Chapter 1

On the night of the Winter Moon Feast, while the entire Silvermoon Pack gathered to welcome the coming year beneath the light of the full moon, I remained in our chambers because I was carrying my husband Cassian Blackthorne’s heir.

As the night deepened, a familiar voice suddenly brushed against my mind through the mate bond.

Honey, I have a surprise waiting for you.

A moment later, Cassian sent me the location through our mind-link.

I hurried there with one hand cradling my round belly, my heart warmed by the thought that my mate had prepared something special for me. Yet the moment I pushed open the heavy wooden door, that warmth was extinguished as though someone had thrown ice over a burning flame.

The chamber was hazy with the smoke of burning herbs and thick with the sharp scent of wine.

Sabrina Vale, Cassian’s young pack secretary, sat perched upon his lap. Her eyes were glassy, her cheeks flushed, and she wore an expression of delicate innocence that did nothing to conceal how intimately she had settled against him.

Cassian’s veined hand was wrapped tightly around her waist, while the crimson gown she wore had been gathered carelessly around her hips, leaving her shoulders shamelessly bare.

I knew that gown.

It had been woven especially for my mating ceremony by the finest seamstresses of the Eastern Wolf Clans, embroidered with silver threads and tiny moonstones that shimmered beneath moonlight.

Cassian had secretly taken it from my chambers and given it to his mistress to wear while she sat on his lap.

The sight of Sabrina’s pale waist wrapped in the gown that had once belonged to me made something inside my chest twist painfully.

“Max, please, be gentle with me. Slow down.”

“You little temptress. You come begging me for attention several times a day, yet you still pretend to be shy.”

Their lips met again, and they kissed without the slightest concern for the wolves surrounding them. No one seemed particularly surprised. Cassian’s friends merely lounged around the chamber with goblets of wine in their hands, each accompanied by a young she-wolf, watching the spectacle with knowing amusement.

That was when I finally understood who had summoned me here.

One of Cassian’s friends, Darius, gave Sabrina an appreciative glance before raising his goblet.

“Your arrival has certainly made this Winter Moon Feast more interesting, Miss Vale. No wonder Cassian left his mate in her chambers and came here to celebrate with us.”

Cassian merely laughed, his arm tightening around Sabrina’s waist.

“Having a virtuous mate has its advantages, but even an Alpha has his needs. Emilia has always been too reserved for certain things, so I need somewhere else to release my instincts. I know how to keep my priorities in order.”

His eyes drifted over Sabrina before he continued with a cruel smile.

“Besides, ever since she became pregnant, Emilia has grown heavy and careless about her appearance. It’s hardly pleasant to look at. Sabrina still has the grace and charm of a young she-wolf.”

Sabrina immediately pouted, tracing a delicate finger across Cassian’s chest.

“Max, you’re awful. What do you take me for? I was raised by a respectable family.”

“Yes, yes. My good girl. May the Moon Goddess bless you in the coming year.”

Cassian reached into the folds of his ceremonial cloak and withdrew a sparkling necklace strung with polished moonstones. He slipped it around Sabrina’s neck, and she giggled as she nestled closer against him.

Someone nearby burst into laughter.

“Cassian, you’re fearless. Aren’t you worried your mate will discover all this and demand to break the bond?”

Cassian waved him off, completely unconcerned.

“Even if Emilia finds out, what can she do? She carries my heir and loves me more than she loves herself. She would never willingly sever our mate bond. Besides, where would she go? She is my Luna.”

Their laughter filled the chamber, followed by the unmistakable sounds of their shameless flirting.

“My brother, Max, you truly know how to enjoy the Winter Moon Feast!”

My stomach lurched violently.

The nausea that had plagued me throughout my pregnancy surged all at once, and I stood outside the chamber with my face drained of color, my hand instinctively tightening around my belly.

Then I pushed the door open.

The laughter died instantly.

Every wolf in the room turned toward me.

Cassian’s expression changed the moment he saw me. He quickly snatched a fur cloak from the back of a chair and pulled it around Sabrina’s exposed shoulders, as though covering her now could somehow erase what I had already witnessed.

I almost laughed at the absurdity of it.

My nails dug into my palms as I stared at my mate, the bond between us burning painfully beneath my skin.

Then, with my voice trembling with fury, I finally spoke.