Rejected Luna, Love Me Again

The moment Riana stepped off the plane onto the rain-slicked tarmac of Ambrose City's airport, she let herself hope-just for a moment-that her husband might be there to greet her.

But fate had never been particularly kind to her. Inside her bag, her phone buzzed relentlessly with birthday wishes-pack members, distant cousins, colleagues, friends-all except the one that mattered.

Wesley Winters.

Alpha of the Winters Pack. Her husband of seven years.

A wry, familiar smile touched her lips. Seven years. Why did she still expect anything different from Wesley? Even sharing a daughter hadn't been enough to win his heart.

Their marriage had begun in a haze of passion, a one-night stand sealed by an unexpected pregnancy, binding two strangers who felt no destined bond. But their families had been delighted; it was the most advantageous alliance for both packs. Their years together had been less a marriage and more a cohabitation of distant roommates.

So what had compelled her to be such a hopeful fool? To cut her business trip short, haul her designer luggage through the storm, and take a redeye flight back here?

"Mommy, you have to come back on time! Daddy promised we'd celebrate your birthday together this year!" Her daughter's innocent smile flashed in her mind.

Willa. Her miracle. The one beautiful thing to come from that chaotic night.

Though her marriage to Wesley had begun in disgrace, their daughter was a treasure they both cherished.

Her thumb hovered over Wesley's contact - still saved as "Beastly" in her phone after all these years. For Willa, she could endure one more civil conversation. For Willa, she'd pretend they were still the picture-perfect family the Pack expected.

The call connected.

"Hello?" A sultry female voice answered. Not Wesley.

Riana's blood turned to ice.

"Delilah." Riana didn't need to ask. The voice alone was enough to make her claws extend, piercing through her manicured fingertips.

Her half-sister. The daughter of the woman who'd shattered her family-her mother's life.

If her marriage to Wesley was a tragedy since the beginning, then Delilah's dramatic claim of being Wesley's fated mate at their wedding reception had been the final act.

The Regalia elders had shipped the girl off to Switzerland that very night, but the damage was done - Wesley now had permanent proof that Riana was the villain in his love story.

A rather beautiful villain, she thought with a smile.

"Oh, Riana," her half-sister crooned, saccharine-sweet. "How are-"

"Put Wesley on." Her voice was ice. She had no interest in how this bitch had returned; it was obvious her so-called husband was involved. Riana didn't need more bombshells to fray her nerves.

She was only here to fulfill her daughter's wish, to provide the long-awaited family reunion.

"Mm, he's. occupied. In the shower." A deliberate pause that was meant to mock Riana. "We just finished hot yoga. He's all. slippery."

Hot yoga? Riana scoffed inwardly. Wesley had always been the most sought-after Alpha, before and after marriage; she