Chapter 1

At that moment, I finally came to my senses. No matter what I did, I could never warm Alexander's heart.

He hid the truth of our mate bond for six whole years, forbade our son from calling him "Dad," and kept lingering ties with his first love. It was time to let him go.

"Cecilia, do you really wish to leave the Red Falls Pack?" Silas Kane looked surprised as he held my application form.

He was the elder of the pack. According to the rules, he had to sign off on my application to leave the pack.

"Hey, why are you leaving?" Silas asked with curiosity.

I shook my head in silence as my throat tightened up. Silas didn't press further. He chuckled as if he had already guessed the reason. "Are you going to find your son's dad?"

I had a six-year-old son. Over time, people naturally became curious about who his father was.

I could only say he was from another pack and that I just preferred to stay in Red Falls.

However, Silas was wrong. The truth was far from that.

"Fine, I've signed my approval. And you need to give this to Alpha Alexander. You can leave if he doesn't object within three days." Silas handed me a document.

I thanked Silas and took the document before heading to the meeting hall to find Alexander. A chill ran down my spine the moment I stepped through the door. My body froze in place.

Alexander was sitting in his office chair with a woman in his arms. He leaned down and whispered something into her ear. She giggled, practically melting into his embrace.

I knew who she was—Vivian Anderson, Alexander's first love. She left a few years ago for work, but now she was back.

My feet were so heavy, as though they were nailed to the ground, and I couldn't move an inch. I crumpled the application form in my hand as I clenched my hands into fists.

Silas would never believe that the real reason I was leaving Red Falls… was because of Alpha Alexander. He was my son's father.

What a cruel joke.

Six years ago, he discovered that I was his fated mate. However, he wanted to reject me because of my low status. I became pregnant with his pup after a drunken night when he lost control.

From then on, I became a scheming woman who used my pup to secure the Luna seat in his eyes. We got married in secret, and he strictly forbade me from revealing my identity to anyone.

Alexander didn't love me, and he hated hearing my son calling him "Dad." Glancing at me, Alexander furrowed his brows and spoke in an impatient tone, "Why are you here?"

I suppressed the resentment welling up within my chest and handed in my application form. "Alexander, I…"

Taking the document, he tossed it onto a towering pile of papers beside him without even looking at it and cut me off, "Perfect timing. Go and start the preparations. We'll be holding a welcome ceremony for Vivian in a few days. As for the scale, we will go with the standards of a Luna."

Probably because of my usefulness, Alexander promoted me from an Omega to his Beta. And now, he threw another assignment at me, as if I were nothing but a tool.

The standards of a Luna… Those words stabbed into my heart like a dagger. Was Alexander going to make Vivian his Luna?

My breath caught in my throat. In the end, I merely nodded numbly and turned to walk away.

I dragged my exhausted body back home. My son, Noah Smith, ran up to me and gave me a hug. "Mom!"

Seeing his innocent smile warmed my heart. I stroked his cheek gently and said, "Did you have a good day at school?"

Noah lowered his head, and his shoulders drooped. He replied in a dejected tone, "My birthday's coming up in a few days… My classmates keep asking if my dad will come…"

He looked up at me with hopeful eyes. "Mom, will Dad come?"

I never wanted my son to be drawn into the problem between me and Alexander.

I didn't want to disappoint Noah, so I tried reaching out to Alexander. However, he wouldn't answer my calls.

I opened Facebook and saw a video of Alexander attending a hunting event with Vivian. He had his arm around her waist and publicly announced that she was his partner.

They looked so comfortable and intimate with each other. That was something he had never given me before, and that was the reason he hadn't answered my calls.

I closed my eyes as tears finally rolled down my cheeks.

Enough. This would be the last time I cry for him. Very soon, I would be free to let him go completely.