Alpha Nocturne's Contracted Mate

I woke up back in my 27-year-old body.

I had twin cubs, and my mate was Ethan, the most powerful Alpha in the Northwest.

He was always at the top of the Wolf Council's rankings.

Alpha Weekly even named him "Number One Ideal Mate on the Continent."

Even the Royal Pack wanted to marry their princess to him.

Everyone in the pack said I was lucky.

But the first thing I did?

I took the sacred contract for dissolving our mate bond and delivered it to his old flame myself.

I pushed the contract in front of Isabella and said calmly, "I'm going to ask the Moon Goddess to break our bond. Ethan's yours. The cubs, too."

Isabella stared at me, shocked.

She couldn't believe the person who'd been Luna for six years would just give it all up.

I just added quietly, "Since they all like your scent better, I'll get out of your way.

Just get Ethan to put his Alpha mark on the contract.

Once the bond-breaking ceremony is over, I'll leave this territory."

This time, I wasn't going to make the same mistakes.

I wouldn't be the Luna everyone ignored anymore.

...

Isabella's fingers traced the rim of her cup, her brow furrowed. "Aria, what trick are you playing now?"

I met Isabella's shifting gaze, my voice even. "No tricks. I’m just… tired of it."

"Aria, do you have any idea how many she-wolves would kill to be this pack's Luna, to stand by Ethan's side?" she shot back, her tone sharp.

"Of course, I know." I looked right at her, a bitter smile on my face. "So, the position is yours now."

A crack finally appeared in Isabella’s perfect mask.

She stared at the contract, witnessed by the Moon Goddess, for a long time before reaching out to take it. "Fine, Aria. If you're being so generous, I'll accept."

"But remember this, Aria. Once something is in my hands, don't ever think I'll let it go."

So possessive.

"Don't worry," I chuckled softly. "I won't regret it."

I’d had enough of the agony.

In my past life, the mate bond had tortured me to death.

Isabella stood up, walked gracefully to another booth by the floor-to-ceiling window, then closed her eyes elegantly, her fingertips lightly touching her temple.

The moment the mind link connected, her voice was sickly sweet. "Ethan, darling, I'm at the Moon Cafe. Can you come pick me up? Aria… she has something to discuss with you."

I sat where I was, a bitter taste in my mouth.

Back then, nine out of ten times I called for Ethan, he never answered.

Or he'd just block me out, cold.

But now, just a few minutes later, the male wolf who was always "busy with pack business" appeared at the cafe entrance.

Through the window, I saw Ethan stride in.

His custom-made black leather hugged his strong Alpha frame – broad shoulders, long legs, radiating an undeniable aura of power.

My twin cubs, Mason and Maya, spotted Isabella and rushed over like excited little wolf pups, nuzzling her neck affectionately.

"Auntie Isabella!" Maya chirped, her little head rubbing against Isabella, who smelled of sweet Omega scent.

"What do you want for dinner tonight?" Ethan's voice was deep, laced with a tenderness he only showed Isabella. "A hunt, or the pack restaurant?"

Isabella smiled faintly and pulled the contract from her bag. "Before that, there's a contract I'd like you to look over."

She flipped it to the page needing the Alpha mark. "I’ve found a new villa I like, but it needs an Alpha's official approval..."

Ethan took the paper.

He didn't even glance at the content before pricking his fingertip and stamping his Alpha mark in blood upon it. "Between us, why be so formal?"

"Is Auntie Isabella getting her own villa?" Mason looked up, his eyes full of excitement. "Father, buy one for us next door, too! Maya and I want to move in with Auntie Isabella. We don't want to be with… Mother all day."

His voice dropped when he mentioned me.

Ethan frowned slightly, but seeing the cubs' eager eyes, he nodded. "Alright, we'll buy another one."

"Oh, no need for all that trouble," Isabella quickly stopped him, her smile gentle. "I've saved room for Mason and Maya… and you, in my villa. You can come over whenever you miss me."

Her gaze flickered towards Ethan.

The two cubs yipped excitedly.

Maya even rubbed her head hard against Isabella's cheek. "Auntie Isabella is the best! A thousand times, a million times better than Mother!"

My heart felt like an invisible claw was squeezing it tightly.

The sharp pain from the mate bond was suffocating.

I couldn't stand watching this "happy family" scene anymore.

I grabbed my bag and walked out.

The moment I stepped out of the cafe, memories from my past life washed over me like an icy tide.

In my past life, my mating with Ethan was a political alliance between two major packs.

I gave him twin cubs, but I struggled in pain from endless neglect and the tearing of the mate bond.

I never felt a single bit of real warmth until the very end.

All because his childhood sweetheart, Isabella, was forever etched in his heart.

When Isabella left to seek greater power, Ethan was silent for a few days.

But proud as he was, he never stooped to win her back.

Instead, he accepted the mate bond arranged by the Moon Goddess.

Ethan was my teenage Alpha dream. Powerful as a war god.

Every female wolf in the Northwest dreamed of being his Luna.

So, when I learned the Goddess had chosen us as mates, I was ecstatic.

But after we bonded, I gave him all my love, only to get his constant distance and coldness in return.

Until Isabella came back. He didn't ask to break our bond.

But his eyes, his scent, never left Isabella for a moment.

What made me despair even more was that my own Mason and Maya naturally preferred Isabella and grew distant from me.

In the end, drained of life by the broken mate bond, I died alone on a full moon night.

Ethan had isolated me in a rundown house at the edge of the territory, saying I "needed rest and to avoid disturbing the pack's energy."

On the last full moon of my life, I trembled, using my last bit of strength to try and mind link my mate and cubs, only to sense they were vacationing with Isabella in the northern mountains.

I tried to draw some moonlight for myself, but my body was failing, my consciousness fading. My wolf soul eventually scattered…

As my wolf soul left my body, my last memory was of Ethan's cold, decisive severing of the mate bond.

I closed my eyes in pain, my only wish: if there was a next life, I would never, ever throw my life away for him again.