Chapter 2
Chapter 2
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I snapped out of my thoughts just as my car rolled to a stop in front of the restaurant.
I grabbed my purse and made my way upstairs, heels clicking against the marble floor.
But the second I reached the entrance, I spotted them–Alpha Lawrence and Miranda.
They was surrounded by his closest friends, all of them laughing. None of them noticed me yet. They were too busy enjoying their little dinner party. And from the sound of it… I was the entertainment.
“Lawrence, you really divorced her?” one of them snorted between chuckles. “Sophia was crazy about you. She actually agreed to a temporary divorce?”
I watched as Lawrence tossed the divorce papers onto the table. “It’s only for a year,” he
Chapter 2
said, all cool and casual. “She’s always been obedient.”
Obedient. Like I was some well–trained pet.
Another one of his friends picked up the agreement and flipped through it, shaking his head with a low whistle. “Damn, this is more than obedient. Wasn’t she pregnant too? What if she’s just biding her time- waiting for the cooling–off period to end so she can change her mind?”
Lawrence’s smile slipped. Just for a second. “She wouldn’t dare.”
And then someone else chimed in, nudging the guy next to him and gesturing toward Miranda, who sat stiff as a statue. “Let it go. Nobody cares about that Beta social climber anymore. She was just your lovesick shadow. Miranda’s the real Luna now.”
“Right, right,” the first guy rushed to say. “No offense, Luna Miranda.”
Miranda’s tight jaw relaxed into a smug little smile.
Lawrence poured her a drink, fawned over her like a doting mate, and his friends egged him on. “You already dumped Sophia–why not make it official? Everyone knows you never got over Miranda anyway.”
Miranda lowered her lashes, shy and expectant, looking up at Lawrence.
Lawrence just chuckled and slid an arm around her waist. No denial. No confirmation.
My lips twitched into a bitter smile. We hadn’t even filed the paperwork yet, and Miranda was already parading around like the official Luna.
I didn’t spare them another glance. Didn’t flinch. Just walked right past like I hadn’t seen a damn thing. And I followed the server to the private dining room I’d reserved.
The food I’d pre–ordered started arriving, one dish after another. But I hadn’t even touched my fork when a shadow fell across the table.
Assuming it was the server, I looked up absently–and went still.
“…Alpha Francis?”
He stood there in a designer suit. Tall, cold, completely at ease. His green eyes were sharp, unreadable. Dangerous.
“Alone?” he asked, voice smooth as smoke. “Mind if I join you?”
He didn’t wait for an answer.
He stubbed out his cigarette, pulled out the chair next to me, and sat like he owned the world.
My shoulders tensed.
If Lawrence was a big deal in Mississippi,
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Francis was real deal. The Alpha of the Red Moon Pack–leader of the most elite werewolf army in North America. Heir to a sprawling empire that touched every corner of the werewolf world. They called him the Alpha King of the Mississippi River, and even that felt like an understatement.
Even the Silver Claw Pack–Lawrence’s
own–relied on Red Moon for trade and protection.
The first time I saw Alpha Francis was on the day I married Alpha Lawrence.
I was walking down the aisle, dressed in white, my hand tucked into Lawrence’s arm, when the scent hit me–intoxicating and undeniable. Roses and dark chocolate, rich and sweet, so potent it nearly made me stumble.
At first, I thought it was just some overly strong wedding fragrance. But then Ivy, my wolf, let out a sudden, wild snarl in my head.
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“Sophia! Our mate–he’s here!”
My heart slammed against my ribs. I turned my head toward the crowd, my breath catching.
And then I saw him.
Alpha Francis.
He stood out like a blazing star against a backdrop of flickering candles and muted faces. One look from him, and the world tilted on its axis.
Ivy was losing her mind, already clawing to the surface, desperate to shift.
“He’s right there, Sophia! He’s ours!”
But I forced her back with everything I had. My fingers clenched tighter around Lawrence’s arm.
“Ivy” I said firmly. “it’s too late. He came too
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late. We’ve already made our vows–we’re already married.”
Ivy whimpered deep inside me. “But
Lawrence hasn’t marked us yet… It’s not too late. We can still-”
“No.”
I steadied my breathing, forcing my heartbeat to slow, praying Lawrence wouldn’t sense the chaos unraveling inside me.
“We owe this to Alpha Godfrey,” I reminded her. “We agreed to this union. We made a promise. Stop chasing dreams that can never be.”
My voice cracked, even in my own mind.
“From this day forward, we belong to
Lawrence. Whether we want to or not… he’s our mate now. The only one we’re allowed to have.”
So I swallowed the pain in my chest forced
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Γ
a smile, and let Lawrence mark me, severing, once and for all, the mate bond between me and anyone else.
It wasn’t until later that I learned he was Alpha Francis of the Red Moon Pack–the most powerful Alpha along the Mississippi River. But by then, whatever possibility there might have been between us… was already
gone.
I remembered the few times Francis had shown up at pack events. Always rare, always brief. He’d sit quietly in a corner, aloof and untouchable, and still manage to catch all the eyes in the room.
I used to think he was just quiet.
Until that one night. One awful dinner party, where some idiot made a sleazy comment about “trading” me for a business deal. Before Lawrence even processed it, Francis had already smashed a glass ashtray across the guy’s head.
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Blood everywhere. The guy dropped like a sack of bricks.
Francis just wiped his hands, muttered “Trash,” and walked away like it was nothing.
I never thought it was for me. I figured he just couldn’t stomach the slimeball. Still, I’d whispered a stunned thank–you.
He glanced at me. Grunted. Walked away.
That was it. That had been our entire
interaction.
So why was he here now? Sitting across from me like this was his table?
He picked up a knife and casually cut into the steak like he’d come just for dinner.
I clenched my fingers, trying to find something–anything–to say that wouldn’t make me sound like an idiot. But before I
could even open my mouth, he looked up
Chapter 2
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Coulu cvci opciу muli, Tic Toure up
and met my eyes.
Then he said it.
“So… I heard you got divorced. Congrats.”
I blinked.
Francis leaned back, voice still calm and infuriatingly smooth. “Alpha Lawrence traded you in for his first love. Why don’t you return the favor–find yourself a side piece?”
He gave me a half–smile. “I’m single. Twenty–eight. Six–foot–four. No baggage. No childhood sweetheart. No clingy exes. No drama. Just missing one thing.”
He set his fork down and looked me dead in the eye.
“You.my fate mate.”
And then–like it was nothing–he added,
