Chapter 1

Moira's POV "Ah, please take it slow, baby. It hurts." A voice that seemed to be familiar to me, was heard on the other side. I held my breath so as not to spontaneously scream my husband's name, Jude, to ensure what he was doing right now. I just contacted him and after a long time of rarely communicating, he finally accept my call. Jude was indeed a typical man who didn't talk much. Whether I liked it or not, I would know just from his expression and today, I heard his voice said a rather long sentence to me. Even if it was only for work purposes. "Get your work done right away, then go home. Mirielle is waiting for you," he said at that time and I was too hopeful that what he meant Mirielle was actually meaning that not her who was waiting for me, but him. "I might finish in two days. I hope it's not too late and makes you tired of waiting," I said, tried to tease and lure him to retaliate, as I usually did. However, he was silent and I thought he had ended the call. Apparently not and I could hear him having a conversation with someone. Another voices—The sound of moans and sighs—could be heard. I called him but he didn't answer. It as if he was having sex with someone but I thought I might be crazy in love with him and missing him too much which made me thinking unrealistic. He never did anything bad or getting closer with any women in our seven years marriage. So, he couldn't be doing that disgusting thing—cheating on me. However, I felt my chest ached unknowingly as I squeezed it hard while sagging to hotel floor. I felt something strange and it was all about Jude. Did something happened to him? Did he do something behind my back? Even though our marriage was never out of love, I never felt this way before. I always trusted him. But today ... I felt like I wanted to fly home immediately. I missed my husband. I couldn't wait to get home to hug and kiss him and my daughter. Being apart for a few days made me miss them like crazy. I often called them during my absence, but only briefly. Besides my busy schedule, they also seemed busy, which prevented us from communicating regularly. I deliberately finished work early and went home immediately. I want to surprise Mirielle and Jude. After a tiring journey of several hours, my longing overflowed, especially my longing for my husband, Jude. I breathed a sigh of relief and walked confidently when the taxi pulled up to the driveway of the magnificent building where I lived with my two loved ones. Jude must have missed me and was probably eager for our beautiful night together. More accurately, I was the eager one. He would probably be cold, as usual. Our sex life hadn't been great, but it usually improved after we had been apart for a while because my job sometimes required me to travel out of town or even out of the country. I hoped that, although in reality, it wasn't. After being apart, Jude would regain his passion, and our relationship would improve—or so I believed. That was how it should be. Even though Jude never truly considered me his wife, and many pack members called me "the rejected Luna," I still tried to be sweet to him and fulfill my duties as a wife and a Luna. However, I never expected the sweet gestures and affection I hoped for from Jude would be the opposite. The house was empty. There was no life inside, and I couldn't find Jude or Mirielle, my daughter, anywhere. Some servants who had noticed my arrival bowed, their faces laced with worry. I didn't ask any questions immediately but went straight to the bedroom. As usual, the door was unlocked, which was typical. I entered without hesitation, carefully arranging my belongings. Jude was in the bathroom, and I considered surprising him by following him in. I removed my clothes and stood naked at the door, inadvertently hearing what I should have realized long ago. The sounds of two people moaning in unison, accompanied by the unusual splashing of water and the sound of skin slapping against skin, froze me in my tracks. I didn't want to believe what I was hearing, but the sounds were so clear that I couldn't ignore them anymore. Jude was like having sex with someone, but I wasn't sure who. After standing still to confirm my suspicions and steel myself, I pushed open the door and found Jude and a woman, both facing away from me. Jude was thrusting his hips, his hands gripping the waist of the woman kneeling with her back to him. I was stunned. Tears streamed down my face uncontrollably, and suddenly, my feet felt like they were rooted to the ground. My heart was pounding wildly. I couldn't believe my husband would do something like this. Actually, I shouldn't have been surprised. We didn't marry out of love but for a purpose, which led me to a one-night stand. I found myself in bed with him, the alpha of one of the strongest packs. Despite the many oddities I witnessed after that night, I tried to brush them aside, but then I became pregnant with Mirielle, so my father decided we should marry immediately. If asked what our married life was like, I could say nothing. I might have been the unwanted Luna. Jude would come to me only when he needed something. He'd never been warm to me, but the opposite. What I described about my feelings towards him was the truth. I love him. However, was the opposite to me. A long moan snapped me out of my reverie, and before I could react, they had already seen me standing there. My chest rising and falling, especially after noticing who had just been fuck my husband. It was my step-sister who had taken the place that should have been mine. She was enjoying what should belong to me. She wasn't much different from her mother, who had taken my father from my mother. In a frenzy, didn't care that I was completely naked right now, pulled her hair, dragged her from the bathroom, and held Jude's hands as he tried to free her from my grip. I threw her to the floor, and Jude rushed to grab her, hugging her immediately. "Are you okay, Bella?" he asked, and the slut nodded weakly, her face looking helpless, but I didn't believe a woman like her—cheap woman, a whore, husband-stealer! "What are you doing, Moira?!" Jude yelled at me with his intense gaze. "Shouldn't I be the one asking that? What the fuck were you doing in there with her? You brought this whore into our house, Jude! You fucked her in our house, in our bedroom, our bathroom—a place that should have belonged only to you and me. It should only belong to us!" I snapped back. He didn't respond except with intense short sentence "Watch your words!" and from the look on his face, I knew he didn't like hearing my words, especially calling the woman in his arms a "whore." Jude got up, ignoring my anger, and helped his slut stand, dressed her and himself, and left, leaving me stunned and devastated as I watched them go. *** They didn't return. It was just me and Mirielle, my daughter, at the dinner table, having dinner with broken hearts. I looked at Mirielle, who seemed listless and hadn't finished her meal. She rested her chin on her hand, looking reluctant. Eventually, she got up and was about to leave. "Mirielle, what's wrong? You didn't finish your food," I said, and she turned to look at me. I approached her, stroking her head lovingly. "What's wrong, Sweetheart? Tell me." "Dad and Aunt Bella aren't here. They promised the three of us would have dinner together," she replied, which made my heart skip a beat so hard as I almost choked. "Why did they break their promise? When we were in Japan, they really looked after me. They took me for walks, and we slept together." "Japan? Did you go on a vacation?" I asked, staring straight ahead, not caring what I was looking at. I had already lost everything upon hearing the truth from my daughter. "Yes, when you went abroad. They wanted to go on vacation together, but said they couldn't bear to leave me alone. In the end, Aunt Bella persuaded Dad to take me with them. She was very kind. I really like her." "Do you know what Aunt Bella's relationship is with your father, Elle? Why do you like her so much? What if it hurts me?" "Is that so? Shouldn't you be happy that Dad has found his mate? Aunt Bella and Dad are planning to get married. Dad said he was happy because he has found her. Shouldn't we also be happy if the person we love is happy?" What? Mate? Was it true that Bella was Jude's mate? All this time, I felt safe because I had become his Luna without thinking about actual mates. After becoming his Luna, I thought we were already bound by a mate bond. But that wasn't the case. "I even planned to surprise them. Dad will propose to Aunt Bella on her birthday next week. I'm so happy to hear the news. They're a perfect match, and I'll have a mother who'll always be there for me at home if Aunt Bella marries Dad." Mirielle's face looked radiant, but to me, it felt like a dagger blindly stabbing my heart. I choked, coughed, and then collapsed to the floor, no longer caring what Mirielle was doing. Would my marriage end here? Would Jude really do this—abandon me and choose Bella because she was his mate? Oh, Moon Goddess... why must everything unfold this way? What should I do?