The Wolfless Luna's Secret Pureblood Heir

Bree POV:

I tapped my phone screen, and the harsh glare sliced through the dark living room of the Blackwood estate. An anonymous text popped up with a video attachment. My breath caught in my throat.

The camera footage shook slightly, but I knew that broad back anywhere. It was my husband, Ashton Harris. In the video, his long fingers were fastening a glowing moonstone necklace around another woman's bare neck.

My stomach dropped. That exact necklace was from the private auction catalog I had left open on our nightstand for our third mating anniversary today. Now, the pale blue stone rested against someone else's collarbone.

The woman in the video turned her head halfway toward the lens. Her face was blurry, yet the way she tilted her chin and drooped her shoulders was a deliberate mockery of my usual posture. Acid rose in the back of my throat, and my stomach churned.

I stood up so fast my vision blurred. The phone slipped from my sweaty palm, hitting the thick rug with a dull thud. My knees trembled under my own weight.

Outside the tall windows, a heavy V8 engine roared up the private driveway. Headlights swept across the walls. Ashton's custom black SUV had just pulled in.

Panic jolted through my veins. I dropped to my knees, snatched the phone off the carpet, and pressed delete with white-knuckled fingers until the screen went blank.

Heavy, measured footsteps echoed in the foyer. A second later, the sharp, cold scent of cedarwood rolled into the room, carrying the suffocating pressure of a pureblood Alpha. In our world, genes dictated everything, and Ashton stood at the very top of the hierarchy as the billionaire CEO of Blackwood Pack Enterprise.

He pushed the living room doors open. His dark gray eyes cut through the shadows and locked onto me, his brows drawing together.

"Why are you sitting in the dark?"

His deep voice carried a trace of exhaustion. He shrugged off his bespoke suit jacket and tossed it over the arm of the sofa. Three years of a secret, unacknowledged marriage, and he still treated this house like a hotel.

I forced my shaking hands to still, walked to the wall, and flipped the switch. The crystal chandelier flared to life, exposing the ten feet of cold floor between us.

"I just woke up from a nap. I didn't get around to it."

I kept my tone flat and stared at the knot of his tie instead of his eyes.

He stepped closer. His six-foot-three frame cast a long shadow over me as he raised a hand to touch my cheek.

I flinched and turned my head away before his fingertips could brush my skin. The air between us went dead silent.

Ashton's hand froze in midair. Irritation flashed across his gray eyes before he slowly lowered his arm to his side.

"Was the company busy today?"

I changed the subject, my gaze catching on a faint crease near his collar.

"Yeah. A few Pack defense projects hit a snag."

He tugged his tie loose, his answer clipped, and looked past my shoulder toward the bar.

I pulled in a slow breath. My hands curled into tight fists at my sides, my nails digging into my palms.

"I saw a charge from the auction house on our joint account for a moonstone necklace."

I looked straight into his eyes, keeping my voice barely above a whisper.

"Did you buy that for me for our anniversary?"

Ashton's hand stopped on his collar. His jaw clenched hard, and the cedarwood scent in the room turned sharp and defensive.

"That was..."

He paused for a beat, a shadow crossing his gaze.

"That was for Gamma Carter."

"Carter?"

The single word left my lips like a piece of ice. Whatever pathetic hope I had left shattered on the spot.

"His mate's birthday is next month. He asked me to source it through RF Syndicate's private channel."

Ashton's voice leveled out, taking on the cold, unquestionable authority of an Alpha who expected to be obeyed.

I stared at his handsome, expressionless face and felt like I was looking at a total stranger. The corners of my mouth pulled into a bitter curve.

"I see."

I lowered my lashes to hide the dead emptiness in my blue eyes. As he turned toward the master bathroom, my hand drifted down to rest over my flat stomach. Five weeks pregnant with his pureblood pup, and I knew right then I would take this secret to my grave.

Ashton POV:

Watching Bree stare at the floor with her lashes lowered set my teeth on edge. Inside my head, my Dire Wolf paced and let out a low, restless growl.

Lying to her wasn't part of the plan. But Charlize had just returned from overseas in a fragile state after breaking her previous engagement. Giving Charlize that necklace was the fastest way to calm her down, and I owed that much to my stepmother, Esther.

Bree was a wolfless. Born without an inner wolf gene, she couldn't shift, couldn't access the Pack Mind-Link, and couldn't survive the vicious politics of our boardroom. Keeping her in the dark was the only way to protect her.

I turned and walked into the bathroom, shutting the heavy door behind me. I needed cold water to wash away the strange tightness in my chest.