Chapter 1

The sterile hospital smell clung to my clothes as I sat alone in the empty recovery room, staring at the white walls that seemed to mock my grief. The second time. The second baby I'd lost because Christopher couldn't be bothered to stay with his true mate when she needed him most.

"Mrs. Montgomery?" The nurse's voice was gentle, but I could hear the pity underneath. "Your husband... he left about an hour ago. Said there was an emergency with another pack member."

Another emergency. Another crisis that Mallory had manufactured at the exact moment I needed him. My hand instinctively moved to my still-flat stomach, where our pup had been growing just yesterday. The cramping had started during breakfast, sharp and unforgiving, but when I'd called Christopher in panic, he'd been dealing with one of Mallory's episodes.

"She can't shift, Irene," he'd said, not even looking at me as I doubled over in pain. "Her wolf is retreating because of her depression. I have to help her."

I'd driven myself to the pack hospital, bleeding and terrified, while my mate comforted another woman through her fabricated crisis.

The door creaked open, and I looked up hopefully, thinking maybe Christopher had finally come. Instead, Dr. Martinez entered with that careful expression doctors wore when delivering bad news you already knew.

"I'm sorry, Luna," she said softly. "We did everything we could, but the stress..."

Stress. That's what they called it when your mate's neglect killed your unborn child.

Three days later, I sat in our kitchen, mechanically stirring my coffee while Christopher read pack reports at the breakfast table. The silence between us had grown so thick I could barely breathe through it. He hadn't apologized. Hadn't acknowledged what his absence had cost us. He'd simply returned home that night, muttered something about Mallory being stable now, and went to bed.

"The mail came," I said quietly, sliding the official-looking envelope across the table.

Christopher glanced up, his dark eyes already dismissive. "What is it?"

"A recruitment letter. From a government research facility in Nevada." My voice was steadier than I felt. "They're looking for werewolves with advanced education to participate in a classified genetics research program."

His fork clattered against his plate. "Research program? Irene, you can't be serious."

"I have a degree in biochemistry," I reminded him, though we both knew he'd never valued my education. "I could contribute something meaningful. Maybe help bridge the gap between our species and—"

"Human nonsense." Christopher's alpha tone cut through my words like a blade. "You're the Luna of this pack. Your place is here, not playing scientist with humans who don't understand our nature."

The familiar ache settled in my chest. "My place," I repeated hollowly. "And what exactly is my place, Christopher? Sitting alone while you tend to your chosen mate? Losing babies because you're never here when I need you?"

His jaw tightened. "Mallory needs—"

"Mallory needs nothing!" The words exploded from me before I could stop them. "She's manipulating you, and you're too blind to see it. While you're playing her savior, your true mate is dying inside."

Christopher stood abruptly, his chair scraping against the floor. "I forbid it, Irene. You will not pursue this human research nonsense. You're my Luna, and you'll act like it."

He stormed out, leaving me alone with the recruitment letter and the crushing weight of eight years' worth of rejection.

Two weeks later, I stood at the back of the pack meeting hall, watching Christopher address our members about increased rogue activity in neighboring territories. The monthly gathering was supposed to be routine, but I could feel the tension crackling through the air like electricity before a storm.

"We must remain vigilant," Christopher was saying, his alpha presence commanding attention. "Any suspicious behavior or rogue sympathizers within our pack will be dealt with swiftly."

That's when Mallory rose from her seat in the front row, her movements deliberately fragile as she turned to face the assembled pack.

"Alpha Montgomery," she said, her voice carrying just the right tremor of concern. "I hate to bring this up, but I think the pack deserves to know about the security risk in our own ranks."

My blood turned to ice.

Mallory's gaze found mine across the crowded room, and I saw the calculated malice behind her mask of worry. "Our Luna has been in correspondence with human government agencies. She's considering abandoning her duties to work with outsiders who seek to study and exploit our kind."

Gasps rippled through the crowd. Pack members turned to stare at me with expressions ranging from shock to disgust. Someone whispered "traitor" loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Is this true, Luna Silva?" Elder Davidson's voice boomed from the front. "Are you consorting with humans who would treat us like laboratory specimens?"

I opened my mouth to defend myself, to explain that research could benefit all werewolves, but Christopher's voice cut through the murmurs.

"The matter is being handled," he said simply, not looking at me. Not defending me.

Mallory pressed on, her performance flawless. "How can we trust someone who would sell our secrets to humans? Who would abandon her pack and mate for personal ambition? This is exactly the kind of thinking that leads wolves to become rogues."

The word 'rogue' hung in the air like a death sentence. Around me, pack members I'd known for years looked at me with suspicion and disgust. These people I'd served as Luna, whose children I'd helped deliver, whose problems I'd listened to with patience and care.

Christopher still said nothing.

I stood there, surrounded by my pack, more alone than I'd ever been in my life, while the woman who'd stolen my mate destroyed what little dignity I had left.