“This is your cheque.” He said, making her frown.

“I didn’t ask for your money.” She said, and he rolled his eyes.

“You didn’t need to. But you served, and you are getting paid for it.” He said coldly before walking toward the door. “Now just be sure to keep that mouth of yours shut about it…”

**********************************

She gave him one night.

He gave her money for it.

Mia knew it was reckless. Sleeping with a stranger, no names, no promises, just a fleeting escape from the weight of reality. But when the night ended, and he left cold bills on the nightstand like she was just another transaction, the burn of humiliation carved into her soul.

She hated him for it. Hated herself for needing the money too much to throw it back.

She never expected to see him again.

But fate has a cruel sense of humor. Because now he’s standing in her office… powerful, arrogant, and very much her new boss.

Nathan Lockwood doesn’t recognize her at first. To him, it was just one night. But for Mia, it was the night everything changed.

And when he finds out the secret she’s been hiding, the game between them turns into something far more dangerous than either of them ever anticipated.

He paid to forget her.

Now he’ll pay anything to keep her.

Mia:

“Fuck, you’re so tight.” He said, pushing himself deeper inside me, hitting a spot that made me cry out. He smirked against my neck and pulled out before thrusting back inside me, hitting the same spot, making my eyes roll to the back of my head.

“Shit…” I whimpered, feeling the knot in my stomach tighten more than I would have wanted it to.

I tightened my arms around him, trying my best to control myself as I saw stars. “Cum, I want you to cum for me…”

I curled my toes, and arched my back on instinct, my heart racing against my ribcage as the two of us reached our climax at the same time. He groaned as he leaned his forehead over my shoulder, riding the two of us off as he thrust in gently.

He pulled away from my shoulder, looking me in the eye for a second before pulling out of me, making me whimper at the feeling of being empty. And that was when I realized the mistake that I’ve made.

I shouldn’t have done it.

I shouldn’t have given in to something that I couldn’t truly understand.

I shouldn’t have given in to a stranger that I didn’t even know.

I knew it the moment his fingers left my skin and he walked across the room like I meant nothing. Like everything we just did, everything he just took from me, was nothing more than a transaction.

The sheets were still tangled around my legs, clinging to sweat-slicked skin. My chest was still heaving from the storm he’d stirred inside me. My mouth tasted like him, like the kisses he left down my neck and the lies he didn’t have to say aloud.

And still, he didn’t even look at me. “So, that’s it? Nothing in between?”

“What is?” He asked, his voice filled with an arrogance that I found myself despising. “I am not sure that I following what you are saying.”

“You are just leaving?”

“Did you really expect me to stay?” He asked, scoffing.

The man was rich… arrogant. Dangerous in that cold, beautiful kind of way that makes you want to destroy yourself just to feel him one more time. “Pretty much expected a little more than sex and just leaving before you’ve managed to even catch your breath.”

“Well, you shouldn’t have.” He muttered, not turning to look at me. “The less time I stayed, the better. It makes things less complicated.”

He was pulling on his shirt, slow and methodical, every movement oozing control, while I sat on the edge of the bed, naked and exposed, wondering what the hell I had just done, or why I did it in the first place. “Wait, though. There is something else.”

“What more can you take from me?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh, I am not taking anything.” He said calmly. “I doubt that you have anything that you can offer me anyway.”

His words made my stomach churn and it took everything in me not to get up and slap him in the face.

“Excuse me?” I asked, but he shrugged as if it was nothing.

He stepped toward the nightstand, pulled out his wallet, and without a single word… dropped a thick wad of bills onto the table. “This is for you.”

I stared at the money like it had slapped me across the face.

My throat tightened. “What the hell is that supposed to be? Do you think that I am some…?”

He finally looked at me, cool eyes meeting mine like I was some forgettable story he didn’t care to hear the ending of, stopping me from whatever I was saying without even opening his mouth to utter a word.

“For your time,” he said casually. “The trouble. And of course, to ensure your silence and that you forget that this night ever happened.”

My blood boiled. I stood without thinking, the sheet dropping from my body, not caring if he saw me like this, because hell, he already had. “Are you kidding me? You’re being serious right now?”

He didn’t blink. “I believe that I am. Is that a problem? You are getting paid for something that you offered.”

I laughed, sharp, bitter, painful. “So that’s what this night was to you? A goddamn service? This is why you came here?”

“You’re the one who came home with a stranger, sweetheart.” He grabbed his watch off the dresser. “I just made sure it was worth your while. And you got paid for it. You should be thankful given the runt that you’re living in. This should ensure something better. That is unless you aim to get wasted in another bar. Then that would be your problem.”

Every word sank like a knife into my chest.

“Go to hell.”

“I’ve been there,” he said calmly, sliding his coat on. “Trust me, it looks a lot like this room, a little fancier, though.”

“Get out.” I said, pointing at the door.

“Oh, don’t worry… I had no intention in staying.” He said, walking toward the door. “Just be sure to forget I ever existed.”

And just like that, he walked out, closing the door behind him as if I was nothing more than a runt that he used for his pleasure.

No name. No apology. Not even a glance back.

The door clicked shut behind him, and I stood there, numb, humiliated, shaking.

I told myself to leave the money. That I wasn’t the kind of woman who would take it. That I had self-respect. That I had pride.

But as I stared at the rent notice crumpled in my bag, the one I had no idea how to pay…

I picked up the cash with trembling fingers.

And I told myself it didn’t matter.

Because that’s what survival looks like when you have no one left.

“At least you can get something out of it.” I whispered to myself. “No matter how humiliating it may seem…”

Nathan:

I didn’t even remember her name.

Mia? Something like that… I think.

She had said it once, I believe. It was to introduce herself.

But she didn’t even matter to me for me to think about remembering who she was.

She knew what it was, a one-night stand, nothing more. I paid her to make sure the lines didn’t blur. Clean exit. No awkward text the next morning. No fake promises. Plus, it would save her the fuss of whatever horrible situation she was living through. I mean, if she believed that the life she was living was considered a life… well, she was wrong.

But this wasn’t personal.

It was a simple release… for the two of us to say the least.

But the faster she realized it, the easier the outcome was going to be. Whether or not she liked it didn’t really concern me at this point. I was just thankful for the way out. And she was satisfied as much as I was. I didn’t choose to satisfy myself alone.

The city was quiet when I pulled into the garage, the hum of the car echoing against the concrete. I ran a hand through my hair, exhaling long and slow. The scent still lingered faintly on my shirt, her. Sweet, smoky… desperate.

Tania was going to smell it. But I couldn’t care less. She never bothered with it anyway. She was used to it by now. At least, that was what I told myself. Plus, it is not like the two of us were anything more than a man and wife on paper. A mutual benefit for the two families, and a mutual alliance… one that she was gaining more from than I was.

I walked into the apartment like nothing happened. Lights dimmed. The sound of heels on hardwood. She was standing at the kitchen island, arms crossed, red wine in hand, waiting.

“Nathan,” she said, clipped. “You are late. One would have, at least, expected a call to tell me that you were safe. You know, it is the subtle thing to do given the fact that I am your Luna. And I am not around the pack to at least entertain myself with the others.”

“You’re still up.” I tossed my keys in the dish and didn’t bother to look at her, ignoring her remark completely. “I expected you to have been asleep. I didn’t think that you would be staying up to wait for me.”

“I am your Luna, Nathan. I would wait for you to come home because it is the right thing to do. It is not some leverage aspect that you think that I can just ignore.” She said, crossing her arms over her chest. “And I was alone, which does not seem to bother you.”

“You could have gone out if you needed entertainment, waiting for me wasn’t a must. And it is not like you didn’t know that I was going to be late.” I said calmly, knowing well that she would be starting an argument.

“I got worried about you.” She said coldly. “I do believe that I have the right to be, and I wasn’t going to go out on my own, in a place that I do not know.”

“You shouldn’t have. It is not the first time that I was late out, nor is it going to be the last.” I said taking a step away from her, wanting to get away from this conversation all together. “And if you are so worried about being alone, by all means, you can always go back to the pack.”

She didn’t move, but the sigh that slipped her mouth and her pinching the bridge of her nose told me that she understood that this conversation wasn’t going anywhere that she liked. “It’s two in the morning. Do you really find it difficult to remember that you have someone waiting for you at home?”

I shrugged out of my coat. “Relax. You need to fuss about something that I am often doing.”

“No,” she muttered, almost under her breath. “You are often coming home smelling like another woman too, aren’t you?”

I stilled.

The silence stretched.

“What?” I said slowly, voice flat.

She turned away, rinsing her glass. “Forget it. You have to go and get some rest, you have work to do in the morning. Weekend or not, you have made it a habit to work, daily, and late into the night too. It is like my presence doesn’t matter. At this point, I am actually wondering why you chose to have me come with you when I could have been at home.”

“You can always leave if you want. No one is stopping you.” I said, making her frown.

“Of course, I can. It is not like you are going to care.” She said, giving me a cold smile.

No. She wanted me to hear it. That’s why she said it.

But I didn’t rise to the bait. I didn’t feel guilty. I didn’t explain. Because whatever Tania thought we had, whatever label she tried to cling to, it was never love.

It was convenience.

She was polished. Presentable. The Luna the pack expected.

And I as an Alpha had my own mental state with her, she knew to keep it without a fuss.

But she wasn’t fire. She wasn’t temptation. She wasn’t the girl from last night who clawed at my shoulders and looked at me like she hated how much she wanted me, who looked at me like I was the one thing that she could have gotten lost into.

She wasn’t my mate.

And that, somehow, pissed me off more than it should have.

“Would you, at least, get something to eat? I had the maids prepare something for you for dinner.” She said, crossing her arms over her chest as she saw that I didn’t bother replying.

“I’m taking a shower, the food can stay in the fridge, there is no need to reheat it.” I said coolly.

“You have to make it a habit to eat.”

“I do.” I said, making her pinch the bridge of her nose. “You can go to sleep. Rest assured, I am not going out until morning.”

No apology.

No lie.

Just truth, the way I always gave it.

She didn’t say a word as I walked down the hall.

And I didn’t look back.

Mia:

“Well, good morning.” Brenda said, seeing how I was still fumbling about in the kitchen as I proceeded with doing things that I should have gotten used to doing by now.

“Good morning, Brenda. And if you are here to remind me that I am late, I am already aware.” I muttered.

The morning light filtered through the cracked blinds, catching dust motes in the air as I scrambled to button my blouse with one hand and juggle a half-eaten piece of toast with the other.

Rosalyn was already whining about the juice box I forgot to pack. “Mommy!”

“Just give mommy five more seconds, baby,” I pleaded, spinning around in the cramped apartment as if I could magically make time stretch. I caught my reflection in the hallway mirror, tired eyes, loose ponytail, stress clinging to every line of my face, and grimaced. “I’ll get everything that you need. But mommy needs you to give her a moment.”

So much for “glowing young mother.” I couldn’t even explain a small situation to my child.

“Juice, Mommy! I want juice please!” Rose demanded again, louder this time, tapping her foot like a tiny tyrant in pink overalls. My wolf growled low in my chest, frustrated, not at her, just at everything else that’s been trying to break me.

Brenda leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed. She was already dressed for her own shift, but her gaze screamed one thing: judgment.

“I’m just saying,” she began, again, “you could’ve gotten something out of him. It would have helped you out, Mia. You don’t have to handle all of this on your own. And right now, it is very clear that you are not in the best shape to argue, Mia.”

I snapped the lunchbox shut. “We’re not having this conversation again, Brenda. We have been through this a hundred times, and I have no intention in having to deal with it again. And I have no intention in handling another headache this early in the morning. I already have enough on my mind.”

Brenda pushed off the wall, not backing down. “Mia, you’ve been scraping together three jobs, living like a ghost, and for what? Because of some werewolf pride? You let that man walk out on you after paying for…”

“Don’t.” I cut her off, sharply. “This isn’t about pride. This is about survival. He got what he wanted, and he believed that it was going to be a way out. He claimed that he wanted an easy exit.”

“Well, it takes two to create life, and he does not get an easy exit after contributing in making that life.” She said, making me frown.

“I made my choice, Brenda. And I am not going back from it.” I snapped, glaring at her before she could say another word.

“Mia…”

“I told you before…” I said, turning to face her so she could see my anger. “I’m not dragging my daughter into that world. Into his world. He chose his way, and I am not going to push her into a world like that one. She does not deserve that.”

Her jaw clenched, but she backed off, eyeing Rosalyn, who was now twirling with her backpack straps.

“She deserves a mother who can actually look at her without growing frustrated because she forgot the juice box, again.” She said, making me frown. “I know that this is hard for you to accept, but she doesn’t even know who he is,” Brenda said, softer now. “And he doesn’t know she exists. He could actually want to know that he has a daughter. Mind you, it would actually help you.”

“And that’s how it’s going to stay.” I snapped without truly intending to. “He paid to get an easy cut. And you know that he wouldn’t have wanted to hear about anything. He might have even asked for me to get it done with before it even happened. I wasn’t going to allow him to make that decision for me.”

If the Lockwoods ever found out about her... about me... and if he found out about her…

Brenda sighed, walking over to grab Rose’s hand. “I’ll pick her up from daycare today, don’t worry about fussing yourself about leaving early. You’ve got your interview, right?”

“Yeah.” I nodded, snatching my bag and smoothing my top, even though the fabric was already wrinkled. “I need this job. And I am going to get it.”

“You say that about every job.”

“No,” I said, meeting her gaze. “This one’s different. I feel it.”

Brenda gave me a once-over, then her lips curved before her eyes hardened as she looked at Rosalyn. “You’d better, because you’re running on fumes and caffeine. And if this proceeds, you are going to end up losing a lot more than you are going to be able to afford.”

Before I could reply, my phone vibrated with a notification. Another news headline. Another photo of him holding one of his children in his arms, his woman at his side…

Nathan Lockwood and wife spotted at charity gala… and with them attended their little twins… Arina and Jacob, seen for the first time since birth at two years old.

My stomach turned.

There he was. In a tailored suit. Smiling for the cameras like he didn’t have blood on his hands or a past that meant anything. Like I didn’t exist. A mate that he chose to simply ignore and rather than reject, he couldn’t care less.

Like she didn’t exist.

I turned the screen off.

“I’m fine,” I said before Brenda could ask. “I am going to go and get ready…”

Brenda kissed Rosalyn’s forehead, then gave me a look I’d come to know too well. You’re lying, but I won’t push. “Come on, little pup… let’s get you to your daycare before you’re late.”

“Bye, mama!” Rosalyn said excitedly.

“Bye, baby.” I said, smiling at my daughter. “Have a beautiful day, okay? And don’t give your teachers or Auntie Brenda a hard time today.”

“Break a leg, Mia.” Brenda said, nodding at me, her eyes meeting mine as she studied my expression, knowing well that I was trying to hide my pain. “And be sure to give me an update when you’re done.”

“Thanks.” I whispered, watching as they walked out.

I watched from the window as she walked Rosalyn out to the car, Rose bouncing along beside her with all the joy and trust of a child who didn’t know the world had already tried to break her mother.

And I wasn’t going to let it win.

Not now. Not after everything…