Charles’ breath quickened, and his movements became more urgent. “I’m close,” he gasped in my ear, his voice breaking between moans. My own pleasure surged, and I couldn’t hold back the scream that tore from my throat. A wave of electric tingles swept through me, my temples throbbed, and the world around me faded into white…
Every pore on my body felt wide open, heat radiating from me in waves. It was surreal, as if I were in a dream, feeling everything but grasping none of it…
I could hardly believe it—I had married this man, the infamous Alpha of the Black Valley Pack, Charles McLean, and I had just slept with him.
But there was no love between us. We weren’t fated mates.
Since his first shift at eighteen, Charles McLean had never found his fated mate. And after one engagement after another, each of his fiancées had died under mysterious circumstances. Rumor had it that he wore a mask to conceal his hideous face and that he was a cruel, violent man who would kill without hesitation. People whispered that he had murdered his previous fiancées.
His last fiancée—my sister—was terrified of him. Horrified by the stories, she had vehemently refused to marry him. And just before the wedding, she found her fated mate. So, without warning or preparation, I was forced to take her place, pushed into marrying Charles in her stead, to stand as his wife in name only and the unacknowledged Luna of the Black Valley Pack…

A Substituted Bride But A Fated Luna

I reached the parking lot, where a servant had prepped my Bugatti, its engine purring, ready to be unleashed. Pressing the pedal, the car surged forward like a beast, aiming straight for Red Moon Pack.


The deep night engulfed me, and I found myself rehearsing what I would say to Selena when I arrived. She was probably resting—she always maintained a disciplined routine. But after the recent mine explosion and now this supposed declaration of war under my name, she must be furious and deeply disappointed.


Frustration boiled within me. The more I thought about the damage to our already fragile relationship, the angrier I became. I accelerated, the empty highway echoing with the car’s roar.


At this rate, I’d be there in less than an hour. Suddenly, a figure appeared in my headlights, just a flicker. I blinked, chalking it up to exhaustion, but I slowed down, just in case.


138 Allies and Enemies