Chapter 1

On the day of our Bond anniversary, my Alpha husband Zoe told me there had been a hostile wolf pack attack on the border. He claimed he needed to go to Fawcett City to command the defense.

So, I came to the elite auction house alone, determined to secure a painting rumored to contain core military technology—something that could turn the tide of the looming war.

But the moment I settled into my private suite; my world cracked.

Because there, in the flesh, was Zoe—

the Alpha who should have been leading the border war.

And by his side?

His newly hired assistant, Ivy.

She strutted like some pampered lapdog, but no matter how fine the clothes or expensive the perfume, she could never shed the cheap, fawning posture of longing for attention.

Ivy had her eyes on the very painting I had reserved. She swayed her hips deliberately, like a performance, then slinked up to me with calculated provocation. From her glittering clutch, she pulled out a single crumpled hundred-dollar bill.

“Luna,” she cooed in her saccharine voice, “first time at a place like this, isn’t it? Do you even understand these works? If I remember correctly, your family isn’t noble blood.”

Her lips curled into a false smile as she held the bill out like a scrap of meat.

“Consider this compensation for wasting your time. Why don’t you go look at the unsold pieces outside? They’re simple. Easier for… beginners like you.”

I didn’t even reach for the money. I just turned my head to Zoe, searching his expression.

He looked detached. Cold.

And in that moment regret burned through me—regret that I had ever agreed to a Bond forged from transaction instead of love.

So much for “border battles.” His war was nothing more than a lie to cover his indulgence.

Ivy gave a mocking laugh and pressed herself tighter against him, curling possessively around his arm. The scent of her floral pheromones clung to him, smothering the Alpha bond-musk that was supposed to steady my soul. Now it only sickened me.

And Zoe? He didn’t deny her. He didn’t flinch. His silence was as much betrayal as if he’d spoken it aloud.

“Alpha,” Ivy crooned, turning her glittering gaze on him, “Luna is so stubborn. She reserved the painting, yet doesn’t even understand art. Isn’t she just trying to make things difficult for you?”

Zoe showed no shame at being caught in his lie. His gaze locked on me, sharp and commanding.

“Nina,” he said—his voice a blade— “cancel the reservation. Leave. Now.”

I looked back at him, my eyes colder than ice.

I didn’t move. I wouldn’t.

He might have abandoned the border, abandoned our Bond, but I would not abandon this painting. The secrets it carried could not fall into Ivy’s hands.

Sensing the tension thickening the air, Ivy’s smile widened with malice.

“So Luna won’t step aside? Then let’s make it interesting. Let’s compete for it. Whoever fails to win the piece—” her voice lifted for the room to hear—

“crawls out of here naked.”

The auctioneer’s eyes gleamed, sensing the spectacle, while the collectors around us leaned forward, breaths caught in anticipation.

I arched a brow, my tone calm.

“If you want to play, Ivy, then I’ll play.”

She thought she had me cornered. Delight danced in her expression as she leaned closer.

“Then let’s raise the stakes. Whoever loses crawls out stripped of everything. Luna, your bloodline was never worthy of wearing such fine clothes anyway.”

Around us, a few highborn ladies laughed openly, their voices slicing through the air.

To them, I was already the joke.