Chapter 1

My destined Alpha, so he could be with his mistress Vivian out in the open, faked losing his mate-sense for me after an "attack."

He sneered that I couldn't leave him, that even if I knew the truth, I’d just meekly give up my Luna title and stay in the pack, swallowing my pride.

But little did they know, I had a huge "surprise" cooked up for them, just waiting for them to walk right into my trap.

"There's a problem with the mate bond between Sophia and me," Ethan announced, having gathered all the key pack members in the meeting room.

Beta Marcus frowned. "Alpha, what do you mean by that?"

"I've lost my mate-sense for Sophia," Ethan said, slowly and clearly. "Instead, I feel a true mate connection with Vivian."

I kept my face perfectly still, like I was listening to a story about someone else.

Vivian squeezed Ethan's hand, tears welling in her eyes. "We didn't expect this either, but the mate bond is the Moon Goddess's will. We can't fight it."

"So," Ethan took a deep breath, "from today, Vivian will be our pack's Luna. Sophia, please hand over the Luna scepter to her."

The room went dead silent.

I slowly got to my feet and walked over to the Luna scepter hanging on the wall. The golden scepter glinted in the light, carved with our Stone Pack's symbol.

"Sophia..." Elder Grace started to say.

I shook my head, stopping her.

I took down the scepter, walked over to Vivian, and placed it on the table.

"This is the Luna's symbol. It's yours now."

Vivian eagerly reached for it, but my next words made her freeze.

"Actually, there are a few things we need to sort out first."

Vivian sat up straighter. "As the former Luna, you need to hand over all the pack members' files to me, and all those healing records you've built up over the years."

I glanced at Ethan. He nodded. "She's right. Vivian needs that information to do her job as Luna properly."

I scoffed internally.

That was Ethan for you.

Whenever someone else wanted something that clashed with what I needed, I was always the one who had to give in.

Like three years ago, when I gave up a chance to study in Europe to save money for the pack's medical fund. Ethan praised me for "seeing the bigger picture."

Or two years ago, when I collapsed from exhaustion after treating injured warriors for three days and nights straight. Ethan said it was just a Luna's "duty."

And a year ago, when I wanted to buy a necklace for our mate ceremony anniversary, Ethan said, "This isn't the time to be spending money."

But now, he could buy Vivian a diamond bracelet worth a hundred grand.

For Vivian's sake, he could stomp all over our five-year mate bond without a second thought.

"Sophia?" Ethan's voice snapped me back to the present. "What are you thinking?"

I looked at him, the man I once loved so much. Now, all I saw in his eyes was suspicion and scheming.

"I was thinking," I said calmly, "since our mate bond is 'faulty,' the best thing to do is to dissolve it completely."

Ethan froze. "What?"

"I said, let's go to the Elders' Council and officially break our mate bond," I repeated. "That way, you and Vivian can have your own mating ceremony without any holdups."

Vivian's face flashed with panic for a second, but excitement quickly took over. "Can... can we really do that?"

"Of course," I smiled. "Since the Moon Goddess has blessed you with a new bond, we should honor her decision."

Ethan opened his mouth to argue, but with Vivian looking at him expectantly, he just had to grit his teeth and nod. "If... if you insist."

"I insist," I said, without a moment's hesitation.

I looked around at the other pack members. They all looked uncomfortable and awkward. Marcus wouldn't meet my eye, Elder Grace was wringing her hands, and the others just stared at the floor.

So, they'd known all along.

They knew about Ethan and Vivian, knew this whole "lost connection" thing was a lie, but not one of them said a word to me.

They needed my healing skills, sure, but they didn't give a damn about how I felt.

"Meeting's over." I turned and headed for the door. "I'll go pack my things. I'll be off pack lands as soon as I can."

"Wait, Sophia," Ethan rushed after me. "You don't have to leave. We're still packmates..."

I stopped and turned back to him.

"Ethan, your new Luna needs time to get used to her role. If I stick around, I'll just be in her way."

"But the pack still needs you as a healer..."

"Isn't that the Luna's job now?" I gestured to Vivian, who was already in the main chair, trying on the Luna scepter. "Or, what? Your true love doesn't have the knack for it?"

Ethan's face fell, but Vivian just smirked. "Don't worry, I'll learn. Healing? How hard can it be?"

I nodded. "Good. Then there's no problem."

I pushed open the meeting room door, leaving them all in silence.

Walking down the hall, something occurred to me.

He didn't know that the full moon ritual was only seven days away. And the Elders' Council? They only recognized me as the official Luna.