Chapter 1

Late that night, after the Full Moon Feast ended, an anonymous email swept through the Upper East Side.

But the woman in the scandal photos wasn't me.

It was my fated mate, Adrian, the Alpha of the Stone Pack, passionately kissing Lydia from the Brooks Pack in the rose garden.

The subject line of the email was glaringly bold:

"Exclusive: Stone Pack Luna Elena Betrayed! Alpha Adrian’s Secret Rendezvous with His Lover!"

Adrian didn't even bother to deny it. Instead, he posted a photo of his hand locked tightly with Lydia’s on Instagram, captioned: "With her, for the rest of my life."

Everyone expected me to lose my mind. They thought I’d scream, throw a tantrum, and tear Lydia to shreds at the next Pack banquet.

But this time, I had already decided to leave.

Because my human mother—the woman Alpha Adrian always viewed as my ultimate stain—was dead.

***

Just last night, a private investigator had sent those exact photos to my inbox.

He tried to blackmail me, demanding five million dollars to keep them quiet.

If this had happened in the past, I would have run to Adrian like a crazy woman.

I would have thrown away my pride and dignity in front of the entire Pack.

I would have clawed at them, screamed, cried, and begged Adrian to choose between me and that woman.

And back then, every time I cried, Adrian would break things off with his flings.

He would pull me into his arms, kissing my forehead gently.

"Elena, do you think I like looking at you every day? You don't even have a wolf. Anyone is better than you. But unfortunately, I’m stuck with you."

"Don't think I actually care about you. I just can't let my fated mate die out there. If you die, my powers go down with you."

"You’re a qualified Luna. You’ve always known how to make these nasty rumors disappear."

For the past five years, I swallowed every ounce of my dignity just to beg Adrian to pay for my mother’s care home facility.

In this world, where werewolves are supreme and humans are trash, a hybrid with no wolf has no place. I wasn't accepted by the packs, and I couldn't survive in the human world.

Without Adrian, I couldn't even afford to live.

He wanted me to keep up the appearance of a perfect Luna, so I smiled and held his arm at every banquet.

He wanted me to suppress his cheating scandals, so I paid off the private investigators and gossip editors over and over again.

He wanted me to stay quiet, so I pretended to forgive him after every half-hearted apology.

I was naive enough to think that one day, Adrian would remember my devotion and come back to me.

But now, with the rumors reaching a fever pitch and everyone waiting to see me fall, his public post was like a brutal slap to my face.

He broke his own rule—the rule of never publicly humiliating me.

At that moment, it finally clicked. He never intended to honor our deal.

He just enjoyed watching a "broken toy" like me compromise again and again.

And I realized something else.

He didn't hate me. He hated that fate had tied him to me.

And I was the one he couldn't shake off, yet utterly despised.

My phone buzzed relentlessly.

In less than an hour, that post had been shared tens of thousands of times.

My Snapchat and Instagram were blowing up.

The moment I locked my phone, Adrian kicked open the study door, his face dark with rage.

He grabbed my wrist so hard that tears welled up in my eyes.

"Elena Miller, are you out of your mind?! Delete that post right now, and write a public apology to Lydia!"

"Do you have any idea what you've done? She’s being completely blacklisted by the pack social circles because of you!"

"Even the packs that were planning alliances with her family have pulled out! Are you trying to ruin her life?!"

My face went pale. I forced down the bitterness, trying to muster a polite smile.

But seeing Adrian defend the woman who destroyed our marriage broke the dam. My tears finally spilled over.

How ridiculous.

I was Adrian's legal Luna, yet I was the one who had to apologize to the mistress.

Seeing my tears, Adrian’s voice softened slightly.

He pulled me into his chest, just like he always did, and gently wiped the tears from my eyes.

"Elena, Lydia is just an ordinary member of the Brooks Pack. She needs this social circle to survive way more than you do."

"What you did will ruin her reputation forever."

"Be good. Stop throwing a tantrum and taking your anger out on an innocent person."

"Just take down the post, and apologize to Lydia at the next Pack banquet, okay...?"

In Adrian's eyes.

The mistress who wrecked our marriage was the innocent one.

And I, the wife trying to get justice, was just throwing a tantrum.

What a sick joke.

"No!"

I ripped myself out of Adrian's embrace, cutting him off sharply.

"Adrian Stone, you're the one who's insane!"

"I am the victim here! Why should I apologize to the homewrecker who slept with my husband and ruined my marriage?"

Adrian’s voice flared instantly, all trace of gentleness vanishing from his face.

"Elena Miller, have I spoiled you too much?! Lydia almost committed suicide two days ago because of this!"

"When did you become so damn malicious?!"

I closed my eyes and raised my voice:

"Spoiled me? You call cheating on me again and again spoiling? You call letting everyone humiliate me spoiling?"

"I'm malicious?! Adrian Stone, you two are the monsters here!"

"You drove me to this point! Why the hell should I apologize to you cheating bastards—"

*Slap!*

A brutal slap stung my face. It silenced everything instantly.

My head snapped to the side, and the metallic taste of blood filled my mouth.

The pain throbbed through my skull. Just moving my lips sent a shooting pain up my nose, making it hard to breathe.

Adrian stared at his own hand, completely frozen in shock.

"Elena..."

He took a trembling step forward, reaching out to wipe the blood from my lip.

I flinched away, coldly knocking his hand aside.

***