Chapter 1

"Are you really going to mark Lyra?" his Beta asked.

Alpha Cole laughed. "I have to. The Alpha King wants an excuse to wipe us out. Marking his precious daughter buys us immunity."

"What if she finds out Thea is carrying your pup?"

"Lyra?" Cole sneered. "She's pathetic. She's so obsessed with me, she'll swallow her pride and share my bed just to keep the Luna title. She'll protect Thea just to make me happy."

I stood outside the door, holding my wedding dress. Five years of loyal service to him, reduced to a joke.

I ran blindly into the woods and got ripped apart by wild rogues. But when I woke up in the pack hospital, the Moon Goddess had done me a massive favor.

I remembered my friends. I remembered the pack. But I completely forgot Cole. I had no idea who he was, and I had zero memory of ever loving him. My brain just deleted the guy.

Since I felt no attachment to this place anymore, when my adoptive dad, the Alpha King, called to offer me a real Royal Match in the capital, I said yes instantly.

My chopper leaves in seven days.

Cole thinks he still has a desperate dog on a leash. He has no idea the girl who loved him is already gone.

---

Lyra

I stood by the window, shoving my silver blades and tactical gear into a duffel bag.

Lena stared at me from the doorway, eyes wide. "Lyra, you're actually leaving? Going through with a royal match?"

I didn't stop. Checked the safety on my Glock, shoved it in. "Chopper lands in seven days."

Lena stepped in, gaping. "Just like that? You're walking away from my cousin?"

I paused. A genuine frown pulled at my mouth. "I feel absolutely nothing for your Alpha cousin. What exactly am I supposed to miss?"

Lena let out a strangled groan. She marched to my desk, yanked a thick leather journal from the drawer, and shoved it at my chest.

"Nothing? Lyra, you worshipped the ground he walked on! Look at it."

I flipped it open. My chest gave a phantom pop.

God, it was pathetic. Pages and pages of mating requests. 999 confessions. 999 harsh rejections. And scribbled in the margins after every defeat was one name: Thea. The fragile omega. His first love.

I snapped the journal shut. The heavy pressure in my chest vanished.

"Why the hell would I cry over an Alpha who tossed me aside 999 times?" I dropped the journal straight into the trash. "I've got a Royal Lycan waiting for me in the capital."

"What Royal?"

The voice hit the room like frostbite.

I turned. Cole leaned against the doorframe, reeking of dark pine and Alpha arrogance. His jaw ticked as his dark eyes locked on me.

"Is this your new tactic, Lyra? Playing hard to get?"

Lena stepped in, panicking. "Cole, stop! She doesn't remember—"

"Shut up." He didn't even blink at her. "I don't care what bullshit excuse you two cooked up. I said I'd mark you, Lyra. Drop this bratty act. And don't even think about harassing Thea."

He checked his watch. "Get dressed. You're coming with me to the Black Market gathering."

I crossed my arms, deadpan. "Why?"

"Thea is pregnant." Cole's voice dropped, demanding obedience. "Her wolf is unstable, so I need to buy her protective amulets. Dragging an unmarked Omega there will just start rumors. But if you stand next to me, the elders will keep their mouths shut."

I stared at him. The sheer, delusional nerve of this man.

"Go to hell," I said flatly. "I'm not going."

Cole froze.

I saw the exact second his brain short-circuited. I'd never said no to him. Not once.

His eyes went pitch-black.

In two strides, he was in my space. His hand clamped around my wrist like a vice, yanking me toward the door.

Pain exploded across my shoulders. The fresh stitches from the rogue attack tore open. Hot blood instantly soaked the back of my shirt.

"Cole!"

A soft, sugary voice drifted from the hall.

Thea stood there, draped in pristine white, one hand resting protectively on her flat stomach.

Cole dropped my arm like I was diseased.

I stumbled back. My lower spine slammed hard against the sharp edge of the dresser. Pain spiked up my neck, stealing my breath.

"Lyra!" Lena shrieked, darting toward me.

Cole didn't even look back. He rushed to Thea, all the venom bleeding out of him. "Thea, what are you doing out of bed? Is the pup hurting you?"

Thea's eyes darted past his shoulder. Met mine. A smug, vicious little glint flashed in them before she melted against his chest.

"The baby is fine, but my legs were cramping so badly..." she whimpered, gripping his shirt. "I just needed to see you, Cole. I missed you so much."

Cole scooped her up in his arms. Held her like she was made of glass.

Lena couldn't take it. "Cole! Are you blind? Lyra is supposed to be your Luna! You're leaving her bleeding on the floor for some outsider?"

Cole stopped.

Thea bit her lower lip. Tears welled up perfectly on cue. "It's all my fault, Cole. I don't have a rank... I just cause problems..."

Cole gently set her down. He spun around, marched straight back into my room, and raised his hand.

Smack.

The slap cracked across my face like a gunshot. My ears rang. The metallic taste of copper flooded my mouth.

Cole stood over me, eyes dead. "I thought you were just pathetic, Lyra. Turns out you're venomous. Cross Thea again, and I'll beat the obedience into you myself."

He glared down at me like I was dirt under his boots. "Meet me by the iron gates. Tomorrow at eight. Don't make me wait."

He picked Thea up and walked out without a backward glance.

Lena dropped to her knees beside me, crying. Her hands hovered over the blood soaking my shirt.

"He's a bastard," she sobbed. "Go back to the Royals, Lyra. Let him rot."

I gripped the edge of the dresser and pulled myself up. Spit a wad of blood onto the hardwood.

My cheek stung like fire. My back was throbbing.

But inside? I was perfectly quiet.

No rage. No heartbreak. Just cold, hard clarity.

Seven days.

I just had to play nice for seven days. Then I'd leave him in the dirt.