Chapter 1

Cain Beckett's newly-promoted secretary, Vera Anderson, threw a thick stack of documents on my desk. She smiled and said, "Alpha Cain needs this report as soon as possible, Leah. Thanks for doing it on such short notice."

"Alright," I said calmly, nodding as I accepted the documents as I always did.

However, it seemed that Vera wasn't done gloating yet. "Alpha Cain and I have hunting training later, so you can just leave the report on his desk when you're done. Oh, and don't forget to clean his room before you leave. You're better at it than the maids, after all."

She turned after she was done speaking and took her leave, looking thoroughly pleased with herself.

The other wolves in the pack looked at me with sympathy shining in their eyes. Unfortunately, none of them knew how to comfort me.

Everyone knew that although Cain was my intended mate, he showed favoritism toward Vera. He was the one who brought her back to the pack, and he was also the one who broke tradition and allowed her to work in the pack.

He even let her take credit for the proposal I had spent an entire month of sleepless nights preparing—the same project that I spent three months negotiating with the other party to secure in the first place.

When I voiced my dissatisfaction, Cain told all the wolves in the pack to vote for who they thought should be in charge of the project. He assumed they would vote for Vera, but in reality, everyone voted for me. He was the only one who voted for her.

Cain lost his temper on the spot and criticized me for bullying Vera. In the end, not only did he not return the project to me, but he even stripped me of my position and punished all the wolves who had supported me.

The wolves were angered by his actions, but they didn't dare voice their displeasure.

He apologized to me after the incident, explaining that he was scared that Vera would be ostracized by the rest of the pack. He also couldn't take my side because I was his partner, and he didn't want to be accused of playing favorites.

I didn't understand Cain's logic, but I had believed his flimsy excuse because I loved him.

But now, I only wanted to laugh at how ridiculous the situation was.

Vera's capabilities were worse than the Omegas in the pack.

All the wolves knew the answer to whether Cain was acting out of a desire to be fair or playing favorites. He was the only one who continued to deny his true intentions.

Just then, I heard movement at the door. I looked up to see Cain's tall, muscular figure.

He glanced in my direction for a split second before he left, not bothering to even turn to look at me. He had changed into a suit. The scent of the pine cologne that clung to him was very strong. I could smell it even though I was quite a distance away.

Cain didn't like wearing cologne, but Vera was the one who gifted the pine cologne to him.

I knew that his actions were intentional. It had become a habit of his over the past few years.

It started when I discovered that Cain and Vera were still communicating through their spirit link even though it was late at night. I couldn't help myself and questioned him.

Cain accused me of making mountains out of molehills. In a fit of anger, he hissed, "Since you're already suspicious of me, why don't I give you proof to back up your accusations?"

Using that excuse, he had Vera transferred to his side.

The angrier I got, the more Cain deliberately showed favoritism toward Vera. He brought her to many important events and personally served her food and drinks during parties.

If I got into an argument with him, he would give me the cold shoulder. If I apologized, he would use it as an opportunity to discipline me in front of the rest of the pack.

I often wondered if our relationship ended up the way it did because I was being too petty. However, everything changed on the third day of our cold war.

Cain completely ignored me when he found out that I was bedridden with illness.

I was utterly disappointed when I learned that he had packed his belongings and left for a vacation with Vera. I also realized that he had been testing how far he could push me whenever I caved to his demands.

I finally understood that even if we weren't having a cold war, he would have come up with some other excuse to go on vacation with Vera.

During the last full moon, something changed between Cain and Vera after they returned from their hunt. Although they still hunted and shared drinks together as they always did, I could sense the subtle shift in their relationship.

Fortunately, I no longer cared about what was going on between them.

I was tired.

It was time to put an end to this farce.