Chapter 1

I spent five years loving a man I secretly built from nothing—pulling strings, clearing obstacles, lifting him higher than he ever knew. Then one night, outside a private room, I heard him plan my future without me: a mistress's role, a generous allowance, and a smile to soften the blow. I walked away, burned every gift he'd ever given me to ash, and disappeared into three years of silence and purpose. By the time Damon Hale understood what he had thrown away, I was already someone he could never reach again.

Chapter 1

I stood outside the private room with my hand near the door. Inside, a group of men laughed, and then I heard Damon's name.

"Damon, you've got some nerve, stringing two women along like that. Aren't you scared Nora will find out and lose it on you?"

Damon held his wineglass in midair and gave a short laugh. "Once Celeste's family helps me become Alpha, Nora will be begging me for a mating ceremony. Why would she be mad?"

"Women are all the same. As long as you've got money and power, they'll forgive you for anything. Even the worst things a man can do."

"And Nora's an orphan. Her parents are dead. I'm all she's got. She can get mad all she likes, but one nice apology and she'll come crawling back."

The room erupted again. I looked through the gap in the door and saw the satisfaction on his face. I felt like throwing up.

He lifted the glass and took a slow sip. "Celeste is different. She's from a noble family. I need her to become Alpha. I talked Nora into leaving the pack so she wouldn't catch us and wreck my plans."

Someone asked, "What happens if you make Alpha and they both want the mating ceremony? Which one gets you?"

Damon frowned and considered it for a few seconds. "Celeste can keep me in power. But Nora's been my girlfriend for five years, and I do care about her."

"I'll have the mating ceremony with Celeste. Nora can stay with me as my mistress. I'll give her plenty of money. She won't suffer."

Everyone rushed to flatter him.

"Look at you, Damon. Even as Alpha, you'll take care of your girl."

"Remember your brothers when you get there."

Their praise kept coming. I couldn't stand listening any longer.

Those same men used to sneer at Damon. Now that they knew he was an Alpha's son, they called him their brother. He sat there accepting it as if he'd earned every bit of their attention.

That was when I saw who I'd spent five years loving. He had just offered to keep me on the side while he married someone else for her family's name. There was no way to misunderstand it.

Damon had grown up in the slums, an orphan who didn't even know his father's name. I was the daughter of a powerful pack's Alpha, but I'd kept that identity hidden. I'd never wanted him to feel the weight of it whenever he was with me.

He worked himself ragged trying to build a life for us. His background gave people in the pack an excuse to look down on him, and they took every opportunity. Whenever they blocked his way, I reached Dad through the mind-link and asked him to help without telling Damon. Dad disapproved of our relationship, but he couldn't stand to see me unhappy. He helped anyway.

I still remember the night Damon came home with a promotion and a raise after landing my father's investment project. He lifted me off the floor and spun me around.

"Nora, I did it! I told you I'd give you a good life. I won't let you down."

He grinned like a child, and I couldn't help smiling with him. He bought me a necklace with half a month's wages, the first proper gift he'd ever given me. I owned jewelry worth a hundred times more, but I valued that necklace above every other piece. When he stood behind me and fastened it around my neck, my eyes filled with tears.

I'd thought he was nothing like the men who lied, cheated, and drank their lives away. Hearing him talk about me now hurt more than I expected. For a moment I couldn't make the man inside that room with the one who'd been so proud of buying me a necklace. I felt angry, then heartsick. By the time I turned away from the door, even that had quieted. How quickly I'd accepted it surprised me.

I walked out through the bar's front door. Cold wind struck my cheeks hard enough to sting, but nothing felt colder than my betrayed heart.

Two streets away, I reached for Dad through the mind-link.