Chapter 3

"What are you looking at?" Cain asked.

I was so engrossed in reviewing information about the Northcliff pack's that I hadn't noticed him walk up beside me.

He took the document from my hands, flipped through it carelessly, then tossed it back to me. With a scoff, he asked, "Why are you looking into the Northcliff pack?"

"No reason," I replied lightly, putting the document away. "Did you need something?"

In the past, I would've been thrilled whenever Cain sought me out of his own volition.

He was momentarily stunned. An uneasy expression crossed his face. Perhaps he hadn't anticipated that I would treat him with such indifference.

"Yes. Vera's performance has been spectacular recently. I'm planning to promote her to be my Beta. It should motivate the other wolves in the pack too. What do you think?" Cain asked, looking at me.

Although he seemed to be seeking my counsel on the surface, I knew that he wasn't actually interested in my opinion. He was simply informing me of his decision.

"I don't have any objections," I said, nodding.

Cain smiled and continued, "Of course, I need to dish out punishments as well if I'm giving out rewards. The other wolves will certainly cause a fuss if I'm not being fair.

"It's been a long while since you participated in any of the pack's important events, so I plan to transfer you to the logistics department for the time being. I'll transfer you back to your original position in the future.

"Don't worry. I won't keep you there for long. I'm doing this for the sake of the pack. You're my future mate, so I'm sure you'll support my decision, yes?"

I scoffed.

It seemed that Cain was still oblivious to the fact that I had already submitted my request to leave the pack. He was able to discern Vera's mood through the vaguest clues and learn her preferences from the smallest details, but he had no idea that I was leaving the pack even though I was his future mate.

As expected, one could easily tell whether another cared or didn't care about them with just a few simple words.

Cain's expression darkened when I remained silent, assuming that I was going to start an argument with him like I always did in the past.

"It doesn't matter if you disagree," he said. "I've already sent out the announcement, and I've also assigned Vera to your position. Either you accept the transfer, or you can spend the rest of your days cleaning and tidying the house.

"You should listen to my orders because I'm your Alpha. If you insist on opposing me, let's break up."

Cain was confident that I would yield to him and stay with him forever. Similar incidents had occurred too many times in the past.

Although only a year had passed since Vera joined the pack, I had already been demoted several times because of her.

It was why Cain was so sure that I wouldn't leave since I had already put up with so much in the past.

A bitter smile stretched across my face. "I didn't say I was going to disagree."

"It's settled then," Cain said, feeling relieved.

Just as he was about to leave, he seemed to recall something and walked back to my desk.

"Didn't you have a photo of us on your desk before? Where did it go?"

I snapped back to my senses then.

Truth be told, I didn't just have a photo of us on my desk. They used to be everywhere like my phone wallpaper, on the walls in my room, and my wallet that I brought everywhere with me.

Cain had once complained to the other wolves about it, assuming that it was my way of proving my love to him. He had no idea that it was actually my way of reminding myself that no matter what he did to me, he loved me.

I only realized how ridiculous I had been later.

The photos' only purpose was to remind me how foolish I'd been.

I wasn't interested in explaining myself to Cain. "I got it dirty by accident, so I took it down."

"Why are you so clumsy? Can't you do anything right?" Cain asked with a frown, his voice dripping with disdain.

When he realized that I wasn't going to argue, he softened his tone. He then left the room after he was done speaking.

…

A few months ago, I found women's underwear and lipstick in Cain's house. It was then that I learned that he had brought Vera home multiple times.

I couldn't help myself and interrogated him.

Cain seemed to know that I would question him and immediately explained that Vera had dropped by his home to shower because the plumbing system in her house was malfunctioning. He had also used the opportunity to accuse me of being overly jealous and petty.

To teach me a lesson for "overthinking", he started bringing Vera home without bothering to sneak around anymore.

I had felt incredibly hurt at the time, but Cain made it clear that he didn't care in the slightest.

…

The next day, Cain announced that he was promoting Vera to be his Beta while transferring me to the logistics department.

He had kept his guard up while making the announcement and only believed that I had accepted the reality of the situation when I acted like nothing was wrong.

Cain threw a party for Vera that lasted for the next few days. While they were celebrating, I was getting the travel pass that I needed to move to the Northcliff pack ready.

When Cain and Vera left to hunt, I packed my belongings. In the end, everything that I was taking with me wasn't even enough to fill a single box.

When the other wolves cheered them on, urging them to pass wine to each other mouth-to-mouth during the party, I handed off all my responsibilities in the pack to the other wolves in my department.