Chapter 1 Mate's Betrayal and a Billion Dollar Exit

Seraphina's POV

My mate betrayed me. Without a doubt—there I stood outside the car, watching with my own eyes as he and his mistress writhed together in the back seat.

That damned Bentley shook like a little boat in a storm. I refused to believe they were just naked in there doing sit-ups.

Just imagining him slamming into that she-wolf with the strength I know he has made my stomach churn, as if someone had punched me hard.

Then the burning came. Fire erupted beneath the mate mark on my neck, scorching my nerves like liquid silver, and the pain was unbearable.

My legs nearly gave out, and I braced myself against the car.

This is the consequence of a broken mate bond—even though I’m only human.

I could almost imagine a woman watching this scene, absolutely delighted—Marcus’s mother, Lady Grinhild.

When she learned that Marcus’s mate was me, a human, I saw the spectacular change in her expression. In the end, she practically hissed at me with murderous eyes: “An alpha wolf will never be satisfied by a mate—especially a lowly human woman!”

Guess what I did at that time? I treated myself like Cinderella in the human world—after all the suffering, finally meeting her prince.

Of course, my werewolf prince also made me believe he truly loved me. He stepped forward then, shielding me like a wall. “As Pack Leader, I will never betray the Moon Goddess’s blessing. Even if she is human, I will treat her life as my own!” he roared, pulling me into his arms with those strong hands.

His scent—pine and the freshness after a storm—wrapped around me. For a moment, I felt grounded, safe.

Grinhild backed down, but her resentment never faded. Even so, I accepted his mark, as if it were my fairy-tale moment—like the human version of Cinderella.

I had planned to leave the pack after I turned twenty and live in the human world. I grew up in the pack—my adoptive parents were omegas. They told me they found me near a human town. I used to think I might be a werewolf, but twenty came and I still never formed a wolf link. I can confidently say—I am human.

Now, Marcus had given me a home. I stopped dreaming and instead devoted myself to helping him expand his business. For two years, I basked in Marcus’s affection.

But a year ago, everything began to fall apart. Marcus was always traveling, and the distance between us grew. I even considered getting pregnant to keep him with me.

How foolish. I understand now. I’m just thankful I realized it before dragging a child into this. Marcus might be an alpha, but he’s still a man—and what man really keeps his promises?

I swallowed, taking out the divorce papers Grinhild gave me last week.

A week ago, Grinhild came to me. She wanted me to do whatever it took to get Marcus to sign the agreement—and to keep our secret marriage hidden forever.

If I could manage it for thirty days, and the council approved the divorce, she would give me one billion dollars.

Thirty days. The Werewolf Council has an unwritten rule—alpha marriages affect pack stability, so they can’t be dissolved lightly. That’s why a mandatory one-month cooling-off period exists.

As long as nothing disruptive happened in the pack during those thirty days, I could walk away with the money—cleanly, quietly.

At the time, I kicked her out, furious she would suggest such a thing. I told her bluntly that Marcus would never betray me. Obviously, Grinhild already knew about his affair.

The nausea surged up my throat again. The whole world had treated me like a fool. I had to end this knot once and for all.

I grabbed my phone and texted the queen herself—Grinhild: [Get my billion ready.]

The moment the message sent, I jumped into my car, eyes locked on Marcus’s direction… locked on that shaking Bentley. I slammed the accelerator.

With a thunderous roar, my white Maserati shot forward like a mad thing, crashing straight into his black Bentley—the same Bentley that was still rocking like some cheap, old car.

BANG! A deafening crash. The screech of twisting metal filled my ears. And, of course, I also heard their disgusting curses.

I let out a cold laugh. Thanks to that tank-like Bentley, I walked away without a scratch.

I didn’t wait for them to get dressed. I yanked the folder from my passenger seat, stormed over, and pounded on Marcus’s window.

A few seconds later, the perfectly stupid face of Alpha Marcus appeared, full of rage. When our eyes met, his jaw clenched tightly.

“Seraphina? What the hell just happened?!” he roared, trying desperately to pretend he hadn’t just been caught red-handed. But none of that mattered now. As long as he signed that divorce agreement today, I would be satisfied.

I ignored his fake confusion and calmly held the folder up to the window. God, if I could, I would shove those damn papers straight down his smug, lying throat.

“Oh, Alpha Marcus,” I rolled my eyes, “looks like I mistook the gas pedal for the brake. Must be low blood sugar. Anyway, here’s something you need to sign.”

“Give it to me.” Marcus stiffened, then quickly scribbled his name exactly where I marked.

Seeing his signature on the document that would sever our bond—just seeing it—felt like my lungs finally breathed real air again.

“Sorry to interrupt. You can continue… whatever you were doing,” I said with a bitter smile, turning to leave—until I caught a flash of displeasure on Marcus’s face.

“Wait!” he shouted.

I stared at him coldly, a mocking smile on my lips. He kept staring at me, as if waiting for me to break. But I dug my nails deep into my palms, forcing myself to stay steady. He said, “Never mind, Sera. You can go.”

Marcus never even bothered trying to explain he wasn’t cheating. What was I expecting?

I turned, got into my car, and nearly crumbled—like I was the only one still stuck on the last page of a fairy tale, where the prince and princess walk off into applause, and no one wants to see the story afterward.

It’s as if everyone else knows that’s where happiness ends, and beyond it lies only betrayal and deceit.

I swallowed the lump in my throat, wiped the tears from my eyes. Now, only Grinhild’s money could comfort me.

My phone buzzed. Predictably, it was Grinhild. Her tone was still haughty: “I want to see my son’s signature with my own eyes.”

I let out a small laugh and took a picture of Marcus’s signature on the agreement, sending it to her.

“As you wish. You know the account.”

At that moment, Bruce appeared, knocking on my window anxiously.

He handed me a delicate velvet box. His smile was polite, but his eyes darted nervously, as if he didn’t dare look at me.

“Luna Seraphina, this was chosen by the Alpha. He said it’s your anniversary gift.”

I opened the box. Inside lay a luxurious set of diamond jewelry—exquisitely designed, sparkling even under the dim garage lights.

It was obviously worth a fortune. If Marcus hadn’t cheated, I might have accepted it—smiled, stayed silent, played the role of his invisible Luna, pretending it symbolized our love.

But now? It was nothing more than a beautiful cage.

I snapped the box shut and looked up at Bruce. “How thoughtful of him, isn’t it? Shame diamonds can’t buy loyalty.”

“Luna Seraphina,” Bruce said nervously, “Alpha Marcus must have his reasons…”

Sure. Unless cheating was now a medical emergency, there was no excuse for him. But Bruce was one of the few around Marcus who treated me well. Maybe he just didn’t want to see me hurt. It was all he could do—he was just an assistant.

“Here,” I said, holding out my hand. No need to let Bruce get punished—Marcus was strict with his staff, and Bruce needed his job.

When I took the box, Bruce visibly relaxed. I understood—his job was on the line.

After he left, I took out my phone and snapped a photo of the necklace. Then I sent a message to the luxury reseller I usually contacted.

[Can you sell this set as soon as possible? Donate all the money to the Crescent Pup Foundation I support.]

After sending it, I leaned back in my seat and rolled down the window. The breeze brushed across my face.

The sky had been painted with brilliant colors by the sunset, and for the first time in a long while, the world didn’t seem so unbearably painful.

All I wanted was to get as far away from Marcus as possible.