Riannon frowned.

She was expecting things not to go smoothly today, but forBrayden to obstruct her even entering the pack was too much.“I don’t think Alpha Brayden has a right to prohibit me from entering my ownpack,” she looked the guards up and down.

They were Brayden’s warriors, sowere supposed to be loyal to him.

He actually thought something through foronce.

“And also,” she continued, “It’s not the Luna, it’s the Alpha now.

AlphaRiannon Michaels.”The men glanced at each other but did not move.She sighed heavily and opened the car door, stepping outside.

Maya and Reidfollowed her, and so did the warriors who drove in another car.

The whole grouplooked menacing.“We don’t want any trouble,” one of the guards said firmly, “We just follow ourAlpha’s orders.”“Very well,” Riannon smiled softly at them and produced the papers out of herfolder,” Then you should know that your Alpha is currently trespassing my lands.His territory starts miles from here.

And I have all the required paperwork toprove it.

So, at the moment you are obstructing me from entering my own pack.And this could be taken as an act of war.

Since you are clearly in the wrong here,I have the right to call other packs and the lycans to support me.

And what willhappen after that will be out of my control.”They stood there, gaping at her.

And when one of the lycan warriors played withthe knuckles on his fists, making them click, they retreated.“Apologies, Alpha Michaels,” one of them said, “We were not aware.”“That’s fine,” she gave them a gracious smile as they opened the gates for her,“Can’t blame you for a simple misunderstanding.”

She asked the driver to drive slowly this time as she wanted everyone to be awitness to her arrival.

So, when they parked in front of the main mansion and gotout of the car gracefully, there was a crowd already.“Ria!” her friends Tatiana and Aria got to her first, “How are you?” “You have noidea what is going on here!” they were both speaking at once.“Oh, I think I have a pretty good idea,” she chuckled, happy that she could stillcount on the two she-wolves.

She knew very well that loyal friends werepriceless.“Is that true?” Aria lowered her voice, “Did you really divorce Brayden?”“Can you blame her?” Maya joined the group and Tatiana gave her a hug.

Theywere all shattered by everything that was going on in the pack lately and werehappy to see her doing“I guess not,” the bubbly blonde giggled, “But is it true that you both are mated tolycans?“Yes,” Riannon couldn’t help but smile and pointed at Reid, “Meet Maya’s mateReid Frazer, the Lycan King’s Beta.”“My, oh, my!” Tatianna jabbed her friend with her elbow, “Lucky you!”“It’s not the time for all this,” Maya interrupted them, blushing probably for the firsttime in her life, “Right now we have more pressing matters.

Help us to gather thepack members.

As many as possible.”“Just give us a sec!” both girls nodded and disappeared in two differentdirections.

In the meantime, Riannon took a deep breath and pushed the doorinto the house that had been her home for many years.Brayden was sitting in his office with a glass of whiskey in his hand.

Everythingfelt wrong and he knew exactly when and how it started.magic

“My love,” his omega mate wrapped her arms around his shoulders, trying tomassage them gently, “You are doing everything right.

You can’t let her win afterwhat she did to you.

You are a good man and it’s her mistake for not seeing youfor who you are.

She started it.”And yet he hesitated as his hand froze above his laptop’s keyboard.

One push ofa button and Riannon would never have access to their pack’s money.“Just do it,” Roxanne pushed him, “And within a month the whole pack will beyours again.

People wouldn’t tolerate an incompetent Alpha.

They will chooseyou over her.

She will be left with just her land and no pack members.”But at least half of this money came from the merger of their packs andbusinesses.

He knew very well that if he did this, it would be wrong on very manylevels.

And his ex-wife would be able to go to court and even win the case.

Butby then, her pack would be done.He frowned.

They were his people once too.

He knew that most of The PearlMoon pack would follow Riannon.

It was a given.

Not to mention that they hadtheir homes on her land.

And he did not want to harm them.

They also helped tobring him to his former glory.His ex-wife was the only one he wanted to punish.

For betraying him and formaking a fool out of him in front of everyone.

He wanted this even though heknew that she was in her right.He humiliated her first.

And now he saw it.

His omega mate was whisperingsomething in great ended up being such a disappointment.He never wanted to make Roxanne a Luna.

She wasn’t fit for the role.

She wassexy as hell but there was no comparison between her and Riannon.

Despitehelping him back with Maya once, she couldn’t offer him much.

She couldn’t leadtheir people in battle, considering how weak she was.

She couldn’t take care ofpack matters since she didn’t have the proper education.

So far, she was just a

pretty face.

And this wasn’t good enough.

It was definitely a downgrade fromwhat he used to have, and everyone would see it that way.He regretted bringing her into his pack.

Now he was even thinking that he shouldhave rejected her as everybody had been telling him to do.

Then everythingwould have been different...He still couldn’t believe that Riannon was lost to him.

Even if he managed todestroy her pack, she wouldn’t be back.

She would be the lycan queen.

And hisenemy forever.It hurt.

Having her as his enemy was painful since she had been his best friendfor many years.

He shared everything with her and was sure that she wouldunderstand the need for his mate.But this was what broke them.

He saw that now and he regretted it.

If he hadknown...

If he had a chance to change the past, he would have.No matter how hard he tried, he wasn’t in love with his mate the way he was withhis ex-wife.

However strange that sounded.

He wanted Roxy 24/7, the pull wasthere and his wolf wanted her too.

But she didn’t feel like the other piece of hissoul, she didn’t feel his mind the way Riannon used to.

He now knew that mateswere overrated.Then again, he did not mark her.

That could be it.

They didn’t have thatconnection yet.His hand instinctively went to the mark on his neck, the scars still protruding fromhis skin.When the lycan king mentioned the mark disappearing on Riannon’s neck, hewas in shock.

It wasn’t supposed to be possible.

And yet here they were.He needed more time to figure out what was going on and how to bounce backfrom all this.

But time was one thing that he did not have.

“You are hesitating,” Roxanne sighed and circled his chair, moving the laptopaway from him and sitting on the edge of his desk, “I really did not want to do itthis way, Brayden.

I just wanted you to choose your own future and understandthat your ex-wife is not worthy of you.But you are losing this battle to her, and I can’t stay behind like this anymore.There is“What is it?” he was slightly annoyed as he needed to think about everything.Preferably alone.But when she took his hand and placed it on her belly, his lips parted in shock.

“Iam with child, Brayden,” the redhead smiled, “With your child.

Your heir.”“That’s impossible,” he muttered, “I only forgot myself once and...”“Once is enough for true mates,” the girl bent down and placed a kiss on his lips,igniting his inner desire for her, “This is what happens when you are with the rightpartner.

I will give you a son, Alpha Brayden Thorn.

He will be an Alpha amongall alphas.”He caressed her belly, lost in his thoughts.

There was a reason why he did notwant to risk it with her.

Since she was an omega, she could give him low-rankedpups.

Which would be unforgivable.

It would make him the laughingstockamongst other alphas.

Not to mention that it would jeopardize his pack’s future.And he couldn’t afford that.This was one of the reasons why Riannon was a perfect partner for him.

With heralpha bloodline, she could guarantee alpha pups to her husband.He regretted once again that he didn’t have children with her yet.

That wouldhave solved all their problems.

The pups would be his and she would never leavehim as a result.

They would build their alpha empire together just as they dreamtwhen they were younger.

But instead, they were both caught up in their work all the time and keptpostponing it.

This was one of his biggest mistakes.Now it would be next to impossible to get her back.

She was with the Lycan kingof all people.

She was his mate...

And even if she wasn’t, it would be too hard tocompete with him.

He had power and money.

Money...Brayden stared at the screen of his laptop.

He needed it more now than Riannondid.

This was the only way for him to remain powerful enough.“Will you say something?” the omega pouted her lips, “I know it’s too early to tell,but I can feel that our baby is an Alpha! It’s like the power has been circlingthrough my bloodstream since I got pregnant.”This gave him hope.

Maybe his mate could act as a Luna after all? She hadalready proved to him her scheming skills once.

That might come in handy in thefuture again.

But if she managed to become a mother of an Alpha, thenothers would respect his choice too.

This could be the way out that he needed.

atthe Summit and he owed her nothing anymore.He pressed the button and looked at the screen, relaxing only when he saw atransaction confirmation message.

It was done.“I am so proud of you, Brayden,” Roxanne jumped onto his lap and this time helet her,” There is something else I need to tell you.

Something about your ex-wifethat I learnt recently.

I think you are going to like this information.”He looked at her with a newfound interest.“Do tell,” he encouraged her and she leaned all the way down to his ear,whispering what she knew and making his eyes go wide.But at the next moment they heard Riannon’s voice in the nearby hallway,“Honey! I am home!”