LENA'S POV

"Grandma, I'm serious. Lena is my mate." He placed his hands on my shoulder as Luna Flora looked back and forth between us. "I found out yesterday, I just wanted to confirm before telling you anything."

Luna Flora covered her face with her hand and I heard her sniffing. Alpha Lucas quickly rushed to her side. "What's wrong, Grandma?"

"Nothing. I'm just so happy." She removed her hands from her tears-streaked face and stretched her hand to me.

I took her hand and the guilt bit me deep inside. I couldn't believe I suggested to deceive such a kind woman just for money.

'It's not just for money, it's to save your mother.' My wolf tried to justify my actions and I took a deep breath before forcing a smile.

"You have no idea how relieved I am that you turned out to be his mate. It's like a huge burden has been lifted off my chest." She caressed my arm. "I know he might seem cold and unapproachable but I promise that he has the sweetest soul when you get to know him. If he ever mistreats you in any way, let me know right away. I'll make sure to teach him a lesson."

"Okay." I nodded and glanced at Alpha Lucas who came to stand next to me.

He wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me closer to his side. I was used to being so close to him but he acted like it was the most normal thing. I took a deep breath to calm my nervousness before plastering a smile on my face.

"Grandma, Lena has to get to work now."

She released my arms and I said my goodbyes before Alpha Lucas led me out of the ward.

"I'll call you whenever I need you," that was the last thing he said before walking back in.

Two weeks passed and I didn't receive any call from him, not that I was complaining. His Grandma was discharged a week ago and my mother's health had improved greatly after her treatment was conducted.

That fateful day, I was extremely tired from working all night and slumped on the couch the moment I got home. My phone rang in my bag and I groaned in frustration because I had to get up to answer it.

I dragged myself to where I tossed my bag and brought the phone to see that it was Alpha Lucas calling.

'He ghosted me for half a month, why was he suddenly calling now?'

Taking a deep breath, I answered the call, "Alpha Lucas."

"You're accompanying me to a charity event tonight," he said, going straight to the point. "I'll take care of your clothes and hair, just get some sleep and make yourself look presentable."

There were bags under my eyes from working the night shift and my lips were dry but my beautiful face was still intact.

But wait, did he just imply that I didn't look presentable? That bastard.

"What time will you be picking me up?" I asked.

"Be ready by 5." He hung up without waiting for my response.

I sighed and dragged myself to my room and put on a facial mask before going to sleep. I knew there were going to be eyes on me for being Alpha Lucas fiancé, so I couldn't afford to look miserable.

LUCAS'S POV

The car pulled up in front of Lena's apartment. I texted her that I was waiting outside and she came out not long after.

Caleb, my driver got out to open the door for her. She nodded at him as she got in and I noticed Caleb staring at her body.

Lena was a beautiful woman with an amazing figure that could make head turn but that didn't give Caleb any right to stare at my "mate" like that.

I narrowed my eyes at him and he met my stares before putting his head down and closing the door after her.

Lena made sure to put a lot of gap between and she fiddled with her fingers on her lap as the car drove away from her apartment building.

"I don't bite, you know." I said and she immediately turned to me.

She looked at me and I gestured to the space between us. She sighed before scooting closer. I shook my head at her and grabbed her waist to pull her close to my body, making her eyes widened in surprise.

I leaned to her ears and whispered, "If you are going to pretend to be my mate, you need to act the part, we can let people see through our lies now, can we?"

She swallowed hard and nodded before relaxing into my arms. I smirked, seeing the effect I had on her. I knew my time with her would be so much fun.

We arrived at the fashion house and I held her hand as we walked in together. The staff stared at us, wondering who Lena was but she did a good job ignoring them.

The manager came to welcome us and took us to the VIP section after making everyone leave.

"I want you to style her for a charity gala." I ordered and took my seat. "Go all out and don't hold back anything."

Lena followed them while I brought out my phone to scroll through social media for a while.

Two hours later, the manager walked out with Lena behind her. She was dressed in a light blue mermaid gown that hugged her curves perfectly and the perfect set of diamond Jewelry to match it.

Her face was not caked with too much makeup and her hair was up in a hairdo, leaving her creamy back and shoulder exposed.

My eyes scanned her body from head to toe and I could see her squirming under my gaze. I felt myself getting aroused by just looking at her. She looked so sexy.

I cleared my throat and grabbed her hand before walking out.

I had to snap out of it before I lost control.

LENA'S POV

All eyes turned to us as Alpha Lucas and I walked into the Charity hall. The entire place screamed glamour and luxury, and all the women were dressed in their best attire to show off their wealth.

Thanks to Alpha Lucas, I didn't look out of place.

They began to whisper, wondering who I was to be standing next to Lucas Anderson.

"She must be his newest toy," someone whispered.

"What does he see in her? I'm definitely prettier," another said.

I could feel the burning gaze on my skin and Lucas snaked his hands around my waist.

Some men approached us and greeted Lucas with smiles on their faces as they complimented and buttered him up. It was obvious that they were trying to impress him.

The attention I was getting was getting overwhelming and my chest began to tightened. Lucas must have noticed my anxiety as his hands began to rub my back in a soothing way. "Relax, I'm right here."

That helped me calm down a bit and I took a deep breath before plastering a huge smile on my face again.

"This is my mate and my fiancé, Lena Pretakis." Lucas introduced me to his colleagues.

"Wow, she's really beautiful." One man shook my hand.

"Definitely, Alpha Lucas deserved the best. The moon Goddess blessed him with a beautiful mate."

I chuckled at the compliment and Lucas glanced at me with a proud smile on his face.

The charity was going to start in the next thirty minutes, so I excused myself to quickly use the restroom.

The restroom was empty when I entered. I quickly did my business and stood in front of the mirror to wash my hands. I glanced at myself in the mirror to see a completely different person staring back at me.

Just two weeks ago, I was begging my father under the rain to save my mother. On the same day, I caught my boyfriend with my best friend cheating on me. But today, I was standing by Alpha Lucas's side as his fiancé.

People might judge me for selling myself to him but I didn't care as long as I got what I wanted. The people I trusted and valued had turned their back on me and betrayed me without thinking twice, so why should I keep playing righteous and letting others march all over me?

"Lena, you can do this," I said to myself. It was only a matter of time before I leave Lucas and move on with my life and then by that time, I would have benefited a lot from Lucas.

There was a proud smile on my face as I stepped out of the restroom and walked back to the charity hall. I was about to go back to Lucas when a familiar voice stopped me.

"Lena, It's really you." Alina said from behind me and I turned to her. "I didn't expect that you would turn out to be Alpha Lucas's new toy. You look. different."

I opened my mouth to talk but Trevor appeared behind her and snaked his arm around her waist before leaning down to kiss her right in front of my face.

Shameless people, I rolled my eyes at them.

Trevor released her lips and glanced at me. "You look different today. You never cleaned up like this when you were with me. This must be all to seduce Alpha Lucas."

"Excuse me?" I glared at him.

"Come on, Lena, don't pretend in front of me." He stepped closer to me. "I can't believe you stoop so low to sell your body to Alpha Lucas because of money. Your mother should be ashamed of you."

Anger boiled in me as my fist clenched on my gown. "Don't you dare mention my mother."

"How would your mother feel when she finds out that her precious daughter sold her body to pay for her treatment?"

I froze as I thought about what she would actually think. Would she understand me or would she judge like they are doing? she should understand, right?"

"She doesn't know?" Alina gasped. "She would be so disappointed. How about this?" She held on to my hand. "I have some money saved up, I can give it to you. You don't have to continue selling yourself to Alpha Lucas. Just take my money and you can return it whenever you're ready." She gave me a pitiful look but I knew it was all fake.

I yanked my hand away from her and stepped back. "I don't need your help. You can go to hell with your money."

Her eyes narrowed at me and folded her arms with a cocky smirk on her face. "Who do you think you are? Just because you are now Lucas's new toy, you are starting to act important, huh?"

"I'm not a toy. You don't know anything about Alpha Lucas and I, so mind your fucking business."

"Oh please, don't pretend you are not using your pitiful situation to get close to him, so he would get attracted to you. That's just a waste of time." She shook her head at me.

Trevor placed his hand on her shoulders. "If you think you can use tricks to get Alpha Lucas to fall for you, you must be really dreaming. Alpha Lucas change women like he changes cloth and you are no different from those women. Alpha Lucas will never fall for a woman like you."

I was about to defend myself when a voice cut me off from behind me. "So what kind of women would I fall for?"

LUCAS'S POV

I watched Lena excuse herself as I talked to my colleagues. One of them stared at her with lustful eyes and I glared at him, wanting to pluck his eyes out. He noticed and quickly averted his eyes and walked away from me.

Minutes passed and Lena wasn't back yet. I decided to go look for her and I found her talking to two people. A male and a female.

I recognised the guy as Trevor from the Hale family in the Moonlit pack. I've never heard any good news about him. He only gets his way using his family name as leverage.

Judging by the stupid smirk on his face, I could tell he was up to no good. I walked closer to them and the last sentence reached my ears.

"Alpha Lucas would never fall for a woman like you." He spat at Lena.

"So what kind of woman would I fall for?" I said to announce my presence as I snaked my arm around Lena's waist.

Lena turned to me in surprise and I gave an assuring smile before turning back to Trevor and the blonde beside him.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" I glared at him.

"Alpha Lucas, don't get me wrong. I'm just trying to protect you from this whore. She used to be my mate but she was never loyal to me. She slept with all my friends, that's why I rejected her. She's trying to seduce you and use you for money too."

"Trevor, how could you slander you like that? Just because I'm patient doesn't mean you get to walk all over me." She clenched her fist against her purse.

"What would I gain from slandering you? I'm only telling Alpha Lucas the truth about who you are." He scoffed at her, still spotting that disgusting smirk.

Before I said anything to Trevor, I leaned into Lena's ear and asked, "Is he telling the truth?"

"Of course not." She turned to me and I could see the anger in her eyes, the anger towards Trevor. "It's true that he was my mate and she was my best friend. Just before I met you, I caught them together so I rejected him."

I nodded and turned to Trevor with a dangerous smile. I left Lena's side and took a few steps closer to him with my hands in my pocket. He stepped back in fear as his stupid smirk disappeared.

"Slandering a woman who is your ex is one thing but slandering a woman who is my mate is another thing. How dare you talk trash about my fiance?"

Their eyes widened in shock as they glanced at each other. "Mate? Fiancé? She's your mate?" Trevor looked back and forth between Lena and I. "How is that possible?"

"Why is it impossible that she left trash like you and ended up with me?" I raised my eyebrows at him and I could see the rage burning in his eyes.

He cleared his throat to calm himself down. "Well, it's amusing that the almighty Alpha Lucas Anderson ended up with the leftover woman of this so-called trash."

Lene gasped and all I could do was smile. No one dared to talk to me that way. It was obvious that Trevor was really asking for a lesson.

"I see that the irresponsible son from the Hale family is growing some wings." I moved closer and whispered to his ears, "I wonder what you will become without your father's backing."

I stepped back to see his face become pale. Trevor knew that one word from me to his father might ruin his chances of inheriting his father's fortune.

"Alpha Lucas, I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have said that." He bowed and then went to Lena and dragged the blonde beside him along. "We are sorry, Lena." They bowed before scurrying away.

Lena smiled as I turned back to her. "Thank you for standing up for me. I guess having you as my mate has other privileges, no one would dare bully me again."

I smiled and shook my head at her. "Let's go. The event is starting."

We were led to our seat as the host welcomed and thanked everyone for being present. They began to bring out some of the items that were available for bidding. I didn't bid on the first two items because I wasn't interested in any of them.

The third item was a Ruby necklace and I noticed Lena staring at it in awe.

"Do you want it?" I asked her.

"No, it's just pretty and not that valuable." She shook her head. "I wouldn't want you wasting your money on that."

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "How did you know it's not valuable?"

I knew it wasn't worth much since I had a jewellery company and I've appraised many types of gems and jewels.

"My mom had a keen eye for unique jewels and she taught me how to recognize them."

"Oh." I nodded.

They started bidding for the necklace and most of the bidders were women. I didn't pay much attention to it until Trevor's voice boomed in the room.

"Eight hundred thousand dollars."

Seeing that he was ready to spend so much money on that necklace, it must be very important to him.

No one dared to oppose his price and then I thought, 'Why don't I make things a bit difficult for him?' He needed to learn his lesson for disrespecting Lena and I.

I raised my number as the host was about to announce Trevor as the winner and I said,

"One million dollars."