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The Moon Goddess gifted my husband of years a second Mate. “I’m sorry. But she’s my fated mate too,” he said and claimed her before all the pack members. From that moment on, my marriage was split into two. Everything I had, I had to share with Christy.— My husband. My home. Even my money. I didn’t make a scene. Because in our world, it was called "the Goddess’ will". I just counted, writing down every single hurt and humiliation in my diary. — And when there was 100, I would just reject him. That day came sooner than I expected. "I have to leave. Christy's heat came early,” he apologized, forgetting I was also in my heat, also the fact that two she-wolves who shared one Mate never went into heat at the same time. “She’s too young to cope with her jealousy,” he said nonchalantly when I revealed her little dirty trick. I sneered. “And I’m mature enough to save myself from this torture. I, Mischa Dean, reject you, Anthony Trenery, as my mate and Alpha. And I cut all ties with your pack.” I hurled my diary at his face and strode out. The little jealous omega could have him all to herself now. And I will have my new life. ***** Mischa had been mated to Alpha Anthony Trenery of the Night Whispers Pack for two decades now. They had a good, strong bond filled with love and happiness even though their lives were more than difficult at times. They’d decided when coming together early in their mate bond to put off having an heir or heirs for their pack. That they needed to focus upon the growing of the pack’s businesses. She ran the accounting company and kept track of all the pack's funds, was vigilant in their spending decisions, because when they’d taken over the pack it was in the red, and the pack owed money to a lot of other packs as well as human banks. Finally, they were completely in the black. No longer did they have loans to pay back to humans or other wolfen packs that had helped them out over the past two decades. They were also now a bigger, stronger and healthier pack, with more reliable businesses to support them. It had taken the two of them a mighty effort of complete devotion to clearing out the debts left behind, that no one knew the former Alpha and Luna had run up, until they’d taken over and seen if for themselves. She’d never have believed it if she’d not seen it with her own two eyes, and they’d sat down and had to talk it out, weighed the pros and cons of disbanding the pack or trying to rebuild it, and become viable and keep the wolves that lived here together instead of scattered all over the place. She’d already had her accounting degree but was fresh out of uni, and going through the funding situation had been hard for her, and even harder for Anthony to hear, being it was his own parents that had sunk the pack into debt and told no one how bad it was. But in the end they’d opted to try and save the pack, and although it had been difficult for them to do. They’d worked their way through the hardship and survived it. Tonight was the very first mating ball to be held by them since taking over. They simply just couldn’t afford to waste pack funds on it. The pack members had all understood and been allowed to go off to other packs of their own accord for mating balls if they wished over those years. Tonight was an event they’d planned together, how they’d be holding mating balls in the future as well. Only two a year, they were costly and though their pack was in the black now, they didn’t want to use a lot of funds on mating balls at this time, they would set more up as the years past when they had more available funds to do so. It was a simple sit-down dinner, where everyone came dressed in smart casual clothing and could mingle at will with the other packs. Any mating prior to the full moon had to be out of sight in one or another's accommodation, so there would be fewer issues for pairs scenting each other out. She stood as always next to Anthony to greet the arriving Alphas. Only one pack was unknown to them, but it came through a known affiliated pack. They were said to be safe and wouldn’t cause them any issues. She and Anthony were hoping for some pairing up tonight, and she smiled at the comments from their Allied Alphas about finally, they were holding a mating ball, and those that knew the true hardship she and Anthony had been through, over the last two decades smiled and congratulated them on beating the odds, and them now having a prosperous pack. She was happy with how things were going and sat down to eat her meal, smiled and chatted with the other Alphas at the table. Her own Mate, Anthony, smiled at her as he always did. What she’d not seen coming was as the moon set her own Alpha Mate of 20 years, nostrils flaring and him breathing in all deeply; as he scented out a second Mate. Her eyes widened, as she watched him just stand up and leave the table, to go and hunt the one he scented. Many eyes were on him, they all knew she was his Goddess-Gifted Mate. They were the same age and scented each other out at 19, inside this very room the full moon after he’d come home from Alpha College. Mischa was more than shocked as she watched Anthony step right up to she-wolf and just reach out and touch her face all soft and lovingly. She’d braced herself to feel the pains of betrayal, right there in front of all their allies, and she’d even felt Paul, her Gamma’s hand on her arm, as he also readied himself to try and ease the pain they all thought she was going to feel. She had not stood up or even objected to Anthony’s scenting of a second Mate, wouldn’t protest against it even though a part of her wanted to. This was the will of their Goddess, that he was getting a second Mate, and here inside this pack they believed one should accept their Goddess-Gifted Mate. Anthony’s hand cupped that she-wolf’s face, and she felt absolutely nothing, not a single pain of betrayal at all. Paul frowned a little, and she sighed with relief and murmured. “Is the will of Selena, so she grants me no pain.” Though a part of her was unhappy about her loyal, loving Alpha Mate now having a new and likely much younger Mate on his arm. She knew that he wasn’t going to reject her, she’d been gifted to him by Selena, so of course, he would accept that she-wolf. She gently removed Paul’s hand from her arm. “It’s fine… is meant to be.” She’d stated softly, all she could do was accept it. If it was a lie or some sort of magic to trick him, she'd have felt the pains of betrayal, but there were none. So she just sat there and watched as Anthony lay his verbal claim upon that she-wolf, for all in this room to hear without any hesitation. “My pack, I have been blessed by Selena herself, with a second Mate and Luna,” he'd announced, and she’d even heard the pride in his voice as he’d spoken. He was very happy with this. Had yet to even look at Mischa regarding him getting a second Mate; to see what she thought of it. She’d been eclipsed by a new Mate and Luna for the pack in a heartbeat. He was supposed to love and cherish only her, but now he had someone else to love and cherish, a she-wolf that barely looked old enough to be here at this mating ball. Likely only just turned 18 a moon or two back, she thought absently to herself. That girl's smile faulted instantly at Anthony’s words of her being his second Mate and Luna, and her eyes had moved around the room to look right at her. Mischa had nodded her head ever so slightly to the girl. Who’d turned back to Anthony and bowed her head to him, stated in softly spoken words, “I am happy, Alpha, and will work alongside your first Mate, to learn from her to be your perfect Luna.” Anthony had laughed. “Mischa is loving and kind and will be a good friend and confidante to you, as well as to teach you all that is needed and the three of us will be truly happy together.” Then he had walked that she-wolf over to the table she was sitting at, and smiled at Mischa “Sweetheart, I was blessed by Selena once more. This is Christy.” He introduced the girl to her. She felt many eyes upon her from not only at this table but from the room. It was a very unusual set of circumstances to be seen. She did know that when one wolf got gifted two Mates it was usually at the same time, not 20 years apart. That the one wolf, if his or her Mates were from different packs, they would have to choose one over the other. But Anthony was an Alpha Wolf, and he reigned over this pack so he could choose to have both of them as his Mates, because they’d all live here. This was what he was doing. He’d not even thought about it, not even so much as taken Mischa's thoughts into account about him having a new Mate. No, he’d just accepted Christy and announced her right away, expecting Mischa to just accept it and that was the end of it. Mischa wasn’t about to throw a fit or even argue it there was no point; he’d made his decision already. The Goddess had blessed him was how he’d put it. She wasn’t that kind of person, arguments were only to be had if she could win the verbal battle, which she knew she couldn’t right this very minute. It was also not her place to tell him who he could or couldn’t be mated to, if he was gifted a second Mate. It was entirely up to him to accept or reject that she-wolf. “Hello, Christy.” Mischa greeted his new Mate, and she saw the way that she-wolf instantly moved closer to Anthony and hugged into him. “It’s the will of the Goddess, please Luna don’t ask him to reject me,” Christy stated with a slight tremble to her soft voice. Mischa raised an eyebrow at her “I wouldn’t dare to. If Anthony accepts you, then so do I,” she countered the girls between the line's accusation. She understood in that one moment this she-wolf was out to cause trouble, and wanted Anthony to see Mischa was unreasonable, and appear to be unwilling to accept her as a second Luna to this pack. Mischa wouldn’t play that game, her eyes moved to Anthony, and he was frowning down at Christy, he wasn’t what she would call a stupid man, and had also picked up on there was no greeting from Christy to Mischa, just an unspoken accusation that Mischa would want to tear them apart. “Christy, what was that? Mischa would never come between us, and you just accuse her of it right away. I brought you over here just to say hello,” he stated and removed her hand from his arm. Mischa refused to allow the smile that wanted to touch her face to reach it as she heard the disappointment in Anthony’s voice about what he was seeing and hearing. She watched as Christy kind of looked up at him in surprise, that he would not only defend his current Mate and Luna, but step away from Christy herself, to look down at her in disapproval. This she-wolf had thought Anthony would come to her defense instantly, and be drawn into her innocence, and I’m afraid of your first Mate, act. That she was so clearly putting on for all in this room to see. She didn’t know him at all, and had played that hand way too soon, but Mischa now understood herself this was going to be something Christy would do all the time. She was already scheming inside her mind on how to push out a Luna and Mate of 20 years, so she could be the only Mate and Luna to this, her and Anthony’s hard earned pack. II CH 2 Mischa didn’t think this she-wolf's schemes would work on Anthony. He was not only level-headed, but they had grown up here inside this pack together, and he knew everything about her, including her own nature. That she would never harm anyone without due cause, that she certainly wouldn’t harm his other Mate. That she wouldn’t get in between them or try and stop them from spending time together. He knew that she also believed in the will of the Goddess. So, accepting that he’d been gifted a second Mate, was actually what she would do even if she was unhappy about it, she’d come to terms with it and accept it. She wouldn’t fight against it or try to make him choose between them. This new Mate of his, Christy, should have taken the time to solidify her bond with Anthony, be marked and mated before trying anything stupid like this. That would see her pitted up against his first Luna and Mate of 20 years. She knew nothing about either of them, or their temperaments. She should have learned that before scheming. “I… I’m sorry. I was just nervous that she’d want to harm me… You’re her Mate first and Luna’s are… Possessive.” Christy tried to explain her prior statement. “As are Alphas,” Mischa stated right back. “Here inside the Night Whispers pack, a Mate is a Mate. If I were to get a second Mate, Anthony would accept it as I am of him being gifted you, Christy. Don’t fear me, I’m happy to have a fellow Luna to share the duties of running this pack with.” She smiled at her. Anthony chuckled softly and looked at Mischa. “I’d be very jealous, sweetheart, of another getting to have you, but…” he took a breath in “I would accept it, as the will of our Goddess, Selena.” Mischa smiled right at him. “I know darling.” She stated, “Such a good, kind, loving and loyal Mate you’ve always been.” She’d reached out and put her hand in his, and he’d raised it right to his lips and kissed the back of it. His way of showing his gratitude for her gracious acceptance of his new Mate. Christy, however, gasped and tears welled up in her eyes as she watched the display of affection between them. “You don’t want me,” she sobbed, and then was just gone, running off, away from them through the crowded ballroom. Anthony blinked in complete shock and stood there staring after her, he’d not once said he didn’t want her, he’d even claimed her for all to hear. It wasn’t expected that those words would come from her, let alone for her to run away. He looked to her hand and then to her and Mischa shook her head. “She felt no pains of betrayal, because I felt none when you touched her.” she told him what she knew to be the truth. “Sweetheart, I must go and…” he trailed off as he looked at her a little uncertain for the first time. “Of course, I understand Anthony, go and find your second Mate. She appears young and very...” She trailed off. Who the h*ll knew, she couldn’t say scheming to him. She let go of his hand and waved him off to go after the girl. Then she just sat back down in her seat and picked up her wine glass and took a controlled sip from it. She wanted to down the entire glass but would not let that be seen by all in this room. The Alphas at her table were looking at her with knowing looks. She just nodded, acknowledging that it hadn’t escaped their attention that this new Mate of Anthony’s was trying to manipulate things before she was even Marked and Mated. She and Christy had not scented each other out, and therefore would have to share their Mate’s attention between them, and no Mate wanted to share with another. Christy’s own Alpha sighed from his seat at the table. “My apologies, Luna, that one is new to my pack; her mother mated into mine just two moons back. I don’t know her well, she appeared pleasant to me.” “Hmm, she is how old?” Mischa asked. “Turned 18 inside my pack,” he answered her. “Hmm, very young. Me not so much. She is getting a Mate that already has a Mate, something I’m guessing can bring out many different sides to a she-wolf, that is expecting to suddenly become a Luna, only to find out her Mate already has a Luna. “Don’t concern yourself with it too much. Anthony won’t stand for scheming games, is level-headed, he will likely only mark and mate her if she is seen to be genuinely accepting of the three-way mate bond. She and I didn’t scent each other out, are not Mate’s that complicates things a bit, I dare say. “She’ll have to willingly accept that she has to share him with me. He is not about to reject me, his Mate and Luna of 20 years for her… one he doesn’t know and is currently acting like a petulant, jealous child for all to see. Something I don’t and won’t do. “He’ll want to have both of us as his Mates. I do know this, and if young Christy isn’t willing to even try to accept this, then he’ll likely reject her for her not accepting the will of the Goddess.” She told him, “I’m patient and will wait and see what happens.” She sipped her wine once more. “You seem to be handling it well, at ease with all this going on around you, Luna, when most would be at least upset,” he stated. “I’m not overly happy about it, Alpha, but what can I do about it? It’s not for me to make Anthony’s decisions for him. Only Anthony can choose to accept or reject Christy. I felt no pains of betrayal, so it is likely meant to be, and I am willing to accept what it is that Selena has planned for this pack,” she stated simply. She would not be the one in this three-way mate bond, which she was certain was about to happen, to pitch a fit and act as if she couldn’t handle it. This may be out of her control, but she could handle it with grace and stay calm in the face of things she didn’t like or truly know how to handle, until she found a way to do so. That was something she’d learned long ago. Panicking about the unknown didn’t help you resolve the issue before you. There had been a lot of panic at times trying to rebuild and bring this pack back to stability, and she’d overcome it all, one thing at a time. This was going to be just like that, she supposed. She would likely find a way to deal with Christy’s schemes if Anthony marked and mated her, if that she-wolf continued to try and use that innocent act, and wouldn’t give up on trying to push her out of Anthony’s life. There was at present nothing else she could do at this point, only sit and wait on the outcome of the night was all. She did wonder though if Christy was smart enough to talk her way out of being seen as petty and jealous just now. None had threatened her, and Anthony hadn’t once voiced he didn’t want her, so her act was all going to have to be apologized for, and she was going to have to explain to him why she responded that way, when Mischa had not once presented herself as a threat, had in fact welcomed her. That she’d run off after seeing affection go between herself and Anthony, something that all fully bonded pairs did, something that she-wolf would also have to get used to seeing as well. “Filled with she-wolf jealousy is my bet, and that, Luna Mischa, is never a good thing,” Alpha Nicholas stated as he leaned back in his chair. “It won’t end well if she remains the same. Been on the receiving end of that myself.” She nodded, she knew his tale; this pack had been allied to his while he’d been trying to claim his Luna, Lucinda. “Mm, I’m not so young as she is, or immature either. I can handle myself and most situations in a calm and rational manner, unlike her, it seems.” She stated with a half-smile and sipped her wine, then motioned for it to be refilled once more. “That I dare say will be the very difference between the two of you,” Nicholas nodded. “If you need a break from what I foresee as trouble brewing, come on down to the Rising Blue Lotus, for a well-earned rest. Braidy’s Mate just opened up a day spa on the edge of the pack. I’m certain she and her team can massage away or soak away any tension.” She smiled at him. “I may just take you up on that, Nicholas.” “It would be my pleasure, Luna Mischa.” He’d tipped his glass to her and they’d both sipped their wine. She’d sat there and presided over the mating ball for the rest of the night. She’d waited for Anthony to come back and tell her what he was going to do, give her an explanation as to Christy’s attitude, but it had not come at all. She’d attempted to connect with him just once, just after 10pm and shut it down very quickly felt that he was mating out there, so he’d claimed that girl and was marking and mating her. She’d mentioned it to his unit, and they’d all kind of just stared at her as if to say 'are you kidding?' She’d just nodded, there was nothing she could do about it. The Mate Bond had either gotten him or Christy had played her sweet and innocent act, come up with some plausible reason as to why she had been like that, and then likely turned on the charm and he and his wolf had been enticed into mating her and claiming her officially. Yet again, he’d done that without consulting her or even informing her that he would be doing that tonight. She’d gone to bed alone, walked up to the Alpha Suite, his unit all there with her, and she’d sighed, “I hate to be a bother, but is it possible one of you could stay here until Anthony comes back? I don’t want that she-wolf in my suite. Until all things have been discussed properly, he’ll have to understand, considering he didn’t discuss anything with me prior to this and sitting down and sorting out how this is going to work. “Please inform Anthony and his new Mate, that they can stay in the Luna Suite for the night. I’m happy he got a Mate but unhappy he has gone a head and done things without a proper discussion first. I don’t want to wake up to the sound of my Mate having sεx with his other Mate inside my suite.” They all just nodded and Kendrick, their Beta, had stated, “I’ll wait up for him. Best that comes from me. If he doesn’t understand and opts to try and bring her inside, what do you want, Mischa?” “Tell him to respect my wishes. It's just one night, and he can spend that night curled up with his new Mate in the Luna Suite. It’s as plush as his own. If he opts not to respect my wishes for even one night, I guess I know exactly where I’ll stand with him and his new Mate.” III CH 3 Mischa had accepted the fact that he had a second Mate, and he’d hugged her the following day after claiming Christy, told Mischa he loved her so very much, even more for her accepting Christy into their Mate bond. She’d only had one request regarding their three-person mate bond, where she and Christy shared only him between them. Which had been that Christy reside in the Luna Suite, that was her designated suite, and Mischa remained in the Alpha Suite. She had been his Mate and Luna for 20 years, and had earned the right to stay in there. He’d looked at Christy, and she’d nodded and stated, "I'm okay with that." Neither she nor Christy had wanted to live in the same suite as each other, because they weren’t mated to each other. Both saw it as standard for a Mate bond like this, for there to be separate rooms. Anthony had been happy about them agreeing to this and he'd agreed as well. The one being shared also got to choose where and who they slept with on a nightly basis. She’d told him at Christy’s frown, as she’d had to watch him pull Mischa on to his lap, in his office that morning. After being away from her for the entire night, he wanted to hold her and be close to her, tell her he’d missed her. Christy hadn’t liked seeing that at all, and she had stated, “I think there should be a schedule to make it fair to both of us, like me, say Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday and you take the alternate days.” She’d not even used Mischa’s name. Misha had leaned into Anthony and hugged him, told him she’d missed him too, as she'd watched Christy's reaction to it, then stated, “I don’t think we should put constraints on our Mate like that, and I think Anthony can pick and choose each and every night who he wants to be with, as is his right.” She’d also not missed that Christy had opted to give herself four nights a week and Mischa only three. Right off the bat, this she-wolf was trying to take control of their mate bond. She had some balls, that was for sure. Anthony, on the other hand had, had a better idea. “I’ll rotate days between you both. I think that is fair, so one night with you Christy, then one night with Mischa, on a continually rotating basis. That way, each of you gets a four-night week and a three-night week, exactly half of each month. Otherwise, one of you will get 16 days and the other only 12; that is not fair.” He’d also promised her he’d never bed Christy in their suite, especially their bed, and then, at Christy’s pout, he’d laid down the same rule for her, that he’d never bed Misha in Christy’s suite or bed; again making it fair. He’d told Christy he’d open up a few walls and create her a proper suite just like his and Mischa’s for when they had pups. Misha hadn’t objected, just nodded and told him and Christy that was a good idea. He had been trying, she knew, to keep both of them happy, trying to work this new three-person mate bond out in a way that suited them all. “We’re newly mated,” Christy had murmured, “and you two have been mated for decades. I want a little more time with you to bond properly.” “You’ll go into heat in a week and get to have him all to yourself for 3 to 7 days,” Mischa commented casually. “You’ll interrupt it.” Christy had muttered. “I will not. I have no interest in separating you from Anthony at all. You should, however, come over here and let him initiate you. He’s not done that yet.” Mischa had stood up and even picked up the pack blade for him and held it out to him, showing him she was accepting of everything. Only now a year and a half later, she was not in the Alpha Suite, nor was she in the Luna Suite. She’d moved herself out of the Alpha Suite six months ago when she’d walked into it and pushed into her bedroom to find Anthony and Christy having sεx in her and Anthony’s bed. She’d come to a stand still at the sight of them and then her anger got the better of her. She and her wolf Laud had grated out his name for him to hear their anger at what was going on in their bed. Something he’d promised would never happen. Only to have him snarl at her to get the hll out of his bedroom, his aura had rolled at her even before he’d turned to see who it was. Christy had looked right at her and smirked as if to say 'you know you can’t beat me.' “Fine,” had been the only word that had come from her. She was his equal and could in fact ignore his aura, but had turned and walked from the suite, left at his order and then had moved herself into a suite down the hall, across from the Delta’s suite. She’d had omegas go in and collect all her belongings when she’d felt him leave that suite, not just her clothes, everything that was hers and moved, had them set up in her new room down the hall. They’d not understood it, why she was moving out of the Alpha Suite, when she’d lived in there for the past two decades, and for the first time since Christy had come into this pack and started eclipsing her position, she’d not cared to keep quite as to why she was moving out. Told her omegas that the Alpha had ordered her to get out of the suite. It was in fact true he had done so. That hadn’t gone down so well with Anthony when he’d realized she’d actually moved out of the suite, and not just left it to come back later when she’d calmed down. He’d thought she was just angry about him breaking his promise, and so he had opted to sleep in Christy’s suite that night. He had left her be, because he actually understood he was in the wrong, and she had a right to be angry. But what he’d not realized until the following evening, when he’d gone to the Alpha Suite to shower and change, probably apologize for his mistake. That her side of the closet was empty, not a single thing was left in there of her, not even her jewelry. That she had in fact moved out completely, and he’d had to go looking for her, he hadn’t seen her all day either. She’d opted to work from her new suite because she wasn’t in any mood to deal with a smug Christy, or her own Mate who had broken his one promise to her. He’d found her sitting in that suite across from Derek's with many of her things setup in there around her. She’d already made herself comfortable in there. He’d been completely shocked at the realization that she’d taken more than just her clothes, but her trinkets and throw rugs, her favorite vase and many of the books that were in the study, they’d shared in that suite. He’d asked her exactly what was going on, and she’d casually closed the book she’d been sitting documenting in, her Luna’s Diary, and looked at him, his worried expression, as he’d sat down on the lounge next to her. She’d stated simply, “You broke your promise and ordered me to get out of your suite. I did exactly what you wanted.” He’d sighed at her and murmured, “That’s not what I meant, sweetheart, I’m sorry for what happened. Christy was upset about never having seen inside the Alpha Suite… she just wanted to see what it looked like, she’s only ever been in the Luna Suite, doesn’t feel as if I truly see her as my Luna, because she’s never even walked through the door and seen inside the Alpha’s Suite.” He’d sighed heavily. “I saw no harm in her walking through it and looking around. She was so happy to just be shown the suite, and she kissed me to say thank you for allowing her to see where I lived when not with her and, well… we just got carried away is all, and it resulted in sx. It wasn’t intentional,” he told her. Maybe not on his part, but it had clearly been on Christy’s part. “In our bed.” Had been Mischa’s words, she could read between the lines, Christy had gotten Anthony to take her into their bedroom, a place she was never allowed to go unless Mischa invited her personally. Just like Mischa wasn’t allowed in Christy’s bedroom. So, once again, she’d been able to make Anthony believe she was innocent in them fking on Mischa’s bed, and he’d bought it. She had gotten him to take her into that room to help her feel more like his Luna, when he’d already given her a fully remodeled suite. He was still blind to her deceptions. Only this time, Christy had used sx to get it past him. She knew exactly what that she-wolf was doing. She’d also not missed in his relaying of what had happened that it had been Christy who had kissed him and gotten him all worked up, she'd done it on purpose, and she knew that, from that one look on Christy’s face, that he’d not seen. She didn’t really understand the she-wolf. It wasn’t like Anthony ignored her, or didn’t give her exactly what she wanted. Her Luna Suite was now as large and plush as the Alpha Suite was, there was room for them to start their family. It was now a four-bedroom suite. She’d gotten her Mate and the title of Luna as well, had a desk in the Luna’s office, was allowed to give Luna Blessings and she spent on a daily basis more time with Anthony than Mischa did. “Well, Anthony, she can now have what she wants, both the Alpha and Luna suites, can’t she! Seeing as she got you to break your promise to me and so easily.” “Don’t be like that Mischa, it won’t happen again,” he’d sighed. “You’re right, it won’t.” she’d nodded, because she would never set foot in the Alpha Suite again. “You ordered I get out, I had no choice but to do as you ordered, you are the Alpha.” She told him and watched his eyes widen at her very words. He was racking his brain trying to recall if he’d made it an order or not. She knew it wasn’t for her to move out, just to leave the room. But at that moment it could well have been for all he knew. He and his wolf Shade might not even know they’d done that in that moment, where they were consumed with the need to mate Christy. “I take it back.” He’d huffed after a full minute of thought. “Rescind it. If I did that, I can’t say for certain if I did or not.” “No need. I now understand my place, Anthony. Your new and younger Mate is the one you want to please. I’ll step aside for her. She can move into the actual Alpha Suite. I’ll stay here as is my place.” She’d not been trying to make him feel guilty, she’d simply made the decision to not go back to his suite was all, it was now tainted by that she-wolf, so he could have it all to himself or move that she-wolf in there. “Your place is beside me, Mischa, as it will always be,” he’d stated. “Hmm” had been her only reaction because she wondered just how long it would be before Christy got the Luna’s office all to herself and had Mischa moved out of it. Christy was currently still undergoing Luna Training, but the moment it was over. Mischa could see Christy was going to push her from it. She wasn’t exactly sure how yet, but she was willing to bet that she-wolf was plotting how already. Just couldn’t do it until she’d actually finished her training was all. IV CH 4 She was just documenting everything that happened in her personal Luna’s Diary, that was casually sitting closed on her lap right that minute; all of Christy’s behavior. It was kind of like a Luna’s Diary, she supposed. Only this one was filled with all the times Christy had manipulated Anthony, pouted or put on a show of waterworks, complained she was just insecure, intimidated by Mischa, or didn’t think she could ever measure up to his first Mate. All the things that saw Anthony wanting to comfort Christy about and how he did that; taking her out shopping or to dinner, to make her feel loved and cherished and to make it up to her, so she'd feel secure in her position as his second Mate. Though Christy had learned not to insult her directly, that brought about full annoyance in Anthony towards her, regardless of if Christy did it with a few tears or indirectly. Which she had a few times in the beginning when she had been more openly trying to separate them so she could spend more time with Anthony then Mischa could; she’d learned the hard way not to do that. Anthony wouldn’t stand for Christy insulting Mischa, and he would come to her defense, because not once had Mischa ever insulted Christy; she wasn’t like that. Wasn’t one to be mean or cruel on purpose. Even now here in this situation, Christy and Anthony’s having sεx in her bed, she’d not blamed Christy; she hadn’t said anything other than he’d broken his promise to her. Anthony would demand

I walked into my bedroom and found my mate buried inside his second mate. In my bed. The one place he swore she would never be. Christy looked right at me over his shoulder and smirked. "Get out," Anthony snarled. He didn't even turn to see who was at the door. I left. I didn't cry. I didn't scream. I simply walked down the hall to an empty suite and never came back. That was six months ago. Tonight, he sat on my new bed and asked when I was coming home. As if I was the one being unreasonable. "You broke your promise," I told him. "The one request I made when I accepted her into our bond. And you couldn't even give me that." He reached for my hand. "I'm sorry. It won't happen again." I pulled away. "It already has. Every night she calls and you leave my bed to go to hers. Every time you choose her. You've been rejecting me for months, Anthony. I just finally stopped fighting it." Silence. Then I told him about the diary. Every lie she told. Every promise he broke. Every night I spent alone. All of it, written down in the book he's watched me fill for months and never once asked to read. "When I'm gone, you'll find it on your desk. And you'll finally understand exactly when you lost me." He stared at me. His mouth opened, then closed. "Gone where?" ***** Mischa had been mated to Alpha Anthony Trenery of the Night Whispers Pack for two decades now. They had a good, strong bond filled with love and happiness even though their lives were more than difficult at times. They’d decided when coming together early in their mate bond to put off having an heir or heirs for their pack. That they needed to focus upon the growing of the pack’s businesses. She ran the accounting company and kept track of all the pack's funds, was vigilant in their spending decisions, because when they’d taken over the pack it was in the red, and the pack owed money to a lot of other packs as well as human banks. Finally, they were completely in the black. No longer did they have loans to pay back to humans or other wolfen packs that had helped them out over the past two decades. They were also now a bigger, stronger and healthier pack, with more reliable businesses to support them. It had taken the two of them a mighty effort of complete devotion to clearing out the debts left behind, that no one knew the former Alpha and Luna had run up, until they’d taken over and seen if for themselves. She’d never have believed it if she’d not seen it with her own two eyes, and they’d sat down and had to talk it out, weighed the pros and cons of disbanding the pack or trying to rebuild it, and become viable and keep the wolves that lived here together instead of scattered all over the place. She’d already had her accounting degree but was fresh out of uni, and going through the funding situation had been hard for her, and even harder for Anthony to hear, being it was his own parents that had sunk the pack into debt and told no one how bad it was. But in the end they’d opted to try and save the pack, and although it had been difficult for them to do. They’d worked their way through the hardship and survived it. Tonight was the very first mating ball to be held by them since taking over. They simply just couldn’t afford to waste pack funds on it. The pack members had all understood and been allowed to go off to other packs of their own accord for mating balls if they wished over those years. Tonight was an event they’d planned together, how they’d be holding mating balls in the future as well. Only two a year, they were costly and though their pack was in the black now, they didn’t want to use a lot of funds on mating balls at this time, they would set more up as the years past when they had more available funds to do so. It was a simple sit-down dinner, where everyone came dressed in smart casual clothing and could mingle at will with the other packs. Any mating prior to the full moon had to be out of sight in one or another's accommodation, so there would be fewer issues for pairs scenting each other out. She stood as always next to Anthony to greet the arriving Alphas. Only one pack was unknown to them, but it came through a known affiliated pack. They were said to be safe and wouldn’t cause them any issues. She and Anthony were hoping for some pairing up tonight, and she smiled at the comments from their Allied Alphas about finally, they were holding a mating ball, and those that knew the true hardship she and Anthony had been through, over the last two decades smiled and congratulated them on beating the odds, and them now having a prosperous pack. She was happy with how things were going and sat down to eat her meal, smiled and chatted with the other Alphas at the table. Her own Mate, Anthony, smiled at her as he always did. What she’d not seen coming was as the moon set her own Alpha Mate of 20 years, nostrils flaring and him breathing in all deeply; as he scented out a second Mate. Her eyes widened, as she watched him just stand up and leave the table, to go and hunt the one he scented. Many eyes were on him, they all knew she was his Goddess-Gifted Mate. They were the same age and scented each other out at 19, inside this very room the full moon after he’d come home from Alpha College. Mischa was more than shocked as she watched Anthony step right up to she-wolf and just reach out and touch her face all soft and lovingly. She’d braced herself to feel the pains of betrayal, right there in front of all their allies, and she’d even felt Paul, her Gamma’s hand on her arm, as he also readied himself to try and ease the pain they all thought she was going to feel. She had not stood up or even objected to Anthony’s scenting of a second Mate, wouldn’t protest against it even though a part of her wanted to. This was the will of their Goddess, that he was getting a second Mate, and here inside this pack they believed one should accept their Goddess-Gifted Mate. Anthony’s hand cupped that she-wolf’s face, and she felt absolutely nothing, not a single pain of betrayal at all. Paul frowned a little, and she sighed with relief and murmured. “Is the will of Selena, so she grants me no pain.” Though a part of her was unhappy about her loyal, loving Alpha Mate now having a new and likely much younger Mate on his arm. She knew that he wasn’t going to reject her, she’d been gifted to him by Selena, so of course, he would accept that she-wolf. She gently removed Paul’s hand from her arm. “It’s fine… is meant to be.” She’d stated softly, all she could do was accept it. If it was a lie or some sort of magic to trick him, she'd have felt the pains of betrayal, but there were none. So she just sat there and watched as Anthony lay his verbal claim upon that she-wolf, for all in this room to hear without any hesitation. “My pack, I have been blessed by Selena herself, with a second Mate and Luna,” he'd announced, and she’d even heard the pride in his voice as he’d spoken. He was very happy with this. Had yet to even look at Mischa regarding him getting a second Mate; to see what she thought of it. She’d been eclipsed by a new Mate and Luna for the pack in a heartbeat. He was supposed to love and cherish only her, but now he had someone else to love and cherish, a she-wolf that barely looked old enough to be here at this mating ball. Likely only just turned 18 a moon or two back, she thought absently to herself. That girl's smile faulted instantly at Anthony’s words of her being his second Mate and Luna, and her eyes had moved around the room to look right at her. Mischa had nodded her head ever so slightly to the girl. Who’d turned back to Anthony and bowed her head to him, stated in softly spoken words, “I am happy, Alpha, and will work alongside your first Mate, to learn from her to be your perfect Luna.” Anthony had laughed. “Mischa is loving and kind and will be a good friend and confidante to you, as well as to teach you all that is needed and the three of us will be truly happy together.” Then he had walked that she-wolf over to the table she was sitting at, and smiled at Mischa “Sweetheart, I was blessed by Selena once more. This is Christy.” He introduced the girl to her. She felt many eyes upon her from not only at this table but from the room. It was a very unusual set of circumstances to be seen. She did know that when one wolf got gifted two Mates it was usually at the same time, not 20 years apart. That the one wolf, if his or her Mates were from different packs, they would have to choose one over the other. But Anthony was an Alpha Wolf, and he reigned over this pack so he could choose to have both of them as his Mates, because they’d all live here. This was what he was doing. He’d not even thought about it, not even so much as taken Mischa's thoughts into account about him having a new Mate. No, he’d just accepted Christy and announced her right away, expecting Mischa to just accept it and that was the end of it. Mischa wasn’t about to throw a fit or even argue it there was no point; he’d made his decision already. The Goddess had blessed him was how he’d put it. She wasn’t that kind of person, arguments were only to be had if she could win the verbal battle, which she knew she couldn’t right this very minute. It was also not her place to tell him who he could or couldn’t be mated to, if he was gifted a second Mate. It was entirely up to him to accept or reject that she-wolf. “Hello, Christy.” Mischa greeted his new Mate, and she saw the way that she-wolf instantly moved closer to Anthony and hugged into him. “It’s the will of the Goddess, please Luna don’t ask him to reject me,” Christy stated with a slight tremble to her soft voice. Mischa raised an eyebrow at her “I wouldn’t dare to. If Anthony accepts you, then so do I,” she countered the girls between the line's accusation. She understood in that one moment this she-wolf was out to cause trouble, and wanted Anthony to see Mischa was unreasonable, and appear to be unwilling to accept her as a second Luna to this pack. Mischa wouldn’t play that game, her eyes moved to Anthony, and he was frowning down at Christy, he wasn’t what she would call a stupid man, and had also picked up on there was no greeting from Christy to Mischa, just an unspoken accusation that Mischa would want to tear them apart. “Christy, what was that? Mischa would never come between us, and you just accuse her of it right away. I brought you over here just to say hello,” he stated and removed her hand from his arm. Mischa refused to allow the smile that wanted to touch her face to reach it as she heard the disappointment in Anthony’s voice about what he was seeing and hearing. She watched as Christy kind of looked up at him in surprise, that he would not only defend his current Mate and Luna, but step away from Christy herself, to look down at her in disapproval. This she-wolf had thought Anthony would come to her defense instantly, and be drawn into her innocence, and I’m afraid of your first Mate, act. That she was so clearly putting on for all in this room to see. She didn’t know him at all, and had played that hand way too soon, but Mischa now understood herself this was going to be something Christy would do all the time. She was already scheming inside her mind on how to push out a Luna and Mate of 20 years, so she could be the only Mate and Luna to this, her and Anthony’s hard earned pack. II CH 2 Mischa didn’t think this she-wolf's schemes would work on Anthony. He was not only level-headed, but they had grown up here inside this pack together, and he knew everything about her, including her own nature. That she would never harm anyone without due cause, that she certainly wouldn’t harm his other Mate. That she wouldn’t get in between them or try and stop them from spending time together. He knew that she also believed in the will of the Goddess. So, accepting that he’d been gifted a second Mate, was actually what she would do even if she was unhappy about it, she’d come to terms with it and accept it. She wouldn’t fight against it or try to make him choose between them. This new Mate of his, Christy, should have taken the time to solidify her bond with Anthony, be marked and mated before trying anything stupid like this. That would see her pitted up against his first Luna and Mate of 20 years. She knew nothing about either of them, or their temperaments. She should have learned that before scheming. “I… I’m sorry. I was just nervous that she’d want to harm me… You’re her Mate first and Luna’s are… Possessive.” Christy tried to explain her prior statement. “As are Alphas,” Mischa stated right back. “Here inside the Night Whispers pack, a Mate is a Mate. If I were to get a second Mate, Anthony would accept it as I am of him being gifted you, Christy. Don’t fear me, I’m happy to have a fellow Luna to share the duties of running this pack with.” She smiled at her. Anthony chuckled softly and looked at Mischa. “I’d be very jealous, sweetheart, of another getting to have you, but…” he took a breath in “I would accept it, as the will of our Goddess, Selena.” Mischa smiled right at him. “I know darling.” She stated, “Such a good, kind, loving and loyal Mate you’ve always been.” She’d reached out and put her hand in his, and he’d raised it right to his lips and kissed the back of it. His way of showing his gratitude for her gracious acceptance of his new Mate. Christy, however, gasped and tears welled up in her eyes as she watched the display of affection between them. “You don’t want me,” she sobbed, and then was just gone, running off, away from them through the crowded ballroom. Anthony blinked in complete shock and stood there staring after her, he’d not once said he didn’t want her, he’d even claimed her for all to hear. It wasn’t expected that those words would come from her, let alone for her to run away. He looked to her hand and then to her and Mischa shook her head. “She felt no pains of betrayal, because I felt none when you touched her.” she told him what she knew to be the truth. “Sweetheart, I must go and…” he trailed off as he looked at her a little uncertain for the first time. “Of course, I understand Anthony, go and find your second Mate. She appears young and very...” She trailed off. Who the h*ll knew, she couldn’t say scheming to him. She let go of his hand and waved him off to go after the girl. Then she just sat back down in her seat and picked up her wine glass and took a controlled sip from it. She wanted to down the entire glass but would not let that be seen by all in this room. The Alphas at her table were looking at her with knowing looks. She just nodded, acknowledging that it hadn’t escaped their attention that this new Mate of Anthony’s was trying to manipulate things before she was even Marked and Mated. She and Christy had not scented each other out, and therefore would have to share their Mate’s attention between them, and no Mate wanted to share with another. Christy’s own Alpha sighed from his seat at the table. “My apologies, Luna, that one is new to my pack; her mother mated into mine just two moons back. I don’t know her well, she appeared pleasant to me.” “Hmm, she is how old?” Mischa asked. “Turned 18 inside my pack,” he answered her. “Hmm, very young. Me not so much. She is getting a Mate that already has a Mate, something I’m guessing can bring out many different sides to a she-wolf, that is expecting to suddenly become a Luna, only to find out her Mate already has a Luna. “Don’t concern yourself with it too much. Anthony won’t stand for scheming games, is level-headed, he will likely only mark and mate her if she is seen to be genuinely accepting of the three-way mate bond. She and I didn’t scent each other out, are not Mate’s that complicates things a bit, I dare say. “She’ll have to willingly accept that she has to share him with me. He is not about to reject me, his Mate and Luna of 20 years for her… one he doesn’t know and is currently acting like a petulant, jealous child for all to see. Something I don’t and won’t do. “He’ll want to have both of us as his Mates. I do know this, and if young Christy isn’t willing to even try to accept this, then he’ll likely reject her for her not accepting the will of the Goddess.” She told him, “I’m patient and will wait and see what happens.” She sipped her wine once more. “You seem to be handling it well, at ease with all this going on around you, Luna, when most would be at least upset,” he stated. “I’m not overly happy about it, Alpha, but what can I do about it? It’s not for me to make Anthony’s decisions for him. Only Anthony can choose to accept or reject Christy. I felt no pains of betrayal, so it is likely meant to be, and I am willing to accept what it is that Selena has planned for this pack,” she stated simply. She would not be the one in this three-way mate bond, which she was certain was about to happen, to pitch a fit and act as if she couldn’t handle it. This may be out of her control, but she could handle it with grace and stay calm in the face of things she didn’t like or truly know how to handle, until she found a way to do so. That was something she’d learned long ago. Panicking about the unknown didn’t help you resolve the issue before you. There had been a lot of panic at times trying to rebuild and bring this pack back to stability, and she’d overcome it all, one thing at a time. This was going to be just like that, she supposed. She would likely find a way to deal with Christy’s schemes if Anthony marked and mated her, if that she-wolf continued to try and use that innocent act, and wouldn’t give up on trying to push her out of Anthony’s life. There was at present nothing else she could do at this point, only sit and wait on the outcome of the night was all. She did wonder though if Christy was smart enough to talk her way out of being seen as petty and jealous just now. None had threatened her, and Anthony hadn’t once voiced he didn’t want her, so her act was all going to have to be apologized for, and she was going to have to explain to him why she responded that way, when Mischa had not once presented herself as a threat, had in fact welcomed her. That she’d run off after seeing affection go between herself and Anthony, something that all fully bonded pairs did, something that she-wolf would also have to get used to seeing as well. “Filled with she-wolf jealousy is my bet, and that, Luna Mischa, is never a good thing,” Alpha Nicholas stated as he leaned back in his chair. “It won’t end well if she remains the same. Been on the receiving end of that myself.” She nodded, she knew his tale; this pack had been allied to his while he’d been trying to claim his Luna, Lucinda. “Mm, I’m not so young as she is, or immature either. I can handle myself and most situations in a calm and rational manner, unlike her, it seems.” She stated with a half-smile and sipped her wine, then motioned for it to be refilled once more. “That I dare say will be the very difference between the two of you,” Nicholas nodded. “If you need a break from what I foresee as trouble brewing, come on down to the Rising Blue Lotus, for a well-earned rest. Braidy’s Mate just opened up a day spa on the edge of the pack. I’m certain she and her team can massage away or soak away any tension.” She smiled at him. “I may just take you up on that, Nicholas.” “It would be my pleasure, Luna Mischa.” He’d tipped his glass to her and they’d both sipped their wine. She’d sat there and presided over the mating ball for the rest of the night. She’d waited for Anthony to come back and tell her what he was going to do, give her an explanation as to Christy’s attitude, but it had not come at all. She’d attempted to connect with him just once, just after 10pm and shut it down very quickly felt that he was mating out there, so he’d claimed that girl and was marking and mating her. She’d mentioned it to his unit, and they’d all kind of just stared at her as if to say 'are you kidding?' She’d just nodded, there was nothing she could do about it. The Mate Bond had either gotten him or Christy had played her sweet and innocent act, come up with some plausible reason as to why she had been like that, and then likely turned on the charm and he and his wolf had been enticed into mating her and claiming her officially. Yet again, he’d done that without consulting her or even informing her that he would be doing that tonight. She’d gone to bed alone, walked up to the Alpha Suite, his unit all there with her, and she’d sighed, “I hate to be a bother, but is it possible one of you could stay here until Anthony comes back? I don’t want that she-wolf in my suite. Until all things have been discussed properly, he’ll have to understand, considering he didn’t discuss anything with me prior to this and sitting down and sorting out how this is going to work. “Please inform Anthony and his new Mate, that they can stay in the Luna Suite for the night. I’m happy he got a Mate but unhappy he has gone a head and done things without a proper discussion first. I don’t want to wake up to the sound of my Mate having sεx with his other Mate inside my suite.” They all just nodded and Kendrick, their Beta, had stated, “I’ll wait up for him. Best that comes from me. If he doesn’t understand and opts to try and bring her inside, what do you want, Mischa?” “Tell him to respect my wishes. It's just one night, and he can spend that night curled up with his new Mate in the Luna Suite. It’s as plush as his own. If he opts not to respect my wishes for even one night, I guess I know exactly where I’ll stand with him and his new Mate.” III CH 3 Mischa had accepted the fact that he had a second Mate, and he’d hugged her the following day after claiming Christy, told Mischa he loved her so very much, even more for her accepting Christy into their Mate bond. She’d only had one request regarding their three-person mate bond, where she and Christy shared only him between them. Which had been that Christy reside in the Luna Suite, that was her designated suite, and Mischa remained in the Alpha Suite. She had been his Mate and Luna for 20 years, and had earned the right to stay in there. He’d looked at Christy, and she’d nodded and stated, "I'm okay with that." Neither she nor Christy had wanted to live in the same suite as each other, because they weren’t mated to each other. Both saw it as standard for a Mate bond like this, for there to be separate rooms. Anthony had been happy about them agreeing to this and he'd agreed as well. The one being shared also got to choose where and who they slept with on a nightly basis. She’d told him at Christy’s frown, as she’d had to watch him pull Mischa on to his lap, in his office that morning. After being away from her for the entire night, he wanted to hold her and be close to her, tell her he’d missed her. Christy hadn’t liked seeing that at all, and she had stated, “I think there should be a schedule to make it fair to both of us, like me, say Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday and you take the alternate days.” She’d not even used Mischa’s name. Misha had leaned into Anthony and hugged him, told him she’d missed him too, as she'd watched Christy's reaction to it, then stated, “I don’t think we should put constraints on our Mate like that, and I think Anthony can pick and choose each and every night who he wants to be with, as is his right.” She’d also not missed that Christy had opted to give herself four nights a week and Mischa only three. Right off the bat, this she-wolf was trying to take control of their mate bond. She had some balls, that was for sure. Anthony, on the other hand had, had a better idea. “I’ll rotate days between you both. I think that is fair, so one night with you Christy, then one night with Mischa, on a continually rotating basis. That way, each of you gets a four-night week and a three-night week, exactly half of each month. Otherwise, one of you will get 16 days and the other only 12; that is not fair.” He’d also promised her he’d never bed Christy in their suite, especially their bed, and then, at Christy’s pout, he’d laid down the same rule for her, that he’d never bed Misha in Christy’s suite or bed; again making it fair. He’d told Christy he’d open up a few walls and create her a proper suite just like his and Mischa’s for when they had pups. Misha hadn’t objected, just nodded and told him and Christy that was a good idea. He had been trying, she knew, to keep both of them happy, trying to work this new three-person mate bond out in a way that suited them all. “We’re newly mated,” Christy had murmured, “and you two have been mated for decades. I want a little more time with you to bond properly.” “You’ll go into heat in a week and get to have him all to yourself for 3 to 7 days,” Mischa commented casually. “You’ll interrupt it.” Christy had muttered. “I will not. I have no interest in separating you from Anthony at all. You should, however, come over here and let him initiate you. He’s not done that yet.” Mischa had stood up and even picked up the pack blade for him and held it out to him, showing him she was accepting of everything. Only now a year and a half later, she was not in the Alpha Suite, nor was she in the Luna Suite. She’d moved herself out of the Alpha Suite six months ago when she’d walked into it and pushed into her bedroom to find Anthony and Christy having sεx in her and Anthony’s bed. She’d come to a stand still at the sight of them and then her anger got the better of her. She and her wolf Laud had grated out his name for him to hear their anger at what was going on in their bed. Something he’d promised would never happen. Only to have him snarl at her to get the hll out of his bedroom, his aura had rolled at her even before he’d turned to see who it was. Christy had looked right at her and smirked as if to say 'you know you can’t beat me.' “Fine,” had been the only word that had come from her. She was his equal and could in fact ignore his aura, but had turned and walked from the suite, left at his order and then had moved herself into a suite down the hall, across from the Delta’s suite. She’d had omegas go in and collect all her belongings when she’d felt him leave that suite, not just her clothes, everything that was hers and moved, had them set up in her new room down the hall. They’d not understood it, why she was moving out of the Alpha Suite, when she’d lived in there for the past two decades, and for the first time since Christy had come into this pack and started eclipsing her position, she’d not cared to keep quite as to why she was moving out. Told her omegas that the Alpha had ordered her to get out of the suite. It was in fact true he had done so. That hadn’t gone down so well with Anthony when he’d realized she’d actually moved out of the suite, and not just left it to come back later when she’d calmed down. He’d thought she was just angry about him breaking his promise, and so he had opted to sleep in Christy’s suite that night. He had left her be, because he actually understood he was in the wrong, and she had a right to be angry. But what he’d not realized until the following evening, when he’d gone to the Alpha Suite to shower and change, probably apologize for his mistake. That her side of the closet was empty, not a single thing was left in there of her, not even her jewelry. That she had in fact moved out completely, and he’d had to go looking for her, he hadn’t seen her all day either. She’d opted to work from her new suite because she wasn’t in any mood to deal with a smug Christy, or her own Mate who had broken his one promise to her. He’d found her sitting in that suite across from Derek's with many of her things setup in there around her. She’d already made herself comfortable in there. He’d been completely shocked at the realization that she’d taken more than just her clothes, but her trinkets and throw rugs, her favorite vase and many of the books that were in the study, they’d shared in that suite. He’d asked her exactly what was going on, and she’d casually closed the book she’d been sitting documenting in, her Luna’s Diary, and looked at him, his worried expression, as he’d sat down on the lounge next to her. She’d stated simply, “You broke your promise and ordered me to get out of your suite. I did exactly what you wanted.” He’d sighed at her and murmured, “That’s not what I meant, sweetheart, I’m sorry for what happened. Christy was upset about never having seen inside the Alpha Suite… she just wanted to see what it looked like, she’s only ever been in the Luna Suite, doesn’t feel as if I truly see her as my Luna, because she’s never even walked through the door and seen inside the Alpha’s Suite.” He’d sighed heavily. “I saw no harm in her walking through it and looking around. She was so happy to just be shown the suite, and she kissed me to say thank you for allowing her to see where I lived when not with her and, well… we just got carried away is all, and it resulted in sx. It wasn’t intentional,” he told her. Maybe not on his part, but it had clearly been on Christy’s part. “In our bed.” Had been Mischa’s words, she could read between the lines, Christy had gotten Anthony to take her into their bedroom, a place she was never allowed to go unless Mischa invited her personally. Just like Mischa wasn’t allowed in Christy’s bedroom. So, once again, she’d been able to make Anthony believe she was innocent in them fking on Mischa’s bed, and he’d bought it. She had gotten him to take her into that room to help her feel more like his Luna, when he’d already given her a fully remodeled suite. He was still blind to her deceptions. Only this time, Christy had used sx to get it past him. She knew exactly what that she-wolf was doing. She’d also not missed in his relaying of what had happened that it had been Christy who had kissed him and gotten him all worked up, she'd done it on purpose, and she knew that, from that one look on Christy’s face, that he’d not seen. She didn’t really understand the she-wolf. It wasn’t like Anthony ignored her, or didn’t give her exactly what she wanted. Her Luna Suite was now as large and plush as the Alpha Suite was, there was room for them to start their family. It was now a four-bedroom suite. She’d gotten her Mate and the title of Luna as well, had a desk in the Luna’s office, was allowed to give Luna Blessings and she spent on a daily basis more time with Anthony than Mischa did. “Well, Anthony, she can now have what she wants, both the Alpha and Luna suites, can’t she! Seeing as she got you to break your promise to me and so easily.” “Don’t be like that Mischa, it won’t happen again,” he’d sighed. “You’re right, it won’t.” she’d nodded, because she would never set foot in the Alpha Suite again. “You ordered I get out, I had no choice but to do as you ordered, you are the Alpha.” She told him and watched his eyes widen at her very words. He was racking his brain trying to recall if he’d made it an order or not. She knew it wasn’t for her to move out, just to leave the room. But at that moment it could well have been for all he knew. He and his wolf Shade might not even know they’d done that in that moment, where they were consumed with the need to mate Christy. “I take it back.” He’d huffed after a full minute of thought. “Rescind it. If I did that, I can’t say for certain if I did or not.” “No need. I now understand my place, Anthony. Your new and younger Mate is the one you want to please. I’ll step aside for her. She can move into the actual Alpha Suite. I’ll stay here as is my place.” She’d not been trying to make him feel guilty, she’d simply made the decision to not go back to his suite was all, it was now tainted by that she-wolf, so he could have it all to himself or move that she-wolf in there. “Your place is beside me, Mischa, as it will always be,” he’d stated. “Hmm” had been her only reaction because she wondered just how long it would be before Christy got the Luna’s office all to herself and had Mischa moved out of it. Christy was currently still undergoing Luna Training, but the moment it was over. Mischa could see Christy was going to push her from it. She wasn’t exactly sure how yet, but she was willing to bet that she-wolf was plotting how already. Just couldn’t do it until she’d actually finished her training was all. IV CH 4 She was just documenting everything that happened in her personal Luna’s Diary, that was casually sitting closed on her lap right that minute; all of Christy’s behavior. It was kind of like a Luna’s Diary, she supposed. Only this one was filled with all the times Christy had manipulated Anthony, pouted or put on a show of waterworks, complained she was just insecure, intimidated by Mischa, or didn’t think she could ever measure up to his first Mate. All the things that saw Anthony wanting to comfort Christy about and how he did that; taking her out shopping or to dinner, to make her feel loved and cherished and to make it up to her, so she'd feel secure in her position as his second Mate. Though Christy had learned not to insult her directly, that brought about full annoyance in Anthony towards her, regardless of if Christy did it with a few tears or indirectly. Which she had a few times in the beginning when she had been more openly trying to separate them so she could spend more time with Anthony then Mischa could; she’d learned the hard way not to do that. Anthony wouldn’t stand for Christy insulting Mischa, and he would come to her defense, because not once had Mischa ever insulted Christy; she wasn’t like that. Wasn’t one to be mean or cruel on purpose. Even now here in this situation, Christy and Anthony’s having sεx in her bed, she’d not blamed Christy; she hadn’t said anything other than he’d broken his promise to her. Anthony would demand Christy apologize to Mischa if she insulted her, and Christy didn’t like having to do so. She’d seen once that Christy’s tearful apology had also backfired on her, even worse than Christy could have possibly imagined, because Paul had walked into the room behind her, to hear it and had felt out the situation. Christy hadn’t seen him, and he’d cleared his voice after only 10 seconds and stated, “Her apology is a lie, Alpha, she doesn’t truly mean it, I can feel she’s here causing trouble only.” And his southern drawl had rolled off him to show he was switched on and explaining what he was feeling from Christy. Anthony had then been even more annoyed as Chrisy had come to learn that Paul was more inclined to trust his instincts than her words, and was always switched on when he was near her if there were words going between her and anyone. Paul couldn’t be swayed by Christy’s deceitful ways, he could see she was just trying to get rid of Mischa and nothing more. Had in fact stated that very thing to Anthony, who’d turned angry eyes on Christy himself. Who’d been glaring at her and then had turned them on Paul and accused them of being in cahoots, and it was them that were trying to oust her and pull her and Anthony’s bond apart, that they were ganging up on her because they had a 20-year-long Luna Gamma bond. She’d then done her usual insecure act and stated how was she to create a bond with Paul when he was always on Mischa’s side, and gone running off in tears, and, for the first time ever, Anthony hadn’t gone after her. He had looked at Paul and stated, “Is she really trying to break my bond with Mischa?” He’d kind of sounded as if he didn’t want to hear the answer. Hadn’t actually believed that Mischa and Paul were ganging up on her because he knew they weren’t like that. “That is what I get, she doesn’t like Mischa, never has. Do you recall the very first words Christy ever stated when standing before Mischa? That was the first clue into her true nature. You saw it, reacted to it and admonished her for it even. What did she do? Cried and run off, played at you not wanting her and was leaving the pack. “What is she doing right now? Crying and running off as if leaving the pack because she was caught in a lie, and you’re about to admonish her or worse, punish her. Don’t go after her, Anthony. I bet she won’t leave the pack, but will go right to the border.” It was done by Christy, to trigger Anthony and his beast into thinking his Mate was running away, hurt and upset, and they wouldn’t want that, so they would go racing after her, when they realized she was trying to flee the pack. She and Paul, the entire Alpha Unit saw it for what it was, only Anthony didn’t see it, because it brought about fear of the breaking of his mate bond with Christy, and so he had a deep-seated need to placate her and win her back. That time, Anthony had let her run, refused to go after her just to see what would happen. Was his Gamma right or not? Christy had not left the pack, but she had run all the way to the pack's furthest border from the packhouse, but had come to a stand still at the edge of the pack. Mischa had tracked her pack tether as much as everyone in that room had, and Christy had stood out there on the edge of the pack for several hours before coming back, stalking in through the packhouse front doors, past the open Alpha’s office door and stomped up the stairs and banging into the Luna Suite. Paul had relayed, “She’s just annoyed you didn’t chase after her like you normally do.” He had felt her out the moment she’d gotten back. Christy had reined it in after that because Anthony hadn’t gone near her for over a week and Mischa had heard him state to her, as Christy had stood before him sobbing about feeling insecure, “If you’re going to sulk just because you’re a second Mate, do it quietly. You knew I had a Mate, stated you’d accept it,” then issued a demand of his own, to show her he wasn’t going to put up with her behavior any longer. “Either accept that you are my second Mate or reject me and actually leave. Stop pretending to, just to get my attention.” Mischa hadn’t heard the beginning of that conversation, only the finality of it; she’d not gotten involved, never got between them. She’d thought his demand that day had stopped Christy’s bad behavior, until she’d walked in on them having sx in her bed and seen that smirk on her face. Now here Christy was back to the scheming after a few months of quiet. It seemed that she-wolf was never going to stop. She would just document everything so that when push came to shove and Mischa was actually truly fed up with the life she was now living, she would just hand Anthony her Luna’s Diary, that was right this minute on her lap, and leave. She didn’t want a life of fighting to keep her Mate, it shouldn’t have to be this way. It was likely she’d eventually just give Christy what it was she wanted, only it wouldn’t exactly be a happy moment for Christy when Anthony read this book, and looked back on everything that had happened in the course of their mate bond since Christy had come into it. He’d be able to see it was all Christy’s fault. That his first Goddess-Gifted Luna, who had been here to help him clear all the pack's debts and loved him regardless of all the hardship, had left him because she was pushed aside by Christy. She did document her personal feelings about everything that happened in this book. She wrote in a black pen the event; who was there, the words spoken and actions taken. Then in a blue pen she documented how she personally felt about the event and all that transpired. If she was frustrated, annoyed, angry, upset or just plain sad and confused or pained. If she had expected the event to occur, had predicted his or Christy’s reactions, then in a green pen she documented the expression on Christy’s face towards herself that he didn’t see. If he or anyone opened this Luna’s Diary at a very quick glance, it would look like all the other official ones in her office, she had filled out over the years, the same color pens used for different varying things. He didn’t even question seeing her with it now, because it was normal for her to sit and write in her Luna’s Diary on a daily basis. But his book, when he got his hands on it and read it, he would see she wasn’t writing only to make him hate Christy or feel guilty, but in a way that he could understand their bond was becoming broken over time and her lack of emotions as time passed would show him that it had been gradual not instant that she had stayed for years in the hope that Christy would just stop her selfish behavior. That she wasn’t petty or cruel like Christy was, that she’d just be slowly shoved aside until she was no longer needed by him or this pack was all. So, she had left him to go and live a life where she might be needed in some other pack. Start her life over and maybe be able to be happy once more like she had used to be; standing next to his side. He was just sitting looking at her. “Please, it won’t happen again.” He implored her. “Yes, it will,” she stated her feelings on the matter. There would be no amount of pleading or promises that would see her believe he could keep that woman out of the Alpha Suite. A part of her wondered if Christy was so spitefully jealous that she would at some point try and have Anthony bring her into this very room and then accidently, on purpose, get carried away and have sεx in here. In any room she ever went to until Mischa hurled a rejection at Anthony for the continually breaking of his word. A part of her didn’t want to think that way, but another part of her wouldn’t put it past that she-wolf. “If it can happen once, then it can happen again, Anthony. One broken promise leads to another.” She shrugged. “That room is now tainted by you and her, as far as I’m concerned. I won’t go back there… is dirty I suppose, “And not just because you had sεx with Christy in there, but because you, my Alpha and my Mate disregarded the one and only request I had when you got a second Mate, and I willingly accepted her. Not only into our pack and our home, but into the very middle of our own mate bond. “I’m disappointed in you, and to be honest, Alpha, right now I’m not at all interested in your new promise that it won’t happen again. You’ve already proven that your word to me no longer matters to you at all. Because if it did, you’d never have let that happen in the first place.” She stood up and walked away across the room. “Oh, on a new note, this is now my room. Christy is not allowed in here, period. I don’t care if she complains that her not being in here makes her feel as though she’s not a part of anything at all. I am not her Mate and I have the right to refuse her entry to my home.” She turned and looked right at him. “And this room is now my home. Please leave, I’m done talking with you. I have work to do.” She'd tapped her diary and walked through to her bedroom and closed the door to make sure he understood to leave. V CH 5 Six months had passed and Mischa lay in her bed looking at Anthony as he got mind-linked to and she heard him sigh. He looked at her when it was over. “Christy wants to see me,” he stated as he sat up. She didn’t say anything at all, knew there was no point, he was going to get up and go to Christy under some guise that she needed to speak with him, but then he wouldn’t come back to her room. Even though it was his night to sleep here with Mischa. Christy would talk to him about whatever it was she stated was so very important that it would see him get up and leave her bedroom, and then she would be all over him and fk'n him, and he’d fall asleep in his and Christy's bed. Anthony would then come to her and apologize in the morning about falling asleep in Christy’s bed. State they’d had a single moment that had gotten carried away, and seeing as he’d already been with her, having sεx with both of them on the same night tired him out, and he’d crashed out was all; it wasn’t on purpose. She knew better than to believe it anymore. At first, she had thought it was genuine, but now, months later, it happened all the time. It was just Christy’s way of proving to her that she could call their Mate away from her, and he wanted to go, because he always went. Mischa knew that to be true as well, because otherwise he would just tell her it was his night to be with Mischa and that would be the end of it. He wouldn’t go to Christy’s room, he would just tell her whatever it was could wait until the morning. Nothing was that important to disturb him at midnight. If it was, then everyone would know about it. So, he got up out of her bed and went to Christy’s willingly to sleep with her, stay there the night and she knew it. He was now the one to be seen pushing her aside in her eyes. Because it was a choice to get up and leave their bed and go to another’s on a night when he should be with her. Mischa just rolled over and away from him at his words and his getting out of the bed without a second thought. Her chest ached, but there was no arguing with him about it. She’d tried that in the beginning, and he’d stated, “I’ll come back after, whatever it is.” but he never did and pointing that out to him as well. He’d gotten annoyed with her for keeping track of him, had muttered, “It’s not bloody necessary to track my every move.” So, she’d not done so anymore, she stopped fighting him about it not being fair that he spent five nights a week with Christy and only two with her. She felt that pained ache inside her chest, as if someone was just squeezing her heart and tears welled up, but she didn’t let them fall, just blinked them away. ‘What else was knew’ was what she thought absently to herself. It was also what she wanted to say out loud, but she didn’t. There was no point he would leave anyway. This was how it had been for the past four months. The only difference now was that she just said nothing about him leaving, rolled over away from him and pretended not to care, when it hurt to know he was choosing Christy once more. Her and Anthony’s Mate bond was falling apart, and he didn’t even look to care about it, he had a new younger Mate to entertain him. She was rapidly just becoming the Luna that held the pack together and nothing else. One day soon it was likely he was going to forget she was even part of this pack. A part of her was starting to regret her choice to let what had happened go. Something she’d done for the sake of their Mate bond and them staying together. She’d convinced herself he still loved her, that it wasn’t like he was cheating on her, because Christy was his Mate too, and so she’d tried to just move on past him, breaking his promise to her. Anthony had brought her flowers and apologized many times. After he’d had sεx with Christy in the Alpha Suite, he’d sent gifts to her and tried to spend more time with her after he’d hurt her, and realized how badly it was affecting their Mate Bond. Put in an effort for a solid month to try and bring them closer like they’d used to be. It had been a month of being unhappy and tired and grumpy for both him and her, before she’d finally accepted, that he was actually sorry. He looked tired and worn out to her, as much as she had been, and Kendrick had told her he wasn’t sleeping well, being at odds with her like they were. It was the first time they’d ever spent so much time unhappy and, apart from each other, she’d not let him touch her once in that month, she shifted her hand or turned away. Ignored the half-knowing smiles she saw from Christy as she watched their Mate Bond of 20 years being torn apart at her own hands. It made Mischa wonder what kind of person it took to knowingly and willingly set out to destroy another’s Mate Bond, be happy about watching it slowly get destroyed. She’d wondered more than a few times why Selena had sent this she-wolf to their pack and paired her with Anthony. Was he supposed to choose between them? Or had they together been the people that were supposed to turn Christy’s ugly nature into something better? Show her that things could be good even when one had to share what was theirs. She thought that was supposed to be it, seeing as both she and Anthony had accepted Christy, only Christy hadn’t changed at all. This situation could well have seen her nature become worse she supposed. She didn’t know anything about her previous life. Now here she was alone once more, while Anthony returned to the Alpha Suite where Christy now resided, even though not all her things had been moved into it, half of them were still in the Luna Suite. That she-wolf had told Anthony that was because she needed a few things in there for when she slept there, but, of course, she’d willingly move back to the Luna Suite when Mischa wasn’t mad at him anymore, and wanted to move back into the Alpha Suite with him. Mischa, however, knew this was not the case. It was so that Mischa also couldn’t reside within the Luna Suite, effectively telling Mischa she wasn’t the pack’s Luna because she didn’t live in either the Alpha or Luna Suite, but Christy now coveted both suites. Anthony had seen no issue with it, seeing as Mischa had told him she wasn’t going back to the suite at all. He’d stopped trying to convince her to go back to it, couldn’t after the third time she’d walked past it and seen them both coming out of there first thing in the morning. He’d looked guilty at first and then just said nothing after a week of it, even though he’d promised Christy wouldn’t be allowed in there anymore. She’d never left it after that first time in there with him. But no longer did Mischa care to play the game at all. Not even Laud cared to take part in sx with her Mate when it happened. It wasn’t like before either, not hours of endless pleasure, it kind of felt a bit rushed to her, as if he was just going through the motions and each time it was getting shorter as well. That told her how much he enjoyed sεx with Chrisy more than he did with her as well. She felt his lips press against her bare shoulder in a soft kiss, something she’d once loved about him, even in her half sleeping state, she’d been able to smile at feeling it. He’d never in 20 years not done that when he was getting up to leave their bed for training or anything at all. Now it felt redundant to her, as if it was just something that was ingrained into him, just autopilot mode, she thought, not because he meant it. She was still his Mate, and she still loved him, but in moments like this she wished she didn’t, but two decades together was really hard to let go of, when he was the other half of her soul. The moment she heard the door close, her fist balled against the center of her chest and those tears she held back rolled down her cheeks. It hurt to know he was willingly pulling away from her, he, as her Mate should know when she was in pain, but he either blipped over it or no longer cared to feel if she was upset. That month of apology was long gone, and she was right back to being pushed aside. Only now it was willingly on his part, she felt. The first time she’d not argued with him about leaving, he’d stopped and stared at her, then had smiled and even thanked her for understanding Christy needed him. Now he just told her Christy wanted to speak with him and got up and left without so much as a second thought. She was left alone in a bed that smelled like him, something she now both loved and hated at the same time. 20 years together and he was letting it go is what she saw and easily so, because his younger Mate was insecure and apparently couldn’t even measure up to his other Mate a reigning Luna of two decades. Mischa could make her feel small and intimidated at times. Christy used that at every turn, stating she sometimes felt helpless or useless because Mischa was so accomplished at everything, that there was no need for Christy to be there in the pack. Mischa sat and watched him listen to Christy’s softly spoken words, as the tears brimmed, and she looked sad and sometimes defeated even with Mischa right there. Christy had appeared to be putting Mischa on a pedestal but then had also made it look as if she could never reach up and touch it at the same time. Anthony looked at Mischa sometimes with an almost helpless look of ‘What can I do but comfort her?’ He had two Mates that weren’t mated to each other. Had told her they’d been mated for 20 years, that their bond was strong enough to get through a few rough years of this new situation they found themselves in until Chirsty truly felt like she was Mischa’s equal. What was a few years in the grand scheme of things, that he also wanted to create the same strong and unbreakable bond with Christy that they had. When he’d done that, everything would settle down, that if she could bear with it. This pack would be stronger for it in the end. She had understood that, from his point of view, of course, he would want a strong bond with his new mate. What she didn’t understand was him letting Christy eclipse their bond. He’d wanted in the beginning to split his time 50/50, but now it was like 80/20 and that 20% was rapidly dwindling as well. He might be here two nights a week, but they only had sx once a week for the most part. Every other week, that other night, he was gone before they even went to bed. Arrived and within 30 minutes to an hour he was called away by Christy and just didn’t come back. VI Pain on top of Pain She was willing to bet that within six more months he wouldn’t even come to her room at all. Just retire to the Alpha Suite with his second Mate every single night. They’d be broken completely soon, and he didn’t care to realize it. Though she thought he had to feel it, but could only guess it was okay in his mind for her to be bound to him, but nothing to him eventually. He had Christy now, and so he wasn’t the one who slept alone at night. Bonded pairs weren’t designed to sleep apart all the time, it hurt. But only she hurt within their mate bond, because he had a bond with another that could, she knew, outweigh his and hers. Christy wasn’t just calling him back to her, she was trying to imprint herself over everything she and Anthony had once had, and the moment he stopped coming to this room altogether, that was the moment she knew Christy had won. She and Christy were chalk and cheese. Christy was young, outgoing and fun, whereas Mischa was 41, smart, sensible and responsible. She could run this pack without Anthony, and she knew it, because she’d been here to help rebuild it and knew the business' inside and out. Christy couldn’t do that if her life depended on it, and she could see that at some point she would be managing everything while Anthony was always off having fun with Christy. Their lives hadn’t been fun, always struggling to keep the pack together, it had been serious and filled with worry all the time. Christy had come along only after all that, and Anthony liked being able to spend time with her in that playful, fun manner that she and he had missed out on, because they’d been too busy trying to save this pack. He was, she thought, reliving his younger days with Christy, and Mischa, to him, was older and too mature and sensible to be like Christy. What he’d forgotten was that all wolves liked to play, but his wolf Shade had not once called Laud out to play since Christy’s wolf Sunny had become his second wolfen mate. She got up from the bed and pushed out through the French doors onto the balcony and stood nakid out in the bracing cold of the beginning of winter season, maybe the oncoming chill would freeze her heart completely, and she’d have the strength to leave, reject the other half of her soul and go through the pains of rejection. She didn’t know if it would just hurt or if it would kill her, breaking an Alpha Luna bond of 20 years could she knew kill one of them if not both of them. He thought everything was fine, he was getting his cake and eating it too. Maybe it would just kill her and not him. She turned her face up to the moon, “When it happens, Selena, don’t make me a Luna again. I don’t want the responsibility of holding a pack together at the cost of my own heart or my wolf's heart. We’ll be happy just being regular Joe's,” she told their Goddess. For now, she was still the Luna to this pack, granted by Selena herself, “I will not fail this pack, or those that live here, even if one day Anthony fails me completely. I will stay until I truly know I am not needed, but then, I will leave, and you’ll release me, to live a new better life elsewhere. That is the deal I make with you, my Goddess. “My oath to you, Moon Goddess, for the blessing you gave me that lasted two decades. But this new blessing you gave my Mate, I reject her as being seen as a blessing in my eyes. She is unworthy of being Luna. “I feel your choice was wrong on that she-wolf. I’m sorry I state something so unforgivable of the one that created us, gave us life and blesses us with the other half of our souls. It is just my opinion. Do not take it to heart or punish this pack for my thoughts on the matter.” She stood out there in the cold until she was numb, watched the moon fall beyond the tree line of the pack and promised herself she would attend every request that was asked of her and be the perfect Luna always until the day came when she was truly not needed. Even though she didn’t really want to be anymore, she knew she would know the day when it came because she would simply not care about whatever it was that she was seeing and that would be it, the day she left. How it would happen? She couldn’t say. When it would happen? She didn’t know. It could be a month or a year, five years from now, she didn’t know. Where she would be when that moment came, or how she was living when it happened, were also things that were uncertain in her mind. She would simply feel nothing and see no point in being here at all anymore. That was the one thing she was certain of about her impending departure. Though the part of her that clung to the belief that the will of their Goddess was how they should live, was still hoping that Anthony’s words about everything would settle down in a few years, that it was just a rough patch; they were true. That one day, Christy wouldn’t see her as not a threat to her own Mate Bond and stop trying to eclipse her in every way, and the three of them could live in harmony with each other. That Anthony’s time would be spent equally between the two of them, but she doubted it at the same time. Two years had passed and though Christy’s ways to eclipse her had become more subtle, Mischa saw it all for what it was even if others inside this pack did not. She returned to her suite and stripped that bed and tossed the linen down the laundry shute, remade it and got into her bed. The room was cold and aired completely. She did not bother to close the balcony doors and left them open to sleep in the mind-numbing cold. Maybe, just maybe she wouldn’t feel so lonely if she couldn’t stop thinking about being freezing cold. She heard Laud huff inside her mind but didn’t shift them to her wolfen form, allowed Mischa to do as she pleased. It took a long time to fall asleep, but she managed it only to wake up with pains in her lower abdomen and she half snorted. Of course, her heat would come now when she’d opted to finally just be in the background. Anthony pushed into her bedroom and frowned at how cold the room was. She’d gotten up and closed the doors only because she was in heat, and wouldn’t risk herself to those un-mated wolves of the pack. Then he smiled at her as he started pulling his shorts off. He’d been at morning training. She could tell from his attire, bare-footed and bare-chested. Even as rough and difficult as their Mate Bond had been for the past two years, she knew he still enjoyed her heat. Though even to her, it already felt different, she wasn't rushing to climb on him as she once would have, and she wondered if that was because of their fading Mate Bond. Something that once saw her think about in a happy, excited way. Because she had enjoyed it, so had Laud and Anthony and his wolf Shade. He’d always been attentive to her needs in this department, she would be in heat she knew for just four days. Had been having two heats a year since the moment they were marked and mated, something Anthony thought was another blessing from Selena, that he got to enjoy not one, but two heats a year with her. He was climbing on the bed, leaning over her, smiling down at her. “We should have an heir this year, a son who is big and strong.” He told her and claimed her mouth with his. He’d completely forgotten he’d abandoned her last night for Christy. Her heat was, it appeared, all consuming for him right this minute, and once where it would have been for her, she wasn’t now, was lying there while he mated her furiously thinking about those words he’d just stated. A pup, a son and heir for the pack? It wasn’t something they had discussed in a very long time, not since making the decision to stabilize the pack and have it be prosperous before opting to have a pup of their own. She was rolled over in that bed and pulled up onto all fours as he took her once more, and she knew she realized, he did talk about that with Christy. They talked about it every time Christy went into heat. She recalled Christy’s words right as Anthony knotted himself to her with a groan. “I’ll give you a good strong heir, I’m healthy and can have pups. We’ll have one right away.” Christy had stated. Mischa understood hearing those words that Christy thought she and Anthony didn’t have an heir after 20 years of being mated to each other because she thought Mischa couldn’t conceive. She clearly had no idea that Mischa was on wolfen birth control, and it was a joint decision between herself and Anthony. Right this minute, even Anthony had seemed to have forgotten that himself, had mated her furiously and was now knotted to her, she heard the smile in his voice as he held her body to his. “Sweetheart, what do you want to name our son when he’s born?” She closed her eyes and refrained from sighing, refrained from stating 'what do you care', held that in as well. She felt his mouth touch her ear, and he hummed at her when she didn’t answer him. “On wolfen birth control, remember.” She stated finally, seeing as he’d clearly forgotten.

After the crash left me badly injured, my husband and best friend never left my side. I was grateful—until a message came through my new tarot shop. "I did something terrible. What kind of gift makes amends?" I asked what she'd done. Her reply: "I stole my best friend's husbands. Both of them." "The first was a doctor—cold, exactly my type. I s1ept with him. She divorced him for cheating but never knew it was me." "Her current husband? Billionaire CEO. Hotter. Richer. I fell again." "Last month, we drvgged her with sleeping pills, left her passed out in the backseat, and screwed in the front seat while driving. Then we crashed." "We got out. She lost her right leg. Can't have kids anymore." "I feel horrible. How do I make amends?" Every word matched MY story. I went cold. Stared until my vision blurred. Finally typed back: "You want to make amends? TURN. YOURSELF. F*CKING. IN." After the accident, my husband and best friend practically lived in my hospital room. Said they were worried I'd hurt myself. I was so touched. Really gave it my all in rehab. Until my tarot shop pinged. "I did something terrible and want to make amends. What kind of gift should I send?" I typed back. "Depends what you did." The response came instantly. "I stole my best friend's husbands. Both of them." "I swear I didn't plan it. Her first husband was this doctor—cold, controlled, totally my type. She was traveling for work, so I... we hooked up." "She found out he cheated. Divorced him. Never suspected me. I swore—never again." "Then she married this CEO. Even hotter. Loaded. I fell for him too. Meant to keep it casual. Got addicted." "Last month we wanted a thrill. Drvgged her with sleeping pills, left her passed out in the backseat, and screwed in the front while driving. Then the crash happened." "We escaped. She didn't." "Lost her right leg. Messed up her insides—can't ever have kids now." "I feel awful. Can't tell her. Just trying to do something." I couldn't feel my hands. Just then, the shipping notification loaded. Recipient: Zelda Moss. My best friend. Everything went cold. I stared at her name until the letters stopped making sense. Where my leg used to be started screaming, but that was nothing. Nothing compared to what just ripped open inside me. How? This whole month, Zelda stayed by my bed. Fed me. Helped me drink. My husband Troy canceled everything. Wiped me down every day. Took care of everything. They were all I had left. How could they? I felt like I was being torn apart. Couldn't breathe. Grabbed my phone. Called my ex-husband Aaron. He picked up fast. "Jess?" I went straight. "Was it Zelda? The one you cheated with?" Dead silence. Then Aaron's voice came through quiet. "Jess, I was stupid. So stupid. I wanted to tell you, but Zelda said if you knew it was your best friend, you'd completely fall apart. That's why—" My heart just... broke. I hung up. Tears just came. Suddenly I was back there. Four years ago. I'd been drowning in work. Ignored Aaron. When I finally surfaced, I found women's underwear in his coat. Not mine. I remember crying. Grabbing my ch//est. Asking him over and over. "Who?" He just pulled at his hair. Looked destroyed. Never said her name. So I divorced him. My childhood best friend Troy flew back from overseas the second he heard. Old family money. Been in love with me since we were kids. Showed up at my door with red eyes. "Don't shut me out. Let me be here. I'll take care of you." And Zelda. When I got really sick, it was Zelda who stayed with me the whole time. Recovery was brutal. I was weak for months. Zelda acted heartbroken for me. Did everything to make me smile. And Troy never complained once. He cooked, cleaned, even blew on my tea to cool it down. Back then I thought they were all I had. Turns out I was just an fvcking idi0t. Betrayed twice. By the people I trusted most. Everything in front of me just... collapsed. I remembered two years ago when I finally said yes to Troy. He lit up like a kid. Pulled me close. "Jess, I got you. Forever." Zelda had tears in her eyes. "Me too. I'm your best friend. No one's gonna hurt you. Not ever." Guess forever was just two years to them. Huh. I laughed. Hollow sound. Opened my drawer. Grabbed the bottle of painkillers for my phantom leg. Dumped them in my mouth. Handful after handful. Until nothing was left. But the pain just kept coming. I tasted blood. Footsteps pounded outside. Someone screamed. "JESS!" Next second, everything went black. When I opened my eyes again, I was in a hospital bed. Troy sat next to me, looking exhausted. But when he saw I was awake, he didn't ask if I was okay. He just frowned, annoyed. "Jess, can you stop being so dramatic? You know what happened when Zelda saw you like that? She passed out. She's still getting fluids next door." "Your life matters, but hers doesn't? It's been a MONTH. How long are you gonna keep pulling this sh!t?" I opened my mouth to speak. The door flew open. Zelda stormed in, glaring at Troy. "Who do you think you're talking to? You got a death wish?" Troy's whole face changed. Softened. His voice went gentle, careful. "Are you feeling better? You should rest more. I can handle things here." Zelda snapped back. "You? Handle what exactly?" She walked over to me. When she saw how pale I was, her eyes filled with tears. "You idi0t. Why would you do that? I told you—you still have me. I'm your best friend. Talk to me." I smiled. Cold. Zelda didn't notice. She kept going. "Jess, you've been through so much. Maybe you've got bad energy or something. I bought you this karma bracelet to help clear—" "Get out." She froze. Just hearing "karma bracelet" made my blood boil. Everything she did. Every disgusting thing flashed through my mind. I shoved her. Hard. Grabbed whatever was near me and threw it at them. "GET OUT. I don't want to see you. EVER AGAIN." Zelda stumbled back. Something hit her face. She clutched it, shaking all over. Troy finally snapped. He shoved me. I lost my balance. My lower back slammed into the edge of the table. Pain shot through me, blacking out my vision. Before I could even recover, Troy had already pulled Zelda behind him. His voice turned to ice. "Jess, ENOUGH. Zelda doesn't owe you a d@mn thing. She's not your dog. You don't get to hit her or scream at her whenever you feel like it. What gives you the right?" Maybe he was panicking. Maybe he just stopped caring. Those words slipped out so easily. It gutted me. I'd seen this exact scene before. When we first started dating, I used to bring Zelda lunch every single day. I was worried she wasn't eating enough. One time I bvrned my hand pretty badly. Troy got pissed. "Zelda, Zelda... You're not her servant. Why do you revolve around her?" When I gave him a look, he backtracked fast. Wrapped his arms around me, acting all sweet. "Babe, I just don't want you getting hurt. I'd feel terrible. Plus, you're always worried about her. Makes me jealous." Now the person he worried wasn't me anymore. It was her. I must've looked like I was about to collapse, because Zelda tried to rush over. "Jess, don't listen to him. I'm fine. You're just upset. I get it." But Troy held her back. Wouldn't let her anywhere near me. He paused. Then spoke again, quieter. Almost begging. "Jess. Please. Zelda had a fever yesterday. You scared her so bad she fainted today. Just... let her rest. Okay?" Then he grabbed Zelda's hand. Turned around. Walked out. I doubled over. Started dry heaving. The pain in my ch//est mixed with the pain in my body until I couldn't tell them apart anymore. After they left, I pulled out my phone. Opened the home security app. Troy had installed cameras back when he used to travel for work and I got scared staying home alone. The feed loaded. There they were. The second they got inside, Troy pulled Zelda into his arms. His hands slid down her body. Zelda twisted away, playing coy. Troy's eyes were bloodshot. "Stop. I've been holding back for a whole d@mn month. I miss you." Zelda buried her face in his shoulder. "But Jess is still in the hospital. We can't—" He didn't answer. Just pressed her hard against the wall and started moving. It didn't take long before Zelda stopped resisting. She grabbed his tie and kissed him. The sounds coming through my phone made me sick. Tears just ran down my face. Everything blurred. But the memories wouldn't stop flooding back. Every sweet moment we'd had. Every promise he'd made. I remembered how hard Troy fought to marry me. Once, someone spiked his drink at a business event. Heavy stuff. When the drvg kicked in, he didn't touch anyone. He grabbed a knife and cut himself over and over. Used the pain to stay conscious. Spent the whole night in a freezing bath rather than go near anyone who came onto him. Afterward, he held me and swore, "Jess, I'll never touch anyone but you. This life. Only you." I believed him. And Zelda? She was supposed to be my salvation. Freshman year during a rafting trip, I fell into the water. She jumped in without thinking twice and pulled me out. Junior year, my parents died in a plane crash. Overnight, I went from trust fund kid to orphan. It was Zelda who took me in. Stayed up with me every single night. I gave her everything I had. Treated her like a sister. I don't understand what I did wrong. Why she had to steal both my husbands. I don't understand why Troy—who swore he'd love me forever—changed just like Aaron did. The next day, Troy came to pick me up from the hospital. I didn't say anything. Didn't accuse him of anything. He grabbed my hand first and started apologizing. "Jess, I didn't mean to snap at you yesterday. I just didn't want you to push Zelda away like that. She might get hurt and leave you. You don't want to lose your best friend, right?" I pulled my hand back. Cold. My eyes landed on the center console. There was a cake sitting there—my favorite flavor. For a second, my heart lifted. I reached for it. Troy pressed down on my wrist. His tone was firm. "Don't. That's for Zelda." He paused. Then added, softer, "If you want some, I'll get you one tomorrow." I pulled my hand back slowly. Right. Even a piece of cake wasn't mine anymore. When we got home, I said I needed the bathroom. Pushed the door open. Saw a pregnancy test on the counter. My ch//est caved in. I can't have kids anymore. Which means it's Zelda's. Is it Troy's baby? I opened the camera app on my phone. Pulled up the video feed. Zelda's voice came through, shaking. "Troy, how can I be pregnant? Jess just lost the ability to have kids. How can I do this to her? I'm such a terrible friend." Troy wrapped his arms tight around her. "This isn't your fault. It's ours. It's fate. Jess can't have children. This is my only shot at being a father." Silence. Then Zelda grabbed his hand. "Will you marry me? I can't keep being nobody to you. I know it's wrong. I know it'll hurt Jess. But we can make it up to her some other way." Long pause. Troy's voice came out quiet. "I don't know, Zelda..." My ch//est went completely numb. All the pain peaked. Then went silent. At dinner that night, I looked straight at them. "I saw the pregnancy test in the bathroom." Both of them froze solid. Zelda went ghost-white. Started stammering. "It's—it's a friend's. She accidentally left it here—" I laughed. Sharp. Bitter. "What friend? I don't know any of your friends. Who is she? Someone you're hiding from me?" I paused. My eyes slid over to Troy, whose face had gone dark. My voice turned ice-cold. "A pregnancy test left at someone else's house? What is she, some kind of mistress? Honestly, Zelda, if your friend's mixed up in that kind of mess, you should drop her. Before she drags you down and embarrasses you." Zelda's face went completely white. Her whole body started shaking. Troy slammed his hand on the table and shot to his feet. "JESS, SHUT UP." He grabbed the plate in front of him and smashed it on the floor. Shards flew up. One sliced across my cheek. "She's your best friend. Even if you won't help her, how can you talk to her like that?!" Zelda grabbed his sleeve. Tears streaming down her face. "Troy, stop. Don't be mad. I'm fine. Don't blame Jess..." One of them furious and protective. The other fragile and pitiful. Like a pair of star-crossed lovers being torn apart by a villain. And I was the villain.

Feeling betrayed by his impulsive marriage, he wanted a divorce from his wife, unaware that she was the very same talented new employee he admired! ============ ========== Chapter 1 Unknown Husband At Seamarsh Airport, Stella Anderson stood restlessly at the waiting area with a large suitcase at her feet. She glanced at her watch again. It had been thirty minutes since she got off the plane. And yet, her husband whom she had gotten married to a year ago was nowhere in sight. Furrowing her brow, she fanned herself with her fingers and already had a bad impression of someone she had never met. This was supposed to be their first meeting. How could he be so late? As she watched people come and go, she couldn't help but recall her hasty marriage. It had happened a year ago after her grandfather came down with a serious illness. Stella, who was abroad at the time, rushed home to see him. It was then he made it known that he hoped to see her get married soon. She wanted to say no. But when she remembered how her grandfather adopted her from an orphanage and raised her into the adult she had become, she didn't have the heart to disappoint him. And so, she got married to the man her grandfather picked for her; a man she had never met. The groom wasn't present on their wedding day. Someone else stepped in to handle the registration of the marriage. She didn't know her husband at all. All she knew was his name and that he was a businessman. To this day, Stella wasn't sure if her compromise was the right choice. Her so-called husband wasn't particularly giving her something to like about him. She glanced at her watch for like the hundredth time. An additional ten minutes had passed. She sighed exasperatedly. Just as she took out her phone to call her grandfather, a screeching sound pierced the air and almost burst her eardrums. A silver Aston Martin came to a screeching halt in front of her. The driver's seat window rolled down. Stella took a step back. Once she saw a familiar face, she blurted out, "Why are you here?" Behind the wheel was the last person she expected to see now—her cousin, Oliver Palmer. "Ouch! You really hurt me!" Oliver clutched his chest as though he was really hurt. After getting out of the car, he pouted. "Your return is so important. We haven't seen each other for a long time. As your cousin, I couldn't resist the urge to come pick you up. But you are so mean to me. It's not fair!" Stella wasn't surprised or deceived by his poor acting. She rolled her eyes, refusing to speak. "Hop in, Stella. You must be tired and hungry. I'll treat you to lunch." After grabbing her suitcase with one hand, Oliver placed his other hand on her shoulder and shoved her to the car. "Wait! I can't go with you." Stella stopped him. "Why?" Oliver stopped. He scoffed when something occurred to him a moment later. "Is it because of your husband? You still want to wait for him?" Stella didn't utter a word, but her look said it all. Oliver snorted. "Don't wait for him anymore. Need I remind you that he has never contacted you since you guys got married? Doesn't that tell you enough?" Stella was lost for words. "If he wanted to come pick you up, he would have shown up before I did. How can you trust a man that has ignored your existence for one year?" Oliver added in a more sarcastic tone. After it sank in, Stella retorted defensively, "But Grandpa said Maverick will come to pick me up." She thought her husband would keep his word since he promised her grandfather. Oliver held the bridge of his nose and sighed helplessly. "Even if you still want to wait for him, you don't have to stand in the sun. Get into the car. It's hot outside." While the two of them were arguing, a tall figure appeared in the crowd and was heading for them. Matthew Clark was talking on the phone. "I'm already at the airport. Take your medicine now." A soft female voice came from the other end of the line. "Remember, Ella is wearing a red dress today. She has long curly hair. Also, her suitcase is black..." "I have already seen her, Grandma. Now, can you stop worrying?" Matthew's eyes were fixed on the duo meters away. He frowned. There was a woman who fitted the description his grandmother gave, down to the color of her suitcase. But she just got into a man's car while he held the door for her. Matthew's tone suddenly turned cold. "Got to go, Grandma. I'll talk to you later." His face darkened. At the same time, an icy glint leaped into his deep-set eyes. He put away his phone, turned around, and left. Back in his car, Matthew's grip on the steering wheel grew tighter as he watched the two people in the sports car. The man handed the woman a bottle of water. As she drank from it, he smoothened her hair dotingly. Although Matthew couldn't see her face, that didn't matter to him anymore. He was boiling on the inside. Suddenly, he laughed at himself. Why did he even find this surprising? He should have known this a long time ago. His so-called wife had been away from the city for a whole year after their marriage. They had never met or gotten to know each other over the phone. It was understandable for her to get herself a boyfriend. Matthew set his lips into a grim line. He took out his phone and typed a message. As soon as he hit send, he started his car and zoomed off at a high speed. ———— Later that afternoon, Stella got dressed in a simple and elegant light-colored business suit and went to Prosperity Group. It was one of the leading companies in Seamarsh City. The employees were, in one way or the other, elites in the city. Stella walked into the magnificent building that housed the headquarters of the group. With her excellent resume, she had gotten a job as the senior private PR professional to the CEO, Matthew. The director of the public relations department, Luna James, led Stella to meet Matthew. Unbeknown to Stella, the man she was going to be working for was actually her husband, Maverick. Matthew had zero trust in people. He used his real name when his marriage was being signed. Only those closest to him knew his real name—Maverick Clark. Chapter 2 Her New Job Stella and Luna took the elevator to the top floor. On the way, Luna was very enthusiastic. She kept telling Stella about the company. "The CEO's office takes up the entire top floor. It's out of bounds for most of the employees. Only those who report directly to him or have something extremely important can go there." Stella listened quietly. She wanted to learn all she could about her new boss, so she appreciated this new lecture. Luna suddenly paused. Then, she turned to Stella and asked casually, "I heard you previously worked in one of the group's branches overseas. Why did you suddenly get transferred to the headquarters? Did you know Mr. Clark before?" Curiosity shone in Luna's eyes. It was crystal clear she wanted to find this out for gossip's sake. Never in the history of Prosperity Group had anyone been employed or transferred without undergoing any interview. In fact, the process of becoming an employee here was longer than most. Stella broke that record. There had been speculations among the other employees that Stella wasn't an ordinary person. As a result, Luna wanted to know why the CEO himself got Stella transferred. It was no news that most of those who tried to gain this job failed at the resume submission stage. This was because Matthew had strict requirements. At this moment, Luna's prying question drew a frown from Stella. She disliked anyone who tried to stick their nose into other people's business. She glanced at Luna's work ID and said coldly, "Last I checked, PR professionals are supposed to have a high EQ. They usually have their head in the game at work." She just said that Luna was stepping out of line. As soon as Stella finished speaking, the elevator came to a halt on the top floor. Stella walked out without looking at her companion. Luna's face darkened at this. Gritting her teeth, she glared at Stella's back as she walked out of the elevator. Who did this newcomer think she was? How dare she use such a tone when talking to her? The two of them waited outside the office. Luna took a look at her watch and went to a corner to make a phone call. When she returned, she told Stella, "Mr. Clark is still on the way. We need to wait a little longer." Stella nodded in understanding. No one said a word for a few seconds. Suddenly, Luna piped up in a casual tone, "Wanna know why Mr. Clark is running late?" Still mad at Stella for shutting her up, Luna wanted to set the records straight. She intended to make Stella get down from her high horse. Stella didn't give a hoot about what her boss did outside of the office. As a result, she responded with only silence. Refusing to take the hint, Luna said in an annoying voice, "You see, his wife just got back today. He put aside all his work for today just so he could go pick her up at the airport. He's such a sweet husband!" With dreamy eyes, Luna crossed her arms and added with regret and admiration, "It's such a pity that he got married so early. His wife is one lucky lady. I really wonder what she's like." These words suddenly reminded Stella of what happened to her earlier today. It appeared that some women were lucky to have good husbands. Her boss, Mathew, seemed better than Maverick. After she waited at the airport for almost an hour, Maverick sent her a short message saying that he couldn't make it because he was busy. What a ridiculous excuse! Could he be busier than the CEO of Prosperity Group? Suddenly, the elevator tinkled. Luna quickly smoothened her clothes and ran her fingers through her hair. After putting on a smile, she pulled Stella. The elevator doors opened slowly. A man who was clad in a bespoke suit walked to them with one hand in his pocket. He had long legs which made him take giant strides. His shoulders were broad, but his waist was slightly narrow. His angular features were like those of a muscular model. Stella estimated that he was more than six inches tall. The noble aura that he exuded was very strong. Stella was unable to take her eyes off him. "Good day, Mr. Clark." Luna's voice interrupted Stella's observation. With a little bow, Stella introduced herself. "Hello, Mr. Clark. I'm the PR professional transferred from the overseas branch company. My name is Stella Anderson." At that name, Matthew raised his eyebrows in surprise. The name rang a bell. However, he couldn't tell where he had heard it from. His eyebrows furrowed with subtle confusion. The next second, he gestured to a door. "Let's talk in my office." With that, he walked into the office. Stella followed him in without hesitation. —— Sitting at his desk, Matthew scanned through the file in his hand. He had specifically chosen Stella to be his personal PR officer because she had achieved great feats in the branch company last year. Her records showed that she helped the company get out of several situations that could have harmed its reputation. More importantly... Matthew turned to the last page of her resume and narrowed his eyes. "You can design?" His deep voice broke the weighty silence in the office. This was the last thing Stella thought he would ask her. After getting over the surprise, she nodded. "A little." Matthew raised his eyes, glanced at her calm face, and continued to inquire, "You are a PR professional. What has design got to do with your work? Why did you feel the need to put design drafts in your resume?" Stella came well-prepared for this question. She sat up straight and replied confidently, "Prosperity Group is trying to occupy the clothing industry. As a PR professional, my job includes marketing the brand image. That's why I made a few design drafts that could be put to good use." Matthew nodded thoughtfully. He closed the file and dumped it in a corner of his desk. Afterward, he turned to Luna and ordered, "Get her settled in. Then assign a task to her." Luna was surprised. Was that all Matthew had to say? Although Luna wasn't pleased at all, she replied politely, "Yes, Mr. Clark." Stella heaved a sigh of relief as she walked out of the office. She loosened her clenched fists, and her palms were already sweating. At the thought of the CEO's cold and stern face, Stella grew nervous again. She had a gut feeling that working under him would be harder than she thought. Chapter 3 A Difficult Client Luna led Stella to the public relations department. She then introduced her to the other employees. "Listen up, guys! This is Stella Anderson, your new colleague." With a polite smile, Stella said, "Nice to meet you all. It's an honor to be part of this department. I hope we can get along well." The others were shocked by Stella's rapid onboarding. They whispered to each other. "Is she the PR officer who was transferred here to work for Mr. Clark personally? She looks pretty. I wonder if she's a beauty with brains or just an empty skull." "Come on. You should know that Mr. Clark has an eye for the best talents. I bet she's good at what she does." "I'm so jealous of her. She gets to work closely with Mr. Clark. What a lucky girl!" Stella heard it all. However, her smile remained the same and she didn't say anything. On the other hand, Luna's face became a shade redder. She frowned at Stella. These comments fanned the flames of her dissatisfaction. It was widely known that Matthew put potential employees through a vigorous interview process. But earlier, she had witnessed how lenient he was with Stella. Luna eyed Stella from head to toe. She was certain that this newcomer was just a numbskull. Out of spite, she vowed to make Stella suffer. Luna's conniving mind got to work immediately. She decided to give Stella the most difficult task on ground. "Here you go. This is your first task as ordered by Mr. Clark. Currently, everyone is on the verge of completing the projects they have been working on. The only task left is concerning the choice of background music for the company's upcoming anniversary party." As Luna held the necessary document, her tone was natural. "Your job is to communicate with the other party and make sure the background music is confirmed ASAP." Stella frowned and asked, "Is there anything else I must know?" The choice of background music was one of the simplest aspects that went into a banquet preparation. As such, it was odd that it was still not done. Luna was determined to make Stella suffer, so she didn't bother explaining. She just threw the document to Stella and said, "The client involved will come later. You'll know all about it when you guys meet." With that, she went straight to her desk. Stella shrugged instead of asking any more questions. For some peace and quiet, she went into the meeting room while flipping through the document. The second the door was shut, a discussion broke out in the office again. "This newcomer is doomed. Henry is not an easy person to work with. Not only is he picky, he's got wandering hands. I shudder at the thought of what he would do to her." "You are not alone. Anyway, I wish her good luck." —— In the meeting room, Stella studied all there was to know about the task and the client she would be meeting. The client was a pianist named Henry Scott. The company's management was interested in using his piano piece at the 30th anniversary party which was just around the corner. For some unknown reason, they were yet to reach an agreement. She had just finished the last page of the document when the door of the meeting room was pushed open. A man wearing a pair of jeans and a casual shirt with rolled-up sleeves came in. Stella stood up immediately and smiled. "Hello, Mr. Scott. Thanks for coming. I'm Stella Anderson and I will be responsible for discussing the cooperation concerning the use of your piece for the upcoming anniversary banquet. Please, have a seat." "Okay," Henry replied and pulled out the chair beside Stella. With his arms folded, he reclined in the chair and stared at her. Stella avoided his gaze. As she sat down, she moved the chair away a little bit. Then, she began in a professional tone. "You are yet to reach an agreement with us for the use of your piano piece. Is there a reason for that? If you have any reservations about it, do tell. I assure you that we will satisfy you as long as it's within our power." Henry remained mute as he eyed her up and down. An icy warning trickled up Stella's spine. She felt uncomfortable under his stare, but she still smiled. "I'm aware that you are currently preparing to go on a nationwide tour soon. I promise that this won't affect your preparations. On the contrary, we will spare some time to publicize your tour at the banquet as a token of our appreciation. What do you think?" Henry rubbed his chin for a while before saying, "I have to say that you make quite an attractive offer." He gave her a side look and then smiled. Stella held out the prepared contract. "Please read through the contract. If you have a problem with any of the clauses, I can have it modified immediately." Without taking the document, Henry leaned back and put his hands at the back of his head. "Reading is so much work. Worse yet, the contract looks so bulky. I don't want to go through it." Hearing this, Stella was in a dilemma. "How about you move closer and read it to me?" Henry's eyes glistened with interest as he looked at her. Stella pursed her lips and took a deep breath. Having worked in the PR industry for many years, she had come across all kinds of clients who requested strange things. Reading a contract aloud didn't seem that much of a big deal. With that in mind, Stella moved a little closer while still making sure she was a safe distance from him. She then cleared her throat and began reading. Her eyes were on the document, but she could feel his stare fixed on her. It gave her the heebie-jeebies. Nonetheless, Stella straightened up and tried to concentrate on what she was reading. Suddenly, Henry leaned over sharply. Stella ducked out of instinct. Smiling smugly, he leaned even closer. "What a beautiful necklace you have got there. It goes well with your radiant skin." As he spoke, he reached out with the intention of touching her neck. It took Stella great restraint not to slap his hand away. Instead, she leaned back further and glared at him as her disgust grew stronger. "If you like this necklace, I will help you order one and send it to your company after the meeting. Can we get back to the agenda now?" Henry's hand froze in the air and he sneered, "I thought Prosperity Group wanted to work with me. But it turns out I was wrong. I'm a very busy man, so I shouldn't be wasting my precious time talking with insincere people." He raised his eyebrows and looked at her with a hint of threat. All of a sudden, the door was pushed open. "The cooperation is canceled!" With an expressionless face, Matthew walked in. He stood in front of Stella and faced Henry. Chapter 4 Blatant PDA Henry's face darkened. "What did you just say?" "You heard me right!" Matthew said indifferently. "You are disrespectful to the female employees in this company. And we will no longer cooperate with you. There are thousands of piano pieces in the world. It should be easy to get another pianist." As Stella stared at Matthew's broad back, her eyes sparkled with gratitude. He was such a gentleman. His wife was a lucky woman. Henry's mouth dropped open and he looked utterly embarrassed. The next second, he lost his cool. He sprang to his feet, stormed out, and slammed the door behind him. The other employees left their desks and craned their necks to look at the door of the meeting room. The moment Matthew walked out, he gave Luna an earful in front of the others. "Didn't you know you were supposed to do a background check on Henry Scott before offering to work with him? As a PR professional, you should know that every wrong move can lead to a disaster and it can backfire on this company." Lowering her head, Luna apologized repeatedly. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Clark. I promise that this will never repeat itself. Next time, I'll make sure to carry out a thorough investigation." The last thing Luna expected was her nasty little trick to backfire. She was on the brink of tears as she wondered how Stella was able to wriggle out of this. After glaring at her for a long time, Matthew scanned all the faces in the office and said, "Let this serve as a warning to all of you. Your job is to better the brand image and solve crises, not cause a mess. If you can't do your job well, tender your resignation and go to the financial department for your severance pay!" His voice wasn't loud, but it was firm and intimidating. It made everyone shudder. No one dared to look up or speak. Luna couldn't help feeling that Matthew's warning was directed at her. She clenched her fists and murdered Stella with her eyes. Matthew had never scolded her before, let alone in public. Things only changed after Stella resumed work here. Luna believed Stella must have badmouthed her in the meeting room. At the thought of this, Luna's hatred for Stella quadrupled and her anger surged through her veins. Matthew left after giving them a piece of his mind. In his wake, a heavy silence fell in the office. All the employees were shaken up and went about their day on pins and needles. Hours later, it was a few minutes to closing hour. Stella took out her phone and clicked on the chat box between her and Maverick. Her fingers hovered over the keyboard as she pondered. Finally, she decided to invite him to dinner. Although their marriage wasn't that of love and she hadn't wanted to marry him, she figured that she might as well get to know him since there was no turning back. She was just about to hit send when her phone suddenly rang. It was a call from Oliver. Stella answered it. As soon as she pressed the phone to her ear, Oliver rambled about his plans. "Ella, I have booked us a table at Joyful Restaurant. See you at half past seven tonight." "But I already—" Oliver interrupted her, "No buts, Stella. You have been away for a long time. We have to celebrate your return. Lest I forget, Juliette will be there too. Don't stand us up. If you refuse, I'll drive down to your company and drag you there myself!" Oliver wasn't one to bluff. His tone indicated that he was going to make good his threat. Stella agreed. "Okay, I'll bring Maverick along." Oliver didn't like Stella's husband, and he never hid it. "Soothe yourself." After getting off the phone, Stella cleared the typed text and made a new one. She read the message a couple of times. After making sure she made no errors in the location and time, she hit the send icon. A reply came moments later. "Okay, see you there." Stella checked the time after she received that message. It was time to get off work. She headed straight to the restaurant. —— In Joyful Restaurant, Stella saw someone waving at her as soon as she walked in. It was Oliver. He was seated with his girlfriend, Juliette Davis, at a large table. Oliver was leaning in so close to Juliette and staring at her lovingly. Stella wasn't even surprised by that. As she got seated opposite them, she placed her bag on the table and joked, "Can you two stop making everyone else jealous with your intense PDA?" Juliette shyly fiddled with her long curls which were similar to Stella's. She raised her eyebrows and teased, "Two can play the game, so do this with your husband." After saying that, she looked behind Stella and asked, "Weren't you supposed to come along with your hubby? Where is he? Is he shy because he will be meeting us for the first time?" Stella picked up the menu and said, "He's on his way." "He'd better be!" Oliver snorted. "He seems to have a thing for standing people up." His dissatisfaction with Maverick was obvious and undisguised. Stella gave him a murderous glare and placed her index finger over her lips. "Shush!" She set down the menu and gave him a harder look. "You'd better be on your best behavior when he gets here. Don't start a fight, okay?" Oliver pursed his lips and said nothing. —— It was already half past seven when Matthew arrived at Joyful Restaurant. Earlier, his wife had texted him saying that they needed to talk face-to-face. Thinking of how she was with another man at the airport, he typed a big no. But he cleared it up after thinking that it was best to hear an explanation from her first. Matthew walked into the restaurant with mixed feelings. He located the table his wife had mentioned in her text to him. To his greatest surprise, he saw the same man he had seen at the airport this morning. The man was kissing a woman. The woman's face wasn't visible from where Matthew stood because of her long curly hair. Color crept to his face and the veins on his forehead throbbed. Did his wife plan this? She wanted to show off her lover to enrage him, didn't she? Heat surged through Matthew's veins as he balled his hands into fists, and almost crushed his phone. Just as he was about to confront those two lovebirds, he heard the voice of his newest employee from behind. "What a coincidence, Mr. Clark! What are you doing here?" Chapter 5 Grandma's Advice Stella returned from the bathroom to find that her husband, Maverick, still hadn't arrived. She was on her way back to the table when she spotted her boss. She greeted him, only to find that he had a long face. Matthew replied simply, "I'm here to meet a business partner." "Oh, okay." Sensing that he wasn't in the mood to talk, Stella didn't bother to say anything else. Matthew turned around and left without looking back. Stella returned to the table and looked at her watch. It was already seven forty. Maverick was thirty minutes late already. Frowning, she took her phone and read the message she had sent him earlier. There was no error in the address and time. Why wasn't he here yet after agreeing to come? Was he standing her up yet again? What was his deal? Didn't he want to meet the woman he was married to? Did he already hate her even before they met? As her mind was filled with several questions, Stella felt a little depressed. The steak she was eating tasted bland in her mouth. After swallowing a mouthful forcefully, she set down her knife and fork, and then texted Maverick again. "Hey, why aren't you here yet? What's keeping you? If tonight isn't convenient for you, let's agree on another day and time." Oliver's heart ached a little when he saw Stella's mood dampen. It made him hate Maverick even more. Slamming his glass on the table, he cursed angrily, "How dare he stand you up twice on the same day? You deserve so much better, Stella. I say that you divorce him!" "Shhh! Stop adding fuel to the fire!" Juliette hushed him with a glare. Oliver shook his head with disappointment and zipped up his lips even though he wanted to continue chewing that man out so badly. Juliette turned to Stella and comforted her in a soft voice, "Don't look so sad, Stella. Maybe something is keeping him." Since she and Oliver had fallen in love at first sight, she believed that true love could happen to Stella and her husband. But she also acknowledged that it wouldn't be easy at first. Stella nodded without saying anything. She looked at her phone again. Maverick still hadn't replied her last message. Was it that he hadn't seen it or that he was ignoring her now? —— Matthew's intention to confront his wife and her boyfriend had been halted by Stella's sudden appearance. It appeared she was also there for dinner. For some reason, he didn't want Stella to know that he had marriage problems. Matthew marched to the parking lot, looking like he would explode at any moment. He had just gotten into his car when the phone in his pocket buzzed. He whipped it out and saw that his wife just texted him. His eyebrows furrowed as soon as he read the message. Was she out of her mind? He had just seen her kissing another man in public, but she still dared to text him as if she couldn't wait to see him. What a pretentious woman! Matthew had lived long enough to encounter all kinds of women. A lot had done outrageous things, but none of them came close to what his wife just did. She had gotten him real good to the extent that he almost lost his cool in public. He was so irritated. He threw his phone aside, started the ignition, and zoomed off. Seething with rage, Matthew went on a long drive around the city. It was already very late when he arrived home. The first person he saw when he walked into his mansion was his grandmother, Lucia Clark. She was sitting on the sofa with a deep frown. "Where have you been? Look at the time! Why did you stay out so late?" With his suit jacket slung over his shoulder, Matthew glanced at the clock his grandmother pointed to and then sighed. "Grandma, why are you here? Isn't it time for you to retire for the night?" "You dare ask me such questions?" Lucia slapped the armrest of the leather sofa and shot him a searing glare. "Stella's grandfather told me that you didn't pick her up from the airport. Where the hell have you been? And why did you lie to me? You are a married man now. How can you be so irresponsible?' A touch of helplessness flashed through Matthew's eyes. "Grandma." Matthew casually put his coat on the sofa and sat next to her. After a mild hesitation, he told her everything he saw at the airport today. At last, he sighed and added in a sincere tone. "Grandma, my father had many mistresses when he was alive. His philandering led to my birth. Even if everyone sees me as the heir of the family, I'm still an illegitimate son." "Matthew..." Lucia called out in a soft tone, feeling regretful. She knew what he had been through. As always, she felt pity for him. Matthew squeezed his knees as he continued, "That's why I have vowed to be nothing like my father. I intend to stay faithful to my wife, and I expect her to do the same. I can't take it if we are not on the same page." There was a moment of silence after he finished speaking. After thinking for a while, Lucia said, "You know me. I don't do things without properly investigating. I did that before I got you to marry Stella. If anything, she's prim and proper. There must be some kind of misunderstanding." Matthew pursed his lips and said nothing. "Please don't give up just yet. You both need to talk things out face to face," Lucia suggested. "Since you two never dated, you should spend more time trying to create a bond first. Take things slow, okay?" Matthew didn't know what to say to that, so he changed the topic. "It's getting pretty late. I'll ask the driver to take you home. You don't have to worry about me." Lucia wanted to apply pressure, but when she saw his sunken eyes and tired lines on his forehead, she swallowed her words. After sending his grandmother home, Matthew lay on his king-sized bed. He closed his eyes. But the image of the loving couple at the restaurant kept popping into his mind. He couldn't shake it off no matter how he tried. At this moment, he felt empty and numb. This marriage didn't seem like it was going to work out. Maybe it was time to get divorced. &4&