Chapter 1
My breath caught, sharp and painful, as I lingered at the doorway of my mate Damon’s office—the pack’s alpha—eavesdropping on his conversation with his Beta about me.
“She’s just a safety net, man. You know how it is,” Alpha Damon’s voice casual and cruel, slicing through my heart like a blade.
A safety net? Me, his mate, to him?
His Beta, Logan, let out a low chuckle. “You’re playing with fire, Damon. The wedding’s in a week. You sure you wanna go through with it?”
Damon scoffed. “What choice do I have? Her father’s expecting this alliance, and once the deal is sealed, I’ll cut her loose.”
A sharp, sinking pain twisted in my stomach, so brutal I had to grip the doorframe to steady myself.
“She’s delusional.” Damon’s voice dripped with amusement. “She thinks this is some fated love story—like we’re actually meant to be. But the truth? I was never planning to be tied down to her forever.”
I swallowed against the bile rising in my throat. Delusional?
“You should have just made her your mistress,” Beta Logan said, laughing.
Damon snorted. “Tried. She wouldn’t even sleep with me until after the wedding. Said she wanted it to be ‘special.’” His voice turned mocking, dripping with scorn. “If she had given it up, maybe I’d keep her around longer. I could’ve had my fun.”...
A sharp ringing filled my ears. I couldn’t breathe.
I pressed my back against the cold wall, my fingers digging into the wood as their words sank in like poisoned daggers.
....
When I slipped into the study to surprise my fiancé Damon, Alpha of the pack, with a handwritten note—one I’d spent hours perfecting—the last thing I expected to hear was him laughing at me.
The soft murmur of voices carried through the slightly cracked door, but it was his familiar, rich voice that stopped me cold.
“She’s just a safety net, man. You know how it is,” Alpha Damon’s voice rang out, casual and cruel, slicing through my excitement like a blade.
The note trembled in my hand. My heart pounded against my ribs, the edges of the paper crinkling beneath my fingers. A safety net?
His best man, which was also his Beta, Logan, let out a low chuckle. “You’re playing with fire, Damon. The wedding’s in a week. You sure you wanna go through with it?”
Damon scoffed. “What choice do I have? Her father’s expecting this alliance, and once the deal is sealed, I’ll cut her loose.”
A sharp, sinking pain twisted in my stomach, so brutal I had to grip the doorframe to steady myself.
“Damn,” Beta Logan mused. “She really has no idea?”
“She’s delusional.” Damon’s voice dripped with amusement. “She thinks this is some fated love story—like we’re actually meant to be. But the truth? I was never planning to be tied down to her forever.”
"And she's not my mate. Nor will she be my Luna."
I swallowed against the bile rising in my throat. Delusional.
How many times had I whispered to myself that Alpha Damon was my destiny? That despite his growing distance, despite the coldness creeping into his gaze, our bond was something unbreakable?
“You should have just made her your mistress,” Beta Logan said, laughing.
Damon snorted. “Tried. She wouldn’t even sleep with me until after the wedding. Said she wanted it to be ‘special.’” His voice turned mocking, dripping with scorn. “If she had given it up, maybe I’d keep her around longer. I could’ve had my fun.”
Laughter filled the room. Their laughter.
My stomach clenched.
“She’s a good girl, though,” Logan drawled. “All obedient and devoted. Those ones fall the hardest.”
Damon hummed in agreement. “Yeah. She’ll be devastated. Probably cry for weeks. But I’ll make sure to pin the blame on her when it all goes down. Women like her? They love to play the victim.”
A sharp ringing filled my ears.
I couldn’t breathe.
I pressed my back against the cold wall, my fingers digging into the wood as their words sank in like poisoned daggers.
A safety net.
A means to an end.
A fool.
A while ago…
I had believed—naively, stupidly—that Damon and I were fated.
We met at a pack summit, where our packs—his, the powerful Shadow Fang Pack, and mine, the smaller but wealthy Silver Ridge Pack—discussed an alliance. I was barely out of my transition phase, my wolf still adjusting to her strength. But the moment his dark eyes locked on mine, everything else faded away.
Alpha Damon had been everything I dreamed of—charming, protective, mine. And when he marked me, I thought my place at his side was permanent.
He promised me forever.
I gave him everything.
For two years, I ignored the warning signs. How his kisses grew colder. How his touch lacked the warmth it once held. How his phone buzzed late at night with messages he brushed off.
Even when he missed our anniversary dinner, claiming he had "pack duties," I told myself I was enough.
I had to be.
Because in our world, mates were supposed to be sacred—a bond so deep, nothing could break it.
I believed he loved me.
And now?
I knew better.
A safety net.
I stifled the rising sob threatening to tear through me, shoving the delicate note back into my pocket. The words I’d spent hours crafting—words about how much I loved him, how grateful I was to be his—felt like a joke now.
How many times had he lied to my face?
I thought back to last night—how he pulled away when I tried to kiss him, claiming he was tired. How he brushed off my concerns, promising we’d be happy after the wedding.
I wanted to believe him. Moon Goddess, I wanted to trust the man I loved.
But nothing could erase the sound of his voice, dripping with cold amusement.
"Once the deal is sealed, I’ll cut her loose."
I clutched my stomach as bile burned the back of my throat. The wedding was in a week. Seven days until I would stand in front of the entire pack and bind myself to a man who didn’t love me.
I was just a pawn to him.
And I had been too blind to see it.