Your ex-husband is jealous. The man who asked you to reject him, who brought his fated mate into your company, who spent the night at her place and lied about it to your face — is standing on the front steps counting your missed calls like you owe him something.
But today you had let yourself breathe for four hours without thinking about dissolution papers or the baby you still hadn't told him about.
He watched Christopher's car disappear and said: "He had his hand on your back."
He was jealous. Oh, how jealous he was!
"Goodnight, Nathan," you smiled.
Chapter 1
Kyra's POV
Was it a blessing to marry your best friend?
I wasn't sure what Nathan thought about that. But for me, becoming his chosen mate had been a dream come true. And now—what felt even more miraculous—we were going to have our first pup.
"Congratulations, Luna Kyra." The pack doctor smiled warmly, though she clearly noticed the shock written across my face. "We are about to welcome the first Alpha heir to the Nightfall Pack."
I touched my belly without thinking. A pup. Nathan's pup. After three years as his Luna, I was finally carrying his heir—the future of our pack.
"Sylvia," I whispered to my wolf. "We're going to be mothers."
She stirred within me, warm and protective.
On the way out of the clinic, I could barely contain myself. Would Nathan howl with happiness? Would he sweep me off my feet and—
The cold press of the ring on my finger pulled me back to reality.
Nathan had never been keen on having pups. Our marriage had been arranged—a political alliance between the Nightfall Pack and the Ravenshadow Pack, built on years of family friendship. He was a perfect gentleman, always considerate, always careful. Every time we were intimate, he made sure not to claim me with his mark. No bite. No permanent tie. He said there was no need to add extra shackles when neither of us was ready.
This pup was unplanned.
"You're spiraling," Sylvia murmured. "Stop overthinking. He's your mate. He'll be happy."
I glanced at Luke, my driver—a loyal warrior from my father's pack—watching me in the rearview mirror.
"Luna Kyra, should I send a mind-link to Alpha Nathan?"
"No." I gave him a reassuring smile. "He's still on the flight. I'll tell him myself."
I wanted to see his face when I told him. I was always good at reading Nathan.
I stared out the window as the city blurred past. Nathan and I had been best friends since high school—the nerdy transfer student and the star quarterback, an unlikely pair that somehow stuck. I'd fallen for him the moment I saw him, but it had always been one-sided. When he found his fated mate, Sophia Gilbert, I buried those feelings deep and played the role of best friend. I got good at it.
But then Sophia rejected him.
I came back from studying abroad to find him hollow—his wolf silent, his eyes empty. Nathan's grandmother begged me to bond with him, to stabilize the pack. I agreed without hesitation. My cherished boy was broken, and I wanted to fix him, even if it meant risking myself in the process.
It wasn't until later that I heard him say,
"It doesn't matter who I take as Luna now."
To him, marrying anyone but Sophia was the same.
I gripped the ring on my finger. That was the past. Three years had passed. Things were different now.
I let myself into our house and breathed in the familiar scent of home. Nathan had been away for over a month on pack business. The rooms felt too quiet without him.
Nathan was the President of ADE—a top-tier fashion magazine that served as the Nightfall Pack's cover operation in the human world. I was his Vice President. We ran the business side by side, just as we'd done everything else.
Nathan, about what time will you be home? I have news.
I sent him a mind-link, but he didn’t reply.
I dialed his number instead, already picturing the evening—a good meal, his arms around me, his lips on my hair. Maybe something more. I'd almost forgotten I was pregnant now. I needed to tell him first, and then—
The line clicked.
And a woman answered.
"Hello?"
The phone slipped from my fingers.
I knew that voice.
Every cell in my body knew that voice.
My lungs locked. The room tilted. I pressed my back against the wall and slid down slowly, my knees refusing to hold me. This wasn't real. It couldn't be real. She was gone. Nathan had promised she was gone.
"Hello? Is someone there?"
Sophia.
Sophia Gilbert. Blonde, beautiful, cruel—and Nathan's fated mate.
I picked up the phone with trembling hands and ended the call. My chest was heaving. Sylvia snarled in my mind, low and vicious, her instincts spiking before my rational mind could catch up. I pressed both palms flat against the floor, trying to ground myself, but the cold tile felt distant—like I was underwater, drowning slowly in something I had no name for.
Three years. Three years I had been his Luna, his partner, his—
Overwhelmed by so many emotions, I fell asleep. All sorts of thoughts were swirling through my head, and I didn't want to put up with them or listen to them.
But I still heard the door open.
His minty scent reached me before he did. I opened heavy eyes, when strong arms were lifting me, carrying me upstairs. I opened heavy eyes.
"Nathan…"
"Shh." He laid me down on the bed and brushed the hair from my face. "Why were you sleeping on the couch?"
Sylvia purred softly. My traitorous heart settled at his touch. I reached up and cupped his jaw.
"I've been waiting for you," I said.
"I know. I'm sorry. I had to meet someone." He kissed my forehead gently. "You said you had news. Is it urgent?"
I looked at his face—the warmth in his brown eyes, the small tired lines at the corners—and the words died in my throat. The voice on his phone burned behind my ribs.
Not now.
I shook my head and told him I was sleepy.
He chuckled and pulled the blanket over me. When he leaned down to kiss my forehead goodnight, something in me panicked. I grabbed his collar and pulled him back, kissing him with everything I had—desperate, hungry, needing him to stay, needing to feel like he was still mine.
"Hey, hey—" He caught my wrists gently and pinned them above his head. "You said you were tired."
"I think I miss you more than I'm tired," I whispered.
Desire flickered in his eyes. Then faded.
He exhaled slowly and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "Kyra. I need to tell you something."
My blood went cold.
"You know you're important to me, right?" His voice was careful. Too careful.
I nodded but couldn't speak. There was a pup in my womb and a woman's voice on his phone and suddenly the room felt very, very small.
"You were my best friend before you were my wife. You're one of the people I treasure most in this world…"
Tears blurred my vision. I blinked fast.
"Kyra." He closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, the pain in them was real. "I think it's time for us to end our marriage. I'm asking you to reject me."
The word landed like a blade between my ribs.
"Nathan—"
"I know you don't love me the way a mate should," he said softly. "You married me for my grandparents. I married you for mine. You deserve someone who truly—"
"What are you talking about?" My voice cracked.
He took a breath.
"Sophia is back, Kyra. My fated mate is back."
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