Chapter 1Five years mated to the Ashcroft heir, he forced me to share my mate with another she-wolf!
Ronan Ashcroft threw me a pack schedule on our mating night.
Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays—he'd come home.
Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays—Lily got him.
Sundays? Threesome in his den.
Lily Vance—his dead best buddy's baby sister, his untouchable ex-mate.
But guess what?
Not once in five damn years did I get him alone.
He never showed on MY nights—always "pack emergencies" with Lily.
Until that night, I overheard him laughing on the phone.
"Isolde? Just feed her some excuse. Warm her bed—she'll bare her neck whenever I whistle."
"Lily's struggling right now. She comes first."
Something inside me finally snapped.
No tears. No begging.
Screw you, Alpha. I don't do mate-share anymore!
I grabbed my backup phone and sent a single text:
"You promised if I was unhappy, you'd come get me. Still offering?"
The phone died the second I hit send.
I collapsed onto the bedroom carpet—the scene from the study looping in my mind.
Ronan, leaning against his desk all casual, telling his beta.
"Just make up whatever. Isolde never asks questions anyway."
"Ethan died young. Lily's all alone in this world. I owe him my life—gotta make it right."
Every lonely night I'd spent waiting.
Every dinner I'd reheated until it went cold.
All of it stabbed through my chest like ice picks.
Staring at this empty bedroom, I couldn't breathe.
Five years mated. He'd never spent a single night here.
Every time he came back from HER place, he'd bring me guilt gifts.
Perfume. Designer bags. Once, some jade bracelet from a charity auction.
I actually thought it was his way of showing he cared.
Now I knew—every gift was just guilt wrapped in a bow.
I started smashing them. One by one.
The door slammed open. Ronan stormed in, his wolf riding his eyes.
He froze when he saw the wreckage.
"What the hell are you doing?"
I didn't turn around, kept my voice steady even though I was shaking.
"It's Monday. You staying tonight?"
Silence.
Ronan's eyes flickered. He grabbed my hand.
"Something came up. I swear, next time I'll scent."
I looked at his face, so close to mine. Pain ripped through my chest.
"Ronan, I'M your mate! But for five years, Lily's been the one living like your real Luna."
Five years of swallowing everything came pouring out.
He dropped to one knee in front of me, wiping my tears.
"Ethan died for me. Lily's wolf is unstable—if I'm not there, she'll turn feral."
"I love YOU. But you don't want another death on my conscience, right?"
He sounded so sincere. I just felt cold.
I was about to shove him away when my phone buzzed. Voice message from his mother, Elder Margaret:
"Dinner at the estate tonight. We need to talk about you having a pup."
My heart sank.
Margaret had been on my case for years about not getting pregnant.
Called me a "barren bitch" in front of the whole pack. Even went on a hunger strike to force Ronan to reject me.
Three days and three nights on his knees outside her door—that's what finally stopped her.
Now he squeezed my hand, voice soft.
"Don't worry. I'll go with you."
Lily's call came through before he finished his sentence.
"Ronan? My stomach's killing me. Can you come over?"
He let go of my hand instantly.
"Isolde, Lily's not doing well. You go to dinner—I'll pick you up later."
Then he was gone.
Tears blurred everything. My face was already soaked.
Midnight came and went. No Ronan.
I took Margaret's insults alone, catching whispers from the maids in the hallway:
"Miss Vance's entryway was full of used knotting toys! Really wild."
"Bet you anything SHE gets knocked up before the Luna does."
"Five years, no pup—better off rejecting now."
I bit my lip till it hurt, letting every word stab me.
When Ronan claimed me, he knelt in front of both our packs and swore he'd cherish me forever.
Everyone said I mated for love.
But on our mating night, his pack members stopped me outside the bedroom.
"Dom! Lily tried to kill herself—go now!"
That night he knelt in front of me, eyes red, apologizing over and over.
"Isolde, I'm so sorry. But I owe them—I can't abandon her."
"Just trust me. Once she moves on and starts fresh, we'll have our life together."
Looking at his bloodshot eyes, I caved.
For five years, I guarded an empty mating bond.
Turns out every "border emergency" night, he was wrapped up in another woman's arms.
I dried my tears and signed the rejection papers.
The second I finished, the doorbell rang.
Lily shoved past me and walked in.
She looked around, all fake drama.
"Wow, this place is tiny. I mean, makes sense—just you here. Ronan never comes home anyway."
I capped my pen. "What do you want?"
She laughed, flashing the fresh bite marks on her neck.
"Look what YOUR Alpha did to me. He fucked me all night—wouldn't stop no matter how much I begged."
Then she covered her mouth like she just remembered something.
"Oh right. You've probably never even had a real mate, huh? Poor thing."
My fists clenched.
When I didn't react, her fake smile dropped.
"Sophia, even when I'm on my period, Ronan would rather jerk off at MY place than come back to you. Get a clue!"
"Do yourself a favor. Sever the mate bond. Now."
I stood up slowly and opened the door.
"Done talking? Get out."
Chapter 2
The second I finished, something vicious flashed in Lily's eyes.
Then she screamed and collapsed to the floor.
"My pup! Oh Goddess, it hurts!"
The door exploded open. Ronan stormed in and kicked me aside without a second thought.
He rushed to Lily, holding her tight, panic all over his face.
"Lily! Are you okay?"
She collapsed against him, sobbing.
"Dom... the pup... what if something happens to our pup..."
When Ronan turned back to me, his eyes were pure rage, his wolf surging beneath his skin.
Before I could even get my balance, his claws raked across my face.
"Sophia! How could you be this evil!"
"Ethan took a bullet for me! Lily's got nobody in this world, I swallowed your cold looks before!"
"But NOW? You KNOW she's carrying my pup, and you pull this shit?"
"That pup is EVERYTHING to her! The last of the Vance bloodline!"
My cheek burned, but I barely felt it.
Just stared at him, voice shaking.
"She's pregnant? With your pup?"
The way he shielded her belly felt like a knife straight through my heart.
Ronan's voice went ice cold, his Alpha command laced through every word.
"If anything happens to Lily or this pup, I will NEVER forgive you!"
He paused, seemed to realize how harsh that sounded.
Then his eyes dropped to the necklace around my neck.
"Take off that necklace." An order.
"Give it to Lily. Call it an apology."
The necklace?
I stumbled backward, hands flying up to protect it.
"This was my mother's! She traded her LIFE for this blessing charm!"
"Ronan! You made promises at her deathbed—you forgot already?!"
He paused for half a second, then his face hardened.
"You're my mate. Everything you have is MINE."
"It's just some old necklace—you think that's worth more than a life?"
Then he grabbed my throat and ripped the necklace off my neck.
I hit the floor hard from the force, crawling toward him to take it back—but he shoved me away again.
"Give it back!"
When my mom was dying, she'd begged me not to mate with Ronan.
But Ronan stayed by her bed for three months straight, took care of everything. Then knelt in front of her and swore:
"Ma'am, I'll treasure Sophia more than my own life."
"As long as I'm breathing, she'll never suffer. Not once."
Mom finally gave in.
With trembling hands, she'd placed that necklace in Ronan's palm and watched him tie it around my neck.
He knew better than anyone what it meant to me.
Lily barely glanced my way as she took the necklace from him, played with it for a second.
Then casually tossed it out the window.
The wind caught it. It disappeared into the distance.
"NO!"
I threw myself at the window, half my body hanging out.
Ronan looked stunned for a moment. Then his face hardened:
"Sophia, it's just a necklace. Let it go."
"Acting crazy like this—what if you scare Lily and the pup?"
He ignored my breakdown and wrapped an arm around Lily.
"Don't worry. I'll take you back to the den. We can't risk the pup."
The necklace drifted farther and farther away.
The wind burned my eyes, but no tears came out.
"Ronan. I want a rejection."
The air went dead silent.
He spun around, staring at me like I'd lost my mind.
"Over a stupid necklace? You want a REJECTION?"
I stood up slowly, straightened my clothes, picked up the signed rejection papers from the table.
I looked him in the eyes.
"Yes."
His shock twisted into pure rage in an instant. A low growl rumbled from his chest.
"Sophia, when did you become this damn ridiculous?"
"Don't forget—without the Ashcroft Pack, without ME, you'd be rogue!"
"Five years and you couldn't even whelp a pup. Everyone in our circle knows you're my leftovers. What Alpha would want you now?"
He snatched the rejection papers and ripped them to shreds.
"Rejection? In your dreams!"
Then he shoved me hard and carefully helped Lily out.
I slammed into the coffee table edge, pain tearing through my ribs.
Without even looking back, Ronan said gently to Lily.
"When the pup's born, we'll give him the Vance name."
"I'll take care of him—honor Ethan's memory properly."
"And if Sophia ever messes with you again, tell me. I won't go easy on her."
I stared at my own miserable reflection in the window and suddenly laughed.
Three days.
Whether he signed or not, I was gone.
But that night, I was jolted awake by a splash of boiling water.
I opened my eyes to find Ronan's hands around my throat, eyes wild, his wolf fully in control.
"Sophia! I warned you to behave!"
"You bribed the housekeeper! Poisoned Lily's pregnancy herbs! She's hemorrhaging at the pack hospital right now—almost lost our pup!"
I could barely breathe, kicking and struggling.
"Poison? I didn't—I don't know anything about—"
He threw me into the car, sped to the pack hospital, and dumped me at Lily's ward.
Before I could stand, he kicked the back of my knee, forcing me down onto the freezing stone floor.
"Kneel. You apologize when Lily wakes up!"
Everything hurt. My vision kept going dark.
Then the hospital door burst open.
Lily came at me with a silver blade.
"You murderer! Give me back my pup!"
I tried to dodge, but the blade sank deep into my side anyway.
Pain exploded. I clutched my bleeding waist and looked at Ronan.
Once, when I'd cut my finger cooking, he'd rushed me to the pack healer in the middle of the night.
Now I was bleeding out, and he just calmly adjusted his cuffs.
"Sophia. You owe her this. Relax. You won't die. Wolves heal fast."
I couldn't speak through the pain. Just stared at him.
Lily's eyes were bloodshot. She pulled the blade out and came at me again.
Once. Twice.
Warm blood kept spilling out. I coughed up red and collapsed in the spreading pool.
Only then did Ronan step forward to stop her.
"Lily, that's enough."
"She's been punished. Don't actually kill her—bad fortune for the pup."
She leaned into him, sobbing.
"But she almost killed OUR pup!"
"Ronan, if you protect her one more time, I'm taking this pup and going to join Ethan right now!"
Then she turned the blade around.
Pointed it at her own belly.
Chapter 3
"Lily! Stop! Put the silver blade down!"
Ronan's buddies burst into the room and ripped the blade from her hand.
The biggest one backhanded me across the face.
"Poison bitch! Can't whelp a pup yourself so you gotta kill someone else's!"
"Boys, time to teach her a lesson. We owe Ethan that much!"
"Make her slap herself! Don't stop till she bleeds!"
My ears rang from the hit. I caught Ronan's eyes—saw him waver for half a second.
Then his face went cold again, his wolf receding.
"Sophia. Take your punishment. Lily's a fallen warrior's sister. Ethan died for this pack in the Rogue War. You crossed the line."
"Get her the brass knuckles. Let's wake her up."
Ronan grabbed my hand roughly and forced the too-small knuckles onto my fingers.
I clutched at his pant leg, voice shaking.
"I swear—it wasn't me! Please believe me!"
"Still lying?!"
He kicked my hand away.
Two wolves grabbed my arms and slammed me against the wall.
One grabbed my hair, forced my hand up, and made me slap myself.
Lily snuggled into Ronan's side, shrieking.
"Harder! Don't stop till you hit a thousand!"
My face swelled and split open. Blood mixed with tears.
I bit my tongue just to stay conscious.
The pain on my face was nothing compared to my shattered mating bond.
After the thousandth slap, they kicked me into the corner like rogue trash.
My body went cold. Half my wolf already felt gone.
When I opened my eyes again, I was back at the villa.
Ronan sat by the bed, gently applying healing balm to the cut on my forehead.
He set the cloth down, voice flat.
"Lily's pup is fine. She's calmed down."
"Once the pup's born, I won't need to be with her anymore. I'll come home on time."
My heart dropped like a stone.
I pushed his hand away weakly. Smiled—bitter, broken:
"Five years, Ronan. Five fucking whole years."
"One call from her and you'd drop everything. Always said it was because Ethan died for you in the Rogue War."
"But does that debt really cost your entire life? Even giving her your pup?"
His eyes flickered. He looked away, his wolf whimpering beneath the surface.
He put the balm down, calm but final.
"Isolde, I know you're hurt."
"But when Ethan was dying on that rogue battlefield, he grabbed my hand and said 'Take care of my family and my sister.' He's gone. Someone has to carry on the Vance bloodline."
"Starting tomorrow, stay home and rest. I already pulled you from pack duties. Lily will take over."
Fighting back the burning in my eyes, I finally asked the question that had haunted me for years.
"Ronan. These past five years."
"Every Monday, Wednesday, Friday—you never actually had border patrol, did you?"
"You just didn't want to come home. You never loved me at all. You never wanted our mate bond. Right?"
Ronan went quiet.
The silence stretched, heavy as a full moon.
Then I heard the word I expected—the one that still shattered me anyway.
"Right."
