Chapter 1

"Luna Cynthia, here's the mate bond termination request form from the safe."

I took the form and thanked my personal assistant, Mia.

On the day the Blackflame Pack's alpha Jakob, and I bonded as mates five years ago, he had already prepared this form.

The form had already been signed with Jakob's name. That was because he had sworn to love only me. If he ever betrayed me, then I could file for a mate bond termination at any time.

This form was once the proof of his loyalty.

I never imagined I had to take it out again. Especially not on our fifth mate bond anniversary.

I quickly signed my name, eyes looking at his empty seat across me with sorrow and exhaustion.

My wolf sobbed within me. "No… I saw the Jakob from five years ago. He wants to stop your hand from signing!"

I shook my head and whispered back. "You said it yourself. That was him from five years ago. He was an illusion from your past."

I looked at Mia and said in a quick tone, as if I was worried I would have second thoughts. "Take this mate bond termination form and submit it to the pack's Elder Council as soon as possible."

Once Mia finished her task, she quickly called me back and said cautiously, "Luna, the submission went smoothly. But I saw a she-wolf called Molly quietly reserving a large bonding ceremony hall. She said it was for her and Alpha Jakob. Do you wish to stop the bonding ceremony?"

"No, there's no need to."

Mia held her breath and didn't dare to say another word.

I knew why she asked.

Molly was Jakob's first love. There weren't many women who would allow her mate's first love to quietly prepare a bonding ceremony for them.

Mia asked with a trembling voice, filled with pity. "Luna, why are you doing this?"

I turned slowly to the window. The long and dazzling blue fireworks had finally faded in the air, leaving nothing but a line of words in the night sky.

"Happy Fifth Mate Bond Anniversary! Jakob & Cynthia!"

I looked away and sighed.

"Book my trip back to the Palemoon Pack seven days from now. On the same day as their bonding ceremony."

"You're going back to the Palemoon Pack?" Mia was shocked and quickly asked, "Please reconsider, Luna! This is not a minor decision!"

Five years ago, on the day Jakob and I became mates, not only did he sign the mate bond termination form, but he also reached a pact with my parents.

The pact was clear. If Jakob ever betrayed my love and I returned to the Palemoon Pack alone, then Jakob could never step into the Palemoon Pack ever again.

He would lose any chance of asking for forgiveness, and he would never see me again.

"There's nothing left to consider," I said.

Five years of loving memories were indeed hard to let go of. My eyes welled up with tears, but that wasn't enough to make me change my decision.

Seven days from now would be my birthday. I would leave Jakob and return to the Palemoon Pack.

At the same time, I would send Jakob to the bonding ceremony Molly had prepared for themselves. I would grant them their wish.

Once Mia ended the call to work on my commands, I heard a notification on my phone.

I glanced at the screen. Jakob had posted something openly on social media.

[Image]: Blue fireworks exploding across the night sky.

[Text]: Luna Cynthia, happy 5th mate bond anniversary! Your Alpha Jakob will always love you!

After the post was made, it exploded with comments.

"I'm so envious! No wonder there was an hour's worth of fireworks in the sky tonight! Alpha Jakob was doing it for his mate bond anniversary with Cynthia!"

"No surprises there. Alpha Jakob and Luna Cynthia have been mates for five years and celebrated big for all these five years. I look forward to seeing what they do next year."

"I heard Alpha Jakob suffered grievous injury in the battlefield last year and has just woken up from treatment. He's not fully conscious yet. The first thing he said after seeing his Luna was to ask her to go to rest and not watch over him all night. Their deep love touched even the healers!"

There was only one reply from Jakob for all the comments. "Cynthia is my Luna. I love her. I spoil her. I will protect her for the rest of her life. That's my duty as her Alpha."

The replies exploded once more within seconds. All filled with admiration and envy.

And I, the subject of their envy, simply stared at the empty seat because of Jakob's absence.

…

Jakob and I used to have love, of course.

We were in love for seven years and bonded for five. We never had a single fight.

In those seven years, Jakob gave me everything. Love, wealth, and the title of Luna.

But one month ago, when he was supposedly away on a business trip, I discovered another woman was with him.

Then I received a voice message from Jakob's account.

I pressed play, and I heard an unfamiliar woman's voice.

"I just got back to the pack and all I needed to do was to play coy with Jakob, and he came right over. Tonight, he originally prepared blue fireworks for me. I don't like blue, but I decided to give it to you since I never liked to waste. You can use it during your mate bond anniversary."

I didn't know who that woman was back then.

Not until two weeks ago, when Jakob brought her into the living room at his side.

Jakob introduced her as his distant cousin, Molly.

Molly was all smiles and greeted me with a face full of makeup, "Hello, Cynthia. I've always heard that you're the most envied woman in the world. We finally met in person."

Her voice was exactly the same as the one in the voice message, and my mind went completely blank.

It was getting difficult for me to handle the emotions inside of me, so I left early to stop myself from breaking down.

However, Molly wasn't done. That night, she sent me another provocative message.

"You missed an exciting session on the terrace tonight. I'm sorry, I couldn't help it and left claw marks on my ex's chest."

I gripped my phone tightly and stared at Jakob as he came home.

He reeked of alcohol and was completely drunk. He immediately passed out on the bed the moment he walked in.

Through his shirt that had two buttons loose, I saw his chest with all the claw marks.

How ironic. The shirt he wore was a matching custom-designed shirt we had booked for last year's anniversary.

On the collar, I had personally embroidered the words "Cynthia's Mate."

When Jakob first received the shirt, he was so touched that he held my hand and tenderly said, "Cynthia, when I wear this shirt, it's like having you by my side. I don't think I'll ever let another woman come close to me while I'm wearing it. I won't let another scent contaminate this symbol of your love for me."

Yet, a bold lipstick mark was smeared across the embroidery, making the words almost unreadable.

I could almost see Molly smugly smirking at me from behind the lipstick stain.

…

And then, today. On our fifth mate bond anniversary, I got a call from Jakob while I was at the restaurant.

"Honey, I'm setting up a surprise for you, so I can't make it to our candlelight dinner. As an apology, how about some fireworks?"

And with that, he hung up.

Two minutes later, my screen lit up. It was another message from his account.

My heart skipped, and I tapped open the photo with my last shred of faith.

In the photo, candlelight lit up Jakob's face. Flowers and a bottle of red wine were placed on the table. It was like a perfect romantic date.

But the woman sitting across from him wasn't me. It was Molly.

Then, another provocative message.

I closed my eyes to hide my tears. I didn't want anyone to see how fragile I was, as if I was still that dignified and strong Luna.

I couldn't understand how Jakob could declare his love for me publicly while still being with Molly at the same time.

Was this really the kind of love the world envied?