Chapter 1

Hannah Smith woke up once more to the sound of skin slapping together, the moaning noises audible during the quiet night. They had probably left the door slightly ajar again.

Hannah snuggled closer to her pillow as she lay on the living room couch, curling up into a ball as tears soaked through her blanket. Even as time passed, the sounds never stopped, almost as if it would go on for an eternity.

‘Please stop,’ she begged inside her head, even though she knew they couldn’t hear it.

Then again, it had always been like this ever since that day.

Three years ago, William’s brother, Lucas, came to visit when William wasn’t home. He had stalked over to her and pinned her to the bed, trying to force himself on her. Hannah had struggled hard against him, but he was too strong for her.

When William came home that day, he had been greeted by the sight of his wife and brother in a bizarre scene. Hannah was in the bed, trembling all over, parts of her clothes torn and showing a lot of skin, while Lucas was crouched nearby on the mattress, holding both arms up as if in surrender.

“She tried to seduce me!” Lucas had claimed before Hannah could even defend herself. “She tore off her clothes and tried to come on to me. You should really keep a tight leash on your wife, William!”

William was silent for several seconds before turning to Hannah with a cold look in his eyes. “Is this true?”

All kinds of thoughts crossed Hannah’s mind at that very moment. As much as she wanted to tell William the truth, she suddenly found that it wasn’t that easy.

If she told him that Lucas tried to rape her, William would definitely get angry, and it would result in absolute chaos within his family. Once the truth came out, William’s family name and reputation would be ruined, especially since he was the Alpha. It would also result in a never-ending war between him and his brother, which would definitely cause a lot of tension within the pack.

Hannah’s throat went dry as this revelation occurred to her. She tried to respond to William at the very least, but no sound came out. It was as if she was frozen in place.

Taking her silence as a yes, William was enraged, both at her and Lucas. He made a complete mess of the scene, and that had been the beginning of Hannah’s hell.

In the end, Hannah thought that her sacrifice would be worth it, that he’d eventually see the truth since he refused to listen to her anymore, but all it did was turn the man that she loved into someone who tormented her every single day.

Hannah shut her eyes as she helplessly listened to her own husband having sex another woman. Her heart felt like it was about to shatter into a thousand pieces the more she heard them shouting dirty stuff to each other.

Her wolf, Yana, was whimpering within her, crushed that her mate had betrayed her like this.

Mates were destined to be together by the will of the Moon Goddess. They were two souls meant for each other, so if one were to reject or betray the other, the latter would be the one to experience excruciating pain.

And in worse cases, they might even die.

Hannah had pondered this for a long time, ever since that day three years ago. She wondered what William had felt at that time, seeing her with Lucas and thinking that she had betrayed him.

He must have felt betrayed too, which was why he was punishing her like this.

After all, he couldn't simply separate from her. They were mates, and it would only result in him experiencing a great amount of pain if they were to divorce.

Hence why he still kept her around.

Suddenly, at that moment, the door opened, and William stepped out.

Hannah immediately sat up, and the moment William laid eyes on her, his gaze turned ice-cold, and his features twisted with disgust.

“Get out,” he commanded, his tone brooking no argument. “Just seeing your face makes me sick.”

“William—” Hannah tried.

Without even giving her a chance to speak, William grabbed her by the arm and started dragging her towards the door. Hannah stumbled along the way as she tried to keep up with his pace.

Eventually, they reached the front door, and he pushed her outside into the freezing cold.

“William!” Hannah cried out, but he had already shut the door in her face and locked it.

Hannah trembled as she hugged herself with her arms, trying to stave off the cold. It was already snowing, and she was only dressed in a flimsy nightgown. William didn’t even bother to give her a jacket to keep herself warm.

“William, please!” she begged, pounding on the door relentlessly. Her voice was growing weaker due to the endless chattering of her teeth.

However, his response to her was a resounding thud against the door, an indication that he was shamelessly having loud and violent sex right there with the woman that he brought home. The frame rattled so hard that Hannah had to take a step back, feeling her breath catch in her lungs. Tears once again sprang in her eyes as William’s rough grunts could be heard even from outside, the woman’s moans unmistakable as he kept thrusting into her over and over.

In the end, Hannah slumped to the ground, still hugging herself and trying to keep warm.

An hour later, William finally opened the door and walked away. Hannah stumbled inside and quickly closed the door behind her, her limbs stiff from the cold.

However, when she turned around, she was met with a sight that she had never expected to see.

“Emma?” Hannah said in shock.

Emma gazed back at her, smiling playfully as she threw her arms around William’s neck. “Long time no see, Hannah,” she greeted casually, as though this were a completely normal occurrence.

Emma Barnes had been Hannah’s student five years ago, back when Hannah was a piano instructor. Back then, Emma’s family couldn’t afford to send her to classes, but Hannah had stepped in and decided to teach Emma for free.

For those past five years, Hannah had seen Emma as a little sister. Emma was the one that she diligently taught how to perform professionally, the one she never forgot to buy birthday gifts for every year, and the one that she mistakenly thought she could trust.

Never in a million years had Hannah expected that Emma would end up being William’s new mistress.

William wrapped an arm around Emma’s waist, gazing at her with a look that he hadn’t sent Hannah’s way in a very long time. It was filled with longing and affection, the same gaze that he used to give Hannah when they had first gotten married.

“Surprised?” he said, turning to Hannah. “I chose Emma because she’s like a young, untainted version of you. The version of you that never cheated on me with my own brother.”

His gaze instantly hardened at the memory.

“Unlike you, she’s a pure person who will never betray me.”