Chapter 1

On our third wedding anniversary, Kyle, as an Alpha, had to accompany his northern allies on a border patrol and couldn't come back to be with me.

I had no choice but to go to my prenatal checkup alone, choosing a hospital under Kyle's name.

"I'm Alpha Kyle's Luna, here for my prenatal checkup."

The receptionist looked at me with confusion. "Who did you say you are?"

To have a baby, I'd spent the three years since our marriage at home taking care of my health.

I'd barely appeared in public, so it was normal that Kyle's staff didn't recognize me.

Just as I was about to pull out our mate agreement as proof, a female wolf suddenly rushed over and, without hesitation, slapped me twice across the face.

She was carrying the buffalo leather briefcase I'd specially ordered for Kyle, pointing at my nose and cursing, "I've seen plenty of shameless rogue wolves like you, daring to come here and harass my Alpha!"

"You'd better find out who really runs this Darkhowl Forest! If you don't want to die here, get out right now!"

Sharp pain shot through my abdomen. I clutched my belly, forcing myself to explain through the discomfort, "This is Kyle's and my hospital. I'm Kyle's Luna."

The woman let out a harsh, mocking laugh and kicked me hard in the stomach.

"That's ridiculous! Kyle already told me his useless mate died long ago!"

"Where did you crawl out from? How dare you impersonate the Luna!"

That kick ended the last bit of life in my unborn pup.

This stupid she-wolf had no idea that Kyle was just a rogue wolf my father had picked up from the wilderness.

The entire tribe, and all the property contracts for everything Kyle owned, had only my name on them—Elena's name.

Since Kyle had betrayed me, I would make sure they both got what they deserved!

The sharp pain in my abdomen shot through my entire body like an electric current, making me curl up instantly.

Jessica lifted her sharp high heel and ground it hard into the back of my hand.

My bones made cracking sounds. I couldn't help but cry out in pain, "My hand!"

Jessica's red lips curved up as she looked down at me.

"You're screaming so loud. When you seduce men, you probably sound even better, don't you?"

"Stop playing dead! You're just asking for a lesson!"

I endured the pain and pulled out a copy of the tribe contract from my pocket.

"Look carefully! This is the tribe contract! I'm the real owner of Darkhowl Tribe!"

Jessica froze for a second, then, in front of everyone, tore the document to shreds.

She pulled out papers from her limited-edition handbag and threw them in my face.

"Open your damn eyes and see clearly! Look whose name is on the property deed!"

I looked through the pain—it was a forged copy of a land deed.

The owner's name clearly read: Kyle Williams.

Jessica crossed her arms, looking smug.

"You fraud probably stole that document from somewhere and changed the name yourself!"

The crowd nodded and laughed at me loudly.

"Yeah, Kyle is the pride of our Darkhowl Tribe!"

"Exactly! Three years ago, he led us to fight off the Ebonvale Tribe invasion and saved our entire territory!"

"I heard he secured trade deals with five northern tribes. Now Darkhowl Tribe's businesses are all over North America!"

"Kyle is young and successful. His new Luna is Jessica, isn't it? They're so in love. How could he possibly be interested in such a shabby she-wolf?"

Jessica smiled triumphantly, crossing her arms and looking around.

"You heard them, right? Kyle built this empire with his own abilities!"

"You fraud don't even have the right to stand here!"

Listening to these words, my chest felt tight.

They had no idea that the battle strategy from three years ago was drafted by me overnight.

The trade deals with the five northern tribes were secured using the connections my father had left behind.

When we first got married, Kyle said he loved children, that he wanted a complete family.

So I stepped back, focusing on preparing my body for pregnancy.

But now, even the tribe members didn't recognize me as their Luna.

My heart sank bit by bit. With my good hand trembling, I tried to reach for my phone that had fallen nearby to call for help.

Jessica was faster. She snatched the phone away.

Then she smashed it on the ground and stomped on it, crushing it under her foot.

A crowd of werewolves quickly gathered around to watch.

Jessica immediately put on a victim's expression, pointing at me and loudly accusing, "Everyone, look! This is the shameless she-wolf!"

"Just because she's carrying some bastard pup, she comes to the Alpha's territory to make trouble and ruin our relationship!"

"Kyle kindly gave her charity, but she got greedy and followed him to the business district to cause a scene!"

The uninformed crowd started pointing and whispering about me.

"She looks decent enough, but turns out she's just a she-wolf trying to climb the social ladder."

"Pregnant and still out seducing an Alpha—what a disgrace to werewolves."

"Women like this should be banished and thrown into the wilderness to fend for themselves!"

Some young wolves even pulled out their phones and started livestreaming.

I forced myself through the stabbing pain in my abdomen, pointing at the building behind me and screaming with all my strength, "You're lying! This is my property! The ownership of this entire business district is in my name!"

"I'm Elena! I'm Kyle's legitimate Luna!"

Jessica burst into exaggerated laughter.

"You crazy woman, impersonating the Luna isn't enough—now you dare slander the Alpha!"

"Enforcers! Where are the enforcers! Get this bitch out of here right now!"

Two burly men in black uniforms immediately ran over.