He Broke Our Bond, So I Became His Rival's Luna

Olivia's POV

On our eighth anniversary, I found out I was pregnant.

That same day, my phone buzzed with an alert from my mates car tracking app. His car had exploded.

My stomach dropped. Tears blurred my vision. No... please, Moon Goddess, no.

After eight years of being mated, four miscarriages, and countless nights spent crying myself to sleep, I finally had another chance to be a mother. But James wouldn't be a part of it. Our pup would grow up without a father.

I refused to accept it.

I tried reaching James several times through our mate bond, but it was blocked. It was a good sign, it meant he wasnt dead, but something could still be very wrong.

I called his phone several times, but no answer.

The tracker showed that his phone was active across town. But the app insisted his car had exploded. None of it made sense.

I grabbed my keys and drove.

Minutes later, I spotted his black BMW parked in a deserted lot. It was untouched. No smoke, no damage. Relief flooded through methe app must have malfunctioned again. It had done that before. Then I paused.

Why was he here? Why had he blocked our mate bond?

I stepped out quietly and moved closer, my wolf's hearing picking up sounds coming from the car.

A woman's moan.

A man's low groan.

I froze, covering my mouth before I could gasp. My wolf howled in anguish inside my mind, but I forced her back. My mind screamed at me to turn back, to leave, to pretend I never came here, but my body refused to obey.

Through the half-open window, I saw himJames with his shirt open, his wolf's eyes glowing in the darkness, and his fingers tangled in long dark hair as he kissed a woman's neck.

Mia.

My adopted sister.

The air left my lungs. My chest caved in, but I didn't make a sound. I pressed myself against the side of the car, with my hand clamped over my mouth as silent tears ran down my face.

James, the man I loved and had been mated to for eight years.

And my adopted sister, the same person that James had claimed to despise because of how she had made my life a living hell.

Just when I thought the worst had happened, James's phone rang.

"Fuck," he muttered, voice hoarse. "Hold on."

He answered with irritation. "What is it, healer?"

A pause. Then he grinned, his eyes still gleaming.

James ended the call and pulled Mia close as a genuine smile spread across his face. It was something I hadn't seen for years.

"You're pregnant," he said softly.

Mia gasped, her hands flying to her stomach. "Are you serious?"

"Yes." He kissed her deeply. "And the healer said your womb is responding perfectly to the treatment. The wolf essence transfusions are working. One more test next week to confirm your womb is fully restored, and then we can finally start our family properly."

Happy tears streamed down Mia's face. "Oh my Goddess. James, we're going to have a pup."

"We are." He cradled her face in his hands. "You're going to be an amazing mother."

My heart bled as my hand moved instinctively to my own stomach, where my pup was growing.

Mia's smile faded slowly. "What about Olivia?"

James's smile grew cold, his eyes flashing gold briefly. "You don't need to worry, baby. After next week's test shows you're healed, I won't need her anymore."

My blood ran cold.

What did that mean?

"I still can't believe she never figured it out," Mia laughed. "You told her it was incompatibility between your wolves, and she believed you."

"Olivia's an idiot," James said dismissively. "She signed every consent form I put in front of her without reading a single line. The experimental treatments, the wolf essence extractions, the terminationsshe authorized all of it, thinking they were pack registration forms or whatever bullshit I told her."

My legs threatened to give out, but I forced myself to stay still. I had to keep listening.

"Those four pups," Mia murmured. "You really used their wolf essence to cure my womb?"

"Every single one," James replied without remorse. "Different stages of development, different protocols. And it worked. You're cured, and you're carrying my pup."

Mia giggled softly. "Thanks to Olivia's pups."

My knees went weak, and I almost dropped to the floor. It became hard to breathe, and my ears rang. My vision blurred, and for a moment I thought I would lose consciousness. My wolf was screaming for vengeance.

My four pups hadn't died from miscarriagethey had been murdered by their father, for my sister.

Olivias POV

"All I had to do was slip wolfsbane extract into her meals to trigger early labour," James said, almost amused. "It would terminate the pregnancy naturally. Then I would tell her her body rejected the pup. She would cry, I would comfort her, and life would go on."

My mind flashed back to each miscarriage. The pain. The blood. The white rooms in the pack clinic that I had come to hate.

After each loss, Mia would show up at the pack clinic with broth. "I made this specially for you," she would say, her eyes full of fake tears. "I know how much you're hurting. I'm here for you, sis."

She would stay the night, sleeping in the chair beside my bed, holding my hand whenever I woke up crying in pain.

James would be there too, stroking my hair, whispering, "We'll try again. We'll have our pup. I promise."

I had believed them both.

My hands shook violently. I bit down harder on my palm to keep from screaming, my wolf clawing at my mind for vengeance.

They had poisoned me four times with wolfsbane.

"Are you really going to break the mate bond when my womb is cured?" Mia asked, her voice dripping with false concern.

"Of course," James said casually. "Once the healer confirms the wolf essence treatments worked, I don't need to keep her around anymore."

He paused, and I heard the smirk in his tone. "Then you and I can finally be together publicly. Become bonded forever."

Mia's voice was breathy. "What about the pack and my family? What will they say?"

James laughed coldly. "Your family that favours you over their own blood daughter? Please. They'll side with us. Her mother already told me she thinks Olivia is an embarrassment to the bloodline."

The words cut through me like silver knives, because it was the truth.

"Olivia already signed her five percent pack shares over to me years ago without realizing it," James continued. "She'll walk away with nothing. She has no friends, no pack support. After I break the bond, she'll have nothing and no one. She'll probably end up as some pathetic rogue."

Mia furrowed her eyebrows. "How do you plan on doing that? The pack loves her."

James chuckled coldly. "Next week, we'll throw a huge pack gathering to announce your pregnancy to everyone importantthe packs business partners, your family, the Alpha Council, and other ally alphas."

He continued. "Then I'll have silver-laced champagne ready for her. The silver will weaken her wolf enough that she won't remember anything. Halfway through the gathering, Harry will find her in one of the upstairs rooms with some wolves I hired."

Mia gasped. "You're going to frame her?"

"She'll be too drugged and silver-poisioned to know what's happening. Harry will make sure there are photos. By the end of the night, everyone will believe Olivia Grant betrayed her mate at a gathering celebrating her sister's pregnancy."

"That's brilliant," Mia breathed. "Everyone will think she's the villian."

"Exactly. Breaking the bond right there will be justified, and she'll get nothing." James's voice dripped with satisfaction.

My heart pounded so hard I thought it would burst through my chest. My wolf snarled viciously in my mind.

He was going to drug me with silver, frame me, and destroy everything.

Their moans filled the silence again. I backed away from the car slowly, careful not to make a sound. My hand was bleeding where I had bitten it, but I didn't feel it.

All I could feel was devastation, heartbreak, and my wolf's pain.

I climbed into my car, and my body shook so violently I could barely hold the wheel. I sat there in the darkness, tears streaming down my face, my palm pressed protectively over my stomach where my pup was growing.

Four pups murdered. Their wolf essence stolen to cure my sister's infertility so she could carry my mate's pup.

And now he was going to destroy my reputation and take everything I had left.

I barely remembered driving home. My hands shook so violently on the steering wheel that I almost crashed twice.

I drove home in a daze, their conversation replaying endlessly in my head.

'She's an idiot. She has nothing and no one. She'll end up as some pathetic rogue.'

I walked inside the house absentmindedly, then I headed straight to James's home office.

I needed proof. Evidence. Something to make sense of what I had heard.

My hands shook as I searched through his files, his laptop, his locked drawers. I found the small brass key hidden beneath the drawer lining and opened the filing cabinet.

Medical records with my name. Dates that matched every pregnancy. Procedures I never consented to. Bank statements showing payments to a private research facility specializing in werewolf genetics.

I kept searching, my hands moving faster.

Finally, I found the transfer record. The pack shares James had promised me as a mating giftI had signed them all back to him without realizing it.

I stared at the document until the words blurred.

"She'll walk away with nothing."

A bitter laugh escaped me. James was so ignorant of the truth.

I couldn't be left with nothing, because what James didn't know was that he hadn't built the Blue Moon Pack businesses from nothing.

I had.

Five years ago, when his pack businesses nearly went bankrupt, an anonymous investor saved it. The investor paid all the debts, funded the expansions, and covered the losses.

That investor was me.

I was the anonymous silent shareholder with fifty percent ownership of his company. I had created the account under my maiden name, Olivia Hale, using an offshore account that James never knew existed.

Before I married James; Alice, my foster mother, had left me her entire life savings. It was money she had carefully saved from her potion brewing over decades, along with inheritance from her parents.

It was about a million dollars, but I was careful with it. I invested it wisely, made smart decisions, and over the years, it grew. By the time James's pack was failing, I poured 0-047 million into the failing businesses.

So his pack was built on my money.

And he called me an idiot.

Another laugh escaped me as satisfaction washed through me.

I gathered every document, every file, every piece of evidence, and made copies, hiding them where he would never think to look.

Then I sank to the cold floor of his office and cried until my body had nothing left to give.

When there were no tears left, I just sat there, feeling empty. I had no idea where to start.

Then I remembered something James had said months ago.

"Stay away from Asher Storme. He's my biggest rival. He is ruthless and dangerous. He will do anything to destroy me."

Asher Storme. James's biggest rival and worst enemy. The Alpha of the Northern Ridge Pack.

He was the only one who could help me now.

I picked up my phone with trembling fingers and began searching. It took twenty minutes to find Asher's private number buried deep in James's files.

I stared at it for a long time.

Once I made this call, there would be no going back.

But when I thought of my four pups, of Mia's mocking laughter, of James's cruelty, I pressed Call.

The phone rang twice before a deep, smooth voice answered. "Who is this?"

My throat tightened, but I forced the words out. "My name is Luna Olivia Grant. I'm Alpha James Grant's mate."

A pause. "Grant's mate. What do you want?"

Tears blurred my vision. "I need your help."

"Why would Alpha James Grants mate be calling me? I am your mates rival." His tone sharpened.

"Because I want him destroyed," I whispered. "And I think you're the only alpha who hates him as much as I do."

Silence stretched.

Then Asher laughed. It was a dark, low sound that sent a shiver through me, and made my wolf perk up with interest.

"Luna Grant," he said slowly, his voice was heavy with Alpha authority, "you have my complete attention."

Olivia's POV

"Tell me everything." Asher's voice was sharp and cold. "Tell me why James Grant's devoted mate wants him destroyed."

I explained everything from the fake explosion notification, to finding James with Mia, the conversation I had overheard about the wolf essence experiments on my pups, and his plan to break our bond.

By the time I finished, tears were running down my cheeks again, and my wolf was whimpering in pain.

Asher was silent for a long moment.

"Do you have proof?" he finally asked.

"Yes." My voice was stronger now. "Medical records, bank statements, transfer documents. Everything."

"And you have fifty percent shares of his pack business?" Asher asked.

"He doesn't know about them. Nobody does." I replied. "I also have evidence of everything illegal he's done. But I can't use it alone. He has connections, pack lawyers, and my family"

"Your family supports him?"

The question was like a silver blade to my chest, because the answer was a bitter truth.

My mother had never wanted me back.

I was ten when the DNA test results came back. Mia and I had been switched at birth because of an error at the pack clinic. We had been mixed up in the chaos of a full moon delivery.

When my parents came for me, I had been living in a small cottage by the packs border with a potion mistress who had raised me. We were not living extravagantly, but I was happy.

They took me to their mansion, but my mother couldn't let Mia go. She had raised Mia, bonded with her wolf.

So she kept both of us.

But there was never any question who she preferred.

"Olivia, fix your posture. You shift like a rogue."

"Olivia, control your wolf. Your lack of discipline is embarrassing."

"Olivia, why can't you be more like Mia? Her wolf is so graceful."

Nothing I did was ever good enough. I took shifting classes but I was too clumsy.

Mia's wolf was sleek and perfect, and my mother made sure I knew mine didn't measure up.

By eighteen, I had learned to stay quiet, to suppress my wolf, and to not expect love.

That's when I met James. He was charming, successful, an alpha wolf. And he looked at me like I mattered.

"Your wolf is beautiful," he had said, watching me shift under the full moon.

My wolf and I fell in love with him fast and hard.

When he proposed after six months, I said yes immediately.

My mother had pulled me aside the night before the ceremony. "Alpha James Grant is using you. But you're too stupid to see it. You are not up to his level"

I hadn't listened.

I had bonded with him, spent eight years trying to be the perfect mate.

And the whole time, Mia had been there, sleeping with my mate behind my back, and I had never suspected a thing.

My chest ached as I blinked hard, forcing myself back to the present.

"My family loves my sister. They'll side with him when he breaks the bond, and I can't count on pack support."

Asher was silent for a moment. "So you want revenge."

"I want justice," I corrected, my voice breaking. "He murdered my pups. He stole their wolf essence to cure my adopted sister's womb so she could carry his pup. He made me sign away everything I had, and now he's going to throw me away like some weak omega."

"And why did you come to me?" Asher asked curiously.

"Because you hate him." I replied desperately. "James told me to stay away from you. He said you would do anything to destroy him and this pack. That you're a ruthless alpha who shows no mercy."

He chuckled coldly. "What do you want from me, Olivia?"

I clenched my fists tightly. "I want to take everything from him, the way he took everything from me. His pack, his reputation, his freedom. I want him to lose it all. I have fifty percent of his pack assets. You're his biggest rival. Together, we can ruin him."

Asher was quiet, then finally he spoke. "If I help you, it won't be charity. I want something in return."

My stomach clenched at the tone of his voice, and my wolf stirred warily. "What do you want in return?"

"Become my mate."

"Your mate?" I repeated incredulously, my voice barely above a whisper. My wolf stirred.

"Yes," Asher said simply. "If I'm going to help you destroy James Grant, I want something permanent in return. Not money. Not shares. You. A true mate bond."

"But I'm already bonded"

He interrupted. "And you'll break it soon. Think about my offer, Mrs. Grant. You have my number."

The call was disconnected.

I stared at my phone, my mind spinning. Become Asher Storme's mate? The alpha who was James's worst enemy?

I shook my head. No. I didn't need him. I had the evidence. I had the shares. I could handle this myself.

I would make sure James lost everything, the same way he'd taken everything from me.

Olivia's POV

I didn't waste any time. I went straight to the bedroom and began packing my things. I needed to leave this pack, and find a safe territory as soon as possible.

I moved mindlessly, pulling clothes from hangers, emptying drawers as I arranged them all in my bags.

"Olivia?"

I froze.

James's voice came from the doorway. "What's going on? What are you doing?"

I turned slowly to face him. My wolf snarled in my head, all she wanted to do was claw his eyes out.

His expression changed instantly when he saw my face. My eyes were red and swollen from crying, and my cheeks stained with tears.

"What's wrong?" Panic flashed in his eyes as he stepped closer. "Are you okay? What happened?"

The concern in his voice made my stomach turn. He was so good at pretending. He sounded so convincing.

I shook my head. "Nothing." I croaked.

He stepped closer even more, looking worried. "Come on, it can't be nothing, you've been crying."

I knew James wouldn't drop it anytime soon, so I lied.

"It's Alice," I whispered, my voice breaking.

He furrowed his brows. "Your foster mother? The same one who's been in a coma since the attack?"

I nodded. "The clinic called. She's getting worse. Her wolf is fading. They said... they said she might not make it."

For a split second, I saw something like relief flash in his eyes.

Then it was gone, replaced by fake sympathy.

"Oh, Olivia." He stepped forward, pulling me into his arms. "I'm sorry. I know she means a lot to you."

My skin crawled at his touch. The hands that had murdered my pups were now holding me, comforting me. My wolf growled.

I wanted to scream. I wanted to shift and tear his throat out.

But I forced myself to stay still, to let him hold me.

"James?" Mia's voice called from the doorway.

James's body tensed up. He pulled away immediately and rushed to Mia's side, his wolf instantly responding to her.

"Are you okay?" he asked her with genuine concern, not the fake concern he had just given me.

Mia nodded, smiling, one hand on her barely visible bump. "Yes, I just wanted to know if you've told Olivia yet."

James turned to me, and suddenly his entire demeanor changed. His voice was vibrating with excitement.

"Olivia, Mia has good news."

I lifted an eyebrow. "Good news?"

He nodded. "Yes. And I would be hosting a pack gathering next week for a big celebration. I'm inviting all our business partners, the pack members, the Alpha Council, other pack alphaseveryone important."

I knew what the good news was. The pregnancy. My mate's pup growing inside my sister. And I knew the plans he had for me at that gathering.

I stared at him. "All this for the 'good news'?"

"Yes." Mia smiled sweetly. "James wanted to do something special for me, as we're all family."

He was throwing a gathering to celebrate the pup he had created using my murdered pupren's essence.

"There will be a family dinner tonight first," James continued. "Just us and your parents. But the big gathering is next week. I've already arranged everything"

"I'm not interested," I said flatly.

Mia's smile faltered. "But Olivia"

"I said I'm not interested."

Mia's face dropped, and her eyes watered.

"Olivia!" James snapped, his alpha command bleeding into his voice. My wolf was furious at his attempt to dominate. "Your mother and father will be there. The pack expects you."

"I can't bring myself to celebrate while Alice is dying," I said quietly, the lie rolling off my tongue easily.

"She's old," James said dismissively. "Her wolf is weak. She's lived her life. But this pup" He placed his hand on Mia's stomach. "This is new life. A strong bloodline. Something to be happy about."

My hands clenched into fists at his cruel words. Alice had always treated him like family, even though I wasn't her biological daughter.

"Don't be selfish," he continued. "Mia is trying to include you in something important"

"I said no."

Mia's eyes filled with tears. "I just wanted us all to be together as family. But if you don't want to be there..." Her voice broke. "If you hate me that much..."

"I'm just worried about Alice." I replied, turning away from her to continue packing.

"She wasn't your real mother," Mia said softly. "She was just"

"Don't."I growled, my eyes flashing. "Don't you dare finish that sentence."

Mia flinched, fresh tears spilling down her cheeks. She turned to James. "See? She hates me. I try so hard to be a good sister, but she"

"Enough." James's voice was sharp, his alpha power pressing down on me. He turned to me, his eyes hard. "You're coming to dinner tonight. And you're coming to the gathering next week. That's final."

"No, I'm not." I gritted out.

"Yes, you are." He stepped closer, his alpha dominance pressing harder against my wolf. "You're my mate. I am your alpha. You'll attend both events, you'll smile, and you'll support your sister. Do you understand?"

I stared at him. The alpha I had loved for eight years. The alpha who had murdered our pups.

"Fine," I said quietly. "I'll come."

Satisfaction flashed across his face. "Good. Dinner starts at seven."

He turned and guided Mia out of the room, whispering something in her ear that made her laugh.

The door closed behind them.

I stood there for a long moment, staring at the closed door with a glare on my face. My wolf paced angrily in my mind. She wanted revenge.

James had no idea of the storm that was coming for him.

Olivia's POV

At 7:00, I walked downstairs wearing a simple black dress.

James was in the living room with Mia. When he saw me, he frowned.

"You're wearing black?"

"I have no reason to celebrate," I said quietly.

His jaw tightened, but he didn't argue.

Mia, meanwhile, was wearing a flowing pink dress that made her look radiant and glowing.

"You look beautiful," James told her softly.

She beamed. "Thank you."

He didn't even glance at me.

The doorbell rang.

"That'll be your parents," James said, heading to the door.

I watched him greet my mother and father with warm hugs and handshakes.

My mother spotted me and frowned. "Olivia, why are you wearing black? This is a celebration."

"I cannot celebrate when Alice is still fighting for her life," I said simply.

"Oh." My mother's expression didn't change. "Well, that's unfortunate. But tonight is about Mia and her good news."

Of course it was. They didn't care about anything else.

We moved to the dining room.

I sat at the far end of the table. James sat at the head with Mia on his right and my parents on his left.

They chatted and laughed amongst themselves, completely ignoring me, almost like I was an outcast.

Halfway through the meal, Mia stood up.

"I have an announcement," she said, her voice shaking with excitement.

Everyone turned to look at her. James was beaming, pride burning in his eyes.

"I'm pregnant," Mia said softly.

My mother gasped, jumping up to hug her. "Oh, sweetheart! That's wonderful!"

My father grinned. "Congratulations, Mia."

"Who's the father?" I asked quietly.

The room went silent.

Mia's eyes widened. "What?"

"I asked who the father is," I repeated. "You don't have a mate that I know of. So who got you pregnant?"

"Olivia!" my mother snapped. "How dare you"

"It's a reasonable question," I said calmly.

Mia's eyes filled with tears. "I... I was seeing someone secretly. He died in a rogue attack a few months ago. This pup is all I have left of him."

The lie rolled off her tongue so easily.

I glanced between my father and my mother. They looked very uncomfortable, avoiding my eyes.

And that's when it clicked.

They knew.

They all knew whose pup it was.

My own parents knew my mate was having an affair with my sister, and they were celebrating it.

"I'm sorry for your loss," I said flatly. "Congratulations on the pup."

James cleared his throat. "As I mentioned earlier, I'm hosting a celebration gathering this Saturday. A big one. All my business partners, investors, other alpha allies, and the Alpha Council will be there to celebrate this wonderful news."

My mother clapped her hands together. "How exciting! Mia, you'll need a new dress"

"Already ordered," James said with a smile. "Only the best for... for Mia."

He had almost said something else. I saw him catch himself.

"Olivia, you'll need something appropriate too," my mother said, eyeing my black dress with distaste. "Something that shows celebration."

"I have plenty of dresses," I said quietly.

"Nothing suitable for a celebration," she countered. "Tomorrow, you and I will go shopping."

"I would rather spend tomorrow at the clinic with Alice."

My mother's expression hardened. "Olivia, that woman is dying. There's nothing you can do for her. But you can support your sister during this happy time."

That woman. Not even your foster mother. Just that woman.

"If you'll excuse me," I said, standing to my feet. "I'm not feeling well. I'm going to bed."

"Olivia, sit down," James said sharply, his alpha command pressing down on me..

"No." I growled out.

"I said sit down!" His eyes flashed gold briefly, his wolf surfacing.

"And I said no." I looked at him coldly, my own wolf surfacing also. "I came to dinner like you asked. I heard the announcement. Now I'm leaving."

I turned and walked out of the dining room, feeling the weight of his alpha power trying to force me to submit. But the rage I felt gave my wolf strength to resist.

Behind me, Mia's voice wobbled with fake tears. "She hates me, Mom."

"Don't worry, sweetheart," my mother soothed. "At least, thanks to her, you're now pregnant..." Her voice dropped, too low for me to hear.

My breath caught.

They knew. My parents knew what James had doneand they supported it.

I went upstairs and shut the bedroom door. I lay there, staring at the ceiling while laughter, clinking glasses, and music drifted up the stairs. They were celebrating my pain.

Soon, they would have nothing left to celebrate.

Olivia's POV

Hours passed and the noise faded and the house went quiet. My parents took one guestroom. Mia took the other. And James... I knew exactly where he'd be.

My throat was dry. I needed water, but I waited another half hour, just to be sure.

I slipped out of bed, crept down the stairs, and entered the kitchen. I filled a glass from the tap.

I heard James's low voice coming from his office. "I don't care what it takes. Keep her sedated."

I froze, the glass halfway to my mouth.

"No, I'm not interested in her waking up," he said. "I'm paying you enough to make sure that doesn't happen."

My heart slammed against my ribs.

"The monitoring showed brain activity? So what? Increase the suppressants. I don't want her conscious. Ever."

I set the glass down and crept closer. The office door was slightly ajar.

"You don't understand," James hissed. "Alice is dangerous. If she wakes up, everything falls apart."

A pause. Then: "Yes, I know it's illegal. That's why I'm tripling your fee."

Another pause.

"Because she saw me," he snapped. "She saw me with Mia months ago. She threatened to tell Olivia. So I handled it."

My hand flew to my mouth.

"The rogue attack was a lie," James said coldly. "I attacked her myself and injected her with silver. Her wolf should've died from the silver in her system, but the old bitch was tougher than I thought. Now she's in a coma with silver poisoning, and I need her to stay that way."

No. No, no, no.

"If she wakes up and tells Olivia what she saw, my entire plan falls apart. Keep her sedated with silver until after the gathering. After that... I don't care what happens. Let her die naturally, just make sure it can't be traced back to me."

The call ended. His chair scraped back.

I ran.

I flew up the stairs, heart pounding as my wolf howled in rage. I shut the bedroom door just as his footsteps echoed down the hall. I pressed my back against it, trembling.

James had tried to kill Alice.

He was keeping her sedated with silver.

He was going to let her die.

I grabbed my phone with shaking hands and dialed Asher.

He answered on the second ring. "Luna Grant. It's late."

"I need your help." My voice cracked. "Please. It's Alicemy foster mother. James attacked her some months ago because she caught him with Mia. Now he's paying her healer to keep her in a coma with silver. She's showing signs of recovering, and he'she's going to let her die."

Silence.

"Please," I whispered. "I need to move her somewhere safe. But I can't do it alone."

"Where is she?"

"Shes in the pack clinic. Room 304. I dont know how you can get into the pack without being seen."

"Dont worry, I'll have her moved by morning," Asher said. "She'll be safe."

Relief flooded through me. "Thank you. Thank you so much"

"But you know what this means, Olivia."

I closed my eyes. "Yes."

"Say it."

"I accept your offer," I whispered. "I'll become your mate."

"Good. I'll come get you in four days."

The call ended.

I sat there in the dark, phone clutched in my hand.

I had just agreed to mate with a man I'd never met. My husband's worst enemy. An alpha wolf I knew nothing about.

James didn't know it yet, but I just became his reckoning.

Olivia's POV

I couldn't sleep. My mind kept replaying everything I had just heard in James's office. My wolf paced restlessly.

Then I heard footsteps approaching, and a knock on the door.

"Olivia?" Mia's voice was sweet, concerned. "Can I come in?"

I didn't answer.

"Olivia, please. I just want to talk."

I stayed silent.

"Olivia, open the door."

She turned the doorknob and opened the door, stepping inside.

There was a pause. Then her voice changed, she dropped the sweet voice.

"Oh, you look so pathetic right now, sis." She drawled.

I didn't move.

She continued. "But I want you to know something. That pup in my womb is James's. He chose me. His wolf chose mine."

I sat up slowly, turning to face her.

She had a cruel grin on her face. "He told me how weak your wolf is. How you could never satisfy his alpha wolf."

My hands clenched into fists. My wolf snarled.

"And those pups?" She laughed. "Four chances, Olivia. And you couldn't even manage to keep one alive. What kind of she-wolf can't even carry her mate's offspring?"

My vision turned red. My wolf demanded blood.

"Your wolf must be defective," she continued, her voice dripping with venom. "Maybe it's the Moon Goddess's way of telling you that you would be a terrible mother."

Anger burned through me at her words, and I stood up, walking towards her with clenched fists. My eyes flashed as my wolf surged forward.

"James loves me," Mia said, with a nasty grin on her face. "He's having a pup with me. A real pup. One that will actually live, because I can give him what you never could, a strong bloodline."

I shoved her hard.

She stumbled backward, her eyes widening in shock.

"Get out," I growled coldly.

"You bitch!" she hissed. "How dare you"

"I said get out!"

I slammed the door in her face and locked it this time.

There was silence for a moment, then the sound of footsteps walking down the hallway.

I walked back to the bed and sat down.

Then I heard a loud thud, and a scream.

"James! Help! James!"

My blood ran cold.

What did she

The bedroom door flew open with such force it slammed against the wall. The lock of the door had been broken.

James stood in the doorway, breathing heavily. His face was twisted with rage, his eyes glowing gold. His wolf was close to the surface.

Behind him, my mother and father appeared, holding a sobbing Mia.

"You pushed her down the stairs?" James's voice was deadly quiet, filled with rage.

"What? No, I didn't"

"She came up here to comfort you," my mother said, her voice shaking. "To try and make peace. And you attacked a pregnant she-wolf!"

"That's not what happened!" I stood up. "She was inside my room, insulting me"

"That's not true!" Mia sobbed. "I just wanted to talk to my sister. To make sure she was okay. And she... she pushed me!"

"I shoved her away from my door! I didn't push her down the stairs"

Before I could say anything more, James's fist slammed into my face. The blow sent me flying backward. My head cracked against the wall, and pain exploded through my skull.

Then everything went black.

When I woke up in the pack clinic, my head was pounding. My face throbbed, and I could taste blood in my mouth. I could feel my wolf working hard to heal the injuries.

I tried to sit up, but my body wouldn't cooperate. Everything hurt.

"You're finally awake." James's voice was cold, emotionless.

I forced my eyes open. He was sitting in a chair by the window, watching me with those cold eyes.

The memories flooded through my mind, and tears welled up in my eyes. In our eight years of being mated, James had never hit me before, until now.

"James," I whispered. "How could"

"Apologize to Mia."

"What?"

"You heard me." His eyes were hard and dark. "Apologize to your sister for attacking her."

"I didn't attack her!" I tried to sit up again, ignoring the pain. "She was taunting me, saying horrible things"

"I don't care what she said." He stood up, eyes flashinghis wolf was still on the surface. "You put your hands on a pregnant she-wolf. You could have killed her pup."

"She threw herself down the stairs!" Tears streamed down my face. "She's lying, James. She's always lying"

"Apologize."

"No." I said firmly, my wolf rising even with her weakness.

His expression darkened, his eyes flashing gold. "No?"

"I won't apologize for something I didn't do."

He stared at me for a long moment. Then he smiled. It was a cold, cruel smile that made my blood freeze.

"Fine."

He grabbed my arm and dragged me to my feet. I stumbled, my legs were too weak to hold me up.

"What are you doing?" I gasped.

He didn't answer, he just dragged me out of the room, and down the clinic hallway, his grip was tight and painful.

"James, stop! Where are we going?"

He kept dragging me, till we approached the ICU wing.

My stomach dropped.

"No," I whispered. "No, James, please"

He ignored me as he dragged me to Room 304. Alice's room.

"James, what are you doing?" I was sobbing now. "Please, don't"

He kicked open the door to Alice's room with force, breaking it off completely.

To my dismay, she was still lying there, pale and unmoving, surrounded by machines. Her heart monitor beeped steadily. Asher hadn't moved her yet.

A healer looked up, startled. "Alpha, we"

"Turn off the life support," James commanded coldly.

The healers eyes widened. "Excuse me?"

"I said turn it off."

"But Alpha, she"

"Do it." His eyes flashed full gold, demanding obedience.

"Alpha, the patient will die within minutes if we"

"I don't care." James's voice was ice. "Turn it off. Now."

The healer looked at me, then back at James. "Alpha, I need authorization from the head healer"

"I'm the Alpha of this pack." His voice was quiet but deadly. "My authority supercedes every other person in this pack. If you question me again, I will exile you from the pack, and make you live the rest of your life as a miserable rogue. Do you understand?"

The healers face went pale as she quickly did as he said with tears in her eyes, unable to resist the alpha's command.

"No!" I lunged forward, but James caught me easily, holding me back.

"Please," I sobbed. "Please, she's all I have. She's my mother. Please"

The ventilator went silent.

The heart monitor's beeping slowed.

"James, please!" I dropped to my knees, sobbing. "Please don't do this! I'm begging you!"

He looked down at me. "Apologize to Mia."

"I'll apologize!" I screamed. "I'll apologize for anything! Just please, James, please don't do this!"

He stared at me for a long moment.

"Turn it back on!" I screamed. "Please, turn it back on!"

But then a voice called from the hallway. "Alpha!"

Another healer appeared in the doorway, breathless. "It's Mia! She's having a panic attack! She can't breathe"

James released me immediately. "Gather every healer in this clinic. Now. No harm must come to Mia or that pup."

Then he ran out of the room. To my horror, he dragged the healer from Alice's room with him.

I rushed outside frantically.

"Help!" I screamed into the hallway. "Somebody help me! Please!"

But everyone was gone, running to help Mia, on the alpha's orders.

I looked at the machines, at the buttons and switches.

"I'm sorry," I whispered to Alice. "I'm so sorry. I don't know how to"

I tried pressing buttons, flipping switches, but nothing worked.

Alice's heart monitor slowed further, the beeping got fainter.

"No, no, no," I sobbed. "Please, Mama. Please don't leave me. Please"

The monitor flatlined.

"No!" I threw myself across her body. "Mama! Mama, please!"

But she was gone. Her wolf's life force had faded completely.

I don't know how long I stayed there, sobbing over her body, my own wolf releasing a broken howl.

Eventually, the healers came back. They tried to pull me away, but I wouldn't let go.

Guards had to be called to drag me out of the room while I screamed and fought, my wolf thrashing.

James was in the waiting room with Mia. She was crying dramatically, my mother stroking her hair.

When James saw me being dragged past, he didn't even look concerned.

He just turned back to Mia and continued coddling her.

Alice was dead. James had murdered her.

Just like he had murdered my pups.

I pulled out my phone with shaking hands and texted Asher.

He killed my mother. It's too late.

His response came immediately.

What happened?

I told him everything.

There was a long pause before his next message.

I'll make him pay, Olivia. I swear on my wolf's honor.

If James thought he had broken me, he was about to learn how wrong he was.

Olivia's POV

The next few days passed quickly. I arranged a quiet funeral for Alice, inviting the close friends she had known.

James barely spoke to me. He was too busy fussing over Mia, making sure she and the pup had everything they needed for the gathering.

The day before the gathering, I found James in his office, going through arrangements with the event planner on the phone.

When he saw me, he held up one finger, gesturing to me to wait.

I stood there silently while he finished his call, discussing like he hadn't killed Alice.

Finally, he hung up and looked at me with irritation. "What is it?"

"I need you to sign these." I placed a folder on his desk. "For Alice's death certificate and burial arrangements."

He glanced at the papers without really looking at them. "Right."

He picked up his pen.

"I'm sorry about your foster mother," he said absently, signing the first page. "But it was her time, wasn't it? You said it yourself, the pack clinic called to tell you her wolf was fading."

My jaw clenched.

He kept signing and talking, not even reading what was in front of him. "These things happen. She was old. Her wolf was weak. She lived a full life."

He murdered her. And now he was acting like it was just natural causes.

"Here." He pushed the folder back to me. "All signed. Is that all?"

"Yes."

"Good. Finish everything quickly. We have the celebration tomorrow, and I don't want any negative energy affecting it."

Negative energy. That's what my grief was to him.

"Of course," I said quietly, taking the folder.

As I turned to leave, I heard Mia's voice from the hallway.

"James? Are you almost done? I need your opinion on my dressoh." She stopped when she saw me. "Olivia. I didn't see you there."

"I was just leaving," I said.

"Wait." Mia stepped into the office, her hand resting on her stomach. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

I said nothing.

"I know you're upset about Alice," she said softly. "And I understand, because losing a parent is hard."

My hands clenched around the folder.

"But you have to remember," Mia continued, "Alice was my biological mother too. We shared the same blood. If anything, I'm in more pain than you are. My wolf grieves for the connection we never had."

I stared at her incredulously. Mia had wanted nothing to do with Alice after the DNA test.

"You only knew her for ten years," Mia said. "But she carried me for nine months. We had a biological connection that you could never understand. So really, I'm the one who lost a mother. You're just being dramatic for no reason."

Something inside me snapped. My wolf surged forward.

My hand moved before I could stop it.

The slap echoed through the office.

Mia stumbled back, her hand flying to her cheek. For a moment, she just stood there, shocked. Then she burst into tears.

"James!" she sobbed. "She hit me! She attacked me again!"

James was on his feet instantly, growling.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" he roared, his eyes flashing gold.

"She was taunting me," I said, my voice shaking. "She said"

"I don't care what she said!" He barked, and his hand flew through the air as he slapped me hard, no holding back.

The force of the slap sent me stumbling. I gripped the wall as I struggled to keep standing, my wolf whimpering.

"I was just trying to console her!" Mia wailed. "I told her I understood her pain, that Alice was my biological mother too, and she attacked me!"

"You're lying"

James grabbed my arm roughly with his alpha strength. "Enough! I don't want to hear another word from you."

He shoved me toward the door.

"Get out of my sight," he said coldly. "And if you even look at Mia wrong again, I'll make sure you regret it."

I stumbled out of the office, clutching the folder to my chest.

Behind me, I could hear James's voice, it was soft and gentle now.

"Are you okay, sweetheart? Did she hurt you? Did she hurt the pup? Come here, let me see..."

I walked up the stairs slowly, my cheek throbbing where he had hit me.

In our eight years of being mated, James had never laid a hand on me.

Now he had hit me twice in four days, because of Mia.

I went to the bedroom and locked the door.

Then I opened the folder and looked at the documents James had just signed.

He hadn't read a single one.

He had signed the mate bond dissolution papers, and he had signed acknowledgment of my fifty percent ownership of the Blue Moon Pack assets.

He had signed his own destruction, and he didn't even know it.

I pulled out my phone and took photos of every signed page.

Then I sent them to Asher.

He signed everything. The celebration is tomorrow. Are you ready?

His response came immediately.

Everything is in place. Tomorrow, you leave that territory and you never look back. You'll be under my pack's protection.

***

The day of the gathering arrived. James and Mia had left the house several hours ago, leaving just my parents.

At 6 PM, my mother knocked on the door.

"Olivia, you need to start getting ready. We're already going to the pack hall for the gathering."

"Okay"

"Wear something appropriate."

I didn't respond.

She sighed. "James is trying very hard to make this a perfect evening. The least you could do is not ruin it with your mourning."

Then she left.

When everyone was out of the house, I moved quickly.

I pulled out the suitcases I had hidden in the back of the closet and loaded them in the hallway.

I arranged a large envelope. Inside were the mate bond dissolution papers signed by James himself, with implicating photos and videos of James and Mia.

The medical records showing what he had done to our pups.

Then the divestment agreement, showing that I had fifty percent ownership of the Blue Moon Pack assets, and I had pulled out my investments from his company.

Then other necessary documents.

I stepped back and looked at the envelope sitting there like a bomb waiting to explode.

By the time he opened these, I would be gone.

His pack businesses would be destroyed, and his reputation would be in ruins.

I pulled out my phone and called a loyal omega who owed me a favour to deliver the envelope.

Then I grabbed my bags and walked out of the front door.

A black car was waiting at the front door. Asher stepped out, opening the door for me. I was too exhausted to ask how he got into James pack territory unseen.

"Are you ready?" he asked quietly.

I looked back at the house one last time. At the life I was leaving behind.

"Yes," I said. "I'm ready."

I got into the car. Asher closed the door and got in beside me.

As we drove away, I pulled out my phone and sent one final text to the omega.

Deliver the envelope now.

Then I blocked James's number, Mia's number, and my parents' numbers.

I was done.

"Where are we going?" I asked Asher quietly.

"My territory," he said. "Somewhere safe. My pack will protect you."

I placed my hand on my stomach, on the pup growing inside me.

"Good," I whispered.

As the car pulled away, I watched the house disappear in the mirror.

James thought I was stupid, a she-wolf easy to manipulate and discard.

He had no idea what he had created.

The she-wolf who loved him died the day I found him with Mia.

The she-wolf sitting in this car was someone else.

Someone who would make him pay for every lie, every betrayal, every murdered pup.

Alpha James Grant's perfect night was about to become his worst nightmare, and I couldn't wait to watch it all burn.