Evelyn’s POV

I stood in front of the closet, carefully choosing the black lace lingerie I would wear tonight. Just thinking about the way my husband Theodore might look at me made my heart beat faster.

I was lucky. Tonight was also my ovulation day. I was sure I would get pregnant tonight.

In pack tradition, a Luna who could not have children was worth less than even the lowest Omega in the pack. And I was already an Omega who had been kicked out of my old pack. But three years had passed, and my womb was still as empty as a desert.

My situation was getting worse and worse. I no longer dared to show up in the pack hall. Every time I pushed open that door, the whispers from the pack members pierced my heart like knives.

“How can she shamelessly sit in the Luna’s position for three years?”

“Alpha Theodore saved her at the pack border, and this is how she repays him? By becoming a useless shame to the pack?”

“Maybe she gives good blowjobs. Otherwise, why does Alpha Theodore keep putting up with her?” Otherwise, why would Alpha Theodore keep putting up with her?”

I shook my head and pushed those sharp words away. None of them knew the real reason I was not pregnant.

No one knew I had never even climbed into Theodore’s bed.

On our wedding night, he gently helped me put back on the clothes I had already taken off. He told me with pain in his eyes that his grandfather had just died, and he had to follow an old pack belief. He had to stay pure for three years to bless the pack with peace and strength.

I never thought about checking whether that belief was real. Theodore would never lie to me. I mean, I was an Omega with no pack to protect me. He did not need to make up a reason to keep me by his side.

After tonight, all those insults would disappear.

Today was our third wedding anniversary. It was also the day that ridiculous ban would finally end.

I took one last look at myself in the mirror. I was wearing the very sexy black lace lingerie Martha had secretly given me. She had winked at me and said, “Luna, I promise, if Alpha is a normal man, he will lock you in the room and not let you out all night.”

I quickly put on my coat, got into the car, and drove to the club where Theodore was. Tonight, he was meeting a few Alphas there to discuss business.

I planned to surprise him.

The hallway smelled strongly of old whiskey and cigars. My nose easily caught the cedar scent of my mate coming through the crack in the door.

I had just raised my hand to knock when the laughter inside made me freeze.

“Theodore, the three years are over. Are you really going home tonight to mark that useless Omega?” It was his best friend Declan’s teasing voice.

“Touch her? Don’t be ridiculous.” Theodore’s voice was as cold as a frozen lake in December, with a faint sneer in it. “If I didn’t need her to cover up what was going on between Leah and me, I would not even look at her twice.”

Leah was his brother’s mate. Leah had already had a pup with his brother.

My blood froze at once.

“Why did you choose an Omega?” Declan sighed.

“Only an Omega could make Leah feel safe. She knows I could never fall in love with an Omega,” Theodore said coldly.

“My God, you really are the Romeo of the werewolf world,” another voice cut in with a dirty laugh. “You are such a bastard that you used that stupid rule to stay pure for Leah.”

“Omegas are stupid.” Theodore snorted. “I only had to say a few soft words to her, and she stopped caring about the pack’s insults. I bet even if I brought Leah into our master bedroom, she would smile and close the door for us.”

Then louder laughter burst out in the private room.

My whole body went cold, as if I had fallen into ice.

Three years ago, when that cruel man from the Shadow pack rejected me in public, I almost became public property for every male werewolf there. I fought hard to escape. Then I passed out at the border between the Shadow pack and the Silver Moon pack. Theodore was on patrol, and he picked me up.

My wounded heart opened completely for him.

He never even asked why I had been kicked out of the Shadow pack. I could never speak about that history. Every time I thought of that cruel man’s eyes, cold sweat soaked my whole body.

Theodore was like sunlight. He drove away the cold in me. He stopped me from remembering those frozen days in the basement. He gave me the highest honor—becoming the Luna of his pack. He gave me a beautiful home. He let me study to become a healer.

I had been completely lost in Theodore’s kindness. I thought the Moon Goddess had finally blessed me.

But it was another lie.

It felt like a dull knife had stabbed into my heart. Pain spread through my whole body.

I opened my mouth wide and tried hard to breathe.

Just as I almost fell to the floor, my phone suddenly started shaking wildly in my pocket.

With trembling hands, I took it out. A message from the pack’s emergency group appeared on the screen.

Theodore’s brother had died in an accident.

My mind went blank again.

Theodore’s brother was dead. That meant there was no longer anything standing between Theodore and Leah.

Suddenly, there was a click, and the door in front of me was pulled open from inside.

Theodore’s tall body appeared in the doorway. His eyes were red, and he was gripping his phone tightly. Clearly, he had just received the shocking news too.

When he saw me standing outside, his dark pupils tightened.

But he did not ask why I was here. He did not ask if I had heard those ugly secrets.

He only grabbed my wrist roughly. His grip was so hard it almost crushed my bones.

“Come with me.”

“Let go of me! Theodore, I heard everything—”

“Shut up! I don’t have time for your madness right now!” he cut me off harshly and dragged me toward the elevator.

I knew why he was in such a hurry.

His brother was dead. He could finally hold the woman he loved in public.

Numbly, I let him drag me along. I was going to watch him step on my dignity again.

When we arrived at the hospital, everything was already in chaos.

Theodore’s mother, Diana, was pointing at Leah, who had fallen to the floor crying, and screaming at her.

“You bitch! You killed my eldest son! If he hadn’t rushed back to bring you cake, why would he have been speeding on a rainy night like this?”

Diana’s voice was sharp and painful to hear. She raised her right hand high and slapped hard toward Leah’s face.

Smack!

The heavy sound of a slap rang through the rainy night.

But the slap did not land on Leah’s face.

Theodore rushed over like a wild beast. He held Leah tightly in his arms and took the slap for her.

The whole hospital hallway went dead silent. Only the sound of machines could be heard.

A red handprint appeared on Theodore’s face, but he did not even frown. He lowered his head and looked at Leah with a softness and pain I had never seen in three years. He gently wiped the muddy rain from her face. Then he turned around and looked at everyone with the heavy pressure of an Alpha.

“From today on, no one is allowed to touch Leah. My brother is gone, so I will take over his duty. I will protect Leah and her son with my life.”

Gasps broke out in the crowd.

As his legal mate, I stood less than three steps away from him. Rain ran down my hair and into my eyes, making them sting. After everyone looked between Theodore and Leah in shock, their eyes finally landed on me with pity, mockery, and sympathy.

I was a complete joke.

Diana turned her head and glared at me. Then she threw all her anger onto me.

“You low Omega! Not only can you not give birth, now you cannot even keep your own mate. Why haven’t you killed yourself from shame?”

A few low laughs came from around us.

My hands clenched into fists at my sides. My heart felt like it had been shot. If I kept swallowing this, I would be trampled to death.

I forced my stiff legs to move and walked step by step to Theodore. I blocked his path as he tried to leave with Leah.

“This is not possible. You cannot announce that you are taking another woman right in front of your wife, Theodore.”

He turned his head sharply. The fire in his eyes almost swallowed me.

“I can. I am the Alpha of this pack. Now I am giving you two choices. Accept reality and keep being a useless Luna, or keep stopping me and wait for rogues to bite off your neck.”

His Alpha pressure crashed down on me like a mountain.

If it had been before, I would have lowered my head and stepped back in silence.

But today, I suddenly raised my hand and slapped him across the face.

The sharp sound made Theodore freeze.

I looked at Theodore’s twisted face and forced myself to speak, even though I felt sick.

“I reject you, Alpha Theodore.”