Love. Hate. Revenge.

Before she was the High Alpha's daughter, Maya was an orphan named Penelope—and Marcus Keenan was the boy who gave her his locket and promised to marry her... until she was torn from him. 

Taken by High Alpha Vilhelm, everyone, including Marcus, was told she died.

Years later, Marcus returns from the recent war a hero—now Alpha Keenan—with power, lands, and the right to choose any woman as his mate. He takes Maya—the same girl who made his life miserable before he left.

He doesn't recognize her as Penelope with the locket long gone. To him, she is cruel, two-faced, and an expert at manipulation. What he doesn't know is that Maya's cruelty was forced, a mask she wore to both protect him and survive.

Now trapped in a marriage born of revenge, she must decide. Stay silent and play the part, or reveal who she truly is…before it’s too late.
——


Excerpt

“This marriage is fake,” Maya said. She should be happy but why did it hurt so much?

“Fake?” Keenan frowned and closed the gap between them. He wrapped a palm around her neck, and Maya gasped but no sound left her throat. “Is this another ploy to escape me?”

“Isn’t it fake?” Maya whispered, holding his hand, trying to ease his grip. It was getting hard to breathe.

Her voice betrayed her, too hopeful even to her own ears. He stared with such hatred, yet a part of her didn’t want it to be fake. 

Keenan threw his head back and laughed, yet his grip on her neck never wavered. “Woman, surely this must be a joke. You think I would orchestrate a fake marriage with you?”

He leaned closer, eyes locked on hers. “You undermine my hatred. I want you bound to me forever. I want you to hate every moment of your life and I will be right here to make sure of it. You can never escape me.”

Keenan released her neck. She dropped to the floor, rubbing her throat as she finally drew a full breath.

“Fake marriage? Don’t be ridiculous. Even your father couldn’t get you away from me.”

"No! I lost enough men in the last war, and it lasted too long. I am not eager to be trapped in another war again. Especially when I can just take out the whole of Earndor."


Claude froze, and so did everyone else in the room. They knew there was no lie in the Queen's words.


"Surely, Vilhelm knows it is ridiculous to go to war with me. I only held back at the chance that I might drown my daughter. I have no such reason to hold back now. I will wipe Earndor from the face of the earth."


"Mother," Maya softly called, and her mother squeezed her hand again but didn't look at her.


"Hold your tongue, young man. I am being reasonable. If Vilhelm doesn't bring war to my doorstep, I will not have to use force—or in this case, the ocean."


Chapter 183 - Dangerous Plan