HARPER
"How dare you! Holy fucking moon, Teressa, what do you think you're doing?"
Face to face with my husband and stepsister, who were celebrating their engagement. Luxurious diamond rings were pinned to their ring fingers, replacing my wedding ring.
"What the hell are you doing, Harper? Don't ruin my big day!" Terresa threw a sharp gaze at me
"What? You can still say that after betraying me?" I said breathlessly; my eyes turned to look at all the happy pack members enjoying this party. "You even support this engagement?" said my lips bitterly.
"Harper, don't overdo it. Go home now; we'll talk later." without burden, my husband openly admitted his betrayal. There is no defense for myself.
"Wilder? I swear, this joke is not funny." tears rolled down my cheeks. One week ago, I became pregnant after three years of marriage. I haven't told Wilder anything about my pregnancy.
"Harper, enough with your charades! Wilder has divorced you, so stop acting like you have a right to him. You're shameless!"
Wilder was silent; once again, he confirmed his intention to divorce me. The divorce papers were already in my drawer five days ago, but I thought our relationship could still be repaired, so I held back.
From the start, the marriage between us was aimed at peace between hostile packs. I sacrificed myself, and just like that, I fell in love with Wilder from my youth, even though I was aware he was the alpha of a rival pack.
"Go home! We'll talk later," repeated Wilder.
Agnes, my only friend, pulled my arm. She gently whispered while supporting my trembling body. "Let's go home; we are not guests here. Don't embarrass yourself anymore than this," she suggested
"What's all the fuss about?" Hellen, my stepmother, came with a graceful dress neatly draped over her body. "Oh my gosh, how did this woman come in here? Guard! Drag this woman out now!" she orders.
"Mom? Do you also know about this? How could you do this to me?" I complained.
"Teressa is Alpha Wilder's destined mate! And I'm just doing my job as a mother; that's why I always remind you to know your limits, right ?"
Finally, the day came; Teressa had just turned 18 and had done her best shifter for the first time. She found her mate, and it was my husband's Alpha Wilder. I knew that Wilder would dump me, but once I faced the reality, it really hurt. I'm not as strong as I imagined.
Asher Lacour, my father, died two months before Teressa did her first shift. This should still be a mourning atmosphere for me, but the pack doesn't care. My mother and sister enjoyed my sorrow.
"Get fucking lost now, I don't want my party to be ruined! Mom? Do something!" Teressa stomped her feet; she clutched the hair of her dress emotionally.
"Damn, your ears are useless too, huh? Get out of here now!" Helen pushed roughly against my body.
"Helen, enough!" Wilder said again, "Still treat me properly; after all, we are not officially divorced yet." He thought, that's the sentence I want to hear from him? That sentence is what I need from him? Not at all. I'm his legal wife, but everyone doesn't respect me, after the dark years I've been through.
"But Alpha Wilder, since her father died, Harper has gone completely crazy; she is no longer in control. She's lost her mind; look at the commotion she's been making lately."
"I know! Let me take care of it!" Wilder glanced to the right with his mind link; Toby, his beta, approached me.
"Let me take you home." Toby guided me out of the hall while Agnes followed behind me silently. "I'm sorry about everything that happened, but the elders have consulted with the pack, and they said this was the best decision," Toby explained.
My body was still shaking when I got home. Tears have been flowing profusely since earlier. Until the afternoon, I just stared at the divorce letter. Wilder's signature was already on it.
"Harper, try to eat a little; you haven't eaten anything since earlier," Agnes sighed heavily.
"Betrayal after betrayal, I even loved Wilder when he should have been my father's enemy; I sacrificed everything, Agnes. Do I deserve all this?"
My cell phone rang; it was Wilder who called me. He should have gone home, even though I was waiting for him. "Wilder? Why aren't you home yet? We need to talk right now," I complained.
"I can't go home! Tonight is the right time for me to mark Teressa," he answered.
"You what? Mark her?" I was shocked inside. Wilder can't claim me as his Luna, but he's been fuck me all this time. So, how can I let him make love with another woman, even though Teressa is his mate? I can't hear this.
"Don't do anything stupid again, stay at home and wait for me! From the start, I just wanted to get this done right; our marriage never existed! We are nothing, just an agreement on paper, so I want the son of my real mate now!"
"If it's about a son, I can give you one too."
"Don't you understand? I don't want any son, love, or relationship from you! I need Luna and a clear bloodline for the pack! Did you get that? I no longer want to argue; Teressa is waiting for me!"
Wilder dropped the call; at the same time, I was sobbing. Imagine Wilder making love with another woman when he had also taken my virginity. "This is enough! Agnes, let's get out of here, and I will sign this divorce paper now."
"Are you sure about this?"
"Yes, all the conditions are clearly stated in this letter! There's nothing more to talk about! We're going back to my father's pack."
"But you know the big problem your father left there, right? Are you sure you can handle that? Are you sure you're hiding your pregnancy from Wilder? What if your son is born later?"
HARPER"Harper Lacour, I'm glad you're back! "I'm sorry to hear about your divorce." Beta Luke hugged me so tightly that he considered me his daughter. He has a son who used to be good friends with Wilder at an overseas shifter university."It's okay, Uncle Luke, I'm fine now!""Does Wilder know if you come back here?""I just left after signing the divorce papers, and it doesn't matter now." I returned to my father's Grape River Estate in one of the Pineville areas.Luke sighed, especially since he wasn't happy because Wilder's fiancee was my half-sister. The betrayal they openly committed against me. My stepmother took all the property my father gave her and left debts that I had to pay when my father was sick."Once alpha Asher died, your mother and sister showed their true faces.""My father is impoverished; he should have listened to my advice at that time," I complained, touching my stomach.Luke noticed the difference in my body; his wolf eyes flashed with worry. "Holly moon, y
HARPER"Too bad, the problem is I'm not a rat, and I don't feel trapped in anyone's cage." my lipline lifted slightly.My voice can still come out, but not with frozen legs standing. It won't work smoothly. I'm in a place I shouldn't be. My wolf has pride; it's my best to fight, but killing Mattia in his home isn't a good idea, at least not right now."If you think there is a mistake, I can assure you there is no mistake," his amber eagle irises, staring at me intensely.I blinked a few times. "How could that happen? Grape River Estate has been my family business for centuries; there is no mortgage whatsoever, and the property is purely ours.""I'm afraid, Miss Lacour, your father needs money. With his knees, he was in front of me, and of course, I gave him a loan.""He could never have come to you!" my voice rose. I was suffocated by his intimidating aura as if he had sucked half my energy away without me realizing it."Be careful, little girl. You are lucky. I welcomed your arrival
MATTIA"So this is how I signed the deal!" I put down the paper containing my marriage contract with Harper Lacour.Alessio was flabbergasted and stopped putting sugar into his coffee cup. "You what?""Like I said.""Harper? That girl whose father you killed?""I don't think she knows that part! Technically the damn man died because he was old."Alessio shook his head, not really agreeing with my decision. Alessio visited today to give news about the family business. There was a traitor who fled to this country, and my father gave orders to look for the traitor."You got married without telling your family. Do you think they will be happy with this?""You know, I have to protect Lucia!""Why? Is she still being targeted by them? So you think your marriage is the best to protect Lucia?" Lucia, my ex-girlfriend. Our relationship was going well, but an incident made Lucia leave me. I don't know what love is; all I know is that Lucia always accompanies me whenever I'm in trouble, so up t
MATTIA"Interesting," I smiled slyly. "Speaking of women, I don't think I want to settle down with someone; even starting a family isn't my type," I trailed off."So what? Huh?" Harper cut me off, still with her haughty attitude. A woman ran up to her and touched her shoulder."Hey, is everything okay here?" asked the womanHarper turned her head briefly, and she gave the woman a different look. "It's okay, Agnes, I can handle it."I huffed, uncomfortable when other people interrupt my conversation like this: "So, don't cross your boundaries just because I married you, Harper! You slapped me, and that was too bold an act. Do you know what I mean?"I threatened her. All I want is a little quiet play. Harper had to abort her baby; she had to have a rugged body and live a long life to be my sacrifice."I need to make it clear to you that I respect the employment contract since I also work with the business, but my body is mine, and my baby is my right! You don't need to interfere in pers
HARPERNegotiations…This is the only way I can deal with the demon Mattia. He was presumptuous, too presumptuous to ask me to abort my baby. The anger I have endured all this time, my marriage was in vain. Only I know how my pain screams every night."You're something, Harper," Mattia's voice teased me, whether it was a compliment or an insult. I don't care about the color of his face."Well, if I'm willing to give myself a year of playing weddings with you, why don't you believe I can do something crazier than that?" I replied"And I like the way you comfort me like this."I suppressed all my anger at my feet and stepped on the giant Persian carpet that was the base of this room. I have to admit, Mattia's taste in decorating his residence is pretty good. But thinking about staying here forever is not my dream. This place is just full of disgusting air.How do Shifters smell to humans?Like damp dog fur or a dead crow, I can't describe it clearly. It depends; some humans don't even h
MATTIA"What's with all this chaos?" Alessio put away some of the clothes that were scattered around and looked for a room to sit in.My amber irises glanced at the clothes lying one by one. "I'm choosing a suitable uniform for Harper to wear.""Wait, what? A uniform like this?""Yup!""This kind of uniform is more suitable for maids. I thought you'd hire her as your secretary or something.""You know what? This woman is too bold! I have to teach her a few things to make her understand her limits.""Why? Did she threaten you? A woman threatened you?" Alessio's tone mocked me."Go back home damn it, why are you still here?" I protestedAlessio ruffled all the uniforms. He also picked up one that he thought was worthy for Harper to wear. The uniform is black, with short sleeves and a white collar. Likewise, the model is in the form of a dress with a knee-length pleated mane."This suits her! Wow, Mattia? If you're having fun this way, how could I go home like that? I also want to have f
HARPERWilder knows I've remarried, but I don't think he'll do anything about it. He's thrown me away; that's clearly what happened."Shit!" I cursed when dealing with charcoal on the kitchen grill. Which Mannor kitchen still uses traditional grills these days? Mattia's taste is old-fashioned.Several times, I passed by the waiter in this manner. They all wore professional clothes, which looked elegant on their bodies. I know Mattia deliberately made me wear this uniform; it's clear he wants to insult me in a subtle way."Luckily, he still gave me a comfortable room, huh? What is that? It's not like he thinks of me as a pregnant woman who has to sleep on a soft mattress, right?" I grumbled while working.I spend more energy cursing than my hands working physically. Even though Wilder didn't treat me like a wife while I was in his pack, I never had to do housework this hard.But he treated me as if I was dead. He made love to me always, with his body smelling of alcohol. Yeah, she prob
MATTIA"There are only two choices: either you think my mocktail is not delicious, or I put poison in it."I chuckled, but the sound of my laughter didn't give Harper the same pleasure. Realizing something unique about it. Every time I try to get lost in her gaze, the colour of her irises sometimes changes."This isn't funny at all, don't you think?" she replied flatly."Would you like a drink first? And see if there really is poison in it?""Oh, come on, Mattia! You got Mabel watching me like sticky gum! How could I do crazy things when I even need you!"She admitted that, and somehow, I felt proud because of her words. But of course, I didn't expect such praise from her. My head nodded, touching the mocktail glass in my hand gracefully."I'm out of the way now!" she said"Who gave you permission for that?""W-what?""I haven't told you to leave yet; I haven't even finished my mocktail yet."Coinciding with her face, which was red with emotion, I took off my clothes. It was very hot,
MATTIAI tried to give Lucia clear boundaries about how she should behave. When I said that our relationship was over a long time ago, Lucia was silent for a moment. She met my gaze more heavily than usual.“You don’t know what you’ve said Mattia, if you want to hear my explanation then….”“Wait a minute!” I raised my hand, asking Lucia to stop talking for a moment. There was an incoming call, and when Mabel’s name was written on the screen. I felt the need to answer her phone call.“I am sorry sir, I wanted to let you know that Harper went out. She took her car, to a bar! Probably her regular bar downtown,” Mabel said.I rolled my eyes lazily, how could this woman act naughty when I wasn't around. She should have asked my permission first, let alone hearing her go to the bar. I just felt uneasy."We're going home now," I said. Suddenly I felt, information from Mabel was much more important to me first, than listening to Lucia's complaints for now. I couldn't stand hearing Harper go t
HARPERManage my feelings!Yes, that's what I should have done. I didn't expect Mattia to do something like this with me. He's never invited me to his bed before. Even though we went through everything with the contract, last night was different.I can't involve my feelings with him any more than this, because after our contract is over, I will leave this Mannor, and we will divorce. I have even found a new life to repair my vineyard, so it is easy for me to pay off my debt to Mattia.“Have you taken your morning pill?” Mabel asked, as soon as she entered my room. Today, I had the courage to have dinner with the others, even though Mattia and Lucia were not there. Mabel really controls everything for me in mannor. She knows everything about me, and there is nothing I can hide from her. Even when Mattia and I have a relationship that requires us to touchI think, because Aldo was there, so I felt calm enough for that. But, I couldn't avoid Nicolas' gaze on me. It seemed like he hated m
MATTIAFor the first time, I felt a flutter when a woman said something about love to me. It seemed like I was really out of my mind. Letting Harper do all this to me. As if I would never finish getting whatever she needed from me.It was like, I had to endure a lot of things, only to find Harper as such a calm innocent girl, and I also got comfort from her. I felt something stirring inside Harper. Maybe she was feeling excited, so she didn't think about what came out of her mouth.“How did you do it?” I said.“Doing what?” she replied. I just realized, her face blushed redder than before. Her cheeks also looked more adorable, right?However, this reality really hit me in a matter of seconds. I thought, I would be lulled by it, making Harper the light in the darkness of my life. Maybe Harper is not dirty in me.But, there will be no happily ever after fairy tale for us “Alright, go to sleep. You’ve worked hard today” I said, caressing her cheek. I didn’t reply anything to the words of
HARPERMattia's command was like magic to me. In a matter of seconds, he could control me as he pleased. I thought, after the incident at the pool, he wouldn't have any intention of touching me for a while. That's why I kept my distance.Ever since Nicolas embarrassed me in front of Lucia, I don't have the guts to sit at the same table with them. Not because I'm scared, but I'm more afraid of not being able to control my wolf.If my emotions are controlled by my wolf, then I can no longer think rationally. That way, I'm afraid of hurting Lucia. I don't know how long I can hold myself back. It's like I have to control everything in a short time. My wolf is wilder than me, and humans like the inhabitants of this manor, won't be able to control my anger.So, I chose to keep everything to myself, it was better that Mattia didn't know anything that Lucia and Nicolas had done to me. I didn't seem interested in causing a scene between them. Although Mattia probably wouldn't defend me. I mean
MATTIA“What? It’s been two days since he had dinner in his room, and today he doesn’t want to join the others?” I asked.Mabel nodded her head “Yes sir, she said she will have dinner in her room again today”“What does she do all day, Mabel?”“Just the usual routine. Not much new for her to do. She’s been into gardening lately, like planting some roses.”I thought, this might have something to do with the nightmare that Harper had. I also haven't talked to Harper for a few days, because I'm busy with my work. Moreover, I want to attack Andreas and his family.“Are you sure she didn't say anything to you, Mabel?”“Nothing Mr. Mattia,” she replied.It was me who was not satisfied with Mabel's answer. But, after I thought about it again. I don't think there should be any guilt between us. I mean, Harper shouldn't have taken everything Lucia said to her at the pool seriously.If only Harper knew that we were bound by a contract with each other. Then, there would be nothing serious to kee
MATTIAI don't like how Aldo acts as if he understands Harper's feelings. When he asks me whether I have fallen in love with Harper, I choose not to answer.It's like, I've already decided not to go too far with this girl. However, when Mabel reported that Harper had returned to the manor, she immediately headed to the private library. It made me hate her even more, hearing that she was lonely.I don't want Harper to feel that way while I'm around her. Well, it's time to have some fun with her. I was feeling warm inside her again.It was a passionate kiss at first, until Lucia's voice came and surprised me. Her voice was high, and her eyes seemed to look down on Harper, giving off an intimidating pressure.Harper stepped to the edge of the pool. She immediately climbed up to grab her kimono towel from the hanger, but Lucia's steps were too fast to approach her. She slapped Harper right on Harper's right cheek."How dare you seduce my man!" said Lucia.I got out of the pool. "Lucia, wh
HARPERThis is really something. Teressa is threatening me, as if there is nothing else she can do, but put this kind of pressure on me. I mean, why does she have to do something like this?I've let go of everything. Letting them get married, and I lost my baby. But, as if not satisfied to let me be at peace. Teressa only came to threaten me.“Teressa, instead of arguing with me using only your mouth. Are you interested in fighting me in the arena?” I said tiredly. I was really fed up with her ranting. What a spoiled girl, she only relies on her mother, and dares to talk to me like this.“I won’t do such a damn thing! For what? I really appreciate my body now. You just don’t know how much Wilder paid to hire a specialist doctor for my pregnancy program.”"Then? Are you pregnant?" I asked, smiling faintly. I'm sure Teressa took my question as a threat to belittle her.She should have known, that I'm not the Harper I used to be. I mean, I even have power now. I'm the wife of a Mafia, wh
MATTIAAs Lucia wished, she followed me to the office. I just thought she needed to find a new atmosphere, especially now that she has decided to take a break from modeling. So maybe she needs an idea of how to work in the business world."No, I don't like this one. Just look at her clothes. Are you planning to come here to work, or to be a stripper, huh?" snapped Lucia.Ten women were already in line, waiting for my next test. I had intended to choose a candidate I considered worthy to be my secretary. However, Lucia rejected almost all of them."This is the last one, sir," Rocco reminded me."What?" I gasped.It turned out that Lucia rejected ten women. She insisted on choosing a secretary for me because she was a woman and had women's feelings."Lucia, I think we need to find the right one and….""They are all wrong, Mattia!" said Lucia firmly.The last woman raised her eyebrows in annoyance. "Sorry, Maam. How can you judge me as inappropriate? I have a resume that can satisfy you,
HARPERAs I expected, Aldo wasn't very forthright with his explanation. I asked him to tell me what he knew, but he was just busy calming me down.However, I can't deny it. Aldo really made me feel better. He has his own way, as if he understands the anxiety I feel. He tries to dive into my feelings, then so cleverly understands me.Two days later, I was back to being usual Harper. Even though I'm not a morning person, today I was quite excited to do some things."So, I think it's time for us to do a major renovation of your father's office. We need to revive that office, in the same field as your father once did," said my uncleHe brought some sketches for the renovation. Since earlier, my eyes seemed to sparkle looking at the sketches. Although, there was still a little doubt in my heart.Really, I can? In addition to the grape plantation, my father has a property business. Generally, people who live in luxury apartments are my father's customers. However, because my father's compan