Aria's POV:

'What was I thinking?' The question echoed in my head so loudly it felt like it might split my skull open.

What kind of madness had possessed me to reject the offer of a man who could have killed me without blinking? A man who could have forced me to do his bidding with a single command, or a single flex of Alpha command, and no one would have questioned it.

Yet I, a slave girl who had been dragged here in chains, looked him in the eyes and said no.

My heart pounded painfully against my ribs as reality crashed down on me in waves. What kind of audacity did I think I had? What kind of courage, or stupidity had made me defy Alpha Draven Darkmoon in his own home?

Still... none of it made sense.

One moment, he wanted breeders whose sole purpose was to bear his children and be discarded. The next moment, he wanted a wife for an entire year.

'Something must've changed.' I said to myself, mind drifting back to the man who had interrupted him earlier.

What did he say to Draven outside those doors? What kind of argument could make a man like him change his plans so suddenly? And why me of all people?

The sound of his voice pulled me out of my spiraling thoughts. "Do you want time to think about it?" Draven asked calmly. "You may give me your answer later if you wish."

I looked up at him slowly, my heart still hammering as his eyes met mine and I stiffened because they were cold in a way that made my skin prickle with unease.

There was no warmth there and it made me feel unsafe, because I had no idea whether this was a test or a trap. An Alpha giving a slave the illusion of choice was strange. Or maybe... maybe he truly was different from the rumors.

But I highly doubted that.

The silence stretched for a while longer, until my mouth betrayed me and I blurted out the first question clawing at my mind.

"Why?" I asked hoarsely. "Why do you want me to be your wife for an entire year?"

"My pack has a tradition that every Alpha must produce an heir before the age of thirty-five." He said evenly. "And failure to do so means losing the Alpha title to the next bloodline, but I happen to be  the last of mine. So if I don't produce an heir, then the title would be given to another."

He paused for a second, clearly frustrated then he continued. "I intended to use a breeder but the Elders forbade it and insisted that the future Alpha must be born of a Luna, not a sex slave to keep the Pack's spiritual energy stable."

I let out scoff and tilted my head back slightly, staring at the ceiling as if the Goddess herself might be listening. "I will never carry your child." I said firmly, and I regretted immediately but he did not get angry.

Instead, he said calmly. "You won't."

My gaze snapped back to him, stunned as he explained. "You will only pretend to be pregnant, while a breeder will carry my heir in secret. When she successfully births a son, I will take the child in and present him as yours. And when the time is right, we will divorce, for a reason the Elders cannot challenge."

My stomach churned violently because his words were horrifying. And yet... strangely, he hadn't forced me, compelled me, or threatened me.

That alone made the situation terrifying because my life had flipped upside down in the span of days. One moment I was walking home through the forest, exhausted but hopeful. The next, I was sold, beaten, transported, and now... standing at a crossroads that would determine my entire future.

If I said no, what if he killed me for daring to defy him? If I said yes, what if the entire year became a nightmare of politics, manipulation, and pack power struggles that broke me completely?

My hands trembled, but then another thought crept in. If I said yes... I would survive an entire year safe from physical abuse and I wouldn't be discarded like trash for defying him. And once the year was over... I could walk away.

The choice, horrifying as it was, became clear, so with my fists clenched tightly at my sides, I said. "I will do it."

A smirk curved his lips immediately. "You will do what?" He asked and I replied. "I will be your wife for a year."

Then, he stood up and extended his hand toward me. I hesitated only a second before taking it, allowing him to pull me to my feet. "Thank you." I murmured, my voice barely steady.

"It is quite late, we will discuss further tomorrow." He began.  But you should know this, by morning, I will inform the Elders that I have found my fated mate and intend to make her my Luna. Meaning that tomorrow onward, you will bear the title of Alpha Luthor's mate so behave as one."

He paused then continued. "The contract will be drafted and presented to you. You will read it, understand it, sign it and understand that once the agreement ends, you will be rewarded with anything you desire, as long as it is within my reach."

I opened my mouth to thank him again, but he cut me off. "You should go, we will speak tomorrow."

"I... I don't know where to go." I admitted. "I don't know anywhere here."

"Just ask any maid you see on your way out to take you to Madam Roxanne. Then inform her that you are one of the girls brought in earlier. She'll show you where you'll stay tonight."

Thanking him, I bowed my head and hurried out. But as soon as I was about to reach the entrance, the man standing there, glared at me. So I lowered my head respectfully and moved past him without a word.

Stepping out of the garden, I had no idea whether to go left or right, but then chose right at random. After a while, I turned a corner and collided with someone.

"Oh! I'm so sorry." I apologized and the plainly dressed looked at me, surprised. "It's alright." She said. "Do you need help?"

"Yes, please." I nodded. "Can you take me to Madam Roxanne?"

"Of course." She smiled. "I'm Nicolle, what's your name?"

Before I could answer, my eyes drifted past her to see a little girl no older than five running down when she suddenly tripped and fell hard. Without thinking, I rushed forward and lifted her gently.

"Are you alright?" I asked softly, noticing that she didn't cry or speak, she just stared at me silently.

Suddenly, a maid rushed forward and yanked the child from my arms. "I was just helping her up." I said, stunned and the maid snapped. "I didn't ask for your help."

Nicolle hurried over. "Why do you look upset? Did she say something to you?"

"I helped the little girl, but her mother shouted at me." I said quietly and Nicolle scoffed. "That's not her mother, that's her personal maid."

"Why would such a small girl need a personal maid?" I asked and Nicolle let out a chuckle. "That's not just any little girl, that's Alpha Draven's daughter, Ella. 

​Draven'sPOV:

​I watched the heavy oak doors click shut behind Aria, leaving the room feeling oddly vacant despite the lingering scent of her wolf, which was a mix of mountain air and something sweet like medicinal herbs. My skin still prickled where I had touched her jaw, and the persistent hum of the mate bond was currently clawing at the back of my skull like a caged beast. I ignored it, straightening my coat and turning to face Ragnar, who was currently leaning against a stone pillar with an expression that suggested he wanted to punch me.

​"Are you seriously going ahead with this, Draven? Or Luthor, or whatever you're calling yourself today?" Ragnar asked, his voice echoing off the high ceilings as he pushed off the wall and began pacing. "Deceiving the Elders is one thing, but this plan is an absolute death trap because if they ever find out that the 'Luna' is actually a bought slave pretending to be pregnant, they won't just impeach you, they will probably execute us both for treason against the bloodline."

​I walked over to the sideboard and poured myself a drink, the amber liquid catching the light of the flickering candles. "The Elders only care about an heir and stability, Ragnar, so as long as they see a pregnant Luna and eventually a healthy boy, they will stay in their council chambers and leave me to run my pack in peace."

​"But you told the girl you were hiring a breeder!" Ragnar barked, throwing his hands up in frustration. "You told her she's just a shield, a placeholder while some other woman carries the child in secret, so how do you expect to keep that many people quiet? A breeder, a nurse, the guards at the secret location? It's too many loose ends, and eventually, someone will talk or the Elders will get suspicious and send their own physician to check her pulse."

​I took a slow sip of my drink, feeling the burn in my throat. "I'm not working with a breeder, Ragnar," I said quietly, watching his eyes widen. "I only told her that to get her to sign the contract because she's a physician, or close to it, and she's smart enough to know that being a surrogate for an Alpha is a life sentence, so I had to give her an out, a way to feel like she's still in control of her fate."

​Ragnar stopped pacing, his jaw practically dropping to the floor as he stared at me. "Wait, so you plan to make her carry the child? The girl you just met? The girl who literally just told you she would never have your baby?"

​"Exactly," I replied, setting the glass down with a firm click. "My plan is to make her fall for me because she's young, she's vulnerable, and she's clearly been starved of affection her entire life by that gambler father of hers. I will show her a version of myself that she can love, and she will eventually come to my bed willingly, and by the time she realizes the 'breeder' never existed, she will already be carrying my son. When it's all over, I'll compensate her well, or perhaps I'll just keep her here as the child's mother because even if I don't love her, she will be the mother of the future Alpha, so she'll do her duties as Luna and never have to worry about the slave camps again."

​"That is the craziest, most manipulative thing I have ever heard you say," Ragnar muttered, rubbing his face with his hands. "You really think a girl like that, with that much fire in her eyes, is just going to fall for you because you're nice to her for a few months? What if she hates you even more? What if she finds out you lied about the breeder before she gets pregnant?"

​"She won't find out because I'm going to be careful, and besides, what are the odds of her resisting when I provide her with everything she's ever dreamed of?" I asked, waving him off as I walked toward the door of my study. "Don't be upset, Ragnar, and don't get worried because it's all going to be fine. I've handled the Council of Kings before, so I can certainly handle one stubborn she-wolf with a talent for medicine."

​I excused myself and entered my private office, the room smelling of old books and dried ink. I sat at my desk and pulled a fresh sheet of heavy parchment from the drawer, my movements deliberate as I dipped a long quill into the inkwell. The scratching sound of the nib against the paper was the only noise in the room as I began drafting the terms of our 'Marriage of Convenience.' I wrote her name, Aria, in bold letters next to mine, leaving a wide space at the bottom for our thumbprints to be pressed in ink. It felt like a business deal, which was exactly what I needed it to be, because the less I thought about the way her eyes looked when she was angry, the better.

​The next few weeks were a blur of calculated movements and political theater, beginning with the presentation of the contract to Aria. She signed it with a trembling hand, her thumb leaving a dark stain on the parchment that sealed her fate to mine, and then came the introduction to the Elders. I stood in the great hall with my hand firmly on the small of her back, feeling her tension as I announced to the room of gray-haired wolves that the Goddess had blessed me with a second-chance mate. The Elders were skeptical at first, their eyes darting over her simple dress and defensive posture, but I had already sent the other girls back to the camps or to new lives with enough gold to keep them silent, so there were no distractions.

​The marriage ceremony was a grand, hollow affair, filled with pack traditions that felt like a mockery of my first wedding to Helen, but I played the part of the devoted Alpha perfectly. However, as the days turned into weeks, things started to shift in the pack house. I was mostly busy with border disputes, but I started noticing Aria spending more and more time with Ella, my daughter. I usually avoided the girl because looking at her felt like staring at a ghost of Helen, but one afternoon, Aria stormed into my study without knocking, her face flushed with genuine rage.

​"Your daughter is miserable, Luthor," she snapped, slamming her hands on my desk. "The maids are treating her like a burden, and they whisper about her being cursed just because she doesn't speak much, and the poor girl is convinced that you hate her so she just sits there and takes their insults."

​I felt a surge of cold fury at the mention of the servants disrespecting my blood, so I stood up immediately and followed Aria to the nursery wing. We found the lead maid yanking Ella's hair while brushing it, grumbling about how the girl was a 'lifeless doll.' I didn't wait for an explanation before I dismissed the entire staff on that floor, my voice booming through the hall as I told them to be out of the territory by sunset.

​"I'll hire a new set of trained nannies from the city," I said, looking down at Ella, who was hiding behind Aria's skirts.

​"No, don't bother," Aria said, her voice softening as she reached down to pat Ella's head. "I will handle the child myself because I don't trust your hired help, and besides, I've been a healer long enough to know how to take care of a little girl's needs. My own personal maid can assist me when I'm busy with my Luna duties, but Ella is staying with me from now on."

​I looked at the two of them, the slave girl I intended to trick and the daughter I couldn't bear to look at, and for a split second, I felt a pang of something that wasn't part of the plan. I shoved it down, nodding slowly as I realized that this actually worked in my favor, because the closer she got to my daughter, the more she would feel like part of this family, and the easier it would be to lead her exactly where I wanted her to go.

​"Fine," I said, turning away so they wouldn't see the calculation in my eyes. "She's your responsibility then, Luna."