"Sign this contract. Be my Luna for a year. I'll help you get back at your ex and his mistress." he smiled, looking at me in a way that made my bottom wet. "I know you want them to suffer."

--Evelyn tried to be the perfect Luna, managing the pack and raising her husband Tristan's bastard child as her own. Yet all her efforts were betrayed when Tristan brought the bastard child's birth mom back and asked to divorce Evelyn. Evelyn even learnt the dark truth that her own child from 3 years ago didn't die in a miscarriage as she thought--it was brutally killed by her husband and mistress. At this lowest point of her life, Evelyn received a proposal from Alpha Ahser, who happened to be the one person her ex-husband wanted to impress. Be his contract Luna, he would help her win. Now with the strongest ally, Evelyn came back for her revenge. Soon she would discover that the partnership between her and Asher had turned into something else...Love.

Evelyn’s POV

“I’m so glad you are here tonight, Leah. I love you.” Tristan said.

My husband, the Alpha of Blazewood Pack, held the beautiful blonde in his arm, planting a soft kiss on her forehead.

I froze on my spot after seeing this. All the guests in the banquet hall were stealing glances at me, whispering and jeering.

“Is that Leah Middleton?” My maid Mandy gasped, “What’s she doing here?!”

My husband brought her here, obviously.

Tonight was the Full Moon festival. We should attend as Alpha and Luna. But instead, Tristan brought her, not giving a damn about how humiliating this was to me.

Leah Middleton was Tristan’s high school sweetheart, Ironclaw Pack’s Alpha’s daughter. She and Tristan were the perfect couple until Leah broke up with him. Rumors said that she cheated on him with another man.

Tristan met me a year later at a party. We found out that we were mates and instantly fell in love. Nobody in my family was thrilled about our relationship. But I still ran away from home and married into Blazewood Pack.

We were mates, blessed by the Moon Goddess. How bad could it be?

But I was wrong. So wrong.

The first bump in our marriage was my miscarriage. I lost my child during a business meeting. Tristan blamed me for it. He thought I was too careless.

To fix the trauma, we adopted a sweet little boy called Roman. But a child still couldn’t fix our marriage. Tristan started to grow cold to me.

And now, Leah was back, my husband’s first love.

Was she here to take him away from me?

Suppressing the panic, I strode up to them.

“Leah, you should leave.” I tried to say this with as much dignity as possible. “And stay away from my husband.”

Leah rounded her big, innocent eyes and looked over to Tristan.

“Love, shall we tell her?” she asked softly.

I started to get a bad feeling. “Tell me what?”

Tristan gave me an indifferent look, “Leah will stay here from now on.”

I couldn’t believe what I just heard. “Stay here? As what? Are you out of your mind?!”

Tears quickly welled up in Leah's eyes, “I know you hate me, Evelyn. It's all my fault. But Tristan didn’t do anything wrong so please don’t yell at him.”

“Do you mind? I’m talking to my husband!” I snapped.

“Be nice to her!” Tristan growled.

“I won’t threaten your position. I promise.” Leah blinked innocently, “You can still be Luna. All I want is to stay with Tristan…and my child.”

The ground was slipping away underneath my feet. My legs went soft, and I couldn’t stand straight.

“Child? What child?” I asked through clenched teeth.

They had a child together? How come I didn't know about this??

They exchanged a look. And then finally, Tristan spoke up, “It’s probably time to tell you the truth…Roman is Leah and my kid.”

I couldn’t breathe, “But you said…you adopted Roman from an orphanage! He doesn’t have any parents!”

“If I hadn’t said that, would you have accepted Roman and raised him as your own?” Tristan said with a frown. “Leah couldn’t raise Roman when the kid was born. So I brought him back here. It’s just a little harmless white lie.”

A harmless white lie?

I poured my heart out and raised the child of the woman who fucked my husband.

And now she swooped in and tried to take my child and husband away.

What am I? A free nanny to them?

“No, Tristan…I don’t want her here.” I gritted, trying hard not to let my tears fall. “This is unacceptable. Send her away please…I am asking as your wife and Luna!”

“She stays. End of discussion!” Tristan growled.

“If she stays…I’m afraid that you are driving me away,” I said, trembling.

My heart was in my throat. Because even I couldn’t be sure whom he would choose.

Tristan looked frustrated. Yet before he spoke up, Leah burst out crying.

“Don’t push him! This is all my fault…I never want to be the third woman in your marriage…I—I should go!” she sobbed and turned away, running out of the banquet hall.

Tristan snapped his head towards me and glared, “Now are you happy?”

With that, he stormed out as well to chase her. They were gone within seconds.

I swayed on my feet, pain and humiliation washing over me. Tristan had just made his decision--between me and Leah, he chose the latter.

All the guests were watching with jeers. Nobody came forward to comfort me. Tristan’s members all thought I was a country girl from a small Northern pack. And I didn't deserve their great Alpha.

They were probably thrilled to have Leah here to replace me, since she was an Alpha’s daughter.

“Luna Evelyn, are you OK?” my maid Mandy asked, worried.

“I…I need to lie down…”

I escaped the banquet hall, staggering, away from those gloating eyes.

But I couldn’t sleep.

How could I sleep knowing that my husband was being with another woman?

After crying in my room alone for a few hours, I steeled myself up and went to find Tristan in his room.

We should talk.

We could make this work.

Yet the soldiers outside of Tristan’s room stopped me. They told me that the Alpha was busy right now.

“Busy with what? He doesn't have time for his wife?” I asked in disbelief.

“This is Alpha's order,” the soldier replied coldly.

I was angry. Just as I wanted to keep arguing, a sharp pain coursed through my body. I bent over, groaning out.

This pain was caused by betrayal. In the werewolf world, when your mate cheats on you, you feel the unbearable pain and get the image of them having sex.

Those images were in my head at this very moment.

Just across this door, they were naked on our wedding bed. Leah’s legs were wrapped around Tristan’s waist, and he was fucking her like a wild beast.

“Oh…oh my god, harder, harder!” she shrieked.

He grabbed her bouncing boob and growled, “You are amazing…fuck…I love you.”

A sick feeling surged up in me.

I struggled a few steps forward and threw up.

Evelyn’s POV

I was carried back to my room that day. The pain and the images in my head almost killed me. I couldn’t get out of bed for the next 3 days.

And Tristan never bothered to check on me once. I heard that he was busy taking Leah to parties and introducing her to all his members.

Then I got an unexpected call, from my best friend in college, Haley.

“Hey, Evelyn! Just want to check on you and see if you are still coming to Storm Fang Pack for business next week. We should definitely find a time to meet up!”

I took in a small deep breath.

Shit. I almost forgot that.

For the past few years, I have been working on a huge real estate project called Carnival City with a company in Storm Fang Pack, AKA the largest and most powerful pack in the world.

Originally, I planned to go over there next week and sign the contract with CEO Jason.

I also wanted to catch up with Haley and…possibly visit Haley's brother.

Her brother, Asher Hawthorne, was no one else but the Alpha of Storm Fang Pack, the tycoon that dominated the business world.

If he could advise on my project, it’d definitely help me.

But Asher Hawthorne was a notorious playboy. I heard that he never wasted time on women unless he was interested in having sex with them. So I knew that maybe meeting with Alpha Asher was a long shot.

But now, I had completely forgotten all about that.

Because of what happened with Leah.

“I don’t know, Haley…Maybe there’ll be a change of plan. I can’t go anymore.” I said lowly.

“What? Why?”

There’s no point hiding this with my best friend. I covered my face and choked, “…Tristan is leaving me for another woman…the birth mother of our adopted child. If he does, there’s no point for me to keep working on that project…”

I developed the Carnival City project to solve Blazewood Pack’s financial crisis. But none of that matters now if I am no longer the Luna.

“WHAT?! That jerk!!” Haley cried in disbelief, “Have you talked to a divorce lawyer? Make sure you get 80% of his assets!”

“I…I don’t know, Haley. We haven’t talked about division of assets yet.”

“Hang in there, girl. I’ll see what I can do to help,” she said firmly before hanging up.

It felt good to be comforted by a good friend.

And it made me wonder—maybe I shouldn’t leave without a fight. I should at least do something for our marriage.

Leah wasn’t the right one for Tristan. She left him once for another man 4 years ago before we got married. I didn’t know why she came back to Tristan this time and she would betray him again.

I just needed to show him that she couldn’t be trusted.

But who was here to help me? Not the members. They weren’t too fond of me. Definitely not the elders. They all thought I was a Northern chick with no class.

Then, finally, I thought of Roman. My baby boy.

Although Leah was his mother by birth, I was by his side for the past 3 years. My boy would be on my side.

Standing outside of the packhouse, I saw Roman’s school bus drive close. I was on this spot every morning and night for the past 3 years, waiting for Roman to come back to school.

As soon as the door opened, I started waving and calling for my boy:

“Roman! Darling! Over here!”

He jumped off the school bus. But as soon as he saw me, he started running in the opposite direction.

“Get away from me!” He cried.

I rushed to grab his shoulder, stunned, “What? Roman, why—”

“You want my mommy to leave! I hate you!” he shouted, “Daddy, Mommy, and I are a real family! Not you!”

Tears welled up in my eyes. Roman knew Leah was back. And he chose her over me.

“Roman, I—I’m your mom, remember?” I choked, “I took you to the hospital when you were sick. I went to all of your parent and teacher's meetings. I tugged you in every night…I love you…”

He struggled in my arms, screeching, as though he didn’t want me to touch him.

Passersby stopped and stared at us. One guy even came forward and said, “Miss, please let go of the child.”

“It’s ok. He’s my kid.” I quickly explained.

“NO!” Roman shrieked, “You hit me! You put my head into the toilet! You scared me! I don’t want you. I want Mommy Leah!”

I froze on my spot. I didn’t none of those stuff! Why would Roman lie about those?!

Leah suddenly appeared near the front gate, with Tristan behind her back. She dashed over, crying, and held Roman tightly in her arms.

“My poor baby! What’ve you been through!” she wailed.

“You hit Roman?!” Tristan growled at me, “Are you doing this because you can’t have your own child and you are jealous of Leah?”

I looked at him in shock. How could he think this way?

Leah sobbed, “Don’t blame her, Tristan. I get it. People only love their own kid. Roman and I are outsiders here. Maybe we should leave…”

“Yes, you do!” I blurt out.

“ENOUGH!” Tristan snarled, glaring at me. “Leah’s the woman I love and Roman is my only son! I can’t leave them. And they need me.”

I started to tremble in pain. “Then what about me, Tristan? I’m your mate!”

“Nobody says you aren’t!” Tristan said impatiently, “You’ll still be Blazewood Pack’s Luna. Leah is here simply because of love. She’s not interested in your position.”

“You won’t even notice that I’m in the house. I just want to stay with Tristan.” Leah said softly.

I felt dizzy.

If she was the woman he loved, then what did that make me? A free employee who helped him run his pack? How could I stand the pain while my husband fucked another woman every night in the next room?

No, I couldn’t handle that.

And I didn’t think Tristan’s love for me was completely gone.

So with a trembling hand, I started undo my blouse, revealing my delicate collarbone and then my chest. My scent quickly filled the air. I heard Tristan’s breathing suddenly became heavy.

“…What are you doing?” he gritted with sweat on his forehead.

I took a step further, locking eyes with him, whispering, “Don’t you miss me? The feeling of being with your mate…it’s better than anything else in the world. You know that.”

The matebond was working.

He stared deep into my eyes, obsessed, and murmured, “…My mate.”

Evelyn’s POV

My heart pounded in my chest. I took another step further and reached out to him.

A sharp scream pierced through the air.

Leah collapsed on the ground. She gripped her chest, panting and crying, “No…my chest…”

Tristan was snapped back to reality. He went to her in panic, “God! What’s going on?”

“My chest…it hurts…” Tears streamed down Leah’s face, “Just let me go, Tristan. There’re obviously feelings between you and your mate. The matebond…how can I beat that?”

“We have love! It conquers everything!” Tristan said decisively, “Come! I’ll take you to the hospital.”

He spooned her up with one arm and held Roman with another hand. Before leaving, he shot me a glare.

“Don’t force me to divorce you, Evelyn!” he snarled, “If I do that, you’ll have no money and nowhere to go. So be nice to Leah and Roman from now on. Only that will guarantee you a place under my roof!”

He stormed away, leaving me heartbroken on the spot.

Maybe I should do what Haley suggested—get a good divorce lawyer and guarantee for a basic life in the future.

But Tristan was a powerful Alpha, and I didn’t even have money to hire a decent lawyer. I couldn’t win this in court.

I wandered back to my room, absentminded, not knowing what to do next. The next morning, I got a call from work.

One of the staff on the Carnival City project told me that CEO Jason wanted to discuss our contract. Maybe he had heard about my divorce and had doubts about our cooperation.

So I struggled out of bed and went to the office.

Yet to my surprise, Leah was the only person in the office when I came in.

“What’re you doing here?” I asked, astounded. “And where’s everyone?”

She gave me a mocking smile, “I told them to have the day off. Oh, and I already talked to CEO Jason and invited him to come here to sign the contract. You’re welcome.”

I couldn’t believe this.

“You have no right. This is my office!” I snapped.

She giggled, pleased to see me enraged, “Not anymore. I told Tristan that I wanted the Carnival City project. And he says I can have it.”

I rounded my eyes in shock.

I worked days and nights on this project, making budgets, drafting the proposal, and finding investors.

Yet now, the project that I poured my heart and soul into became a gift from my husband to his mistress.

“Why the shocking face? You know Tristan would give me anything,” Leah coiled a lock of her hair, smiling. “This project is nothing too fancy. But it’ll be a good stepping stone for me to become Tristan’s Luna.”

I stared at her, breathing rapidly.

“You want to be Tristan’s Luna?” I cried, “B…But you said that you are here simply because of love. And you are not interested in that position!”

“Oh my god, you believe that? That’s just something I say for Tristan!” she smiled a twisted smile, “Of course I want to be Luna. Why else would I waste time on Tristan?”

I took a step back, my body trembling, “You don’t love him! You are just bouncing from Alpha to Alpha! I’m going to tell him—”

“Be my guest. See if he believes you.” Leah giggled, approaching me step by step. “Tristan has blind faith in me. He would do anything for me…Let me tell you a little secret. Remember your miscarriage?”

A chill ran through me. “…What?”

Leah leaned in, looking at me with a smug smile.

“I couldn’t keep Roman when I first had him. So Tristan suggested bringing him here and told you Roman’s adopted. But you happened to be pregnant as well at that time. So I got really worried: If a woman already has her own child, how could she be nice to an adopted kid? And you know what Tristan said about that?"

I stared at her in horror, my mind froze.

"Tristan said, ‘Just get rid of her baby, problem solved.’ "

Leah laughed heartily.

"He put wolfsbane in your drink, and your child slipped right out. After that, he brought Roman back as your only child…That’s how far Tristan would go for me!”

The whole world collapsed around me.

Shock, anger, disbelief…almost tore my soul apart!

“No….NO!!” I shook my head, tears streaming down my face. “This isn’t true…Tristan would never…I’m going to ask him!”

“Whatever, Evelyn.” Leah giggled.

I shoved her aside and jerked around, dashing out of the office.

I needed to see Tristan.

I wanted to tell him that Leah didn’t love him at all. She’s just using him. And I wanted to hear him explain. I knew he didn’t murder our baby.

I ran out of the building and across the street. From the corner of my eyes, I saw a truck coming at me at full speed. But it was too late for me to dodge.

BANG!!!

The truck hit me, sending me flying, and then crashing onto the ground.

Pain shot through my body. My vision became blurred. Blood pooled underneath me.

Vaguely, I saw the truck driver jump off and walk over.

“He…Help…” I groaned weakly with tears, “Pl…ease…”

Yet the driver only gave me an indifferent look and turned to Leah, “Miss Leah, what’s next?”

“Drag her into the woods and bury her.” Leah looked down at me with a sweet smile. “Once she’s gone, Tristan will have no choice but to make me Luna.”

They were together.

This was murder.

But my energy was gone. I shut my eyes, trembling, and slipped into the darkness.