Prologue

Alpha Anson Boyer carried the sleeping child in his arms, wrapped up in his suit jacket.  The moment he had heard about her father’s death he had rushed to assist.

Thankfully he was named as her godfather and he had minimal problems to get her out of the group home.  He still didn’t know who her mother was, but the little one’s father had asked him to care for his little girl if anything ever happened to him.

It was a very real threat with him being close to royalty to the hunters.  He still didn’t know who had killed him, Tyler Scott, but he would see if he could find his murderers.  It was a gift of the Goddess that Tyler had practiced hiding quietly with little Ember regularly; it had saved her life.  He was sure of it.

But it had also kept her hidden from the authorities long enough that she was weak and dehydrated when they finally found her at his insistence.  She was finally released from the hospital and he was able to bring her back to the pack after a lot of negotiations to not have her placed in a group home first.

The moment he stepped into the pack house, his wife and Luna glared at him.  “Why are you bringing strays home?”  She demanded angrily.

He indicated for her to be quiet while he handed the sleeping child off to an Omega with the order that she be treated like his own child and placed in the room across from his.

Bernadette just rolled her eyes and tapped her foot impatiently until the omega left with the little girl.  But she demanded answers the moment the sleeping child was out of earshot.

“She is my god-daughter and her father was murdered a week ago.  She’s staying with us.”  He said firmly.

“I am your Luna, you should discuss these matters with me before you bring strays home!”

“She is not a stray!  She is my god-daughter and will be treated like Calum’s little sister from here on out.”

“She is not even a wolf! And you expect me to raise her with our son who will be the future alpha.”

“You hardly do any raising of the boy as it is; it’s hardly a chore for you to consider Ember.”  He retorted with annoyance.  She was not his fated mate, but the female his father had chosen for him to expand their power.

They barely respected each other as it was and didn’t even share a bedroom.  It was a sad existence to be sure, but he fulfilled his life with leading his pack and raising his son, which now extended to raising a daughter, too.

“Don’t take that tone with me, I am your Luna!”  She screamed at him, exacerbating his mood even more.

“You are barely even that!”  He snapped angrily.  “You spend your days shopping and pampering yourself when your pack needs to care for themselves.  Did you even think of anyone else today, except your own selfish desires?”

She stared at him aghast, he usually allowed her to rage at him, this was the first time he had really taken her to task for her actions.  But he was still grieving the loss of Tyler and she was not helping at all.

Suddenly, she wailed loudly, pairing it with her fake tears.  “How can you speak to me like that when I’ve given so much for this pack?  Don’t you respect me at all?”

He noted a few omegas actually roll their eyes at her actions, clearly aware of her methods and he was just not in the mood.  He was fast losing his temper with her.

“How can you treat me like this when you know I’m still grieving for the loss of my friend?”  He demanded in a roar of anger.  “Get out of my face!  You get to do your shopping and your spa treatments and then you come here with your drama when I am grieving.”

Bernadette stared at him in open shock; she was not used to him taking her to task. 

“This is your only warning, Bernadette.  If you treat that little girl with anything but kindness I will strip you of your rank and make you an omega.  She had to hear her father die a week ago and I will not have you add to the horrors she has already endured.  Get out of my face before I think better of it and strip your title now.”

With a gasp, she ran from the room, clearly not willing to work for the pack like the omegas she looked down on had been doing.  Shaking his head to himself he went to his office and poured himself a large whiskey.

“I don’t know why you haven’t gotten rid of her years ago.”  Tom, his Beta and friend said when he came into his office and poured himself a drink as well.  They had been close with Tyler Scott since their childhood and they were both feeling his loss acutely.

“That stupid promise I had made to her dying father.”  Anson sighed tiredly.  “I had promised him that I would take care of his daughter.  But I’ve been regretting that promise since she became Luna.  I’ve considered stripping her of her rank and just putting her up in a house with an allowance for years, but she is still the mother of my pup.”

“She’s no mother to that boy of yours!  He’s her accessory that she shows with the right outfit at formal events.”  Tom retorted.  “Mark my words, that bitch is going to cause chaos one of these days.”

Anson sighed, he knew Tom was right, but he was still struggling to break his word to the old man.  She was a selfish bitch that took every male to her room that she fancied and he was grateful that he hadn’t marked her those many years ago.

The only reason he was sure that Calum was his child was because his wolf had claimed him and he had done a paternity test to be sure.  He had taken a mistress off the pack lands, who was just happy to be with him and not as greedy as his Luna.

He knew who Bernadette really was, but he couldn’t go back on his word to a dying man.  It felt like a violation of trust.  Perhaps he really ought to move her out of the pack house and strip her title, since he knew that most pack members would breathe a sigh of relief.

But a pack without a Luna was unstable and he didn’t want to threaten his pack’s safety and sense of security.  He needed to find some way to make everyone happy, he just didn’t know how.