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Modric POV I slammed the door to my father’s study harder than I should have, but the sound barely registered over the roar in my head. Alpha Volkov, my father sat behind his desk like a king on his throne, the contract papers spread out in front of him like some kind of death sentence. His face was carved from stone, gray eyes the same shade as mine staring back at me without a flicker of doubt. “It’s signed, Modric,” he said, voice flat. “The Moon Council approved the alliance. You’re marrying Mary Ann Sterling this weekend. The ceremony is set for Saturday at the neutral grounds. No more delays.” The words landed like a punch to the gut. I laughed, sharp and bitter. “The hell I am. I’m not marrying that girl. I love Velvera. She’s been by my side for years. She’s going to be my Luna. End of discussion.” Father rose slowly, his massive frame casting a long shadow across the room. He’d always been intimidating, even as age had started to silver his temples. But tonight, he looked every bit the ruthless Alpha who had built Ironclaw into what it was. “You don’t have a choice. Another war with Moonstone would bleed us dry. This union secures our borders, our future. Mary Ann is the price. You will pay it.” I stepped forward, fists clenched at my sides. My wolf raged beneath my skin, claws itching to break free. “Price? She’s the Fat Luna and unappealing, Dad. The one everyone laughed at. I’m not tying myself to her for the rest of my life while Velvera watches from the sidelines.” His expression didn’t change. “Then you leave me one choice.” He paused, letting the silence stretch until it felt like a blade at my throat. “Marry Mary Ann and uphold your duty as my heir… or be stripped of your title and disowned. You will no longer be part of this pack. No claim. No protection. Nothing.” The floor seemed to drop out from under me. I stared at him, waiting for the punchline, for any sign that this was some twisted test. But there was none. Just cold, hard Alpha resolve. “You’d really do that to your only son?” My voice cracked despite myself. “Over some alliance?” “I would do it for the pack,” he said quietly. “And so will you. That’s what it means to be Alpha. Love is secondary. Duty is everything.” Fury burned through me, hot and blinding. I wanted to smash the desk, to shift and run until my lungs gave out. But beneath the rage was the truth I couldn’t escape, I couldn’t lose Ironclaw. This pack was my blood, my legacy, the only thing that had ever mattered more than anything else. Velvera would understand. She had to. “Fine,” I spat, the word tasting like ash. “I’ll marry her. But don’t expect me to play happy mate.” Father nodded once, as if he’d expected nothing less. “Good. Now go handle your… personal matters. The pack is watching.” I stormed out without another word, my boots pounding against the hardwood floors. The drive to Velvera’s place blurred by in a haze of anger. Her small cottage sat on the edge of our territory, lights warm in the windows like they always were when she waited for me. I killed the engine and sat there for a minute, gripping the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white. She opened the door before I even knocked, her face lighting up with that smile that usually settled every storm inside me. Velvera was everything, slim, graceful, with long auburn hair and sharp green eyes that saw right through me. She threw her arms around my neck, pressing her body against mine. “You did it,” she whispered, kissing my jaw. “You convinced him. I knew you would. Our future—” “Vel,” I cut her off, gently pushing her back inside and closing the door. The words stuck in my throat like broken glass. “The contract’s signed. I’m marrying Mary Ann Sterling this weekend.” She froze, her hands still on my chest. For a second, I saw confusion, then disbelief, and finally the c***k that shattered everything. “What?” I tried to pull her close again, but she stepped back like I’d burned her. “It’s not what I want. My father gave me no choice, marry her or lose everything. The pack, the title… all of it. I can’t walk away from that, Vel. You know I can’t.” Tears welled up in her eyes, fast and furious. “Years, Modric. I’ve spent years preparing to be your Luna. Standing by you through every challenge, every late night, every time you needed someone strong at your side. And now you’re just… throwing me away for some alliance?” “It’s not like that,” I growled, reaching for her again. She slapped my hand away. “I’ll still protect you. You’ll have a place here. I’ll make sure—” “A place?” Her voice rose, sharp and broken. “Like some discarded mistress? While you parade that… that girl around as your Luna? The one you used to mock in school? I heard the stories, Modric. Fat Luna. And now she gets everything I worked for?” The pain in her eyes gutted me. I stepped closer, cupping her face even as she tried to pull away. “Velvera, please. This doesn’t change how I feel about you. You’re the one I love. Mary Ann is just… politics. A means to an end.” She shoved me hard, her wolf flashing in her eyes. “Get out. Get the hell out of my house. If you can’t choose me, then don’t come crawling back when you realize what you’ve done.” “Vel—” “Out!” she screamed, tears streaming down her face. She grabbed a vase from the side table and hurled it at the wall behind me. It shattered, shards scattering like my entire world. “I hate you for this.” I stood there for a moment, stunned, before turning and walking out. The door slammed behind me with a finality that echoed in my bones. I got back in the truck and drove, no destination in mind, until I ended up at the old riverside bar on the edge of town, the kind of place where Alphas didn’t usually go to be seen. The whiskey burned going down, but not enough to drown the images flashing through my mind. Velvera’s tears. My father’s ultimatum. And worst of all, the memory of Mary Ann from the Academy those wide eyes, that soft body I’d mocked because it made something dangerous stir in me even then. I’d called her Fat Luna to push her away, to keep the weakness at bay. Now she was going to be my wife whether I wanted it or not. I drank until the bar spun and the bartender cut me off. Stumbling out into the cool night air, I leaned against the truck, the world tilting hard. I brought out my phone to text her. I have always had her number since school days: See you soon, Fat Luna. Try not to disappoint me again. — Modric “I’ll marry her…” I muttered to the empty darkness, voice slurred and raw. “But she’ll never be my wife.”