NICOLE

~Two Years Ago~

“You’ll never be more than a contract between our packs, Nicole. Don’t expect any affection in this marriage.”

“Never speak to me unless we are in public and it is of utmost necessity.”

“And lastly, this is not a fairytale story with a happy ending. We may wear rings, but that’s the only connection that will ever exist between us.”

Those three sentences marked the beginning of my arranged marriage to Nathan Cross—Alpha of the most powerful pack in the Kardor faction.

The man I had just married out of obligation because his wealth and resources could save my pack. A pack that was dying, just like my father.

He said them with such cold detachment that I could only stand there, staring at the man I was supposed to spend the rest of my life with.

A man who stared back at me as if I were the embodiment of everything he hated.

But fate was twisted.

Because I fell in love with him.

Somewhere over the next three years, through the silences and the unspoken moments, his walls began to crack. He laughed. He cared. He loved. And for a while, I believed we’d beaten the odds. Perhaps my story was truly a fairytale and

I was getting my happy ending.

Until she showed up.

Nadia Cross.

The woman he called family. The woman who had grown up by his side, taken in by his father after her own pack was destroyed. The woman who, over the last two months, had become the center of his world while I faded into the background.

I could pretend to be blind, but the signs were there—her lingering touches, his distant gaze. And then, the final blow. I overheard her say the words I had feared all along.

“He’s going to reject her. It’s only a matter of time.”

So here I was, standing in front of them both, the ring in my trembling hand.

“You don’t have to pretend anymore,” I said, my voice steady despite the storm raging inside me. I turned to Nadia first, then to Nathan. “This is what you both wanted, isn’t it?”

“Nikki, what are you talking about?” Nadia started with that sickly sweet tone she always used that made everyone worship at her feet, but I cut her off with a sharp glare.

“I’ve told you not to call me that,” I snapped.

Nathan’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t say a word. He just stood there, silent and cold, like the man I met three years ago. The man I had spent so long trying to thaw.

I took a step closer, holding out the ring. “Take it. You can finally let go of the facade of you just being like his sister and you can have him. After all, you already bear his surname.”

For the first time, Nathan’s eyes met mine, and in that moment, I saw everything I needed to know. There was no fight, no regret, no love.

I had been the fool who truly believed we would have our happy ending.

Walking towards Nadia, I placed the ring in her hand, closed her fingers around it, and caught the subtle gleam of satisfaction in her eyes before I turned on my heel.

That was when Nathan finally spoke, his voice as cold as ice, “If you walk through that door, don’t ever come back, and all ties between our packs will be severed.”

The final shard of my heart broke in two.

But I didn’t look back, and the last thing I heard was Nadia’s light laughter, moments before the door slammed shut behind me. Even though I was leaving him, my years with him had provided my pack with enough resources to stabilize, so I could just return home and rebuild.

Everything was going to workout.

Yet again, I was wrong.

Two hours after I left Nathan’s mansion, I got a call—the one I had been dreading. My mother’s voice broke through the line, her words a heavy weight, "He’s gone. Nikki, he’s gone."

I thought I was prepared for it but when I heard those words, the world tilted beneath me, the pain hitting me with such force that I collapsed.

And then, everything went black.

The next thing I knew, I was waking up in a hospital room, and moments later, the Doctor’s words sent another wave of shock coursing through me. I blinked staring at her with widened eyes, “What?”

She smiled like the next words, if she confirmed them, wouldn’t completely throw my already shattering world into pieces. “I said congratulations. You are two months pregnant.”

NICOLE

~Present Day~

“Two more wolves are dead, Nicole. We can’t just sit back anymore hoping it’ll go away. We have to do something.”

I looked up from the papers in front of me meeting Gerald, my Beta’s eyes filled with worry and feeling the tension in the air that had spiked up the moment he walked in, and the words he spoke hit me like a punch to the gut.

More deaths.

I kept my back to him, staring out the window of my office, trying to collect my thoughts. The Hastings Faction had been reeling since the first wolf had gone missing nearly a month ago and was found dead. No signs of a struggle, no tracks to follow, nothing.

And then it started. More wolves started going missing, meeting the same fate.

I took a deep breath before turning to face him, “I know, Gerald. I’m not blind to what’s going on.” My voice was tight, controlled, but the truth weighed heavy on me. The more time passed, the more helpless I felt. We had pooled resources with the other Alphas in the faction, tried everything from tracking to gathering intel, but every lead we’d followed had amounted to nothing. It was like we were chasing ghosts, our efforts evaporating into thin air.

Gerald didn’t wait for me to finish processing, “You know as well as I do that it’s time to stop hoping. We have to act. We’ve been at this for weeks now. And it’s only getting worse. It’s time we looked to the Kaldor packs. They are larger and have more resources to help us stop this before it consumes us all.”

The mention of the Kaldor packs felt like a cold chill rushing over me. All of it tied back to Nathan because he was the Alpha of the strongest pack in their faction.

“Not them. You know it will all tie back to Nathan. I will find another way,”

Even saying his name out loud sent a ripple of irritation through my wolf.

Gerald’s voice softened, the edges of his words careful, as if trying not to push me too far. “I understand your past with him, Nicole. But this is bigger than you, bigger than me. Wolves are dying. If we don’t do something—soon—it won’t matter where the attack is coming from. We’ll all end up dead, and I hate to say this but your son included.”

His words hit hard, and I felt my stomach churn. I had worked too damn hard to protect him, to keep him safe. And if the

truth came out, if Nathan found out about him… I shuddered at the thought. No.

That couldn’t happen.

But Gerald wasn’t wrong. The Kaldor packs had the resources and the influence to help. Nathan, despite everything, was still one of the most powerful Alphas in the region. If I could swallow my pride and reach out, we might finally get the answers we needed.

But the idea of doing that made my blood boil.

Gerald spoke again , recognizing the battle playing out behind my eyes. “I’m not asking you to go to him, he might be the most powerful but there are other powerful packs in the faction. But if you don’t, this will only get worse.”

I stared at him, torn between the anger I felt at being put in this position and the responsibility I had to the pack.

One way or another, I had to act.

I shook my head, clearing the fog in my mind. “Fine. I’ll look into it, but I won’t ask Nathan for help. I won’t go crawling back to him. I’ve spent too long fighting for my place here, for my son’s future. I’m not going to ruin everything no matter

what.”

Gerald lowered his head, clearly understanding the weight of my words, but he didn’t push it further. “I understand, Alpha. Just… just don’t wait too long. This can’t wait forever.”

With that, he bowed slightly and left the room, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

The reason I had fought so hard to become Alpha after my father’s death was to ensure that I could protect him. Nathan could never know the truth about him—that he existed.

And yet, here I was, on the brink of being forced to go back to the very source of my pain. To ask for help from the one person I’d promised myself I’d never go back to.

I leaned back in my chair, letting the weight of it all settle on my shoulders. I’d find another way. I had to.

But the question was:

What could I do before we all ended up dead?

NATHAN

The silence in the room was suffocating after my father’s words sliced through it.

“I am never going to hand the pack over to you if you don’t agree to this. You either marry her or lose the pack."

I stared at him, forcing my fury to stay buried under the surface. My tone was cold, measured. “So, you expect me to marry a stranger—a woman I’ve never met—because you’re so paranoid about your bloodline ending with me?”

His hand raked through his hair, a familiar gesture of frustration. His voice softened, as though he thought compassion would mask the ultimatum. “I only want what’s best for you, Nathan. You’ve spent years resenting women because of what your mother did, and—”

“Don’t bring her up,” I snapped, the words spilling out before I could stop them. My patience was wearing thin. “And if you knew what was best for me, you wouldn’t threaten to take away the one thing I’ve trained my entire life for. If it’s an heir you want, I’ll give you an heir—but I will not marry a stranger.”

He shook his head, disappointment lacing his gaze. “This is about more than just an heir, Nathan. It’s about you moving on from the past. Letting someone in. Someone who isn’t Nadia.”

“All I want,” he continued, “is for you to be happy. Nicole is kind and beautiful. You’ll see that. She’ll be good for you, in time.”

I glared at him, my voice dropping to a dangerous growl. “If you force me into this, I will never forgive you.”

His weary sigh was punctuated by a faint, sad smile. “Then so be it. The decision is final. You have three days to submit your answer to the council.”

He turned without another word, the door slamming behind him. And just like that, the choice was made for me.

I had trained to be an Alpha my entire life. It was all I knew. This was the sacrifice I had to make to claim what was rightfully mine.

But Nicole, whoever she was, would never mean anything to me.

At least, that’s what I told myself.

Over the three years that followed, I came to see that my father had been right. Nicole was everything I didn’t know I wanted. She was kind. She was strong. She was… perfect.

And that perfection was my downfall.

Because the moment I trusted her—the moment I let her past my walls—she cheated on me and betrayed me. Women were all the same. They made you believe you were the center of their world, only to leave you shattered, wondering why you were never enough.

Nadia was the only exception. The only woman I could trust. My sister, my constant. And no matter what Nicole believed about her, Nadia had proved, time and again, that she would never leave me.

The day Nicole walked away, I told myself she was nothing to me. Just like she was always meant to be.

But over the two years that passed, I’d kept tabs on her learning that she had taken over her pack. Which was why she had married me, using me for my resources.

And I should have treated her the same—as a means to an end.

Instead, I let her in. And I hated her for it.

A sharp knock at the door dragged me out of the memory, my chest tightening at the flood of emotions.

“Come in,” I called, irritation lacing my voice.

One of my top men stepped in, his head bowed respectfully.

“Just tell me what it is,” I muttered, leaning back in my chair.

His voice was cautious. “Something has come up that requires your attention, Alpha. Alpha Ivan is requesting approval to form an alliance.”

I waved a hand dismissively. “How many times do I have to tell you? Grant permission without bothering me with irrelevant details. I don’t care who aligns with whom.”

He hesitated, his eyes flickering with unease.

“I thought you’d want to know who he wants to align with,” he said carefully. “It’s Nicole Myers.”

The room went still.

The name sent a jolt of cold fury through my veins. “Why is she reaching out to a Kaldor pack?”

“From what I heard, wolves are going missing in the Hasting faction. They’re being found dead. I believe she needs more resources to protect her territory. Shall I approve the request?”

My jaw clenched, “No. Decline it. And send a message to Ivan and every Alpha in the Kaldor faction. From this point, Nicole Myers is blacklisted. Any Alpha caught aligning or associating with her will face dire consequences.”