Chapter 1

Elara POV

On my eighteenth birthday, Mason, the rogue Alpha I'd followed since childhood, marked me for the first time.

It was just a week before the social mating season, so I thought it meant he was finally ready to accept me as his mate, the one he would spend his life with.

I floated through the entire night on a cloud of bliss, convinced my six-year-long secret crush had finally culminated in a fairy-tale ending.

That is, until the next afternoon, when I approached underground club where he and his bikers often gathered and overheard their conversation.

"Wow, Mason, you 'marked' little Elara already?" a voice said.

My face flushed crimson. I was about to slip away when Mason's careless voice, laced with that unique lupine arrogance, cut through the air.

"Alice is my target. She's a pureblood, and she knows a lot of secrets about those damn Alpha twin heirs. Only someone like Alice, with her pure bloodline, can help me return to the Constantine pack and shed this rogue wolf identity. Elara…"

He paused, and I could almost hear his dismissive shrug. "Her wolf is weak—it is said that her dead father was a stupid human!”

His biker friends laughed loudly, and his next sentence shattered my last hope, “Hell, even an Omega shows more passion in bed than she does. Someone silly like her? Perfect for practice, to work on the skills of soothing a mate."

I didn't say a word. Silently, I accepted the mating ceremony the elders had arranged—because in Constantine, any adult female wolf without a confirmed mate was assigned one at the ceremony.

I had once hoped that day would see Mason and me united under the blessing of the pack.

But now, a searing anger burned through me.

Anyone could be my mate, as long as it wasn't Mason.

....

His words strike my soul like a lightning bolt. Despite the blazing afternoon sun, I feel thrown into an icy abyss.

After a brief pause, the conversation in the club resumes."Future Alpha, indeed. Even a pretty girl like Elara is just a training tool."

Mason laughs, the sound devoid of warmth. "It's not exactly a loss. Having such an intimate connection with Alpha bloodline is an honor most lowly wolves would kill for."

My mind goes blank. Mason is just a bastard Alpha who is exiled from some pack. But I've never looked down on him, not once, even in the countless nights I've comforted him and praised him. And yet, here he is, reducing me to something beneath contempt.

Someone immediately chimes in. "You're right. She's nothing compared to a pureblood like Alice, who radiates pure power…"

Mason cuts him off. "It is the full moon, the mood is right… and honestly, she seems like she is about to combust with how much she is holding back. Her scent is practically drowning me…" His tone holds an embarrassing note of pity.

A few of them chuckle knowingly, their words turning cruder.

"Who knew quiet little Elara had such a… wild side?"

"Tsk, tsk, Mason's charm is just too potent. When the offering comes to you so willingly, why refuse?"

"She's been trailing after Mason like a lost puppy for years. She probably gets exactly what she'd been dreaming of."

Their raucous laughter feels like a physical blow. I bite my lip until I taste blood, my fists clench so tightly my nails dig half-moons into my palms. It takes every ounce of my strength just to stay upright.

Footsteps echo from the end of the hall. Jolted back to reality, I flee in a panic, ducking into the nearest restroom stall. Tears of heartbreak and humiliation pour out.

Mason's words, each one a barbed whip, lash relentlessly through my mind. Had I not heard it myself, I could never believe the boy who had been so intimate with me last night is the same person as this cold, calculating strategist.

So, it seems, a wolf can perform such an intimate marking without love. Even at their most passionate, they can still coldly utter the cruelest lies.

The more I cry, the worse I feel, but I don't dare sob aloud. I can only muffle the sounds, my body trembling uncontrollably in the confined space.

I don't know how long I hide there before my phone vibrates. It is a text from Mason.

[Head back on your own. Tonight's the biker's gathering. No outsiders allowed.]

It is always the same—he never once introduces me to his friends. I don't reply. Another message follows.

[Remember to get the birth control pill yourself. I'm busy. Make sure you take it. You know my bloodline can only be carried by a pureblood. Be good.]

Reading those words feels like a cold hand squeezing my heart. Last night, from dusk till dawn, he guided me, touched me, even left a temporary mark on the side of my neck. Exhausted, just before he falls asleep holding me, he specifically whispers in my ear, "It was your first marking. I didn't control my strength well. I'll definitely find you some birth control pill in the morning."

After that Great War, the Constantine pack treats every female wolf's womb as communal property. It is considered illegal for a female wolf to purchase birth control pills on her own.

Back then, I mistook it for his unique way of caring. Now… the truth feels like a bucket of ice water, shocking me awake.

I pinch the already bruised skin of my palm, forcing the tears to stop. I splash cold water on my face, fix my appearance, and walk out of the restroom.

Too afraid to go to the local supernatural apothecary, I anonymously order birth control pills from the dark web.

I wait until the delivery driver leaves it at my apartment door, wait even longer, then quickly open the door to retrieve it.

After swallowing the bitter, herbal pill, I feel all my strength leave me. I slump onto the carpet, my eyes empty.

Ever since Mason moved next door to our community, I've been like a small animal drawn to the Alpha's scent, naively trailing behind him for ten years.

I never imagined a world without him in it.

But from now on, the door to his world is closed to me. I am utterly alone.

Outside the window, lights flicker on one by one, and eventually, most go dark again. I don't know how long I sit there, lost in a daze, until my best friend Mindy video-calls.

Mason never lets me tell anyone about our relationship. He always says we have to wait until he defeats the Constantine Alpha twin heirs and truly becomes the Alpha before he can give me the happiness I want.

I obediently protect this fragile connection. Mindy had once caught him in my bedroom—she is one of the few who knows about my feelings for Mason.

Mindy is dressed hot.

"Em! Why aren't you with Mason? I'm at a bar, and guess who I just see?" Her expression is furious, but she lowers her voice as she quietly rotates the phone's camera.

The screen reveals a dimly lit corner of the party, where Mason and Alice are sitting close together. Alice wears a cropped top and a tight leather skirt, her curves highlighted, exuding a wild, confident beauty. They seem enveloped in an invisible force field, completely isolated from the crowd around them.

A suffocating pain grips my chest. Mason's so-called motorcycle club gathering this afternoon had been a lie.

He is chasing her, so he just wants me to stay far away.

Alice is playing a game and draws the "male to display strength" challenge by doing push-ups over her. Predictably, Mason immediately steps up, his eyes gleaming with that raw desire male wolves have to show off. The crowd erupts in cheers. Alice, blushing with feigned shyness, lays back on the couch.

Mason positions himself above her, his movements fluid and powerful as he knocks out several dozen push-ups, his muscle lines taut under the dim light.

He maintains a careful distance, avoiding actually touching her. Until the last one, where his arms give way slightly, and he lowers himself, gently pressing against her.

The screams around them are almost deafening. Both Mason and Alice's faces flush deeper red.

Amid the wild cheering, Mason lowers his head and kisses Alice deeply. It is a long, possessive French kiss that lasts a full three minutes before they break apart.

For those three minutes, I stare unblinkingly at the screen, feeling my heart being torn wide open, letting in nothing but cold, empty air. I want to cry, but I have no tears left after this afternoon. All that remains is a dry, aching pain.

"Phew, Em, did you see that? That's Alice! Who doesn't know she's the Alpha twins' little sex toy? Mason's gone crazy! How dare he touch the twins’ woman!" Mindy keeps ranting, "I've been saying Mason's not a good guy!"

Mindy says, sighing as she walks out of the booth into a quieter corner. Her tone turns serious.

"Em, don't hate me for being harsh. But if I didn't make you see it with your own eyes, you'd never let go."

My throat is so dry and tight my voice comes out raspy.

"Yeah. I don't blame you." I only blame myself for foolishly indulging in fantasies and finding a thousand excuses for Mason's indifference.

My throat is so dry and tight my voice comes out raspy. "Yeah. I don't blame you."

I only blame myself for foolishly indulging in fantasies and finding a thousand excuses for Mason's indifference.

"I just can't stand Mason! He knows how you feel and yet he lets you get close, feeds on your emotional energy, watches you sink deeper and deeper!

"Now you finally see the truth! Please, think about this: tomorrow marks the first day of mating season. You deserve better! Don't let him keep you chained until you lose yourself completely…"

"That won't happen, Mindy," I interrupt, a newfound steel in my voice I don't recognize. "I won't give him the chance again."

"Mindy, I've decided. I'm going to the mating ceremony with you."

Any wolf would be better than letting Mason trample all over my life.

To sever all doubt, I open the laptop in front of her and send the breakup text without hesitation.

"Go to hell, you cheating asshole! We're done!"

Mindy practically cheers with excitement right away. She'd always wanted me away from Mason's sphere of influence.

As for me, I once promised Mason we'd go to Stillwood together, where his mother's pack had settled long ago. Even though I fear going to a new territory alone, it had always been the only place I felt I could belong.

Now, I have no reason to go to Stillwood.

The mere thought of humbly clinging to the fringes of Mason's pack makes me despise myself to my core.

All I want now is to escape, to run somewhere far from the overwhelming pressure of his presence.

He will have his pack and his future in Stillwood, while I will embrace a new life of my own.