Chapter 1

I had been hiding my identity and living as Cain Thorne's ordinary mate for three years.

The day I found out I was pregnant, he said out of nowhere: "I'm getting bonded to the Forsythe Alpha's daughter in three days."

"I'm the Alpha Heir of Thorne Pack. We're matched in rank. The formal claim has already been sent to her father, and..." He paused. "She and I have already been together."

I just stood there. He kept going.

"I'll set you up with a house. You and the pup won't want for anything."

I stared at him. "So I'm just your hidden mate for life? Never seen in public?"

Cain looked away. "Celeste is a proper, respectable match. As long as you don't make a scene in front of her, you'll still be my mate in everything but name. I can give you and the pup everything except the title."

Something sharp hit the back of my throat. I hadn't realized how little I mattered to him.

"What if I told you I'm just as good a match for you as she is?"

Cain was quiet for a moment. Then he finally spoke.

"Aria, I know it was wrong to hide who I was and bond with someone else. But there are no what-ifs in the real world. The only female in the Capital Territory who matches my rank is Celeste Forsythe."

"You and I have lived together at this cottage for three years. I know exactly who you are."

He could hide his identity. Why did he assume I couldn't hide mine?

I looked around. We had built this cottage with our own hands, cleared this land together. I wanted so badly for all of it to have been real.

"Cain, I'm carrying your pup. Can't we just stay the way we were? Don't bond with her."

I watched his face, desperate. If he said yes, I would let everything go.

But he just pressed his lips together. "Celeste and I have already been together. I have to take responsibility for her."

My eyes burned. My whole body shook. "What about me? Don't you have to take responsibility for me and your pup?"

Cain reached over and wiped the tears from my face. His eyes were full of something that looked like pain.

"Aria, I'm just bonding with her. I'm not abandoning you."

"There's a house near the edge of the Territory. I've already bought it. If you want a garden, I'll have people plant vegetables and fruit trees in the yard. Whatever you want, I'll make it happen. Trust me."

I stepped back and kept shaking my head.

"I don't want to be locked away as your hidden mate. I don't want my pup and me to live our whole lives in secret."

Cain walked toward me, his face calm, his voice even. "I never thought of you as hidden. As long as you don't come to the Pack Manor and make trouble, you'll still be my mate there. Okay?"

I shook my head again. "No. I'm not going anywhere except here."

Three years of being with Cain were in this cottage. I wanted to stay here and wait for my pup to be born.

"Aria, you know this. My bonding ceremony can't have any complications. I have to erase any trace of us. That's the only way you and the pup stay safe."

Before I could process what he was saying, he raised his hand and the guards behind him lit their torches and set fire to the cottage.

In seconds, the flames spread everywhere. The walls, the fence, the yard, all of it.

I clutched my belly and screamed. "Stop it. Stop!"

Cain grabbed me and pulled me into his arms.

He let me beat my fists against his chest.

"Easy. When the time is right, I'll make you my co-mate. The pup can have a legitimate name. We can go back to how things were."

Cain, I am an Alpha King's daughter. I can't be your co-mate.

The cottage was gone. We could never go back.

Three years ago, I had fought with my father and left the Palace, chasing some dream of a simple life. I slipped away from his guards and found this place at the foot of the ridge.

That was when I met Cain. He was on horseback, the wind in his hair, grinning. One look and I was completely gone.

I hid who I was. He said he was just a wandering wolf. We bonded under the open sky, just the two of us.

No wealth, no rank. Just the two of us working this land together.

Then the cottage burned. And I was locked in the guest house.

I could only see the outside world through a gap in the wall.

Some women passing by were talking in low voices about the bonding ceremony at Thorne Manor.

"Did you hear? The Alpha Heir pulled in a military favor from the Alpha King himself to get the Princess's royal tiara for his bride."

"Well, Celeste Forsythe is the Forsythe Alpha's daughter. That kind of gesture fits."

"They're perfectly matched. What a pair."

The tiara they were talking about was the one reserved for the Alpha King's daughter. I had never been given it because I wasn't old enough yet when I left.

When Cain and I had bonded, the only thing on my head was a flower crown he wove himself.

He'd said: "My Aria deserves the best in the world. Even the Princess's crown would suit you."

And now he'd used his military service to get that very crown for Celeste.