Then came you
/1/125378/coverbig.jpg?v=bc5e6754fc3c325012d5e445be2fbfb1)
His Discarded Luna, the Rival's Obsession
"No wolf. No family. Harmless. Useful. The second I am done with her, the Luna title is yours." Eira Crawford heard those words through her husband's office door. For four years, she had been Sebastian Vale's hidden mate. She managed his household, entertained his relatives, cleaned up his messes, and lived on the three thousand dollars he gave her each month like charity. Even buying a new coat required an explanation. But for his first love, he casually prepared three hundred thousand dollars in research funding. To Sebastian, Eira was nothing more than a wolfless Omega from an orphanage. A quiet, obedient wife with no pack, no power, and no value beyond being useful. He had never introduced her publicly as his Luna. His family treated her like a servant. His sweetheart mocked her as a woman who could only survive by clinging to an Alpha. So Eira stopped crying. She recorded the affair, filed for mate dissolution, and placed the divorce papers in front of Sebastian. Even then, he thought she was throwing a tantrum. He signed without hesitation, certain she would come crawling back once she realized no one else would want a discarded, wolfless Omega. He was wrong. The woman he left at home washing dishes was a Stanford-trained electrical engineer. The "useless" wife he ignored was the hidden chief engineer behind a national self-developed chip project. Her movements were classified. Her disappearance could alert the federal authorities. Her name, once revealed, was enough to shake the entire scientific community. And Sebastian knew nothing. After walking out of his house with nothing but her freedom, Eira crossed paths with Killian Sterling, the coldest and most powerful Alpha in the north. He did not know her name yet, but his wolf recognized something in her that everyone else had missed. Meanwhile, Sebastian finally realized that Eira was not bluffing. He searched the entire city like a madman. For the first time in four years, he publicly called her his wife. He demanded she return. He begged for another chance. But by then, Eira was no longer waiting in his house. She was seated at the Sterling Pack's dinner table, dressed with quiet confidence, while the most feared Alpha in North America stood beside her. In front of everyone, Killian Sterling placed his hand at her back and said coldly, "Eira is not anyone's discarded Omega." "She is my Luna."
Chapter 1 Serpent's Coil
The main screen flashed green.
SUCCESS
For one stunned second, the clean room went silent.
Then the lab exploded.
"We got it!"
Cheers broke out across the room. Someone slapped Eira on the shoulder as Professor Davies pushed through the crowd and pulled her into a quick hug.
"Eira, look at those numbers. This is huge. We just changed the game."
A researcher behind him let out a low whistle. "National pride, military contracts, and enough money to make half the country lose its mind. Not bad for one night, Dr. Crawford."
Davies leaned closer so she could hear him over the noise.
"Your husband is Alpha Sebastian Hale, right?"
Eira nodded.
"This could give Hale Pack a serious edge," he said. "If they get access before the other Packs, they'll leave everyone else in the dust."
His words hit harder than she expected.
She pictured Sebastian opening the certification report. His face would go still first. Then his eyes would sharpen. Maybe, just maybe, he would look at her with something close to respect.
She had wanted that look for four years.
"I'll tell him tonight," Eira said.
Davies grinned. "Good. Let him see what you've been up to."
Eira smiled, but her fingers tightened around the folder.
[No, ]she thought.
[I'm giving him the biggest advantage of his life because I'm his wife.]
She cleared three security checkpoints, changed out of her clean-room suit, and collected the final certification documents.
Her name was printed across the first page.
Dr. Eira Crawford.
She ran her thumb over the title.
This time, no one could call her useless. No one could brush her off as a wolfless omega. No one could say she had nothing to offer an Alpha.
She had built something powerful enough to make entire Packs fight for access.
And tonight, she was going to put it in Sebastian Hale's hands.
--
The VIP elevator took her straight to the top floor of Hale Tower an hour later. Alpha Sebastian used the private suite for late business meetings, and sometimes he slept there when he claimed Hale Group's work ran too late. Eira had brought him dinner there more times than she could count.
This time she brought him a future.
She stepped out of the elevator with the folder held against her chest. The hallway was quiet, thick with expensive carpet and soft yellow wall lights. She was twenty feet from his office when her steps slowed.
Her nose knew before her mind did.
Cedar. Sharp, familiar, warm in the way only Alpha Sebastian's scent could be. It was the scent she had fallen asleep beside for four years, even when his side of the bed stayed cold too long.
But under it was something else.
Sweet. Floral. Not hers.
Eira stopped.
The office door was not fully closed. A thin line of light spilled through the gap, and with it came the mixed scents of two people standing too close.
Then Alpha Sebastian spoke.
"Serena, you know I've always loved you. She means nothing."
The folder slipped slightly in Eira's grip. She caught it before it fell.
Serena's voice came next, soft and wet around the edges, but there was a thin blade of amusement underneath. "If you love me, why did you let that Omega orphan become your Luna? Why didn't you come after me when I left?"
Alpha Sebastian gave a low laugh. Eira knew that laugh. He used it when he wanted someone to feel foolish for doubting him. "You're jealous?"
"Shouldn't I be?" Serena asked.
"I chose her because you left," Alpha Sebastian said. His voice softened, but the softness made it worse. "I needed a Luna. The elders wanted the position filled, and Eira was harmless. No family. No wolf. No one to challenge me."
Harmless.
Eira stood outside the door, unable to breathe.
Serena made a small sound of disgust. "And now?"
"Now she's useful." Alpha Sebastian sounded almost bored. "She runs the house, handles Pack accounts, keeps my mother from turning every dinner into a war. Why would I throw away a tool that still works?"
The word sank into Eira slowly.
Tool.
Not wife. Not Luna. Not partner.
Tool.
Serena was silent for a moment. When she spoke again, her voice had lost its tears. "I don't want to stay hidden forever."
"You won't." Fabric shifted inside the room. "When the time is right, the Luna position will be yours."
"And the heir?"
Alpha Sebastian's answer came without hesitation. "My heir will only come from you."
Eira closed her eyes.
For four years, Alpha Sebastian had avoided touching her. He told her she was young. He told her the silver poisoning he suffered years ago might still affect his body. He said he did not want to hurt her. She had believed him because she wanted to believe there was kindness inside the distance. She had thought he respected her. She had thought patience was love wearing a quiet face.
No.
The truth was simple.
She was not Serena.
Through the crack in the door, she saw Alpha Sebastian lower his head to Serena's neck. His nose brushed her skin, and his expression changed in a way Eira had never seen directed at her. Desire made his proud face almost drunk.
"I missed you," he murmured. "Your scent. Your voice."
Serena leaned into him. "Then divorce her."
"Not yet."
"Why?"
Alpha Sebastian's tone cooled, turning into the voice he used in board meetings. "Because she still serves a purpose. Give her a little attention, and she'll do anything for this family. Don't touch the tool before I'm done using it."
Eira's fingers tightened around the folder until the edge bent.
Inside it was a certification that could have changed Hale Pack's future. She had imagined placing it on Alpha Sebastian's desk and watching pride finally dawn in his eyes. She had imagined him saying her name like it mattered.
Instead, she heard the truth.
For a moment, pain emptied her completely. Then something colder moved in.
She took out her phone with steady hands and pressed record. The screen captured the gap in the door, the angle of Alpha Sebastian's face, Serena's hands on his shirt, the kiss that followed, the way he whispered her name like a vow. Eira recorded until her soul felt far away from her body. Five minutes. Enough for any lawyer. Enough for any Council hearing. Enough for any fool who later tried to call her dramatic.
Then she stopped the recording.
She walked back to the elevator without making a sound. The doors closed around her, cutting off cedar and flowers at last.
In the polished steel, her reflection looked calm.
So calm it felt like a stranger was staring back.
***
Outside Hale Tower, the cold air hit Eira's face. She did not cry. Tears felt too small for what had happened.
She called the legal division of the National Research Institute. Susan answered on the third ring.
"Dr. Crawford?"
"I need a formal mate separation agreement. I have proof of my mate's affair. I want the bond ended and my name removed from all Hale Pack records as soon as possible."
"Standard filing or protected status?"
"Full protection. Highest level. Sebastian must not learn about my security clearance."
Susan paused. "That process will cost you."
"I don't care how much it costs." Eira looked up at Hale Tower. "Get his signature before he figures out what he's losing."
She ended the call and walked away without looking back.
/0/20164/coverbig.jpg?v=d4dcac2e4eb7b5e7421d9f63b5feb15b)
And Then There's You
What do you think will happen if an emotionally damaged woman meets an emotionally lost man? This is a story about two strangers with their fair share of heartbreak. Fion Scott is an emotionally damaged woman because of a failed relationship. Her ex-boyfriend made her believe that she's too hard
/1/113844/coverbig.jpg?v=1b8ffbe4dd8208ce10aacc7644f4ad86)
"He Chose Her... Then Came Back to Me"
"You don't get to hurt me and then make me responsible for how guilty you feel about it." "Friends don't stand next to you, learn everything about you, and then use it to get close to the one person they know matters." Aria thought she knew two things for certain: she was going to graduate with he
/0/38203/coverbig.jpg?v=78731908565f3d7d2208561b642ced70)
Back Then, I Loved You So Much
For the past twenty years, Shen Siyin had persistently loved a man named Xiao Zonghan. Even though he was resentful of her, she never thought of giving up. But now, she is in the verge of quitting ...
/0/5343/coverbig.jpg?v=b44f215d87cfe49ac73d93853d625a3a)
/0/46468/coverbig.jpg?v=261467c034f295ca0b48d7f6325aa996)
Mr Billionaire, I Came Back To Love You
"Hubby, I am hungry." He looked at her with a gaze full of tenderness and asked, "What do you want to eat?" He asked her. "You..." she said shyly to him. She said her face was red. Hubby, I love you so much." "Hubby, how do I look?" "Hubby this, Hubby that..." ..... Olivia Fred was happy
/0/38763/coverbig.jpg?v=0709970bfecd1f5fe412002907769292)
Love Came Along
She was supposed to keep it short and as professional as possible, if she wanted her mother to be well. What Kate did, she fell in love with Kevin, the man whose reputation she was supposed to destroy. What happens when Love Comes Along? Original Author: Story Godmother
/0/38331/coverbig.jpg?v=7f9da140486bca5e94fcaa3bc19b7bf5)
She Came from Hell
Judith Pate was driven out of the Pate family at fourteen years old and was sold to an illegal factory by her beloved brother. At that time, she thought she was dead. But she met a soldier who saved her. Therefore, she wanted to be alive and find this man. Four years later, she came back home as the
/0/71030/coverbig.jpg?v=30f570e047c742a62f5897bc56ff6a19)
She Came to Conquer
Elizabeth's life was never easy, but she worked hard to turn things around-until her fiancé, Daniel, betrayed her. Teaming up with her childhood friend, Stephanie, he cheated, stole her wealth, and left her to die. But fate gave Elizabeth a second chance. She wakes up in the body of Aurellia Black
/0/87393/coverbig.jpg?v=66b37eb8b1c7502e6e58caeab2c07925)
Kiss me, Then Hate me
They were never supposed to fall in love. Not after what he did. Not after what she became. In the high-stakes world of Manhattan's elite business scene, Ariella Blake is a fiery, self-made marketing executive with a sharp tongue, a red dress, and a past no one dares ask about. She's brilliant, bol
/0/86776/coverbig.jpg?v=78d6cdd31005682cce304d16075a2801)
Cast Out, Then Called Back
The day my world fell apart was my 21st birthday, meant for joy and family warmth. Instead, it brought the stinging heat of a slap across my cheek. My older brothers, Ethan and Liam, surprised our family by bringing home Lily, a seven-year-old orphan, daughter of a student who died alongside our re
/0/90169/coverbig.jpg?v=e158e60e6900ace043a448d38b11819c)
Fifteen Years, Then A Photo
For fifteen years, my husband Dustin and I were the fairytale. The high school sweethearts who made it, the tech CEO and his devoted wife. Our life was perfect. Then a text message arrived from an unknown number. It was a picture of his assistant's hand on his thigh in the suit pants I bought him.
/0/85513/coverbig.jpg?v=8b65fd600117773b116bc45852a3b0e0)
Once Rejected Then Desired
To Ronan, I was nothing but a weak, wolfling girl. So he did what cold-hearted Alphas do-he rejected me. Now I'm stronger. Wilder. Dangerous. And when he returns, burning with jealousy over the Alpha I let touch me... it's too late. Or maybe, it's just the beginning. Because the bond between us st
/0/7648/coverbig.jpg?v=7506bc0cf69552b2399bfece980aa291)
How It All Came Round
This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preservin
/1/103554/coverbig.jpg?v=7baff352de0d71347569e92b50c944b8)
I CAME BACK FOR BLOOD
Sign the papers and disappear. You were never one of us." Those were the last words Seraphina Cole heard before the Ashford dynasty erased her existence. They took her marriage. They stole her unborn child with lies and cruelty. They branded her unstable, unworthy, disposable, then dumped her into t
/0/97544/coverbig.jpg?v=791ddee5c8f4f3e401cf90b82f548cd1)
His Ex-Wife Came Back-Stronger
"Listen, I'm tired of this marriage. We only got married because I needed a wife to secure my CEO position, and now that it's settled, you're not useful to me anymore." My husband, Dale, said to my face, nothing close to guilt flashing in his expression. And that was when I knew... I really was n
/0/82883/coverbig.jpg?v=28135e028bbfba6187398b78f41e471b)
The Wife Who Came Back To Kill
My life as Evelyn Reed, the quiet wife to the ambitious Senator Harrison Bishop III, was finally complete - I was pregnant, a joyful secret I' d just shared with my husband. But Victoria, my beautiful, cruel stepsister, offered me a "special herbal tea" for the baby. Soon, searing pain tore through
/1/124185/coverbig.jpg?v=b76af4a724f8c55d9f984006629f806c)
Came Back Hotter With The Heir's Love
Three-year-old Adria Carlisle was dragged out of a warm car into the freezing rain by her father, Herman Rich. He shoved her small body into the mud outside a dilapidated orphanage, stuffing a crumpled fifty-dollar bill into her teddy bear. "From today on, you don't have a father," he said coldly.
/1/105203/coverbig.jpg?v=da5bc2911f0d34562ec6980140097061)
Love Me Then Destroy Me
She woke up in a billionaire's arms in a penthouse with a view of the Seine. She was wearing a ring she didn't remember saying yes i do to When Lana Cruz wakes up after a terrible accident, the only person there is Adrian Black, the powerful CEO who says she is his wife. His touch is familiar, and
/0/82829/coverbig.jpg?v=37946aff09177e20ee2b326f0b998f94)
The Bride Who Came Back
For ten years, I, Savannah Miller, foolishly adored Ethan Prescott, the golden boy of Prescott Global. Our families, titans of industry, were finally uniting through our marriage, a strategic play to bail out his crumbling empire – a dream come true, or so I thought. On our remote wedding night, Et
/0/84115/coverbig.jpg?v=3367577277d4a0829c55beece8c4eb31)
The Heiress Who Came Back
"Don't you dare mess this up, Gabrielle," my mother hissed, her knuckles white on the steering wheel. She' d arranged a "golden ticket" meeting with a wealthy heir, supposedly for my future. But a chilling warning about my best friend Molly, "Don't let Molly anywhere near this. She'll ruin it,"
