Chapter 1

The front door of the mansion opened just after sunrise, and Katie Johnson immediately looked up from the breakfast she had prepared. She had stayed awake waiting for her mate, Alpha James Hamilton, and despite the exhaustion in her eyes, a small smile appeared when she finally sensed his familiar wolf aura.

“James, you're finally home,” Katie said warmly as she walked toward him. “I was waiting because I have something important to tell you, and I think this is finally the news we've both been waiting for.”

Alpha James removed his black coat and placed it over a chair without returning her smile. “Katie, before you tell me anything, there's something I need to tell you first.”

Katie's smile slowly disappeared when she noticed his cold expression. “What happened? Did something go wrong during your patrol, or did the Moon Crest Pack have another problem?”

Alpha James stood silently for a moment before looking directly at her. “I got married.”

Katie's entire body stiffened as she stared at him, unable to understand what she had just heard. “W-What did you say,”

“I got married yesterday,” Alpha James repeated without emotion. “I married Belle Prieto, one of the new intern doctor at the pack hospital.”

Katie's face went pale, and her fingers slowly curled against the fabric of her clothes. “You married someone else yesterday? Are you kidding me? You and I have been mates for eight years, and you're telling me that you secretly married another woman?”

Alpha James sighed impatiently. “Belle is pregnant, Katie. She's carrying my pup, and I have to take responsibility for her and our child.”

“P-Pregnant?” Katie whispered, staring at him in disbelief. “You secretly married another woman because she's pregnant with your child?”

Alpha James's expression hardened. “What else was I supposed to do? Abandon my own pup?”

Katie took a shaky breath as memories from the previous afternoon flooded her mind. “Yesterday at noon, I was at the dialysis center with my mother. I called you several times. I wanted to tell you that my mother finally agreed to our marriage, but you didn't answer even once.”

“I was busy,” James replied coldly.

“Busy? Because you were at City Hall marrying Belle, weren't you? You were taking wedding pictures with another woman while I was sitting beside my sick mother?” Katie asked.

Alpha James looked away.

Katie laughed bitterly through her tears. “Eight years, Alpha James. Eight years of being your mate, your fiancée, and the woman standing beside you while you became the Alpha of the Moon Crest Pack.”

Alpha James's jaw tightened. “Don't make this harder.”

“Harder?” Katie repeated. “You destroyed eight years of my life in one sentence, and you're telling me not to make it harder?”

Inside her mind, Amari stirred uneasily, her wolf's instincts immediately reacting to Alpha James's cold scent.

Katie, his heart has already changed.

Suddenly, footsteps sounded from the hallway. Belle appeared carrying a suitcase, wearing a soft pink sweater and smiling shyly.

Katie immediately stared at the luggage. “Why does she have a suitcase?”

Belle lowered her eyes and nervously looked toward Alpha James. “Alpha James told me that I should stay here because I'm carrying his pup, and he doesn't want me living alone.”

Katie slowly turned toward Alpha James. “You brought her here?”

Alpha James nodded. “Why not? She's my wife now.”

The word struck Katie harder than anything else he had said.

Belle stepped closer to Alpha James and gently held his arm. “Katie, I'm sorry. I never wanted to hurt you.”

Katie looked at Belle's hand on Alpha James's arm. “Then why are you here?”

Belle hesitated before answering softly, “Because Alpha James marry me.”

Katie felt her heart twist painfully. She turned away from them and walked upstairs without another word.

When she entered the bedroom, she stopped dead. The wardrobe was no longer filled only with her clothes.

There were pink sweaters hanging beside her dresses, several unfamiliar outfits arranged neatly on the shelves, and a nurse's jacket hanging near the door.

Katie's breathing became shallow as she walked toward the shoe cabinet. A pair of white sneakers sat beside her shoes.

She slowly entered the bathroom and found a new bottle of face wash, unfamiliar cosmetics, and a pink hair tie lying beside the sink.

Katie picked up the hair tie with trembling fingers.

“This is hers,” she whispered.

Alpha James appeared behind her. “Katie, Belle needed some things.”

Katie turned around slowly. “So you let her move into our bedroom?”

“Our situation has changed.”

“This was our home,” Katie replied, her voice shaking with anger. “We've lived here together for five years.”

Alpha James crossed his arms. “She's pregnant. She needs somewhere comfortable.”

“And what about me?” Katie asked. “Do I suddenly not need a home because you married someone else? You told me we would build our future together. You told me you would put the Luna crown on my head yourself.”

Alpha James's expression remained cold. “Things have changed.”

Katie shook her head slowly. “No. Things changed because you stopped loving me.”

Belle suddenly appeared at the doorway.

“Alpha James, maybe I should leave,” she said with a trembling voice. “I don't want Katie to hate me because of the baby.”

Alpha James immediately walked toward her. “You're not leaving,” he said firmly. “You're my wife, and this is your home too.”

Katie watched them. Something inside her broke.

Amari growled softly inside her mind. She's pretending to be helpless.

Her eyes narrowed. For a brief moment, Belle looked directly at her. The frightened expression disappeared. A tiny smile appeared on Belle's lips then she quickly lowered her eyes again.

Katie turned toward the door, ready to leave, when a folded letter slipped from her pocket and landed near Belle's feet. Belle quickly bent down and grabbed it before Katie could reach for it.

“What is this?” Belle asked, unfolding the paper with curious eyes. Her gaze immediately landed on the first line: “Alpha James, I'm entrusting Katie to you from now on.”

Before Katie could snatch it away, James stepped forward and grabbed the letter from Belle's hands. Without hesitation, he tore one corner of the paper.

Katie stared at the torn letter, her heart sinking.

“Why did you tear it?” she asked, her voice trembling.

James coldly replied, “It's only a piece of paper, Katie. Don't make such a big deal out of it.”

But to Katie, it wasn't just paper. It was her final hope for the marriage she had spent eight years believing would last.