Chapter 1
I had a secret.
Before I turned thirty, every time I made love to a man a thousand times, I would shed a single tear that turned into a pearl.
Each pearl could grant one wish for the man.
My Alpha mate had an insatiable appetite. Day and night, we had sex over and over again and he still couldn’t get enough of me. Over the span of two years, I produced two pearls.
For the first one, he wished for good health.
The second, he wished to become the richest man in the werewolf realm.
He got what he wanted and became richer than even the Alpha king.
And still, he remained obsessed with me- so much so that he took me along on every business trip, unable to go a night without me.
The day before my thirtieth birthday, his female Beta, Daphne, posted something online. It read,
“Luna screams so loud every night. I’m jealous. I want a turn.”
Carter was furious. Right then and there, he stripped Daphne of her Beta rank in the pack.
That night, he took me again and again, pushing my limits until I produced the third pearl.
This time, he wished we would have both a son and a daughter and grow old together.
But just one month later, Daphne was pregnant.
Carter knelt before me, eyes red, begging me to break our mate bond.
“Bianca, the pack doctor said you’re torn up badly. You can’t handle my size right now. She’s just a stand–in. Nothing more.”
“She’s innocent. She cried, and said she was afraid of being labeled a homewrecker, and worse, that her baby would be called a bastard. I can’t just abandon them!”
“But I already wished to spend my life with you. We’ll break the bond temporarily just until the baby’s born. Then we’ll rebond. Please?”
I smiled and said “okay.
What he didn’t know was that once he broke the mate bond with me, every wish he’d made through the pearls would unravel.
But I never expected Carter to be this impatient.
He couldn’t even wait a single day.
He shoved me into the car. “The bond–breaking deal’s inside. Just sign it on the way.”
I composed myself. “I’m not available today. It’s the Grand Ceremony of the Holy Moon Artisans today. I’m an awardee and can’t miss
it.”
He paused for a moment, then seemed to remember the event.
t
Daphne, already in the car, burst into tears and made a show of opening the door to get out. “Luna, are you backing out?”
“It’s okay, Alpha,” she said quickly. “Bianca might not want to let go, but I do. I don’t want to make things harder for you.”
“I’ll get rid of the baby and bless your future together.”
That pathetic performance–Carter bought it completely.
He gently stroked Daphne’s hair, then turned to me, his eyes full of venom.
Chapter 1
“Bianca, I hate how calculating you’ve become.”
“It’s just some silly award. If you want, I’ll buy you ten next year.”
I looked up at him, and for a brief moment, the boy in my memory who once promised to light up the sky with fireworks in the realm the day I became the realm’s top silversmith overlapped with the man standing before me now.
I swallowed the bitterness in my throat. “You know how much this award means to me. All I’m asking is one more day.
”
Daphne blinked innocently. “It’s Friday, Luna. Didn’t you know the Moon Tree is closed on weekends? You won’t be able to break the mate bond then.”
“Bianca, if you don’t want to break the mate bond, just say so. Alpha, go chase her dreams with her. Just leave me and the baby out of it.”
“A bastard like that is a mistake. I’ll end it myself.”
And with that, she turned to leave, covering her face, but barely took a step before collapsing to the ground.
Carter rushed to her, but Daphne ‘shoved him away.
Tears streamed down her face freely. “This must be the Moon Goddess punishing me for being the other woman,” she wept.
“Alpha, I’m sorry. Please, please just let me go.”
Carter, heartbroken, pulled her into his arms and gently wiped her tears away.
“The one who deserves to be punished is someone else.”
