Chapter One

“I can't have two mates at the same time, Aurora. I'm rejecting our bond. I want a divorce.”

Upon my Alpha mate’s declaration, my marriage and my whole life shattered into pieces. 

***

Today is my third wedding anniversary, I want to prepare a most memorable celebration to impress my husband and my mate.

The candles are lit and the sunflowers I picked earlier today from our gardens sit in crystal bowls. I give our dining room, and then myself, one last glance. For the first time since I woke up this morning, I allow myself to fully exhale.

Everything is perfect.

As if on cue, I hear the crunch of my mate's boots on the path to our front door. Evander is a strict Alpha, often harsh, but he makes the same demands of himself that he expects from every member of the pack. Absolute punctuality is the least of it.

My heart sings as each step brings him closer to me, and I can't help but shiver with delicious anticipation. Every choice that I made for tonight was done with him in mind. I can’t wait for him to see how much love I put into it.

He opens the door and crosses the threshold, and my breath catches the same way it did three years ago on this very day – the day of our wedding. My Evander, my Alpha and King. My mate for life.

"Aurora," he says. There is something off in his voice, in his posture, and my bubble of bliss instantly bursts.

"Nalani woke up."

All the air whooshes out of my lungs at once, leaving me weak and shaking. Nalani. Evander's first mate. 

Three years ago, she was mysteriously poisoned and fell into a coma. The depth of her unconsciousness destroyed the mate bond she had with Evander, leaving the pack without a Luna. 

To everyone's shock – including my own – I became his second chance mate. As is so characteristic of him, upon learning of our match, Evander married me immediately. Through his decisive action, the pack had a Luna, the Alpha had a mate, and life went on as it should.

For three years, Nalani laid in a hospital bed, motionless and silent. But two days ago, she began to stir.

"She's back," my mate says, a tremble in his voice. "I felt it the minute she opened her eyes."

He swallows hard, as Adam's apple bobs in his throat. I watch mesmerized. I know to the depths of my soul that what he's about to say next will change my life forever. He's going to choose Nalani, my mind whispers. But, no! Please. Anything but that.

He meets my gaze, then speaks the words: "Our mate bond has returned."

The floor seems to drop out beneath my feet. "What about us?" The words fell out of my mouth, propelled into existence by my utter shock.

"Come on, Aurora," Evandar replies, clearly annoyed. "Let's be honest for once. You needed me – needed the title of Luna – to secure your place in the pack.” 

He continues, “I was the only chance for you, but you were nothing more than a second chance mate for me."

His words are like a punch in the gut. My stomach clenches and I taste bile. "What?" I croak out. "You can't really believe that? I've only ever cared for you!"

There's a flicker in his eyes, the briefest hint of doubt. I see it because I know him so, so well. It's gone before it matters though, and his proud, rugged features soon settle back into chiseled stone. 

"The fact remains: I can't have two mates at the same time. I'm rejecting our bond. I want a divorce."

I look around our dining room, at what was supposed to be our romantic celebration. I decorated it with such care, filling our home with third-anniversary charms and traditions. The crystal bowls are frail yet beautiful, like the love we were supposed to have built over the course of our young marriage. A love I thought was growing. 

A love, it turns out, that might never have been real.

"Why her and not me?" I implore, trying anything to hold on to the life I knew. I thought all those pledges of love we shared were true. I thought they were an acceptance of our mate bond.

His face goes hard. Harder. "My wolf needs her."

Everything within me goes suddenly, devastatingly still. And there it is. The one thing I could never hope to compete with, the only thing I can never give him. 

Nalani has a wolf inside her, one Evander can mind-link with whenever he pleases. I do not.

"This also solves the problem of having a proper heir," he goes on coldly. "No matter what we shared these last three years, without a wolf, you'll never bear me Alpha children."

I gape at him, thunderstruck. I know Evander can be harsh, I've felt the lash of his tongue more than once, but saying that… It's the first time he's ever been downright cruel.

Nothing we shared mattered. He literally said that. How did I ever believe that he loved me? I never thought of myself as someone who could be so easily deceived.

Nalani's replacement, a pitiless voice whispers in the back of my mind. 

None of it was real. I was nothing more than a replacement. A tool for making legitimate, though second-rate, heirs. I bow my head and my shoulders slump. This new knowledge tears into me worse than any other. I lost him long before he crossed the threshold of our home tonight.

"I see you're beginning to understand," Evander says stonily. "Wait here."

It's a command, not a request, and I do as I'm told as he heads back to the front door. When he returns a few moments later, he brings a woman with him.

"Hello, Aurora."

Nalani is more beautiful than ever. Her skin glows and her eyes sparkle with…malice? No, that can't be right. Why would she hate me?

"I see no reason to delay the inevitable," Evander declares. He's in full alpha form now – regal, stoic, ruthless. I can feel the power rolling off him and the most primal part of my heart responds. 

"Aurora, you will hand over the title of Luna to Nalani in a formal ceremony on the night of the next full moon, which is tomorrow night. As your first act in your new role in the pack, I want you to kneel before your Luna and swear your allegiance."

Nalani's smirk makes me sicker than I've felt in my life. I look to Evander, but he refuses to meet my gaze. He stands resolutely by Nalani's side, one hand on her shoulder.

The grandfather clock in the hall ticks off one second. Then, two. No one moves. No one speaks. I choke back the whimper that wants to escape my throat, my chest, my heart. My cheeks burn and tears sting my eyes, but I drop to my knees as instructed. 

Evander is my alpha. My mate – despite his sudden, agonizing request. Three years ago, I swore before the entire pack to honor and cherish him. For my own pride, for the pride of the pack, that is not a promise I intend to break.

Not ever.

My mouth dry, my stomach in knots, I kneel before my new Luna. "I swear to submit my will to yours and offer you my undying devotion onto my death, my Luna." Each word of the ancient oath is like barbed wire in my throat.

"Well done, Aurora," Evander says, his voice low and approving. He reaches a hand down to me, and I take it, allowing him to help me to my feet. His skin is warm, his grip is firm, and my heart cannot help but stir at the contact. Does he feel it too? Has he ever?

"You can leave us now," Evander decrees. "You have my permission to stay in the guest bedroom until after the ceremony. Once that is complete, other arrangements will be made for you."

"Evander–"

"No," he says softly, but with firm authority. "You're dismissed. Go."

I want to argue, to beg, to try to prove my worth and love, but I know that forcing the issue – and challenging his word – will only lead to him hating me forevermore. That is not something I could bear.

I turn to leave, but my legs don't seem to want to hold my weight any longer. The room spins, taking my already upset belly with it. Saliva floods my mouth, the unmistakable forerunner of vomit.

"Aurora?"

I hear Evander's voice from a distance, as if from underwater. I stumble. The next thing I know is my cheek pressed against the cool, wooden floor. I absently note that I missed a spot under the table when I mopped earlier today, and then my whole world goes dark.