Chapter 1

"I will be joining the pack relocation," I said with a shaky voice to the person on the phone.

I felt like a cold bucket of water had been dumped on me. On a relatively hot night, I shivered slightly.

What is all this? Alex's laptop was filled with pictures of a young female wolf, Elsa, his first love. In some of these pictures, he smiled at the camera. I went through picture after picture, and I could not breathe.

"What about your bonding ceremony with Alex in a few days? Are you not supposed to become his mate?" The person on the phone asked.

"It seems I will not become his mate," I said in a shaken voice and ended the call.

In our eight years as a couple, Alex never took one picture with me. There was always an excuse of some sort. It was shameful to say that I did not have one picture with him. I had excused this because Alex was naturally cold and indifferent. Many times, my wolf would ask whether he was the one that worth my love.

My hands shook. Was he cold and indifferent to only me? I recalled visiting my pack for the first time, and they raised concerns with how long I stayed with Alex even though he never made me his mate.

"We love each other. We are taking our time," is what I had said. I felt tired. Maybe it was time to give up. But why did it hurt so much?

The next moment, my phone rang. It was Alex's best friend.

"Alex is drunk; can you come pick him up?" He asked.

"Alright," I said and got up.

I picked up my purse and left the house. I was slightly calmer as I sat in the back of the taxi.

I think deep down, everyone already knew—I was waiting for him to claim me for long time.

In our kind, love isn’t drawn out. We’re werewolves. When we find our mate, we claim them. We bond fast, fiercely, because that bond makes us stronger, makes us willing to fight, to die, for the one we love.

But Alex?

He dragged his feet.

I stood beside him for years, loyal and silent, helping his pack like it was already mine.

Not because I was welcome.

Not because he asked.

But because a small, stubborn part of me refused to give up—on him, on us, on the future I once dreamed we’d have.

And yet… not even a single photo.

Not one picture of us.

In the back of the taxi, I took in a deep breath. When I got to the address of the bar, I paid and got out.

When I got to the private room where Alex was having his bachelor party, I could hear voices inside.

"Did Elsa return the moment?" Alex was bonding with Aria?" Someone inside the room asked, and I paused. A chill came over me. Elsa. Was that the name of the girl in the photos? Those inside were not just Alex's friends; they were all in the same pack. They knew this girl? My hands shook slightly as I steadied my breath and walked in. But nothing could have prepared me for what I saw.

Inside the private room, the man who would soon become my mate had his arm tightly wrapped around another woman. He looked to be desperately clinging. The girl he was holding was probably Elsa. She looked just like she had in the photos Alex had on his laptop.

My wolf was out of control—I could feel her clawing at the surface, ready to leap forward and scratch his face off. But I held her back, forced myself into silence.

The room fell deathly still. All eyes slowly turned toward me.

I scanned their faces.

Were they all drunk?

We’re werewolves. We have sharp senses—smell, hearing. We can pick up a heartbeat through walls, a scent from miles away.

And yet… no one reacted when I arrived.

Impossible.

Some of them were alphas. They should’ve sensed me the moment I crossed the threshold.

Which means… they knew.

They knew I was there—and chose to ignore me.

I quickly understood what was happening. They wanted me to come. Even if Alex was drunk, they could have brought him home to me after the night was done instead of calling his mate to crash his bachelor party.

I walked over to Alex, clinging to Elsa like a koala bear, and tried to help him up.

"Don't touch me!" He shouted, flinging my hand off him quickly. There was disgust in his eyes. It made my throat tight, making it hard to speak.

"Alex, your future Luna is here. Get up, you need to go," one of them said uncomfortably, trying to wake Alex.

"Future Luna? You mean Aria? She’s not my future Luna. She’s just a friend. There’s no way she’ll ever become my mate," he said, casually—like those words didn’t crush everything I had been holding onto for years.

A sharp surge of rage stabbed through my chest.

Why, Alex?

After everything… I’m nothing more than just a friend to you?

I swallowed the bitter lump in my throat, forcing back the tears that threatened to spill.

Alcohol may loosen tongues, but it never lies. It reveals the truth—the kind we bury deep, the kind we never want to say aloud.

And now, that truth was staring me in the face.

Whoever this girl was, she meant more to Alex than I ever did.

And that realization shattered me.

In that moment, I looked at Elsa—pretending it didn’t hurt, pretending I didn’t care—while the pain burned silently beneath my skin.

"Alright then, I am his friend who has come to get him den. Are you going to help me bring him out?" I asked and walked out.

I did not look back, but I knew Elsa was the one who was helping Alex outside. Behind me, she tried to make small talk, but it felt more like she was showing off.

"He kicks the covers off when he is drunk. If you leave it off, he will catch a cold, so you should keep watch," she said, and I paused. She acted all innocent, but was she really instructing me on how to take care of Alex?

"It's best to make him herbal tea when he wakes up. It usually works for his hangover," Elsa continued to talk. Her voice sounded sickly sweet, but the look on her face proved she was subtly showing off. I took a deep breath and held in curses.

The taxi soon arrived, and she helped Alex into the taxi while I got in. Afterward she rushed over to show me her Instagram account.

"Let's add each other," she said, and I paused and looked up at her in question.

"I thought if you had any questions, it’d be best if we talked. I could help you out," she said gently. I paused, my smile tight and forced. Nodding without a word, I took out my phone, added her contact, and then turned away to tell the taxi driver to drive. I didn’t look back. I couldn’t.