Olivia’s POV


    —


    I recognized the blonde girl sitting close to Ethan it was Chole Windsor, the daughter of the Alpha of the second-rgest pack in the United States.


    She didn’t even pretend to be subtle. Her eyes found mine across the lot, but she made no move to step away from Ethan. Instead, she draped her arms over his shoulders, leaned in, and whispered something in his ear. He didn’t stop


    her.


    I looked away. Got into my car, turned the engine, and drove off without sparing them a second nce.


    I hadn’t been home for long. After slipping off my shoes at the entrance, I made my way upstairs to the walk-in clos- et, the quiet of the pack house settling around me.


    I was standing in front of the wardrobe, picking out a ne- something simple to go with tomorrow’s zer – when I heard a car pull into the gravel driveway outside.


    I didn’t need to look to know who it was.


    A momentter, I smelled someone behind me.Ethan.


    I didn’t turn around. Just sped the ne and set it back in its ce.


    “Are you upset?” he asked.


    “Obviously,” I said, still not looking at him. “You should be careful next time.”


    He didn’t respond right away. I heard him exhale through his nose. “The Windsor pack’s Alpha wants to coborate with us. I’ve been talking to Felix, their eldest Alpha-in-line. Chole is his sister.”


    I nodded slightly and turned to face him. “So to secure the alliance, it’s necessary to wrap your arms around his sister in public?”


    His jaw flexed. He didn’t answer immediately. For a moment, he just looked at me like he didn’t expect to be ques- tioned. Then his voice hardened.


    “I’m trying to exin, Olivia. Watch your tone when speaking to your Alpha.”


    I stared at him for a second.


    “You don’t need to exin anything to me,” I said. “If you’re tired of me and ready to name someone else as Luna, say so. I’ll leave.”


    His face darkened. “What did you just say?”


    0.0 %


    13:17


    I didn’t flinch. “I said we can get a divorce and break the bond.”


    I stepped past him, but he grabbed my arm. His hand shot up to my chin, gripping it just enough to hold me still with- out bruising.


    “Don’t ever say that again,” he said, voice low.


    I didn’t respond. Just met his eyes for a beat too long before pulling away.


    –


    But inside, I already knew I wasn’t saying it for effect.


    I’d been thinking about divorce for weeks. Preparing for it in quiet ways. I didn’t want him anymore.


    Ethan stayed home that night. Sat in the Alpha’s private office most of the evening, didn’t eat dinner. It was well past midnight when he finally got a phone call that made him leave. I wasn’t close enough to hear everything, but I caught a woman’s voice on the other end- crying.


    The next morning, my phone lit up with a message from my friend Ava – awyer. She had sent me a screenshot of Chole’stest post.


    It was a photo taken at sunrise, from the top of some mountain trail. Two hands sped together, fingers inter- locked. The caption read: “Enjoy the sunrise, feel your heartbeat.”


    I stared at the photo.


    One of those hands was Ethan’s. I’d know that scar near his thumb anywhere.


    I sat holding my mug for so long the water went cold. Only when I set it down did it make a sound.


    The following days, Ethan didn’t return home.


    At work, we saw each other only during meetings. He sat at the head of the table, and I stayed on the side with the ex- ecutives. We barely made eye contact. I didn’t go upstairs to his office, and he didn’te down to mine.


    In the evenings, I started browsing house listings – somewhere small, outside the city. I also started clearing out the closet. Anniversary gifts. Jewelry. Even the wedding ring. All of it went to resell tforms or donation. They didn’t mean anything to me anymore.


    One evening around 11 p.m., Luna Kate from SilverFang pack texted me out of the blue, inviting me to join her at a club. We were not very familiar-I’d only met her a few times when I attended the Pack Summit with Ethan. She was very good at greeting anyone with her fake smile. Her Alpha husband was frequently caught up in scandals, and now she started to be a social butterfly as well.


    I almost said no. But then I remembered


    —


    if I really left the Hawthorne Group, I’d have to build something on my


    own. Might as well start moving.


    “Sure,” I texted back.


    When I got to the Moonfell, Kate met me near the entrance. She linked her arm through mine like we were best


    friends.


    “d to see you Olivia,” she kissed my face. No one but our inner circle knew Ethan and I were married. They al- ways called me Olivia and thought we were just a rumored couple with mate bond.


    “Me too,” I tried to fake smile.


    She led me upstairs and into arge room that was divided by a decorative wooden screen.


    —


    —


    but Kate brought me to this side, quieter,


    There were people on the other sideughing, drinking, talking loud with just one woman sitting alone. I recognized her vaguely. Mate of someone in Ethan’s circle. She smiled at me – tight, awkward.


    I took off my coat, sat down, and Kate disappeared a momentter.


    I picked up a drink, sipped it once, and then I heard it.


    My name.


    From the other side of the screen.


    “She hasn’t been seen with Alpha Ethan muchtely, huh?”


    “Well, of course not. He takes Chole Windsor everywhere now.”


    “She’s the daughter of the second biggest Pack Alpha in the country. Obviously, she’s a better fit. Makes the Pack look stronger.”


    —


    “Still, Olivia and Alpha Ethan were together what eight years? He’s probably tired of her even though they are


    mates.”


    There was a pause. Then a chuckle.”Shame. She wasted her best years. I’d still take a go at her, though.”


    The cup froze in my hand.


    I recognized the voices. Two of them belonged to the sons of the Gamma and Delta.


    The woman beside me shifted ufortably.


    I stood up. She looked startled, maybe thinking I was going to leave.


    Instead, I cleared my throat, picked up my drink, and stepped around the screen.


    Theughter faded when they saw me.


    I leaned casually against the edge of the divider, my drink in hand. I looked at the one who’d spokenst.


    “Isn’t it a bit unfair?” I asked. “You make it sound like I’ve been living off him.”


    They blinked.


    I took a sip.


    “Ethan was a virgin before we got together. So if I’ve been using him to satisfy my needs for eight years without pay- ing sounds like I got the better deal, doesn’t it?


    –


    Silence. The whole room had gone still.


    Most of them just stared- and then widened when they looked at someone behind me.