"Let me be clear—I don't need a wife. I need a partner. The sooner you accept that, the better."
That was the first thing Darius Thorne, the Lycan King, said to Aurora when she stepped off the plane—bruised, betrayed, and freshly escaped from a marriage built on lies.
Aurora had spent three years as the Luna of the Bloodmoon Pack, secretly funneling her family's resources, connections, and thirty million dollars to help her twin mates rise to power. She loved them. She trusted them. And in return, they chose a woman who had been in the pack for exactly one month—over her.
They didn't know Aurora was the sole heir to the most powerful wolf pack on the continent. They didn't need to. Because she wanted to prove that love could exist without a price tag.
She was wrong.
Now, standing before a man who openly mocked the concept of fated mates, Aurora made him an offer:
"Contract marriage. We define our rights, our obligations, and most importantly—we agree never to fall in love with each other."
Darius raised an eyebrow. "That won't be a problem."
But then came the lingering touches. The way his hand burned against her skin when he steadied her. The possessive edge in his voice when other Alphas looked her way. And his most infuriating argument of all:
"I believe physical intimacy strengthens a contract. Think of it as... team building."
"That's the worst excuse I've ever heard."
"And yet your heart rate just doubled."
Meanwhile, the twins finally discovered what they had lost—not just a Luna, but the invisible hand that had built their entire empire. Contracts collapsed. Allies vanished. The pack's ranking plummeted overnight.
"Aurora, come back. We need you."
"Funny. You didn't need me when you were choking me against the floor."
They wanted their obedient, powerless Omega back.
What they got was the future Queen of all Lycans—a woman who had never been powerless at all.
