I Changed My Mate on Mating Ceremony

My fiancé's ex showed up at our mating ceremony with a child in tow, interrupting everything. My fiancé chose to abandon me and mark his ex instead. But when he found out I bonded with my Alpha childhood friend, he completely lost it.

I'm the chief healer of Silvermoon Pack, earning a hundred thousand dollars every month. My fiancé Marcus is just an ordinary warrior whose salary barely reaches a thousand. Not only do I cover most of our living expenses—the house, car, and daily costs—I also help support Marcus's retired parents. But thinking we were about to become mates, I didn't mind any of these sacrifices.

Then at our mating ceremony, a brown-haired little boy suddenly stumbled in, disrupting the entire ritual. He grabbed onto Marcus's leg and called out in his sweet child voice: "Daddy!"

I thought it was some kind of scam. But when Marcus saw the child's mother, his face went pale. Then he showed an expression I'd never seen before—pure adoration—as he scooped the boy into his arms.

Serena was his ex. When Marcus had fallen into financial crisis, Serena had abandoned him. I was the one who helped Marcus pay off his debts.

He explained to me: "Serena left Silvermoon Pack for the western territories before. She just came back recently. I had no idea she was pregnant with my child. The kid is already seven years old now."

Under my stunned gaze, Serena walked over.

My fiancé interlaced his fingers with hers, looking completely smitten.

I asked calmly, "So what now?"

He said, "Serena just returned to Silvermoon Pack. A single omega with a child will face gossip and judgment from the pack. I have to give them official status so the pup can have a place in the pack."

He paused, then continued, "Let's cancel our mating ceremony. I need to mark Serena first and raise the child with her."

My fiancé tried to comfort me: "Don't worry. Even though I'm marking Serena, my heart belongs to you. I'm only treating her as family. Being with her is just to fulfill my responsibility as a father."

"After all, the child is innocent. If he doesn't have a complete family, he'll face hostility and bullying from his classmates. That would be too cruel. I don't want to give him childhood trauma."

"Once the child is older, once mother and son can establish themselves in the pack, I can break the mate bond with Serena and be with you again. I'll give you an even grander ceremony."

After saying this, he and Serena began marking each other right there in the ceremony venue I had spent an entire year carefully planning and decorating. They even started kissing, not sparing me a single glance.

My invited guests were all core members of Silvermoon Pack. Considering my contributions and status as the pack's chief healer, even the Alpha and Luna had accepted invitations to attend my mating ceremony. Now it was all ruined.

I calmly soothed the guests' emotions and handled the chaos at the scene. Then I pulled out my phone and called my Alpha childhood friend, Dominic.

"My mating ceremony is all set up, but I'm missing a male lead. Would you be willing to come mark me?"

"My top healer, I've been chasing you for ten years. Why are you saying yes so suddenly? I'm currently in the northern territories handling pack conflicts..." Dominic's voice carried helpless confusion through the phone.

I paused. "Oh, well then forget it."

Dominic, who had been so composed just moments before, suddenly panicked: "Wait! Don't hang up! I'll be there within an hour."