked across my pulse point in that way that used to make me melt. “Let me make it up to you. Get dressed up tonight. Somewhere nice, just the two of us. A real date, like we used to have.”

The offer should have made me happy. A few hours ago, it would have. “That sounds nice.” I smiled.

“Perfect.” He kissed my forehead, and I had to fight not to flinch away. “I’ll pick you up at eight. Wear that blue dress I love.”

The blue dress he’d bought me for our anniversary. The same anniversary where he’d probably bought Riley an identical bracelet to mine. I nodded and left before my mask could crack completely.

-----

I didn’t want to go back to the house. Not yet. So, I walked. The rain started to fall light at first, then heavier. I should have called for a car or tried to find shelter, but I just kept walking through the district like I could outrun the truth.

My mind kept circling back to everything I’d given up. Four years ago, I’d been at St. Vale Research Academy on a full scholarship. I was the youngest person ever accepted into their advanced neuro-engineering program.

My mentor, Dr Stuart had wanted me to lead her neural interface research team, which could have helped paralyzed wolves walk again and could have changed lives. It was a very lucrative and good research that would have been concluded by now if I hadn’t bailed on them.

But then Damien had shown up at my dorm room, looking desperate and exhausted.

“Eve, I don’t know what else to do,” he’d said, running his hands through his hair in that way he did when he was stressed. “The algorithms aren’t working. We are hemorrhaging money. I’m going to lose everything.” He’d looked at me with those eyes I’d loved since childhood. “I need your help. Please. Just for a few months.”

We’d known each other since we were nine, when he’d saved me from a rogue bully. I’d loved him for as long as I could remember and had dreamed of the day he’d see me as more than just his friend’s little sister.

So, when he’d asked for help, I’d said yes immediately. Just for one semester, I told myself. Just until he got back on his feet. I’d deferred my graduate program. Then deferred it again, and again.

By the time Damien proposed, I’d been out of academia for three years, and Silvercrest was worth hundreds of millions. Everyone said I was lucky that I’d caught an Alpha on his way up, that I should be grateful he’d chosen damaged, broken me.

Nobody mentioned that I’d helped build his empire from nothing. That my code was running through every system his company sold. That my algorithms had secured the contracts that made him billions.

Meanwhile, Vanessa who’d never worked a day in her life, was praised for her charity galas and her social connections. Our parents hung on her every word, threw her extravagant parties, bought her a fifty-million-dollar estate just because she’d cried about me receiving Grandmother’s heirloom bracelet.

And all along, Vanessa had been the one Damien actually wanted. The one he’d been protecting. The one he’d marry in a heartbeat if he could. I was just the convenient tool. The damaged stand-in who was useful for her algorithms and her family connections.

The rain was coming down harder now, soaking through my jacket, plastering my hair to my face. I looked up and realized I’d walked all the way to the old district without consciously choosing the direction.

My fingers found the envelope in my bag, and I felt the test results that made me so happy a while ago. I pulled it out slowly. The paper was already getting damp, the edges starting to curl.

All those months of treatments. All those medications that made me sick. All those appointments where I’d endured painful procedures and humiliating examinations. For what?

So Damien could get me pregnant and then arrange a convenient “accident” once he had an heir to secure the Morgan pack assets? My hands started tearing before I’d consciously decided to do it.

The paper ripped easily, separating into halves, then quarters, then smaller and smaller pieces. The pieces scattered in the rain, catching on the wind, disappearing into gutters and puddles.

Good. Let them wash away with all the other garbage.

I was about to head back when I heard a distant engine approaching me. The sound was so familiar that it made me look up, and I watched as a black Bentley rolled past and parked at the alley.

When I looked close enough, I saw it. It was almost as if fate was trying to find the best ways to humble me this night. I saw Riley, straddling someone’s lap. Her dress was hiked up, and her arms wrapped around him. Their mouths locked together like they were the only two people in the world.

The man was Damien. I watched for a hot minute as he did all the things he used to do to me, except this time she was sliding up and down him, her head tipped back as she moaned loudly. She was everything I couldn’t give him.

I couldn’t take it anymore. I broke down under the rain, my body shaking violently as I felt my heart shatter in my chest. All this while, I had thought someone would love me for who I was.

But I was delusional. It took a hot minute before I finished and got up from the floor, then wiped my eyes clean, even with the rain beating down. Since I could not make back all the years I wasted on him, I did not want to spend more of it crying over him.

He was not worth it, and I was sure as hell done with the damn marriage.

People kept walking past me on the street with their umbrellas up and heads down against the rain. A few glanced over and were probably wondering why some woman was standing in a downpour looking like her world had just ended.

Which, I supposed, it had. But I wasn’t going to fall apart. Not anymore. Not for him.

I turned away from the alley where Damien and Riley were still… I couldn’t even think about it. My stomach churned, threatening to empty itself right there on the sidewalk. I forced myself to move, one foot in front of the other, walking with no destination in mind. Just away. Away from him, away from the lies, away from everything.

The rain felt like it was washing something off me. Not just water soaking through my clothes, but years of blind devotion, of making myself small, of believing I was lucky someone wanted me despite being “damaged goods.”

My wolf whimpered in my chest, confused and grieving. She didn’t understand why our mate had betrayed us so completely. The bond still pulsed there, sickly and wrong, like an infected wound that wouldn’t heal.

Breaking a mate bond wasn’t like human divorce. It required ritual, intention, and usually the consent of both parties. Damien would never agree, not until he’d drained every asset from the Morgan pack, not until he’d gotten what he needed from me, but he will if I managed to force him.

My grandmother had told me once, years before she died, that there were old dangerous ways that a wolf could reject their mate. But Goddess, it would hurt like nothing I’d ever experienced. Rejection pain could kill weaker wolves, could leave survivors crippled for months.

But staying with Damien would kill me anyway. Literally, according to what I’d overheard. At least this way, I’d die free. I decided that I would do it tomorrow night at that family dinner, in front of both packs, I would reject him publicly.

My eyes caught someone as I entered the merchant's street , and I turned to look. An elderly woman sat huddled in a doorway, trying to shelter under a narrow awning.

Her thin jacket was soaked through, and even from a distance, I could see her shivering. My feet carried me toward her before I’d consciously decided to move.

“Are you alright, ma’am?” I asked softly.

She looked up, startled. Her eyes were exhausted. “Oh, I’m fine, dear. Just waiting for my grandson.”

She was clearly not fine. Her lips had a bluish tinge, and her hands trembled badly. I looked down at my hand, at the wedding ring that suddenly felt like it was burning my skin. Without thinking, I slipped it off. The metal was still warm. I’d worn it every day for two years, believing it meant something sacred.

Now it just felt like a lie I’d been wearing.

“Here.” I knelt down and pressed it into her palm. “Please take this. Sell it. It should help you stay warm.”

Her eyes went wide. “Miss, I can’t—”

“You can.” I interrupted, my voice steadier than I expected. “I don’t need it anymore.”

She studied my face for a long moment, then nodded slowly. “Thank you,” she whispered. “You’re very kind.”

I stood and walked away before the tears could start again, before I could change my mind. My finger felt naked without the ring’s weight, but lighter somehow. All this while I had hidden under his shadow, but now I have woken up.

I was Evelyn Morgan. Not Evelyn Cross. Not someone’s convenient tool, and I would be damned if I let him treat me like that.

–

The Phantom’s engine purred as it pulled up to the curb. Christian Castellan stepped out, his expensive shoes splashing slightly in a puddle he didn’t bother avoiding.

His wolf was agitated tonight. He felt restless, but he couldn’t figure out why. He saw his grandmother hunched under the awning, looking small and fragile in a way that always made his chest tight with worry.

“Grandmother.” His voice came out sharper than he intended as he rushed over to her. “Why are you out here?”

“Don’t fuss at me, Christian.” She was already too tired to stand well. “The driver had an accident. I told him to take the girl to the hospital.”

He steadied her with one hand and opened his umbrella with the other. “You could’ve called me sooner, Grandmother. You know I cannot stomach it if anything had happened to you.”

“You were working. You’re always working.” She sounded tired.

Christian sighed in response before he started guiding her toward the car when she suddenly grabbed his wrist. Her grip was surprisingly strong.

“Wait. A young woman gave me something.”

She pressed a ring into his hand. The metal was still warm. Christian stared at it with squinted eyes as he made out the shape and quickly realized that it was a wedding band, the pink diamond catching the streetlight. It looked delicate and expensive.

“She just walked off that way.” His grandmother pointed down the street. “Lovely girl, but very sad eyes. You should return it to her.”

His wolf surged without warning. The scent hit him all at once, faint but unmistakable on the metal. Rain and jasmine, yes, but underneath it was grief and exhaustion. Just as he was about to move away, his wolf recognized it as his mate.

Impossible.

He’d never believed in that instant-recognition nonsense. Fated mates were rare. He’d gone thirty years without finding his. What were the chances—

“Christian!” His grandmother’s voice cut through his thoughts. “Are you going after her or not?”

He looked where she’d pointed, and his eyes caught a silhouette pass by.

“Get in the car. I’ll be right back.” He ushered her into the car.

He took off at a jog, his wolf pushing him faster. The scent was already fading in the rain. He rounded the corner, but he found nothing. The street was empty. She was gone.

Christian stood there breathing hard as rain soaked through his expensive suit, staring at the empty street where she’d disappeared. His wolf howled in frustration, clawing at his insides.

But he forced himself to breathe, to think rationally. He had a ring. That was something. He could trace it. He could try to find her that way. When he got back to the car, his grandmother was watching him with sharp eyes.

“You didn’t catch her.”

“No.”

“That girl was special. I could tell.” She paused, then added firmly. “Find her, Christian. I think the Moon Goddess brought her to us for a reason.”

“She’s married, Grandmother.” He held up the ring as evidence.

She waved that away like it didn’t matter. “She took it off. That means something.”

It meant something, alright. It meant she was running from a marriage. From a mate bond, if she were a wolf. His wolf didn’t care about the complications. It wanted to hunt, to find and to claim.

Christian tossed the ring onto the center console and started the car. His grandmother was still talking, but he barely heard her. The ring sat there catching the dashboard lights. His wolf wouldn’t settle down.

What a headache, he thought. But even as he drove away, he was already planning how he’d find her again.

–

I ended up at Simone’s apartment without consciously choosing the direction. My feet just carried me there, to the one person who’d never lied to me. She opened the door in her pajamas, took one look at my soaked appearance, and pulled me inside.

“Jesus, Eve. What happened?”

Then the dam broke. I told her everything. About overhearing Damien and Kieran discussing how Vanessa had hired the rogues. About the plan to kill me once they’d secured the Morgan pack shares. Then finally, about seeing them in the alley.

Simone’s face went through shock, rage, then horror. By the time I finished, she was pacing her small living room.

“That motherfucker,” she hissed. “I’m going to kill him.”

“Get in line,” I mumbled weakly.

She whirled on me. “Eve, you have to leave. Tonight.”

“I can’t. Not yet.” I shook my head. “I need to do this right. If I just run, he’ll find me and drag me back.”

Simone looked like she wanted to argue, but she nodded tightly. “Okay. What do you need?”

“Time.” I took a shaky breath. “And I need somewhere to go after.”

“You can stay with me—”

“No.” I cut her off. “I need to leave Silvercrest completely to where he can't find me.”

Understanding dawned on her face. “The research.”

“Yeah.” Something settled in my chest as I said it. “The research. The life I had before I gave it all up for him.”

Simone grabbed my hands. “Then do it. Call them. Right now.”

I stared at her. “It’s been three years. They probably don’t even—”

“You don’t know that. And you’ll never know unless you try.” She squeezed my hands. “Eve, you were brilliant. You still are. Stop letting what he did to you define what you can become.”

Her words hit something deep inside me. She was right. I’d spent so long believing I was damaged, broken, worthless because that’s what everyone had told me. What they’d made me believe.

But I wasn’t broken. I was a survivor. And I’d survived long enough. It was time to do more than just survive. I pulled out my phone with trembling hands and scrolled to Dr. Stuart’s number.

“Do it,” Simone urged softly.

I took a breath, then another as my finger hovered over the call button. Everything hung in this moment. The choice between the life I’d been living and the one I’d given up. Between being Evelyn Cross, the damaged Luna, and Evelyn Morgan, the neuroscientist who’d once been called brilliant.

I pressed call. It only rang once before the phone was answered.

“Hello?” Dr. Stuart’s voice was exactly as I remembered.

“Dr. Stuart?” My voice came out rough. “It’s Evelyn Morgan.” I paused, my heart hammering. “I know it’s been three years. I know I walked away. But I need to ask you something.”

There was a pause on the other end. I could hear papers rustling, could imagine her setting aside whatever she’d been working on.

“I want my position back,” I deadpanned, the words tumbling out before I could lose my nerve. “At St. Vale. In the neural interface project. If… if there’s still room for me.”

The silence on the line stretched for what felt like forever before Dr. Stuart finally spoke.

"Evelyn Morgan. Three years of silence, and you call me in the middle of the night.”

I gripped the phone tighter, my knuckles going white. Simone was watching me from across her small living room, her hands clasped together like she was praying.

"I know I have no right to ask," I said, and my voice cracked despite my best efforts to keep it steady. "I walked away from everything. The program, the research, all of it. But I need to know if there's any chance I could come back.”

"The neural interface project is in its final phase now." Her tone was measured and impossible to read. "We hit a wall about eight months ago. Sensory feedback degradation at the synaptic junction. No one on my team has been able to crack it.”

My brain latched onto the problem like a lifeline, pulling up theories and research I'd shelved years ago. "The myelin sheath. You're losing signal integrity because synthetic coating can't replicate organic insulation patterns. The degradation would accelerate exponentially after initial breakdown.”

There was a pause, and then she laughed. It was a warm sound, like she was surprised and genuine. "Ten seconds. My team took eight months to even identify the problem, and you just solved it in ten seconds without looking at a single data point.”

"I've had time to think." The bitterness leaked into my voice before I could stop it. "Too much time.”

"Then stop wasting more of it." Her voice sharpened with urgency. "I'll reinstate your position by morning. How soon can you be here?”

I closed my eyes and calculated. One month to untangle myself from a marriage built on lies. One month to find evidence against Vanessa. One month to figure out how to break a mate bond that Damien would never willingly release.

"Thirty days," I said. "I need to settle some things here first.”

"Done. I'll send the paperwork tonight." She paused, and when she spoke again her voice was gentler. "Whatever you're running from, Evelyn, run fast. The offer is not going to be here forever, you know how competitive it can get.” Then the line went dead.

Simone crashed into me with a hug so fierce it nearly knocked me off the couch. "You did it," she whispered against my hair. "You're getting out.”

I held onto her and tried to let myself feel hope, but my wolf was already pacing with anxiety. Thirty days suddenly felt like both an eternity and nowhere near enough time.

—

I woke up the next morning with a strange kind of clarity.

Damien was still asleep beside me, breathing deep and slow like a man without a single thing weighing on his conscience. I lay there watching him in the pale light that came through the curtains, looking at the face I'd loved since I was barely more than a girl, and I made myself think about things I'd spent years pushing out of my mind.

He'd built Silvercrest from nothing, and I'd been right there beside him for all of it. I used to be so proud of what we'd accomplished together. But other memories were surfacing now, ones I'd shoved down because I hadn't wanted to see the pattern they made.

There was another pack that had been competing with us for territory about two years back. Their Alpha had better resources, stronger wolves, and everyone thought he was going to come out on top. But just before the final negotiations, he ended up in a car accident. He was not dead, but hurt badly enough that he missed the deadline. Damien stepped in and took everything.

I'd thought it was just luck at the time. Good timing that happened to work in our favor. But after what I knew, watching him lying here now, luck didn't seem like the right word anymore.

I slipped out of bed without waking him and went downstairs to my study. The divorce papers, which was the mordern version of bond severance papers, were hidden in a secret compartment in my desk, and I pulled them out with hands that weren't shaking anymore. Simone had helped me put them together the night before. The terms were simple. I wasn't asking for anything except to be free.

I heard footsteps on the stairs, and I made sure my face was calm by the time Damien appeared in the doorway. He still looked half-asleep, his hair a mess, his expression soft in a way that used to make me melt.

"You're up early," he said, leaning against the doorframe.

"I couldn't sleep." I turned to face him, the papers resting in my lap.

“Why baby?” He drawled as he approached me with a mischievous look on his face. This would usually be the moment where I got down on my knees to give him a morning blowjob but I did not. He seemed to have noticed and a little concerned frown drew on his face.

"Damien, there's something I want to ask you.” I cleared my throat as I prepared.

“What is it? What's wrong?” He asked, his tone a little bit urgent.

I looked up at him, at this man I'd given my whole life to, and I let tears fill my eyes. They weren't fake, not really. The grief behind them was real, even if the reason I was showing them wasn’t.

"Do you really love me?" I asked. "After all this time, after everything we've been through together... am I truly the one you want?”

His face softened, and he knelt down in front of me, taking my hands in his. I felt his wolf brush against mine through the bond, that familiar sensation that used to feel like home.

"Where is this coming from?" he said gently. "Of course I love you. We've been together since we were kids. Thirteen years. The Moon Goddess herself put us together. Isn't that enough proof for you?”

"Then prove it." My voice came out steadier than I expected. I pulled my hands away and held up the divorce papers. "If you're really sure that you'd never betray me, then sign these. Just to prove it. And I'll never doubt you again.”

The tenderness disappeared from his face the second he saw the word at the top of the page. His jaw went tight, and something cold moved behind his eyes. I watched his wolf rise to the surface, a flicker of gold bleeding through.

"What the fuck is this, Evelyn?”

"If you really love me—“

"Stop." He grabbed the papers out of my hands, and I could hear the growl building in his chest. "This is about that intern, isn't it? Haven't I given you everything? Haven't I treated you better than any Alpha treats his Luna?”

"Damien, I'm just asking—“

"You're asking me to prove myself to you like I'm some kind of suspect." His voice had gone cold, and I felt the weight of his dominance pressing against me. "You've gotten too comfortable. You've forgotten what trust means. And this?" He shook the papers at me. "This is the furthest thing from trust.”

He didn't even look at the terms. He just tore the papers in half, then tore them again. He threw down on the floor and the pieces floated down to the floor around my feet.

"Don't ever do something like this again." His voice was ice. "Do you understand me?”

“I—“ I started to speak but he cut me off.

“You're mine, Evelyn. You've been mine since we were children, and you'll stay mine until I decide otherwise. The only way you leave this marriage is in a body bag.”

The words hung in the air between us, heavy and suffocating.

I stared at him, searching for any sign that he was exaggerating, that it was just his temper talking. But his eyes were cold and steady, and I realized with a sickening realiztion that he meant every single word. This wasn't a threat made in the heat of the moment. It was a promise.

He held my gaze for a few more seconds, then straightened up and ran a hand through his hair like we'd just been discussing what to have for breakfast.

"We have dinner at your parents' place tomorrow," he said, his voice already shifting back to something casual. "I will see you then.”

Then he walked out, and I heard the shower turn on a minute later.

I stood there in my study, surrounded by the torn pieces of the bond dissolution papers, and I felt my wolf go completely still inside me. She wasn't pacing anymore. She wasn't anxious. She was quiet in the way a predator goes quiet right before it strikes.

He had no idea who he was dealing with.

--

The Morgan estate looked like something out of a dark fairy tale as we pulled through the gates the next evening.

I had grown up in a different house entirely, with adoptive parents who actually wanted me. The Morgans hadn't come for me until I was seventeen, and by then Vanessa had already claimed every corner of their hearts. I was just the biological daughter they'd misplaced. The one who didn't fit.

Damien's hand found my thigh as he parked the car, offering me reassurance.

The dining room was suffocating with the scent of roasted meat and tension. My father Richard sat at the head of the table like a king on his throne, his silver hair swept back and his jaw set in its permanent expression of disapproval. My mother Celeste perched beside him, while draped in silk and pearls.

My brothers were already seated. Julian, the eldest, hadn't looked up from his phone since we walked in. And Kieran sat with his arms crossed, watching me with that familiar sneer he always wore whenever I entered a room.

I already braced for the night knowing the entire dinner had been scheduled around Vanessa's morning in whatever exotic country she was pretending to study in this month.

I looked at the spread covering the table. Roast lamb, three kinds of vegetables, fresh bread, an elaborate soup that was slowly going cold. My stomach ached. I'd barely eaten in two days.

I reached for the bread basket.

"Don't." My father's voice cracked like a whip. "We wait for your sister."

"The food is getting cold."

"Then it gets cold." Celeste's tone dripped with condescension. "Vanessa has been looking forward to this dinner all week. The least you can do is show some patience."

Julian snorted without looking up. "Patience isn't exactly her strong suit. Remember her mating ceremony? She couldn't even wait for the photographer."

"That's because the photographer was two hours late," I said flatly.

"Because you gave him the wrong address." Kieran leaned forward with a mean smile. "Just like you ruin everything else."

I hadn't given the photographer the wrong address. Vanessa had changed the venue at the last minute and conveniently forgot to tell anyone. But there was no point in arguing. There never was.

I pulled the bread basket closer anyway and tore off a piece. My hands were trembling slightly, partly from hunger, partly from rage. Kieran moved faster than I expected as his arm swept across the table and knocked the basket into my chest, sending bread rolls scattering across my lap and the table. But that wasn't the worst part. His elbow caught my bowl of soup on the way, and the entire thing flipped onto my stomach.

I gasped as the hot liquid soaked through my dress and scalded the skin underneath. The pain was immediate and searing.

"What is wrong with you?" Kieran was on his feet, pointing at me like I was a misbehaving dog. "We have rules in this house. We wait for Vanessa. Why is that so hard for you to understand?"

No one moved to help me. Celeste examined her manicure, Richard took a sip of wine, while Julian kept scrolling through his phone. Classic them.

Damien's hand found my shoulder. "That's enough. She's burned—"

"She's fine." My mother waved dismissively. "The soup wasn't that hot. She's just being dramatic, as usual."

Something snapped inside me like a bone breaking clean.

I stood up slowly, ignoring the way the soaked fabric clung to my skin. My wolf was pressing against my chest, her fury bleeding into my own until I couldn't tell where she ended and I began.

"You want to see dramatic?" My voice came out steady and cold. "I'll show you dramatic."

I grabbed the hem of my dress and yanked it up to my ribs.

The scars were impossible to miss. Two thick, jagged lines carved across my lower stomach, the skin around them puckered and silvery even after a long time of healing. The hot soup had turned the surrounding flesh an angry red, making the old wounds look fresh and brutal.

I waited for horror, for something, but nothing came. My father's jaw locked tight. My mother looked away quickly, and neither of them would meet my eyes. Their guilt slipped through the cracks in their masks. Marcus glanced once at my stomach, then looked away fast, his breath catching.

They weren't shocked because they cared. That silence spoke volumes, and that was when I finally understood. It wasn't just Kieran and Damien who knew what Vanessa had done to me. They all knew. My parents. My brothers. Every single one of them.

My family hadn't just failed to protect me. They had chosen my attacker over me, again and again, and they would keep choosing her until the day I died. My heart caught in my throat like a thorn.

"Put your dress down." Damien grabbed the fabric and yanked it back into place so roughly that it scraped against my burned skin.

I hissed in pain and shoved him away. "Don't touch me."

"You need to calm down—"

The television flickered to life, and suddenly the room transformed. It was like I was not even present there again.

"Hi Mommy! Hi Daddy! Hi, my super handsome brothers!" Vanessa's voice poured through the speakers like poison. "Oh my goodness, is that Eve? I didn't know you'd be here! What a wonderful surprise!"

She looked perfect, because she always looked perfect. There were soft waves of hair, flawless makeup, and a cozy designer sweater that probably cost more than most people's rent. She was sitting in what looked like a sunny cafe with a half-eaten croissant on the table in front of her, and just like that, I stopped existing.

"Sweetheart, you look wonderful!"

"Are you eating enough? You look thin."

"We miss you so much, darling."

Even Damien's attention shifted to the screen. I watched his face soften as he looked at her as his eyes trace her features with an intensity he had never once directed at me. I stood there in my soup-stained dress with my burned skin throbbing beneath the fabric, and I felt like a ghost in my own family.

I had promised myself I didn't care anymore. That these people weren't worth my pain. But watching every single person who was supposed to love me turn their backs again, it felt like my chest had cracked open. My scars throbbed as my wolf howled with rage inside my skull.

I wanted to smash that screen into a thousand pieces.

"Eve?" Vanessa's voice cut through my thoughts. She tilted her head, all fake concern. "Why are you just standing there?" She turned to Damien with a playful pout. "Damien, did you make her mad again? You better be treating my sister right. If not, I'll fly home and teach you a lesson myself!"

She raised her fist in a cute little threat, all sweetness and charm.

Damien chuckled and slid his arm around my shoulder. "Of course not. We're doing great. Already trying for a baby, right honey?"

He looked down at me with warmth that I now knew was nothing but performance. Something hot sparked in my chest. I raised my chin and smiled, slipping my arm through his and leaning close.

"That's right. Next time you visit, our baby will be calling you Aunt Vanessa."

Damien stiffened against me. On the screen, Vanessa's smile froze. Her eyes dimmed, the sparkle fading into something harder. She glanced at Damien, her perfect mask cracking just slightly. I lowered my gaze and let myself smirk where no one could see.

I knew Vanessa. I knew her better than anyone here realized. Her pride ran deep, and so did her ego. Even if she didn't want Damien for herself, she would never stand to see him belong fully to someone else. Especially not me.

"Damien, congrats to you and Eve." Vanessa's voice recovered quickly, smooth and sweet as honey.

Damien stared at her. His throat moved as he swallowed, and his voice came out quiet, almost strained. "Thanks."

But something invisible passed between them, making my stomach turn. I slipped my hand out of Damien's grip and walked away without a word, heading toward the stairs that led to my old room to clean up my wounds since no one cared.

Behind me, the laughter started up again. It was carefree and sweet, like I had never been there at all. No one noticed I had left and no one definitely cared about the sting on my skin or the burns under my dress. But I cared. And I wasn't about to let another scar claim my body.

I pushed open the door to my old bedroom and stopped dead in my tracks, the sight before me making my blood run cold.