CHAPTER 1

Lyra Darkwood looked at the divorce papers on the table that her mate had already signed.

She looked towards the window, tears in her eyes. Alpha Alaric Bloodhowl stood there in the glare of the afternoon sun, as perfect and cold as a stone sculpture, his piercing green eyes glowing with a menacing gleam, giving off an oppressive aura of a werewolf ready to hunt.

"I've signed the papers. You should sign them as soon as possible so we can finalize the divorce before Celia Grimwood rejoins the pack."

Alpha Alaric Bloodhowl put his hands behind his back and said, without glancing at her, "Since we have a prenuptial agreement, there won't be any problem with the division of property. But as compensation, I'll give you another $20 million and the villa in the western suburbs. After all, I won't be able to explain it to Grandpa if you leave without taking a penny."

Lyra was stunned. "Does Grandpa know you want to break ties with me?"

"Grandpa's opinion won't affect my decision."

Lyra's chopped body was shaking, so she could only hold onto the edge of the table to steady herself. Tears streamed down her face as she asked, "Alaric Bloodhowl, can we please stay linked?"

Finally, the alpha Alaric turned and looked at her doubtfully, his fangs barely concealed by his tight lips.

He pursed his thin lips and squinted his dark eyes, a wild gleam shining in his eyes, betraying his deep werewolf nature. His handsome face still made Lyra's heart race, but he was no longer the man she'd married.

"Why?"

"Because I love you."

Lyra's eyes were red and full of tears. "Alaric, I love you. I still want to be your mate even if you don't have feelings for me..."

"I've had enough of this, Lyra. A loveless marriage is torture for me."

The alpha Alaric waved her off, his tone turned icy, as if a winter wind had risen around them. He didn't even have the patience to listen to her. "From the start, our marriage was a mistake. You knew I was just fighting with Grandpa back then. You also knew that I love Celia. I just couldn't be with her then for certain reasons. She's coming back soon from Fenrisburg and I intend to marry her, so you must leave now that our three-year contract is up."

Lyra bowed her head. Big tears fell onto the table, but she quickly wiped them away.

Alpha Alaric noticed, but didn't say a word.

For a moment, his phone rang. He quickly answered the call when he saw the name on the screen.

"Celia , have you boarded the plane yet?"

His tone was so gentle that Lyra wondered if it was coming from the same man who had been so cold to her, or if it was the werewolf part of him that had begun to claim the spot moments ago.

Celia Grimwood said into the phone in a cheerful voice: "Alaric, I'm already at Moostone airport ."

"What? Weren't you supposed to come in tonight?"

"I wanted to surprise you!"

"Wait for me, Celia. I'm coming to get you now!"

After that, Alpha Alaric left in a hurry, his movements quick and fluid, like a predator on the hunt.

When the door closed, Lyra felt heartbroken and abandoned.

She had sacrificed so much for the Bloodhowl and had devoted herself to Alpha Alaric during their marriage.

In the end, he only considered her crush of ten years and three years of marriage as torture.

Alpha Alaric acted as if he'd been released after serving a three-year prison sentence and abandoned Lyra at the first opportunity. This was so he could marry his long-dreamed-of childhood friend, Celia Grimwood.

Lyra was crushed and disheartened to find she could do nothing to win Alpha Alaric's heart.

She inhaled deeply, smiled wryly and touched her head. Her indignant tears stained Alpha Alaric's beautiful signature on the divorce papers.

That evening, Alaric brought Celia back to the Manor in the Black Shadow pack.

Alaric, the second son of the wealthy Bloodhowl clan, wore a wise woman in bridal style as he entered the Manor, drawing everyone's attention.

"Alaric, you're not divorced yet, so we shouldn't be so intimate. Otherwise, Lyra would resent me if she saw us. Celia rubbed Alpha Alaric's chest as she spoke softly, an almost insidious gleam in her eyes, knowing that Alpha Alaric, as a werewolf, had the aura of a man who belonged to more than one woman.

"She won't."

Alpha Alaric's eyes turned cold and animalistic as he said, "What if she sees us? I don't like her. She's my partner in name only, so she should know her place." His gaze hardened as a barely perceptible shiver of wild energy ran through his body.

The Bloodhowls gathered around Celia and greeted her as Lyra set the table in the dining room.

Alpha Alaric caught sight of his wife's solitary figure and smiled, thinking: "How could Lyra be so subservient to my family? Did she think this would change my mind about divorce? How ridiculous!"

Her eyes shone with an indecipherable gleam, and a wave of cold frustration invaded her heart. Since his transformation into a werewolf, Alpha Alaric had learned to detach himself from human emotions, but something in Lyra's gaze sometimes awakened a pain he couldn't suppress.

"Young Alpha Alaric!" After a moment, the butler ran up to Alaric. "Young Luna has just left!"

"She left? When?"

"Just now! She didn't take anything with her. She just took off her apron and left through the back door. A black car came to pick her up."

Alpha Alaric rushed to the bedroom, which was clean and tidy. He saw the signed, tear-stained divorce agreement on the nightstand.

He frowned, a sort of crackling running through his sharp werewolf senses. His sense of smell was more acute than ever, but nothing in the room betrayed any sign of violence, just an atmosphere heavy with sadness.

He moved to the window, just in time to see a black Rolls-Royce pull away from the Manor of Black Shadows. Soon, its taillights disappeared into the night.

Alpha Alaric thought: "Wasn't she reluctant to leave in the afternoon? Looks like she can't wait from now on to do the action right after the break: the most hidden stupidity."

Another wave of discontent rose within him, and his werewolf instincts urged him to act with a swiftness that betrayed his nature. He felt increasingly detached, as if his already broken heart were turning to stone.

He sensed that Lyra had played him for a fool, so he pulled out his phone and called his Beta indignantly.

"Check who this car belongs to. License plate number SA9999."

"Yes alpha."

Five minutes later, alpha Alaric's Beta called him back. "Alpha Bloodhowl, I've discovered that the car has :

The license plate number belongs to the CEO of the Stormwolf Group of the Silver Wolf Pack.

The CEO of the Stormwolf Group was the eldest son of the Stormwolf family, Asher.

Lyra came from a clearing. She was poor and unconnected. Over the past three years, Alpha Alaric noticed that Lyra didn't even have a social circle, as she just stayed at home. How did she come to meet Asher Stormwolf?

Alaric thought Lyra had already found herself a rebound guy.

"Alpha Alaric, did you bring up the divorce with young Luna today?" His beta asked cautiously.

"Of course! Why should I drag it up?" Alaric felt frustrated.

"Oh... But it's young Luna's birthday today."

Alpha Alaric was surprised to hear this. A shiver ran through his skin, as if his inner wolf was waking up. He couldn't believe that Lyra's birthday was today, an event he'd completely ignored.

In the back row of the black Rolls-Royce, Asher, the eldest son of the prestigious Stormwolf Clan, gently held Lyra's hand.

"Your second brother has prepared fireworks for you tonight to celebrate your return."

"I'm really not in the mood to watch fireworks."

Lyra resumed her identity as Aurora Stormwolf, the heiress of the Stormwolf Clan and the Silver Wolf Pack. She leaned on her older brother's shoulder and burst into tears.

She glanced at her old phone and read the last message she'd received, from Celia.

[You stole the Alpha Alaric from me. I told you I'd make you give it up sooner or later. Alaric is mine, so stop pestering him!]

She smiled tearfully, her eyes closed and realizable, part of her mind already dominated by revenge. The werewolf in Alaric was no longer the man she loved; she no longer wanted him.

"What's wrong? Do you still miss him after all he's done to you?" Asher hugged his sister in distress.

"Ash, it's my birthday today..."

"I know. Alaric is a fool for choosing to divorce today, more than ever."

"That's why I have no regrets. Alaric just killed Lyra Darkwood . "

When she opened her eyes again, she was no longer Lyra Darkwood , the devoted wife of Alaric Bloodhowl. Instead, she was Aurora Stormwolf again, the proud Luna of the Silver Wolf Pack and heiress to the Stormwolf group. This time, she would no longer cling to this man.

Aurora said: "I'm done with him. I'll be damned if I ever go back to him."