Despised by my Alpha mates Claimed by their foe
His Unwanted Wife, The Hidden Genius
I flew back to New York on my twenty-fifth birthday, carrying vintage gold cufflinks I spent weeks finding for my billionaire husband, Declan. But when I walked into our townhouse, I found him throwing a massive victory party with Sloane, a glamorous socialite, standing by his side as the proud hostess. "Don't cause a scene. Go upstairs." Declan coldly dismissed me in front of his guests. Even Poppy, the rookie player whose shattered ankle I had painstakingly rebuilt, rolled her eyes and ignored me to suck up to Sloane. Hiding in the shadows, I heard the maids gossiping that everyone thought Sloane was the future Mrs. Hartford. To make matters worse, I discovered Sloane had stolen my anonymous, groundbreaking medical algorithm and was planning to present it as her own. First my husband, then the girl I mentored like family, and now the scientific foundation I had built with my own hands. Declan even texted me to cancel our birthday breakfast without a single apology, treating me like an annoying afterthought. My tears vanished, replaced by a freezing clarity. I signed the divorce papers, leaving them on his desk with zero demands for his money. Then I packed my bags, booked a one-way ticket to Boston, and prepared to destroy them on the global stage.
Chapter 1
Aurelia Vance POV:
I had been married to Declan Hartford for three years.
Today was my twenty-fifth birthday, and I had flown back from Boston in secret, hoping for one quiet evening with my husband.
I'd spent a week carefully picking out a pair of gold cufflinks as a gift for my husband.
But the laughter spilling from the front door told me I was already too late: the woman who had taken my place at his side was already inside.
The heavy oak door swung open before I reached the porch. Three young players from the New York Titans, Declan's NHL franchise, stumbled out with crystal tumblers of scotch, laughing loudly. They barely glanced at me as they passed.
I stepped into the grand foyer. The heat hit me instantly,expensive champagne, roasted tenderloin, cigar smoke.
Dozens of people filled the double parlor: executives, scouts, wives in designer dresses.
In the center stood Declan, tall and broad in a bespoke charcoal suit. Beside him, laughing into his ear, was Sloane Whitfield, her backless silver dress catching the chandelier light. Her hand rested on his forearm like she belonged there.
Before I could take another breath, a blur of blonde hair darted past my elbow.
"Sloane!" Poppy Delacroix cried, throwing her arms around Sloane's slender waist. "You were completely right about the catering! This is literally the best victory party the team has ever had!"
Poppy is fourteen, a junior elite forward prospect.
I scouted her two years ago from a crumbling youth league, back when she was at her lowest.
Her parents had once shown me great kindness, and I knew they had already passed away, leaving her all alone in the world.
Declan and I adopted her together.
I rebuilt her shattered ankle with a custom rehabilitation plan.
I had always loved and cared for her as both a mother and a sister.
Now, she did not even glance in my direction.
Declan turned his head, his gaze sweeping over the crowd until his eyes locked onto mine. The easy grin on his sharp jaw vanished instantly. His brows drew together in a hard, irritated line.
He excused himself from Sloane, cutting through the throng of players with long, impatient strides.
"Aurelia," Declan said, stopping two feet in front of me. His voice carried zero warmth. "What are you doing here?"
My throat felt like sandpaper.
"I took the four o'clock flight from Boston," I whispered, clutching the strap of my bag until my knuckles turned white. "It is my birthday, Declan. I thought we could—"
"We are celebrating the division win," he cut in, his tone sharp enough to draw blood. "The board is here. The sponsors are here. Sloane spent four consecutive days coordinating this event so the organization could project stability."
He did not look at me. His gaze slid past my shoulder to the bar, like I was a waitress who had wandered into the wrong room.
"Don't cause a scene," he added quietly. "Go upstairs."
A soft, mocking murmur rippled through a cluster of players' wives standing near the grand staircase. Two women with platinum blowouts exchanged knowing glances over their flutes of Dom Pérignon.
"I didn't know," I said, my voice barely audible over the swelling music. "I am sorry."
I turned toward the staircase, my legs trembling beneath my wool trousers.
Near the landing, Poppy was adjusting her designer jacket in the hallway mirror.
"Poppy," I said softly, pausing beside her. "How is your ankle feeling after Thursday's third period? Did you complete the isometric sequence I sent?"
Poppy rolled her eyes, sighing loudly as she pulled out her phone.
"Aurelia, please, not right now," she muttered without looking at me. "Sloane is introducing me to a marketing director from one of our partners. I don't have time for your spreadsheets."
The dismissive edge in her voice hit me harder than Declan's coldness. I had stayed up until three in the morning reviewing her biomechanical scans while she was recovering from surgery, and now I was just an annoyance in the way of her social ascent.
I walked up the rest of the stairs and entered the primary suite—the massive, sterile bedroom allocated to me under our prenuptial agreement.
I sat on the edge of the mattress and pulled out the velvet box. The gold cufflinks gleamed under the bedside lamp, cold and useless.
Downstairs, cheers erupted. The sound vibrated through the floorboards.
I walked to the French doors overlooking the rear garden. Down on the illuminated patio, Sloane was directing two servers by an ice sculpture. Declan stood beside her, his head bent down as he listened to her speak, his hand casually brushing the small of her back.
They looked like the couple the city expected them to be.
My phone buzzed in my coat pocket. I pulled it out, hoping against hope.
It was an email notification.
"Happy Birthday, Aurelia. Remember that true science requires patience and solitude. You are meant for greater arenas than New York boardrooms. -Dr. Edmund Sterling."
My mentor at Harvard was the only person in the world who had remembered.
I typed a brief "Thank you, Professor" and shut off the screen.
Hours passed. The bass eventually quieted, replaced by the occasional clatter of glassware and slamming car doors. My throat burned with thirst.
At two in the morning, I padded downstairs in my stocking feet to fetch a glass of water from the butler's pantry.
As I rounded the corner near the service hallway, the voices of two newly hired catering maids stopped me dead in my tracks.
"Miss Whitfield is stunning," the first girl whispered, scraping dessert plates into a bin. "Mr. Hartford's girlfriend carries herself like royalty."
"A girlfriend?" the other asked, pausing. "But isn't Mr. Hartford rumored to be married? Is it inappropriate to be this close with Whitfield?"
"Married?Where did that come from? Even if there was one, they must have split long ago. I've worked three events here this month, and Miss Whitfield is the only woman hosting by his side. Everyone knows she's the future Mrs. Hartford."
I shrank back into the cold shadow of the archway, my blood turning to ice.
In the home where I held a legal marriage certificate, my presence had already been wiped clean.
Despised by my Alpha mates, Claimed by their foe!
19-year-old Bellatrix finds herself exiled to an enemy pack prior to the destruction of her pack. And to worsen things, the one who brought her into the world of misery, widely feared and known for his cruelty, Alpha Anslan Robertson, turned out to be her mate. What was the way forward for this tim
Claimed By My Five Forbidden Mates
Forced to serve the five heirs who hate her most, Caidy Ellis expects nothing but misery under the Volkaris House. An ancient blood oath binds them together which makes escape impossible for all six of them. Yet as hatred turns into obsession, they soon discover the one truth that should never have
Neglected By My Mates
I was thinking about the celebration of tomorrow, the alpha coronation and it’s also the day I would get to meet my wolf and mate but I was feeling nervous about it. A lot of questions was running through my mind , what if my mate doesn’t like me? What if he reject me? I was getting frustrated alrea
Claimed By My Cruel Alpha
Kiara has been bullied by Sebastian the future alpha of the crimson crescent pack. And now all he wants is to leave the pack, get away as far as possible and never come back. But what would happen when he finds out that the person who he hates the most is his mate, Will they survive the game the fat
Claimed By My Rival Alpha
I was supposed to become Luna of Silver Fang. Instead, I was rejected, humiliated, and discarded by the mate who once swore I was his future. Then Luca, the Alpha everyone calls my mate's greatest rival, claimed me in front of the whole pack. I thought he did it to provoke a war. I thought I was not
Claimed By My Bully Alpha
Aurora Valentine wishes she could just escape this world and leave everything behind. Tormented, bullied and harassed on a daily basis, she lives in the mercy of her treacherous, gambler and alcoholic father who loves to abuse her. Her fellow students in high school despise her for no reason and she
Claimed By My Alpha Stepbrother
Family was meant to be sacred. Untouchable. Azriel was supposed to be my stepbrother. Instead, he became my ruin. I should have kept my distance. But whenever he's near, my body recalls what he has done to it. His wolf lurks beneath the surface, and it's drawing me in closer than I've ever d
CLAIMED BY MY ENEMY ALPHA
One night. One bite. And Katya never forgot the way Dmitri Volkov made her body burn. Five years later she hides with their secret twins until the cold, dangerous Alpha finds her. His eyes promise sin. His voice is a command. "Mine," he growls, dragging her close. Katya should run. But his touch
Claimed by Alpha Zane
Seventeen-year-old Nina Storm has spent her life running from her tragic past, her dormant wolf, and the dreams of a mysterious man she can't escape. Raised by her protective father after her mother's death, she has never stayed in one place long enough to call it home. But everything changed when
Claimed by the alpha
Elena's life has been a series of desperate escapes-from one foster home to the next, always fleeing shadows of a past she can't outrun. When a routine job interview at Knight Enterprises beckons her toward stability, she never imagines it will thrust her into a vortex of danger and desire. Alexand
Claimed by the Alpha
Maya Carter has spent her life in the shadows, quiet, invisible, and perfectly content to stay that way. But one brutal hockey game shatters her anonymity forever. From beneath the bleachers, she witnesses Liam Black, Millfield High's golden boy and hockey captain, unleash something monstrous on th
CLAIMED BY THE ALPHA
Betrayed, rejected, and humiliated in front of her entire pack by her one true love, Jaxon Hale, Amara thought her life was over when he auctioned her off like she was nothing. But her fate took an unexpected turn when she met *him*. Dante Moretti, a ruthless Alpha mafia leader, purchased Amara n
Claimed By The Alpha.
Betrayed, rejected, and humiliated in front of her entire pack by her one true love, Jaxon Hale, Amara thought her life was over when he auctioned her off like she was nothing. But her fate took an unexpected turn when she met *him*. Dante Moretti, a ruthless Alpha mafia leader, purchased Amara n
Claimed by Alpha Talon
A prophecy foretold his rise to power. A dark witch vowed to claim him. A seer with untapped magic held the key to his fate. Talon Wildshadow was born to rule an alpha with unmatched strength, haunted by a destiny that could either make him the most powerful werewolf in history or lead to his downf
My Mates, Their Enemies
Tonight was one of those nights. I worked here at this place for illicit affairs and don't judge me, they payed better than any other store in the town. I saved enough for my wedding in just a month working here. As I brought another bottle of white wine in an ice bucket to the VIP lounge. Athena,
Rejected By My Alpha, Claimed By My Crown
My mate, Alpha Damien, was holding a sacred naming ceremony for his heir. The only problem? He was celebrating a pup he had with Lyra, a rogue he brought into our pack. And I, his true mate, four months pregnant with his actual heir, was the only one not invited. When I confronted her, she cla
Rejected By My Alpha, Claimed By My Lycan King
For four years, Sophie Bennett was secretly married to Ethan West. He promised that one day, he would claim her as his mate and make her Luna of Crescent Pack. All she had to do was wait. After all, she was a wolfless Omega, and an Alpha like him needed a Luna. Sophie believed him all these years
Bullied By My Four Mates
Ava has always been different, and in a pack where strength is everything, different is dangerous. As a child, her unique abilities made her a target, bullied mercilessly by the Alpha and Beta heirs and the girls who envied her. But Ava's spirit refused to break, and when she finally comes of age, s
Bound by Betrayal, Claimed by the Alpha
BLURB. Selena had it all, a devoted mate, Kael, and a life planned as the future Luna of their pack. Until betrayal struck. Her mate slept with her sister, and the entire pack already knew. Humiliation, heartbreak, and fury consumed her, leaving her adrift in a world that had always demanded stren
Claimed By My Possessive Billionaire Alpha Boss
"Ah... Dan... right there..." "Laura, you're so much tighter than she is. That wolfless reject is just a boring log in bed. Once I find my true mate, I'll kick her out." On our second engagement anniversary, I came home early with a gift, only to hear my fiancé saying those exact words to my own co
