Chapter 1

Freya

I jerked awake at 3 AM to the sound of my bedroom door opening. The familiar scent hit me before I could even see him clearly—pine and leather, with that distinct Alpha musk that had been missing from our home for a month.

Paxton.

He stood by the window, silhouetted by moonlight as he methodically unbuttoned his dress shirt. The silver glow outlined his sharp features, casting shadows that made him look even more forbidding. His eyes held that distinctive golden gleam that only emerged when an Alpha's emotions ran high.

"You're back?" My voice came out raspy from sleep—and from the shock of seeing him after so long.

"Mm." That was it. One syllable after a month of silence.

I watched him shrug off his shirt, revealing the muscled torso I knew so well. Before I could process what was happening, he was moving toward the bed with predatory grace. In seconds, he loomed over me, his weight pressing me into the mattress as his mouth claimed mine.

His hands moved to the hem of my nightgown, roughly pulling it upward. I broke the kiss, pushing against his chest.

"Is this all I am to you? A body to satisfy your urges whenever you decide to show up?" Something flickered inside me—not just hurt, but anger. I was a living, breathing wolf, not some toy for an Alpha to use when convenient.

Paxton's fingers gripped my chin, forcing me to look into eyes now fully transformed into wolf-gold. "You're my marked mate. Satisfying my needs is your obligation."

"That's not how this works. I'm not just some—"

He cut me off by releasing a wave of Alpha pheromones, the biological command designed to make lesser wolves submit. I felt my body responding against my will, even as something deep inside me—something that felt strangely like my own Alpha instinct—railed against the submission.

When he entered me, there was no gentleness, no preparation. Just the sharp pain of an Alpha taking what he considered his. My body trembled, torn between the bond's automatic response and my growing inner resistance.

"Paxton," I gasped through clenched teeth, "I'm not just some territory attachment. Is satisfying your urges the only reason you came back?"

He silenced me with his lips, his body moving with a familiarity that made me hate how well we still fit together after all this time. Five years of being marked by him had made my body recognize his as home, even when my mind was screaming that this wasn't right.

Just as the heat between us intensified, a shrill ringtone cut through the room. Paxton froze instantly. In one fluid motion, he reached for his phone on the nightstand while his other hand clamped over my mouth, preventing any sound.

I lay there, suffocating under his palm, as he answered with a voice I barely recognized—warm, almost tender. "Hello?"

A sweet, feminine voice drifted from the speaker: "Pax, I'm at the airport. When are you coming to pick me up?" No one called him Pax except those closest to him—and he'd never allowed me that privilege.

"I'll be right there," he replied, his tone filled with a warmth I'd never heard directed at me in five years of being his marked mate.

"Drive carefully," the voice continued. "I've been waiting for you. The full moon is coming, and I want to spend it with you."

The full moon. The most intimate time for mated wolves.

He hung up and immediately pulled away from me, adjusting his clothing with efficient movements that left no doubt about his priorities.

The heat that had been building in my body turned ice-cold. I curled my fingers into fists, feeling the mark-bond between us throb with pain. It was as if my very essence was being torn apart, cell by cell, while I remained conscious for every excruciating second.

"Where are you going?" I asked, struggling to keep my voice steady.

"I don't like my mate questioning my movements," he replied coldly, his tone a stark contrast to the warmth he'd just shown on the phone.

I sat up, pulling the sheet around my naked body. "As your marked mate, I have the right to know where you're going."

His eyes flashed gold again, but he didn't answer. Instead, he strode to the door and left without another word.

I sat in the darkness, face pale, replaying the sweet female voice in my head. This woman was familiar with Paxton, important to him. More important than I had ever been.

I felt moisture gathering in my eyes but refused to let tears fall. Five years of being marked by Paxton Sterling flashed through my mind—five years without a single moment of genuine care or affection.

When I woke the next morning, the bed beside me was cold. Paxton hadn't returned all night. Through our mark-bond, I could sense he was far away—the connection stretched thin like a rubber band pulled to its limit.

My phone buzzed with a notification. Lucas Morgan had sent me a social media video with the message: [Does this count as your Alpha mate violating the marking contract?]

I opened it with trembling fingers. The video showed Paxton at the airport with a petite woman. He was pushing a luggage cart with one hand while his other held hers. Their body language was intimate, eyes occasionally flashing gold in the way wolves' eyes do when emotions run high.

The media headline read: Sterling Group CEO spotted with mysterious woman at midnight airport pickup. New romance revealed?

My face drained of color as the mark-bond in my chest constricted painfully. The woman was unmistakably the owner of last night's voice. After five years of being marked by Paxton, I was painfully aware that he had always presented himself as single to the outside world.

I texted Lucas back: [Maybe just a friend.]

His reply was immediate: [Freya, after all this, you're still making excuses for him? Why not end the marking and accept my pursuit instead?]

I stared at his message, eyes stinging. The Alpha instinct buried deep inside me was howling for rebellion, for standing my ground.

[Is this video circulating in wolf circles?]

[Yes. Many wolves are already calling her 'Luna.']

[I see.] I set down the phone and took a deep breath, feeling the mark-bond pulse with a sense of helplessness.

I went to work as usual, despite having worked on a project until 1 AM and then lying awake until dawn after Paxton left. My head throbbed, and the office chatter about the airport video didn't help.

Walking to get water, the world suddenly tilted sideways. I heard gasps as my knees buckled, and then everything went black.

When I regained consciousness, the sharp smell of antiseptic assaulted my sensitive wolf nose. I was in a hospital room, and Paxton stood by the window, his back to me, cutting a cold silhouette against the light.

The mark-bond pulsed weakly, responding to his proximity. "Paxton..." I called out.

He turned, his face expressionless. "Let's end the marking."

I stared at him in shock, feeling as if an Alpha's claws had ripped open my chest. My whole body went cold.