Chapter 1

On the tenth year of my relationship, my Beta mate, Jasper Morrison, abandoned me. He immediately held a bonding ceremony with the Alpha's daughter, Serena Lowe.

But my brother, Damon Fox, also known as the strongest Alpha in the Blackwood pack, found me three days before the wedding.

…

"Elena, you made it," Jasper said, his voice reaching me.

I turned and saw him walking toward me with Serena at his side. Their bonding ceremony was already over, and the guests were enjoying the reception.

Three days had passed, and whatever slight trace of guilt he'd shown before was gone, replaced by a smug satisfaction. It was as if he'd just pulled off a perfect deal.

Serena linked her arm with his and walked down the red carpet, smiling as the crowd showered them with admiration.

I stood alone in a corner of the ballroom, wearing a simple black dress.

It was the nicest thing I owned. And yet, against the luxury of this place, it looked painfully out of place.

"You don't look so good," Serena said with feigned concern, her eyes openly assessing me with thinly veiled contempt. "Are you still not recovered? I imagine the last few days must've been hard on you."

I didn't respond to her, staying silent.

Then, I smelled a familiar scent—"Moonlit Gaze".

My chest tightened. I knew that scent too well.

I had spent three whole months creating it, using the rarest tuberose, jasmine, and aged cedarwood. I extracted every drop of essential oil myself, and every blend carried traces of my pheromones.

It was made for our bonding ceremony, infused with every hope I had for our future together.

And now, another she-wolf was wearing that perfume.

What hurt most was that my pheromone signature had been erased. Someone had deliberately wiped away every trace of me, turning what was once mine completely into hers.

"The scent is nice," I said, forcing my voice to stay even. "Very distinctive."

Serena smirked, spinning deliberately so the fragrance spread even more, and said, "Thank you. Jasper said you made it. I thought it was decent, so I decided to use it."

She looked at me with open disdain. "Honestly, the formula is too basic. It has no depth. Just like those weak, dirty, orphaned wolves always scrambling for attention in the simplest ways."

I felt my blood boil.

Serena didn't just steal my creation—she insulted it in front of me and made me feel small.

"Elena's perfume-making skills could use some improvement," Jasper chimed in calmly, ignoring the fury in my eyes. "After all, an orphaned wolf has limited experience and access to the finest ingredients and techniques."

The surrounding guests began murmuring. Some snickered, while others shook their heads. They looked at me with a mix of pity and ridicule, as if I were a clown who didn't know her place.

My nails dug into my palms, the pain grounding me and keeping me from losing control.

None of them knew that I had spent every last cent I owned on that perfume. I earned the money for those rare ingredients by doing odd jobs for different packs. Night after night, I experimented until I finally perfected it.

All of it was because Jasper's family had taken me in when I was little, giving me care and a home.

I believed we would spend our lives together once we became mates.

I worked endlessly, and the sleepless nights blended into a unique fragrance for our bonding ceremony.

In the end, it went to someone else.

"Elena," Jasper said suddenly, his tone turning formal. "I've already arranged a place for you to stay. You'll be in one of the small cabins on the east side of the pack's territory."

I knew the eastern cabin well. It was used as a storage shack and was abandoned year-round.

The cabin sat near the swamp, damp and dark. The air was stagnant, and mold crawled along the walls.

For someone like me, whose mind was already unstable from the forced breaking of a mate bond, that place would be slow torture.

Jasper continued, "Even though we're no longer mates, for old times' sake, I'll make sure you have a place in the Silvermoon pack. You can stay as part of the pack. I'll take care of you."

He repeated the same old words as always. He wanted me to stand there, watch him bond with another she-wolf, and feel grateful for it.

Everyone was watching. They waited for me to break down in tears of gratitude, to kneel and thank him, and to accept his so-called charity.

They were waiting to see me surrender to my fate.

I took a deep breath, feeling the fire burning in my chest.

Then, I lifted my head and met his gaze.

"It's fine," I said clearly and firmly, my voice cutting through the noise of the ballroom. "I have somewhere to go. I'll be leaving tonight."

The ballroom fell into dead silence.