Chapter 1

After the Alpha paid a fortune to claim me at the auction, I got pregnant.

Werewolves struggle with fertility, yet I gave birth to three wolf pups in one litter.

He once possessed me with near-obsessive jealousy, but now looked at me with cold indifference:

"I regret it, honestly."

I looked up at him, confused.

His gaze swept over my full breasts and curvy hips.

"I shouldn't have claimed you just to spite Anya. Looking at you now, you're nothing but a breeder with an empty head."

"My Anya has suffered all these years."

My whole body went rigid, eyes slowly turning red.

I whispered that he couldn't live without me.

But he wasn't moved in the slightest. Instead, he grew excited planning to bring his true love home.

He shot me a look of disgust:

"If you weren't built like that, you think I'd have circled you like prey?"

"Don't worry—since you bore my pups, I won't kick you out. My brother still needs a breeder anyway. When he gets back, you'll move into his room."

Wolves are primal and possessive, driven by a scent-bond they cannot resist once they've claimed a breeder.

And his brother? He'd been trying to seduce me in secret for months.

...

"You want to formally reject your breeder and transfer her to your brother?"

The Head Elder thought he'd misheard.

He looked at me—curvy, full-bodied—in disbelief.

Then glanced at the skinny, frail she-wolf in Raven's arms, like a strong wind could knock her over.

"Once you speak the rejection before witnesses, the bond is severed. If your brother accepts her and places his claiming mark, there's no going back. You'd have no rights to her anymore."

But Raven acted like he hadn't heard a word, his tone cold and impatient:

"Just do it. My new breeder just arrived and isn't adjusted yet. I need to get her settled."

The Head Elder's jaw tightened in disapproval.

But tradition was tradition. He gestured for us to step forward.

Raven's voice rang out, flat and emotionless: "I, Raven Blackwood, formally reject Amber as my breeder. I release all claims."

The words hit like a physical blow.

The partial bond we'd shared—weak as it was without a true marking—snapped.

"The rejection is witnessed," the Head Elder said gravely. "When your brother returns, he may claim her if she's willing."

Raven was too busy soothing the she-wolf in his arms to care. "He'll be back tomorrow," he muttered dismissively.

Outside the elder's hall, I stood alone.

Watching Anya pout and cling to Raven.

Complaining about how he'd abandoned her all those years ago, then bought another breeder right in front of her.

Raven coaxed her tenderly, then finally glanced back at me.

In the cold wind, I looked thin and desolate.

He froze for a moment, as if about to say something, but the words stuck in his throat.

In the silence, I spoke first: "Do I have to move out today?"

Raven frowned. "You don't have to rush—"

"You're Amber, right?"

Anya suddenly cut in, eyeing me jealously from head to toe.

"I remember you. The most sought-after breeder at the auction."

"Alphas love breeders like you—big tits, wide hips. But honestly, doesn't it embarrass you, walking around with those? If I had them, I'd be too ashamed to leave the house."

She looked up at Raven with false hurt.

"Raven, you like them like that too, don't you?"

Raven tensed immediately, rushing to deny it. "Who said that? I find it revolting."

My body went rigid, eyes stinging.

Revolting?

But every night, he'd pinned me beneath him with his superior strength, scent-marking me over and over.

When his desire peaked, his grip would tighten possessively on my hips.

Sometimes once wasn't enough.

Twice. Three times.

Until my body went limp and I could barely move.

Turns out he called all of that revolting.

Anya smirked, hooking her arm through Raven's, looking at me with pity.

"Don't be upset. If Raven hadn't bought you, could you have lived this well? You should thank me, really. If I hadn't fought with Raven, you'd never have had this chance."

I glanced at Raven, unmoved, and gave a bitter hum of acknowledgment.

Seeing that no matter how she twisted me, I had no fight left, Anya lost interest and demanded they go home.

Raven smiled indulgently, letting her pull him forward.

After a few steps, he turned back.

"Amber, if you want to move, then go ahead."

"Don't take it to heart. We're still pack."

Pack.

Yes, we were still pack.

Except I was no longer his breeder.

I belonged to his brother now.