No one loved me.

The truth hit me like a fist the moment I pushed open the door to my mate Luke’s apartment.

A wave of heat rushed over me—his familiar scent tangled with the sweet, cloying perfume of another woman.

“Luke… why don’t you just reject Lena?” a woman moaned from inside. “Don’t you want me?”

I froze. My stepsister? The person who hated me most?

“You’re the one I’ve always wanted,” Luke panted. “But if I want to become Beta, I have to have a child with my mate. It’s our pack’s tradition.”

“And that idiot insists on waiting until the bonding ceremony at twenty before she lets me touch her.” He laughed under his breath. “She thinks saving her body means saving my heart? How stupid.”

I remembered Luke arriving at the Blue Ridge pack for training when we were fourteen. He had been the only person who was kind to me. When my father broke my ribs, Luke carried me to the clinic. When my stepmother starved me, he sneaked sandwiches to me.

We recognized each other as mates at my mating banquet when I was eighteen, but pack rules said we could not complete the bond until I turned twenty. I didn’t want to give myself too early, so I left the Blue Ridge pack for a while and promised to return once he officially became Beta.

But he had only wanted to use me.

He had lied. The one light in my dark life had been stolen by Lily.

“You bastard. Now let me satisfy you,” Lily purred, and the sound that followed made my stomach twist.

I could not take another second. I shoved the door open.

Luke was on the couch, his pants around his ankles, while Lily straddled him. The bouquet I had brought to surprise him slipped from my hand and fell to the floor.

“Lena?!” He jerked upright, but Lily only looked at me with a fake gasp and a satisfied smile. “Lena. Welcome home.”

My chest tightened until I could barely breathe, and my throat felt blocked by stone.

She climbed off him and dressed with infuriating calm. “Looks like you two have a lot to talk about, so I’ll leave you alone. Oh, and Lena, just so you know, your room at the Alpha estate has been turned into my walk-in closet.”

“So you’d better learn to accept Luke’s behavior. Good luck.” She smiled sweetly and left.

I looked at Luke’s face, the face I had once loved so desperately, and felt nothing but nausea.

There was nothing to talk about. I had to go home and tell my father what Lily had done. Maybe he would finally stand up for me.

But Luke grabbed me and shoved me against the wall.

“Damn it, listen to me!” he snapped.

“What else is there to hear?” I shook so hard my voice scraped out through my teeth. “I heard everything. I was just your tool to get the Beta title.”

“What’s so wrong with that?” He tightened his grip around my wrist, his arrogance making my skin crawl. “Lena, you’re only an Omega. Now you have the chance to become the mother of a Beta’s pup. I’ll take care of you. I’ll give you food and a clean place to live.”

The shamelessness on his face made me want to throw up.

I wrenched free and slapped him hard. “You bastard. I reject you. Right now.”

The breaking of our bond tore through my chest like an explosion, as if invisible hands were ripping my soul apart. My vision blurred, but I bit my lip and forced myself to stay upright.

“You can’t be serious,” Luke hissed, holding his cheek, fury burning in his eyes.

“Don’t touch me.” I stepped back, my hands trembling. “You cheating, filthy piece of trash. Stay away from me forever.”

“Lena!” Luke raised his hands, trying to sound reasonable. “Don’t forget, I gave you a new start two years ago. If you just ignore what happened today, you can still be the Beta’s mate. Think about it. Your father might finally respect you. Isn’t that what you’ve always wanted?”

“Go to hell.”

I walked out without looking back. By the time I left the building, my legs felt ready to give out.

I was Lena Foster, a mistake. My father was the Alpha of the Blue Ridge pack, and he hated his Omega daughter because I reminded him of his dead Omega wife. In his eyes, my existence stained the perfect life he had built with his current Luna.

Two years ago, I wanted to prove I was not a burden before officially becoming Luke’s mate, so I took a clerical job in town. Luke said he needed to focus on training to become Beta, and we agreed I would return at twenty for the bonding ceremony.

Those two years in town had been quiet. Exhausting, but quiet. Luke’s promise kept me going, and for a while, I even forgot the scars my father and stepmother had left on me. I came back with so much hope when I pushed open Luke’s door.

And watched that hope shatter in front of me.

But none of that mattered now. What mattered was what my father would do once he learned the future Beta had rejected me. Would he sell me off?

I had to get to the Foster estate immediately.

The moment I walked inside, I saw my stepmother, Celia, sitting on the living room sofa as if she had been waiting for the show.

“Wow. I didn’t think today could get worse, but the little parasite actually came back.” She did not even look up.

“Celia, this is my father’s house,” I snapped, barely controlling my voice.

“You’re twenty now. An adult. Pay rent, or I’ll call security.” She finally looked up, her gaze slow and mocking.

A thin thread of hope rose inside me. “Maybe before deciding whether I’m allowed to live here, you should know what Lily did.” I still had one last foolish expectation for my father.

At that moment, he came down the stairs, Lily following behind him.

“Dad, Lily slept with my mate!” I cried, my voice echoing through the hall. Lily stood behind him without guilt, even smiling with triumph.

My father stopped at the bottom of the stairs and gave me a cold look. “That doesn’t matter. Any normal wolf would choose Lily over you.”

“What?” I stared at him, then at my stepmother and stepsister. They stood together in front of me, and I finally understood I would never be part of their family. Why had I ever hoped otherwise?

“You know there’s no place for you here,” Celia snapped. “Get out before I call the guards.”

“No need,” my father said.

For one impossible second, hope flickered again. Maybe he still loved me. Maybe he remembered I was his daughter.

Then he crushed it completely.

“The Blood Moon pack. Alpha Dominic needs a breeder.” My father’s voice did not tremble. He spoke as calmly as if he were mailing a package.

“A car will come for you tomorrow morning. Give him an heir, and your duty will be done.”