3

Once in the car, Alaric began discussing tomorrow's plans, his voice carrying a forced cheerfulness that didn't reach his eyes.

"I've prepared a birthday surprise for you," he said, reaching over to squeeze my hand. "After I find another Moon flower herb, we can plan for having a pup together, okay? I know how much you've wanted that."

The mention of a pup made my chest tighten. How many times had I brought it up over the years only to be met with excuses?

Now that he needed to secure his hold on me? Now that he feared I might slip away? I bit back these bitter thoughts.

The car had barely made it past the pack borders when his phone rang.

Alaric stiffened visibly, his knuckles whitening as he gripped the steering wheel. He glanced at the screen, then at me, before quickly pulling over to the shoulder of the road.

"I need to take this," he muttered, already reaching for his phone.

He answered, his brow furrowing deeply, his voice dropping to a hesitant whisper. "Yes? Now? But I'm on my way to—"

He paused, listening intently to the person on the other end. I didn't need to hear the caller to recognize the effect they had on him. His expression softened, concern replacing the irritation he'd shown moments earlier.

"Are you sure it can't wait until—" Another pause. "I see. Alright."

I turned to look at him, my face deliberately blank. "If you have somewhere to be, go ahead."

Our eyes met briefly. For a second, I thought I saw guilt flash across his features.

He hesitated, one hand reaching toward me. "Amara, I... it's just that there's been a situation with—"

"It's fine," I cut him off, reaching for the door handle. "I'll go to the hunting grounds first and wait for you."

"You don't have to do that," he protested weakly. "We can reschedule—"

"No," I said firmly. "I want to hunt tonight. I'll call for the pack car."

I stepped out before he could object further, the cool night air hitting my face. As I slammed the door shut, I caught a glimpse of the caller ID flashing on his phone screen.

Eliza.

The name burned into my vision like a brand.

I didn't look back as I walked away, already dialing for the pack driver. Behind me, I heard Alaric's car engine rev before he pulled away, heading in the opposite direction—back toward Frostmoon Pack territory.

Back to her.

After arriving alone at the Northern Territory hunting grounds on the pack's outskirts, I dismissed the driver with a curt nod. The pack guards at the entrance exchanged concerned glances.

"Luna Amara," one of them approached cautiously, "will Alpha Blackwood be joining you soon?"

"Perhaps," I replied, not bothering to mask the bitterness in my voice.

Inside the patrol station, I sat alone, the minutes crawling by with excruciating slowness. I took out my phone and opened Eliza's social media profile, something I hadn't done in years.

A freshly posted photo appeared at the top of her feed, showing an elegant spread of food on a familiar table—Alaric's private study table that I had gifted him on our second anniversary.

The caption read: "When success comes, having someone by your side means everything. Thanks for bringing me a late-night snack and coming specially to talk with me. Grateful for your constant care. #blessed #supportive"

The comment section was flooded with flattery:

"Your mate treats you so well!"

"This is the true definition of a devoted mate!"

My eyes returned to the photo, scanning every detail until they fixed on something at the edge of the frame—a hand reaching for one of the dishes.

On the wrist was a familiar healing gemstone bracelet—Alaric's.

My fingers trembled as I closed the app. I tried reaching Alaric through our mind link, focusing my thoughts:

*Where are you? You promised we'd hunt together tonight.*

Nothing. The mental pathway felt blocked, deliberately shut down from his side.

I dialed his number, each ring echoing in my ears.

"Hello, sister dear." Eliza's silky voice answered instead of Alaric's.

My blood ran cold. "Where is my mate?"

A soft laugh. "Why is my dear sister calling so late? Looking for Alaric, perhaps?" Eliza's voice dripped with mockery. "He's a bit... occupied at the moment."

I heard shuffling in the background, then Eliza's voice again, more distant as if she'd turned away from the phone. "Who is it, darling? Oh, just Amara checking in."

"Put him on the phone," I demanded, my voice deadly calm.

"Give it up," she replied coldly. "He won't be coming back tonight. What can I say? My precious sister couldn't keep her wolf interested. Even becoming his mate wasn't enough to hold him."

I hung up without another word, a strange numbness spreading through my chest.

I turned to the hunting ground patrol captain, my decision made. "Let's begin."

He looked startled. "Luna, aren't we waiting for the others? For Alpha Blackwood?"

I whispered, my voice barely audible, "No need. It's just me tonight."

The hunting ground gates slowly opened. I walked in alone, looking up at the moon above. The entire hunting area was unnaturally quiet. Only the howling wind made any sound.

All night long, he never appeared.

I leaned against a tree, staring vacantly into the dense forest, memories of the past five years floating through my mind.

His tenderness, his companionship, his promises... each fragment cut across my heart, ultimately assembling into nothing but a shattered picture.

All the pretense, all the hypocrisy, now seemed both ironic and laughable.

Before sunrise, I tried contacting him through our mind link one last time.

This time, the connection had been completely severed from his end.

I abandoned all illusions, took out my phone, and set a timer to upload video recordings to the werewolf social media platform.

The recordings showed that Eliza became the chief healer by stealing my research results.

I was very angry at that time, but Alaric advised me to give her the research results since I was no longer a healer.

After finishing this, I looked to the Moon Goddess and vowed: "I, Amara, reject you, Alaric Blackwood, as my mate."

As soon as the words left my lips, I felt the mate bond within me gradually tear apart. My wolf howled in excruciating pain.

With our bond dissolved and no attachments remaining, I stood up and walked beyond the hunting grounds' boundary into rogue wolf territory, taking one final look at the faint light breaking on the horizon.

Meanwhile, Alaric hurriedly left Eliza's place, saying as he walked: "I have to go. Her birthday is tomorrow, and I promised to watch the sunrise with her."

Eliza blocked his path, displeased. "Alaric, I need you now..."

Alaric shook his head. "Not today. I can't."

Only in this moment did he sense our bond had been broken. His face suddenly drained of color as he rushed to find me. Just then, his loyal Beta found him.

"Alpha, Luna has been slaughtered by rogue wolves!"