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.

Evelyn’s POV

I thought I was dead already.

But when I opened my eyes, I found myself lying in the hospital bed. A nurse was checking my blood pressure by the bedside.

“Oh my god, you’re awake!” she said cheerfully, “Finally! It’s been a week!”

…A week?

“W—Where…am I?”

She told me an address, which was hundreds of miles far from the packhouse. Leah must have driven a long way before dumping me.

“A couple of hikers found you in the woods and sent you to the hospital. You’d be dead already in they were a couple of hours late.” the nurse’s face turned serious, “What’s your name? And what happened to you?”

I groaned trying to sit up, “Did…did anyone come to look for me?”

“No. Nobody came.”

Tears poured out of my eyes.

I was gone missing for a week. Yet my own husband didn’t even bother to look for me.

“I…I need to go.” I gasped and struggled to get out of bed, “I need to find Tristan…”

The nurse followed me crying, “Hey you’re not fully recovered yet! Come back!”

She said that my ribs were fractured. My left leg was broken. And I was suffering from a concussion, which could develop into a serious disease if wasn’t taken seriously.

But I still insisted on checking out from the hospital.

I had no money and no phone at the moment. So how to go back to the packhouse was a big issue.

My only option was to hitch a ride.

I traveled the freeway for a whole morning, staggering. My ribs and left leg hurt like hell. My wolf was healing me as quickly as possible. But it still wasn’t enough.

Before I dropped down by the streetside again, a kind family stopped the car and gave me a ride.

We started talking in the car. The family told me that something big was happening at the packhouse.

“…Alpha Tristan is getting married again soon!” the wife said excitedly, “The new Luna is Ironclaw Pack’s daughter! And the adopted kid, Roman, isn’t adopted at all! He’s Alpha Tristan and Leah’s son! The boy has real Alpha blood!”

“Finally, we can have a highborn Luna. Someone who truly deserves our Alpha,” the father commented.

I gazed out the window numbly. The agony was making it hard for me to breathe.

“…And where’s the old Luna?” I asked lowly.

The wife shrugged, “Who cares? Not even Alpha Tristan cares. He didn’t mention her once in public once Leah was back.”

I wanted to cry again but also didn’t want to do it in front of strangers. So I turned around and covered my eyes.

3 hours later, the car stopped at the Central Square in front of the packhouse. A lot of people were gathered here.

I thanked the family and got out of the car. Going into the crowd, I heard people say that CEO Jason was coming from Storm Fang Pack today to sign a business contract with us. And all those people were here to welcome him.

“Miss Leah is in charge of the Carnival City project!” someone said in the crowd, “Well done, Leah! Finally, a Luna who knows what’s she doing!”

I clenched my fists in anger.

Carnival City was my project. Leah stole the fruit of my work. Yet nobody here knew that.

In the center, Tristan, Leah, and Roman were posing happily for the cameras.

“We are all excited about CEO Jason’s arrival, about the Carnival City. This is an important moment for the entire Blazewood Pack,” Tristan said with a charming smile.

“But why isn’t Luna Evelyn here today?” a reporter asked.

A deep furrow appeared between Tristan’s brows.

Before Tristan could answer, Leah jumped the gun and said, “Evelyn doesn’t want to come. Maybe she’s sick. Or maybe…she just doesn’t want to be in the same room with me.”

People let out low hisses.

Someone cried, “She’s obviously jealous of you! You made this project work. You gave birth to our Alpha’s only heir. Only you matter here! Evelyn can go fuck herself!”

“Guys…please. Have some sympathy.” Leah said softly, “I never want to fight with her. As long as I have Tristan, it’s enough.”

They held hands and smiled looking at each other.

I couldn’t control the growing pain in my chest watching them like this.

…Did Tristan even bother to look for me while I went missing?

Maybe he really didn’t care. Maybe I would humiliate myself by coming back to confront him.

Just then, a honk came from the near distance.

The crowd stirred. Tristan announced loudly, “CEO Jason is here. Let’s all go welcome him!”

A line of cars appeared at the end of the road, speeding toward us. At the front was a black Maybach.

It pulled up in front of the crowd.

The car door opened up. Jason got out of the front seat.

Tristan rushed forward and stretched out his hand to welcome this mighty CEO.

But Jason ignored that hand. He hurriedly walked to the backseat and the back door in a humble manner.

Another man got out of the car.

He stood tall, around 6'3", with a broad, athletic build that screamed strength and control. His chiseled jawline, sharp cheekbones, and strong chin all gave him a commanding presence.

And those piercing green eyes were intense, with a sharp, almost predatory gaze.

A deathly silence fell.

Everyone in the crowd froze in shock, including me.

“Asher Hawthorne.”

The handsome man offered his hand to the dumb-founded Tristan, saying in a deep, sexy voice.

“Nice to meet you.”

A round of surprised gasps broke out from the crowd.

Alpha Asher…What was he doing here?!

He was the Alpha of Storm Fang Pack, a huge business tycoon. There were hundreds of thousands of companies under his reign.

The Carnival City Project was huge to us, but nothing to him.

Why would he show up here today?

“Alpha Asher heard about our project and was really interested in it,” Jason explained to Tristan. “So if you agree, the Hawthorne Enterprise will become your new partner.”

Tristan inhaled sharply, and so did every elder behind his back.

“Of course!” Tristan gasped out in joy. “Come in please. Let’s discuss this in detail.”

“Wait.” Asher interrupted in a chilling voice, “Why isn’t Evelyn here? She’s in charge of the project.”

There was a buzz of comments around me.

“Luna Evelyn? I thought Leah is in charge!” a man gasped.

“So did Leah lie about that?” a woman asked.

Leah’s face turned pale slightly. Then she forced out a smile.

“Luna Evelyn found working on this project too exhausting. So she stepped back and handed everything to me. Trust me, Alpha Tristan. I can do a better job,” she explained.

I clenched my fists in anger.

Another lie. I didn’t hand it to her. She stole it after hitting me with a truck.

Yet Alpha Asher completely ignored her, as though she didn’t exist in his eyes.

“I don’t do business with amateurs. Certainly not with your mistress.” He said freezingly to Tristan. “Bring Luna Evelyn back by tonight! Or the cooperation is off.”

With that, he strode past Tristan and Leah and headed toward the packhouse. Jason and the burly soldiers from Storm Fang Pack followed their Alpha.

Evelyn’s POV

I watched them traveling away. Shock still rippled in my heart.

Why would Asher ask for me so forcefully?

The only time I met him was at my graduation ceremony, and he was looking at me with that burning, strange gaze as if I were a piece of cheesecake with a cherry on top—or his prey.

I was sure he wasn’t a psycho, but I still kept my distance.

Mostly because I knew that, aside from being the world’s strongest Alpha, he was also a huge fuckboy, known for never sleeping with the same girl twice.

I couldn’t afford to get involved with someone like him.

We never met again after that. I thought he had completely forgotten me.

But judging by today…he still remembers.

I looked around and found that everyone had went into the packhouse for tonight’s party. I needed to talk to Tristan. But I wouldn’t be allowed into the door dressed in this dirty rag.

So I rushed back to my room to change.

My maid Mandy helped me choose a silver backless dress that clung to my curves like moonlight. A dazzling diamond necklace lay on my chest, giving a radiant glow.

Mandy styled my hair with pearl hairpins and fresh lilies. The natural floral floated in the air as I walked, smelling was better than any perfume.

“My god, you are so beautiful!” Mandy adjusted the lilies and gasped, “You are going to be the center of attention tonight!”

I looked at my own reflection in the mirror, a little surprised myself.

I used to have many pursuers back in college. And I enjoyed dressing up and looking good in front of people.

But I gave that all up after I married Tristan. Because I want to spend more time on being a good Luna than looking good.

But that did not work out for our marriage.

At roughly 8 o’clock, I left my room and went to the banquet hall.

Fancily dressed guests were arriving. All of them had heard that Alpha Asher was here, and all were eager to meet him.

I found Tristan, Leah, and all the Blazewood Pack elders on the top of the staircase, talking anxiously.

“...So we still can’t find Luna Evelyn?” an elder asked.

Tristan frowned. Leah wiped the corner of her eyes and sobbed, “Maybe she’s hiding because of me. I’m so sorry Tristan. It’s all my fault that you and your Luna are apart…”

“Don’t be silly.” Tristan said deeply, “I’ll have more soldiers look for her. She won’t hide for long.”

Leah hugged his arm with a sweet, innocent smile, “I hope she can be back for our engagement party. Do you think she’ll be happy for us?”

I couldn’t stand it anymore.

So I strode forward and called him, “…Tristan!”

They jerked around together. Leah quickly let out a small scream.

Tristan rounded his eyes. He stood there, ignoring his mistress, and stared at me. I could see shock, admiration, and lust in his eyes.

“…Evelyn…Where have you been?!” he murmured, “You look amazing tonight.”

“You are marrying her?” I asked shakily.

His eyes grew dark.

“Don’t blame Tristan. He thought you ran away.” Leah quickly said, her face still pale. “Anyway, it’s nice to have you back. We are all worried.”

I directed my gaze upon her.

“Worried? Well…you should be!” I cried, my voice trembling. “You hit me with a truck! You’re a murderer!”

There’s a collocative intake of breath.

“A truck? What are you talking about?!” Tristan asked, astounded.

I pointed a finger at Leah, “She hit me with a truck and dumped my body in the woods. If hikers hadn’t found me, I would have been dead!”

All the elders gasped in shock, looking at Leah in horror.

A shadow flickered across Leah’s face before she burst into tears again:

“This is ridiculous! Tristan, you know I can’t even hurt a little bird. Evelyn… she’s crazy.”

“We can check the surveillance camera outside of my office. Or find the truck driver. Then you’ll know that I didn’t lie!”

Tristan nodded at a soldier, who hurried to find the surveillance footage. 15 minutes later, he rushed back, a reluctant look on his face.

“…I checked the footage,” he mumbled. “But there’s no truck or car accident…”

My mind went blank.

How could this be?

“M—Maybe the footage was edited…” I murmured.

“Enough!” Tristan growled darkly. “Why do you have to go after Leah?! She didn’t do anything!”

Leah swayed on her feet, letting out a sob.

“…Don’t blame her…I broke your marriage. She has a reason to hate me…” she said with pouring tears. “I’m so humiliated. Maybe only death can prove my innocence!”

She suddenly dashed toward a pillar.

BANG!

She crashed into it, blood pouring from her head as she collapsed.

“LEAH!!” Tristan shouted.

Holding her in his arms, he turned to glare at me, “Leah wants to kill herself! Are you happy now? When do you become so heartless and cold?”

“…I’m cold?” I asked shakily, tears welling up. “This woman tried to hit me…She also killed my unborn child! She admitted herself before the car accident—”

Tristan growled, “You are crazy! If anything, I’m glad that our kid wasn’t born! At least he wouldn’t have a crazy woman as his mother!”

Cold disappointment overwhelmed me.

He admitted it.

My mate, my husband was glad that our child died.

Numbly, I turned to leave, desperate tears blurred my vision. My legs were too soft to walk. But I just wanted to be as far away from them as possible.

“Where’re you going?” Tristan called behind my back, “Evelyn, come back!”

“…Let her be, Tristan…” Leah softly said.

I barely made it to the gate before falling.

A large hand caught my arm just in time.

I jerked up and saw Alpha Asher.

The grand chandelier painted his handsome profile with a golden hue. His soldiers surrounded him, blocking the other guests out. Only I could come near him.

His emerald eyes darkened when our eyes locked.

His gaze was dominant and straightforward as if I were his prey, and he wanted to eat me alive.

“Luna Evelyn.” He called my name in a deep, seductive voice, “Good to see you again.”

I quickly regained my balance, “Hello, Alpha Asher.”

He was still holding my hand.

Suddenly, electricity shot through my body, nearly making me moan. There’s even a tingling sensation between my legs.

I quickly withdrew my hand, my heart pounding.

…What the hell was that?

“Can I have a word with you in private before the party begins?” Alpha Asher asked politely, unaware of the change in my body.

“Oh…OK.”

“Wait!” Tristan called behind my back. He didn’t want me to leave.

But I ignored him and left quickly.

Asher led me back to his suite and ordered the soldiers to close the door.

“Please sit.”

He sat on the sofa, gesturing to the seat across from him.

I sat down. His enticing scent filled my nostrils, making my head dizzy. I secretly pressed my legs together.

“What do you want to talk about, Alpha Asher?” I asked, trying to maintain my composure. “It this is about the project, maybe you should talk to Tristan directly—”

“It’s not about that.”

He pulled out a document and slid it across the table to me, his eyes still locked on mine.

Again, that intense, possessive gaze.

“This is a contract,” he said. “I want you to be my Luna for a year after you divorce Tristan.”