CHAPTER 1

I’d like to believe that everything happening around me right now was all part of a fairytale that I once dreamt of.  As this evening will go down in history as the most memorable night of my entire existence, and also for the entire Blue Moon Pack as well. It's hard for me to believe that the day we've been waiting for has finally arrived. 

Matteo and I have been dating for about 4 years and a half, and I have always dreamt of this day to come. I remember being an ordinary cook’s daughter back then and eventually became his friend and then lover.

An overwhelming rain of delight showers down at me while recollecting how he first confessed that he wanted me to be his bride. In fact, he is going so far as to order his men to bring me the Sapphire blue gown that I will be donning for tonight.

The sight of it dangling from the body mannequin that is located next to my vanity drawer just leaves me completely speechless. The sequences and swarovski beads that were incorporated into the design of my gown are beautiful.

Who could have thought that Matteo, the famous Alpha of the blue moon pack, is actually having me as his Luna bride. In my life, I have always been the center of bullying, and after Matteo came into my life, everything changed.

From that feeble and oftenly bullied girl before, now everyone tries to avoid getting in my way since I am Matteo’s woman. It suddenly makes my face turn red while imagining consummating our wedding night just so I can provide an heir for him.

I feel so embarrassed that the first thing I do is shake my head, and then smack myself in the face. I can't be thinking about that seriously right now, of all times.

The Blue Moon is a notable pack that lives on the outskirts of Anacortes, which is located in the state of Washington. My life has always been safe and peaceful here in this far-off city near the coast, and this is especially true now that this well-known pack is keeping that peace.

Suddenly, one of my personal maids enters the room and walks right up to me, interrupting my moment of peace and quiet.

“Miss Odessa, I’m sorry to barge into your room but the guests are already waiting in the garden. Shall I help you with your gown now?” she said. And as soon as she says that, I quickly snap out of my reverie and back into the here and now. 

The maid assists me with putting on the gown as well as styling my hair. She gives my wavy black hair an exquisite look by tying it up in a bun and leaving a few strands out to frame my face. The end result is stunning. 

It is the ideal look to go with the royal blue gown, which exposes the upper part of my back as well as my clavicle. In addition to that, she assists me with my makeup, and while she does use some bold colors, she never lets them overpower my more natural features.

Whether or not I am wearing makeup, I never fail to receive compliments telling me that I exude an air of refined sophistication. But for tonight, however, I don’t wish to look too simple for everyone, especially Matteo. 

As the maid finishes her masterpiece with my red lipstick, she can't help but leave an overjoyed expression on her face and say, “There you go, miss Odessa, you look absolutely stunning. Surely, Master Matteo will be enamored to see you tonight.”

“You really think so?” I ask her once more. For some reason, I just can’t help feeling nervous as I come closer to seeing everyone in the garden, most especially Matteo while I wear all this look and this gown. 

“Of course, Miss Odessa. You’re Master Matteo’s mate, there is no way he would not appreciate you.”

Despite the fact that hearing that ought to have already helped to calm my nerves at least, I still can't help but wonder what their reaction will be after they actually see me. 

On the other hand, it makes me wonder if Matteo will find me more attractive after seeing me in this look than I was before. After all, he is the main reason I want to look my best for tonight's event, and I want to do that by dressing elegantly. 

When I look at myself in the vanity mirror, I notice that even my face is beginning to flush after seeing the fantastic work that my maid has done.

“Thank you for your work. I’ll head straight to the garden now.” I then said before I walked towards the garden.

When I finally arrive, everyone stops from moving to see me walk myself from the staircase down the garden. And as I am crossing the arch that is adorned with white stargazers, I can’t help but feel a little awkward while getting all of their eyes on me.

If this goes any further, I might seriously faint any moment now. Thankfully, Matteo’s friend, Senry, immediately came to my aid like he always does. 

Above all Matteo’s relatives, Senry is the kindest to me.  After Matteo–being the only child left–became all alone, Senry turns out like a real brother to Matteo and also to me. 

And then, Senry extends his hand and escorts me to the front stage where both Matteo and the rest of the guests are waiting.

“Were you all waiting too long? I’m so sorry.” I immediately told Senry.

And he just chuckles, “No need to worry. We weren’t even waiting for that long to be honest.”

“Really? That’s a relief. Although I still feel nervous.”

“Why so?”

“For some reason, I was a little scared that Matteo might not like the way I look.”

“Hey sis, you look stunning. You’re doing great, so shake that nonsense thought off, will ya? Cheer up. Otherwise, Matteo will truly be disappointed.” 

When I'm feeling down, Senry always knows just what to say to make me feel better. Like a real brother, Senry—especially when difficult situations arise—is the one who comes to my aid, and for that, I always owe him a debt of gratitude. 

As both of us make our way toward the front stage, I finally notice that the organizers have put a lot of effort into making this occasion look as impressive as possible. Even the entirety of the garden has been decked out with a substantial number of Stargazer flowers. 

Everyone is dressed to the nines in their finest evening attire, including suits and elegant dresses. The vast majority of them come from well-known packs located outside of Anacortes. The rest were either underlings of the Blue Moon pack headed by Matteo. 

Upon my arrival at the stage, the first thing that I notice is Chelsie’s Presence. That made me wonder what she is doing here when I don’t remember inviting her in. She is my rival. Ever since we were kids, all she has done is make my life miserable.

Right now, I can’t help but wonder why she is here at our engagement party. 

That sense of anxiety I am feeling is triggered more when Matteo’s other friend, Rogen, comes around to approach Matteo. It isn’t too hard to overhear them given my very short distance from them.

And horror quickly rushes to paint on my face as I have heard what Rogen told Matteo.

“Matteo, Chelsie’s here to inform you about the veracity of her claim that Odessa is the culprit behind the missing fund of your company. She found evidence proving that Odessa transferred the missing funds into an unidentified account that belongs to her.”

I suddenly have this eerie feeling of being frozen at the moment out of shock. This accusation they have been pointing at me is not even true. I can not steal anything from Matteo.

And as the conversation still proceeds, I can already feel my hands shaking and my knees trembling. It isn’t because I am guilty, but rather, I feel like part of me is slowly becoming smaller with humiliation.

With such an accusation as that, I know I am already bringing shame for Matteo and his pack. Just when I believe things will be different now that I am going to be engaged with Matteo, apparently, it looks to me like I'll be the center of a joke once more after this.

Much worse is that I’ll also drag Matteo into this even though it isn’t even true. 

“What nonsense are you talking about?! I will have your head fed with the dogs for telling that against my mate!” Matteo eventually utters out of anger. “How can you be so sure?” 

A brown envelope containing financial records is then handed to him by Rogen. There's something about that evidence that's making it hard for me to make out what it is or what it might prove. But right now,  it seems as though someone is trying to frame me up.

I can sense the strong fury that is being demonstrated by Matteo after hearing that from Rogen. Particularly now that a concrete proof is even presented before him.

It frightens me seeing Matteo acting like that. I have never seen him behave in such a manner, but tonight, it is as though I completely don’t know the Matteo that is standing right before me.

“What’s the meaning of this, Odessa?” Matteo suddenly shifts to look at me. His face is fuming with anger. He exhibits an aura of being extremely disappointed.

And although he awaits my response, I am suddenly caught up with all that has transpired that my mouth won’t even make any move to open and defend my side.

What am I supposed to tell him? 

It isn’t enough to just say it ain't my fault. Knowing Matteo, he will need something to prove my innocence. And I don’t have anything to show him at this moment.

The tension grows even more when Senry finally speaks up in my stead. “Matteo, you should know that Odessa would never dare do that to you.”

Matteo threw out the evidence from my face and said, “Then how will you explain these financial statements to me, my dear Odessa? Since how long have you been stealing from my company?”

“I never did that, Matteo, I swear.” Finally, my mouth opens up to speak for my side. I burst out in tears while pleading. My heart hurts knowing how Matteo could easily believe others instead of defending and hearing my side of story first.

I am his fiance, his luna bride and yet, he sounds like someone who doesn’t even want to believe any of my words right from the moment he threw those documents in front of my face.

I can’t even recall when his behavior even started to change, but one thing that I am certain about is that he is no longer the Matteo that I used to know. His fury is raging that I can totally feel my body trembling by his presence. 

But just when I thought things were already over with just that false accusation on me, Chelsie suddenly chimes in the conversation to even worsen my situation. 

“I’m sorry to barge into your family matters but I believe you should see this as well, Matteo.” and then she handed over a smaller brown envelope containing pictures of me going out with another guy.

I can’t believe that she seriously uses the opportunity to sneak in my private social life for her own gains. Those pictures were caught during the time that I am asking Senry to help me with some errands. 

Senry’s face isn’t even clear from the photos but even so, I can feel that Matteo already suspects it is him. Matteo looks at him and me while painting a suspicion in his eyes.

In an effort to get away from me, Matteo instantly turns his back on me and starts to walk away. I understand that he must be feeling humiliated by all of these sudden revelations already. 

Still, it hurts me how he has completely not believed or defended me at least.  

However, I know I shouldn’t just let him go on like that without proving myself innocent of their accusations. I didn’t steal any money from the company, nor did I ever cheat on him. I can never do such things because I love him so much.

As I try to reach for his hand, Matteo suddenly shoves my hand off of him. He then looked at me and said, “Don’t touch me. I am disgusted by the mere presence of you. Do me a favor and leave this pack. From now on, I am rejecting you as my mate and my luna bride.”

I am left aside while still in complete shock of the sudden revelation that has been brushing against my face. But what shocks the hell out of me is when Matteo said those words to me right in front of the whole pack and other guests.

Did Matteo just reject me? Am I really not fit to be his Luna Bride anymore? 

My whole surroundings starts to become engulfed with total darkness and the only thing I can hear is the last few words Matteo said that keeps on echoing inside my head back and forth.

‘I am rejecting you as my mate, and my luna bride.’

Above all the things that are now slapped into my face, the reality that I have been framed made me realize that perhaps I am such a fool to be so reckless about the people’s behaviors in my surroundings. 

And as a result of that, I can never be suited as a mate for Matteo anymore. Having my name involved in such a controversy just made me an unsuited candidate to be his luna bride.

Everything that has transpired tonight does not only humiliate me but it also wreck the reputation of my family, especially the entire Blue Moon Pack. I am such a humiliation, I am nothing more than my packs’ disgrace.

Suddenly, Matteo stops right before he fully exits the garden to climb into the staircase of the manor, he slightly turns his head above his right shoulder to look back at me and said, “Oh, if you won’t accept my rejection, I am ordering my pack to hunt you down and kill you tonight, Odessa.”

I can’t believe the love of my life just said that one out in the public. He rather wants me dead should I not accept his rejection? How cruel can Matteo be?

As the feeling of devastation pervades my entire chest, there is no more face for me to even stay in this party. Particularly now that I have not just been falsely accused, blamed for cheating, humiliated and even wants me dead by my own lover.

But to my surprise, Senry quickly grabs my hand and drags me out of the party, leaving everyone, especially Matteo, even more suspicious.