3

Perhaps I had stored up enough disappointment, because when I said the words "break our mate bond," I felt surprisingly calm.

Silence surrounded us as I quietly waited for Garrett's answer.

He had no reason to refuse. Victoria was back, and after breaking the mate bond with me, he could pursue her without hesitation or guilt. The woman he truly wanted had returned, making me nothing but an inconvenient obstacle.

"You can't be serious," he finally said, his voice low and controlled. "A mate bond isn't something you break on a whim, Daphne."

"This isn't a whim," I replied steadily. "This is three years of neglect coming to its inevitable conclusion."

He and his brother Damon had both become powerful Alphas of the pack.

They were no longer the lost little wolves they'd been when their father suddenly passed away—those vulnerable boys who needed the support and approval of the pack.

Now, they ruled with iron fists, untouchable and unquestionable.

They didn't need to worry about explaining things to Cathy's and my families, nor about the pack's pressure. They could do whatever they wanted without consequences.

Just then, a ringtone broke the silence—a cheerful, lilting melody that I'd grown to hate. Garrett's attention immediately diverted from our conversation.

It was Victoria's special ringtone—the one he'd set just for her. He answered it without hesitation.

The woman's voice on the other end reached my ears clearly, her tone deliberately pitched to sound fragile and helpless.

"Garrett, I think I might have a cold," Victoria whined. "I feel terrible. Could you take me to the healing den? I tried calling Damon, but he didn't answer. I don't know what to do."

Victoria's voice was full of pitiful whining, each word calculated to tug at Garrett's protective instincts. And it worked—it always worked.

I saw the concern bloom in Garrett's eyes, his entire demeanor shifting from cold indifference to urgent worry.

My seemingly indifferent heart couldn't help but ache at the transformation. For her, he would move mountains. For me, he wouldn't even cross the room.

I remembered a few months ago when I was critically injured in a battle against rogue wolves. My side had been torn open, blood soaking through my clothes as I begged him to take me to the hospital.

He had used post-battle affairs as an excuse and let an assistant arrange my medical care. "The pack needs me," he'd said coldly, not even looking at my wounds.

But the next moment, after receiving Victoria's call about feeling anxious after hearing about a rogue wolf attack miles away, he abandoned those same "complex post-battle affairs" and rushed to accompany her, holding her hand the entire time.

Even now, when I had brought up breaking our mate bond—the most sacred connection between wolves—he still prioritized Victoria's sniffles over the dissolution of our marriage.

"I'll be right there," he assured her, his voice gentle in a way it never was with me. "Have you taken any medicine? Are you staying warm?"

"Victoria, I'm coming right away. Just hang on a little longer. I'll bring some of that herbal tea you like."

Not a single glance back at me. Not a word about our conversation. Garrett's presence vanished from the room.

I understood then, with perfect clarity, that as long as Victoria existed, I was nothing but air in his eyes—invisible, inconsequential, forgotten.

Three years of marriage, of trying to be the perfect Luna, of supporting him through his ascension to Alpha, and I finally realized that some hearts can never be warmed, no matter how hard you try. Some people are simply incapable of love—or perhaps, they are capable of loving only one person.

I left our bedroom and walked down the hallway in a daze, my feet carrying me to the one place I might find answers: Cathy's room.

I searched it for a long time, opening drawers, looking under the bed, checking between books on shelves.

But I found nothing that explained why she would take wolfsbane.

Except for that diary, filled with entries about Damon.

The pages chronicled her journey from love, to disappointment, to despair. Each entry more heartbreaking than the last.

"Today he called me by Victoria's name," one entry read. "He didn't even realize his mistake."

Another: "He didn't come home again. Third night this week."

On the last page, she had written only one sentence.

"From this moment on, I will no longer love Damon."

My chest heaved violently, a dense, stinging pain radiating from my heart.

Three years ago, on a night, Cathy suddenly sent me several messages.

She said: "Daphne, guess who I'm going to mate with."

"It's Damon."

"Remember I told you about that super handsome wolf? Turns out we're destined mates."

"He says he wants to mark me."

"And the River Pack can be saved now."

Every word exuded Cathy's excitement.

I knew she was excited not only because the River Pack could be saved through this alliance, but more because she was going to mate with Damon, the man she had secretly loved for three years.

She'd confessed her crush to me long before they ever officially met.

That night, Cathy and I had chatted until three in the morning, planning her future, discussing how beautiful the mating ceremony would be, wondering what their pups might look like someday.

Her excitement and happiness had, in these past six months, turned into disappointment and despair.

Since Victoria returned to the pack, Damon and Garrett had grown increasingly cold towards us. Their excuses were always the same:

Endless meetings. Never-ending pack affairs. Important diplomatic missions that couldn't wait.

I hugged the diary, and in my daze, unknowingly fell asleep.

I had a strange dream.

Cathy was in it.

We were climbing a snowy mountain.

She ran towards the peak ecstatically, like a free sun.

"Daphne, I've finally reached the top. I'm free."

Sunlight shone down on her, bathing her entire being in a golden glow.

Before I could feel happy for her, a shadow moved behind her. Victoria appeared, her face twisted with malice, reaching out with clawed hands to push Cathy from the peak.

Cathy's body instantly disappeared from the snowy mountaintop.

"Cathy!"

I tried to grab her, but my hand didn't even touch the edge of her clothes.

I jolted awake from the dream, my body drenched in sweat, a chill sweeping over me.

Outside, the sky had turned completely dark.

I put down the diary, intending to check Cathy's room again where she had taken the wolfsbane.

Just as I opened the door, a tall figure stood before me.

Damon's face was grim, his eyes filled with frost, none of his usual mocking humor present. He looked like he'd aged years in the hours since I'd last seen him.

"Why did Cathy take wolfsbane?"