1

Everyone thought my mate Kieran, the Alpha of Blackwood pack, loved me so much that he was willing to give up everything for me. Only I knew that while he loved me, he also had an Omega mistress.

Without hesitation, I cancelled my Blackwood pack status and prepared to go back and inherit the Thunder pack.

Walking out of the Alpha Council building, I glanced up at the giant LED screen in the plaza. Kieran stood there in a tailored forest green suit, surrounded by reporters.

"Alpha Kieran hasn't attended charity auctions in years. What's so special about this one that it drew you here personally?"

Kieran casually brushed the hair from his forehead, smiling as he answered.

"I heard there's a set of green healing stones in tonight's auction. My mate loves green more than anything."

A reporter pressed further. "We've heard your pack elders are furious about you spending fortunes just to make your Luna smile. They've threatened to withdraw their support in the Alpha Council if you continue. Is this true?"

Kieran nodded without hesitation.

The reporter wouldn't let up. "Then why do you—"

Kieran cut him off. "Because my mate likes it."

Seven simple words that sent the girls in the plaza into a frenzy.

"He's defying his entire Alpha family just to make his Luna happy! God, why can't I find an Alpha who'd give me his whole heart like that?"

"Alpha Kieran truly loves his Luna. When she said she loved moonlight roses, he planted an entire rose garden with his own hands. When she said she loved nature, he moved the pack house closer to the Nightshade Forest. When she complained about noise, he ordered the patrol teams to drive away every chattering bird and insect."

I smiled as I listened, but tears began welling up without warning.

The rose garden stretched before me like a thousand blades piercing my heart.

Kieran and I had been college classmates.

Back then, the high and mighty Shadow Pack Alpha heir had countless beautiful, noble she-wolves chasing after him. But he fell for me at first sight—an ordinary she-wolf without a pack. His wolf recognized me as his one true mate the moment we met.

The wild, reckless Kieran completely changed. He stopped bar-hopping and dating different she-wolves every night. Instead, he threw himself into studying and training, determined to become strong enough to inherit Shadow Pack and refuse the arranged marriage his family planned.

The proud Alpha heir learned to cook and make soup for me. He learned to play violin, even though he hated it. He learned to wait outside the girls' dormitory, night after night.

On Valentine's Day, in the crowded campus courtyard, he dropped to one knee and begged me to give him a chance to take care of me.

But I rejected him.

The pain of being abandoned by my birth mother was too fresh. I couldn't risk giving my heart to anyone.

That day, everyone at the university saw Kieran sprawled on the campus road, crying and drinking, drinking and crying. Even the wind that night felt broken and desolate.

That summer, during a school research trip, I was attacked by rogue wolves.

In the chaos of battle, Kieran rushed to my side without regard for his own safety. When a massive rogue wolf struck me in the head and I collapsed, losing consciousness, he used his own body to shield me from a silver blade.

The blade pierced straight through his chest. He fell right in front of me.

A day and night later, I woke up in the hospital. The healer told me about Kieran's rescue with envy in her voice.

While unconscious, I had caught the faint scent of pine. That smell made me feel safe even in the midst of danger.

I cried, saying I wasn't worth it. Kieran's eyes reddened as he spoke each word clearly: "Aria, you never understood—in this world, no one but you could ever stop me from loving you."

In that noisy, chaotic hospital, all I could hear was my own thundering heartbeat.

I accepted his mark at the age of twenty-two, rejecting my Winters pack Alpha's request to inherit the Winters Pack.

I thought we'd be happy forever.

Until I turned twenty-nine, and Kieran started keeping our pack's healer, Scarlett, as his mistress.

My phone screen showed Scarlett's latest message:

"Want to make a bet? I bet Kieran won't bid on those green healing stones. He'll go for the red ones instead. Because I love red."