~Ella~

I woke with a splitting headache. Beyond the hangover, there was a sharp, tearing pain between my legs.


A heavy arm draped across my waist, the man behind me holding me possessively, like I was his property.

I groaned, realizing I was completely naked. After my shift last night, I'd had too many drinks and somehow ended up in a private room.

Flashes of passion raced through my mind—a man with a breathtaking body, every inch of him firm and powerful, pinning me against the wall, thrusting, hot kisses...


God, I'd actually had a one-night stand with a stranger. I turned to look at him. Even in sleep, his features were sharply defined, his thin lips sensual with a small cut I'd left on them.

I covered my face in frustration. I'd never been so reckless before.


Just then, a phone rang urgently. When I heard the message, I instantly sobered up.

"What? Grandma's critically ill? I'll come right away!"

I threw on my clothes and rushed out.

I didn't notice the man on the bed slowly opening his golden eyes.

When I reached the hospital, my stepmother was already waiting outside the ward. She greeted me with ice in her voice.

"Your grandmother's dead. What took you so long? The doctor called me instead and ruined my beauty sleep!"

"Hurry up and sign the papers. Good riddance. You worthless people should've died together."

With that, she sauntered away.

My legs felt like lead. I couldn't move.

"Miss Ella, we're very sorry."

The doctor shook his head and walked away. Just yesterday they'd said there was still hope. I'd been working double shifts to pay for her treatment.

Tears blurred my vision. That day was my darkest hour—my only real family was gone.

But things got worse. A month later, the doctor called me in—

"Miss Ella, you're pregnant."

Five years later.

~Caden~

Caden strode out of Warwick Group headquarters, cutting a handsome figure while his Beta secretary Marcus trailed behind him with undisguised awe.

An elegant Rolls-Royce pulled into traffic. Marcus cleared his throat nervously. "Alpha Caden, the pack is growing restless about the heir situation. The High Priest hopes you'll find a mate to bear the future Alpha and stabilize the pack."

"She says since you despise humans, she's found an excellent female werewolf named Nova. She's waiting at the manor now."

In the car, Caden feigned rest with closed eyes. Though his face remained calm, his authority and power were impossible to ignore.

"A mate?" he rumbled in his deep voice. "Tell the High Priest I don't need one."

Over the years, the High Priest had grown increasingly frustrated with the Alpha's refusal to address the heir issue, yet Caden still showed nothing but contempt for finding a mate.

Marcus suddenly remembered that human woman from five years ago. The pack had been shocked to discover their Alpha's destined mate was human—and that they'd been intimate.

Worse still, the human had run away after sleeping with their Alpha!

"It's been five years," he ventured cautiously. "Perhaps that human has already given birth to your child."

Caden's eyes snapped open, his tone dangerous. "Marcus, is there nothing else you'd like to discuss? Don't mention that lowly human to me."
Marcus sighed inwardly. Humans were what Caden despised most. He remembered the High Priest explaining how the previous Alpha—Caden's father—had met his true destined mate when Caden was five: a human female.

For that human woman, he had abandoned Caden and his mother.

A she-wolf abandoned by her mate faces an impossible situation—which is why young Caden had witnessed his mother's suicide.

His father, punished for betraying his mate, watched the human woman die in childbirth—unable to withstand the powerful Alpha bloodline—before taking his own life in grief.

"Humans are the most cunning creatures alive," Caden thought bitterly. "They excel at weaving lies."

Caden thought bitterly.

He recalled the woman's resolute departure five years ago, how she'd appeared during his most vulnerable moment, whispering seductively to lure him to bed.

Actually, that day, he'd been the first to wake, but he'd hesitated to open his eyes.

Humans were so fragile, and he'd never interacted with them before. He hadn't known what to say to avoid frightening such a delicate creature.

He'd pondered for a long time.

"Last night was wonderful. If you want me to take responsibility..."

But before he could finish, she'd mercilessly dressed and left.

Just like his mother, he'd been abandoned.

Caden clenched his fists, then quickly regained his composure. "I don't need a destined mate, much less a human female. As for children, such a fragile human could never withstand the powerful Alpha bloodline. She probably died in childbirth."

Suddenly, his gaze sharpened as he stared out the window. "Stop the car."

"What is it, Alpha?"

"I smell a wolf cub. A powerful young one."

Wolf cubs were always raised within the pack until adulthood. They experienced growing pains and couldn't possibly survive in human society.

Marcus's eyes widened. A powerful cub? Could it be offspring from the Alpha's destined mate?

He didn't voice his thoughts—the Alpha hated mentions of that human woman. Beside him, Caden frowned as he gazed toward the darkening horizon.

"Find this lost cub and bring it back to the pack immediately," he ordered. "Tonight is the full moon. The cub risks exposure."

"Also, arrange tomorrow evening's dinner."

"Yes, Alpha."