CLAIRE’S POV

Alpha Lucas Bennett cheated.

The moment I caught the scent of her—that floral, cheap-perfume-laced scent through the palace corridors—I knew something was wrong.

By the time I stood outside the Alpha’s office, I felt like I'd been di[[ed in ice water. I felt numb and frozen. My wolf, Sera, was pacing in my mind. I could feel the low growl rumbling from her throat, but I forced her back.

Stay calm, I told her. We’re not going to fall apart.

My black heels—ones Lucas once said made me look like “Luna royalty”—felt like they were melting into the floor beneath me.

I reached up and knocked.

“Come in.” his voice was deep and commanding as usual. That same voice that once whispered promises under moonlit skies. The same voice that had once called me Luna.

I tightened my grip on the documents in my hand to the point that my claws almost burst through my skin and used the other to push the door open.

Lucas didn’t look up. He was hunched over paperwork. I could tell how exhausted he was. He’d just returned from that “business trip” in Switzerland this morning, and his desk was piled with contracts.

I smiled. I didn’t want him to know something was off.

“Busy?” I asked smoothly, walking right up to his desk like everything was fine. “I’ve got some docs here that need your signature.”

He didn’t look at them. He didn’t even look at me.

He just took them that wrote his name with that arrogant signature across the pages I’d placed in front of him.

“Thanks,” he muttered.

Sera snarled. He doesn’t even scent your rage. Your heartbreak. Look at him. He’s not even sorry.

I gathered the signed papers.

“You coming home for dinner tonight?” I asked out of habit.

“Got plans. Don’t wait up.”

Plans. Yeah. I bet.

“Alright. I’ll be going then.”

I turned to walk away. The mask on my face cracked only after I left his line of sight. The smile on my lips was cold. Dead. The kind a wolf wears when it’s hunting prey.

I was nearly at the elevator when I heard something. The sound was faint, but clear to a she-wolf’s ears. It was a soft sound from the break room, like a small animal hopping off a bed and landing awkwardly on the floor.

My eyes moved to the source of the sound

There, in the break room, I noticed snack bags scattered on the floor. I saw half-finished milk tea, a pink stiletto… tipped awkwardly on its side like it had been kicked off in a rush

I stared at the sight in horror.

In that moment, everything clicked. The business trip. The late nights. The sudden scent that wasn’t mine on his shirts. It had all been real. It hadn’t been paranoia. It had been her.

My wolf whimpered. How could he? After everything?

Back in my office. No, former Luna’s office, I collapsed into the chair and stared at the stack of documents in my hand. At the top, the divorce agreement.

I flipped to the final page. His signature was bold there. He had no clue.

I traced it with my finger. That same name he once spoke so proudly on our mating day, the same name his mother had warned me about.

“She-wolf, don’t think a man like my son will ever stay loyal,” she told me. “Alphas stray. They always do. You’re foolish if you think he won’t Don’t think a Luna can keep an Alpha loyal. Mates are rarely enough.”

I had defended him then. I said we were different.

I laughed bitterly under my breath. So much for that.

She turned out to be right.

I snapped a photo of the signed papers and sent it straight to her, along with one line:

He signed it.

A week ago, we struck a deal.

The Elder Luna wanted me gone but wanted the scandal buried. In return, I asked for ten billion dollars. It was a small price for peace, considering what I knew.

In one month, I planned to erase Alpha Lucas Bennett from my life completely.

A knock interrupted my thoughts.

“Come in,” I said smoothly.

It was Ethan Brooks, Lucas’s Beta and assistant. He entered with a velvet green box in hand.

“Luna” he said, “The Alpha asked me to deliver this.”

I took it from him and opened the box. Inside, was a luxury diamond jewelry that sparkled under the lights.

My wolf recoiled.

My mind flashed with the image of that girl—Fiona—short hair messy and a diamond necklace around her bare neck, laughing in bed sheets I once lay in.

I felt disgusted at the thought.

“Thanks for the trouble, Ethan,” I said with a fake smile.

He flinched under my gaze.

“This was… personally picked by the Alpha. There’s only one set in existence,” he added, almost like an apology.

How sweet. Should I be thankful?

I smiled wider. “Oh, wow. That’s… really touching, honestly. So thoughtful of him to buy me gifts even when he’s this busy.”

The sarcasm was sweet as honey. Ethan's back stiffened and I could see the sweat forming on his brow. He fumbled for an excuse and vanished before I could say another word.

I stared at the jewelry like it was something vile, then took a picture and texted a luxury collector:

“Sell this. Donate it to the Special Needs Pup Fund”

-

By 5 PM, I was in the underground parking garage.. I spotted my car, but something across he way made me pause.

I saw a black SUV. Something about it caught my attention so I looked at it closely. Through the tinted window, I saw Lucas in the backseat.

And beside him…was her.

Fiona. I could hear her loud giggles. Her hand was on his chest, her head tilted up. She looked young. Naïve. Like she had no idea what kind of monster she was nuzzling up to.

“Alpha—!” Ethan’s voice cracked from the driver’s seat.

The car hadn’t pulled off fast enough.

Across the distance, through the glass, my eyes locked with Lucas’s.

Time froze.

The Alpha in him flared. I could feel the dominance sparking in his gaze. My wolf rose to match him. But I didn’t blink. I didn’t flinch.

I saw him. And I knew—this was only the beginning.

He thought he could mark another. But he forgot one thing.

I was Luna.

And now? I’m about to become something far more dangerous.