8

Damon paused, then laughed. "That's it?"

He recited a string of numbers. I froze.

Because it was actually the date of our first meeting.

"Why did you choose that date as your password?" I asked, my voice trembling slightly.

Damon leaned down and kissed my forehead, his tone gentle. "Because I love you. The day I met you was the happiest day of my life."

I was stunned.

I didn't know if this was true or false, but either way, I would never believe it again.

Damon handed me his phone with a smile. "Want to check my phone? I'm clean as a whistle, baby. Anytime, anywhere, check whatever you want."

I took the phone and finally showed a hint of a smile.

Damon sighed in relief and hugged me tightly. "Finally, you're smiling."

His voice carried a trace of indulgence. "Your birthday is in two days. I've prepared a grand birthday celebration. So I can't be with you constantly these next few days. Stay home and be good, okay?"

I nodded, then hesitated and asked, "Should we invite my brother?"

Damon was silent for a long time—so long that I thought he wouldn't answer—before he finally said quietly, "Yes, let's invite him."

I smiled, but my eyes held tears. "Alright."

Next, Damon busied himself preparing for the birthday celebration while I began packing my belongings.

I organized everything carefully, then said goodbye to my friends one by one.

The day before the birthday celebration, Damon came home.

He held me and tried to kiss me, but I refused, saying my body hadn't recovered from the miscarriage yet.

Damon didn't force it, but possessively licked behind my ear and whispered, "I can't wait for our mating ceremony to arrive. Only then can I truly mark you."

I said nothing, just silently endured his teasing.

At midnight, after Damon fell asleep, I quietly took his phone.

The first thing I saw was a group chat with his Beta guards.

The group was discussing tomorrow's plans.

"Alpha, tomorrow is the mating ceremony. Didn't you say we'd execute the plan that day? What are the specific arrangements? Why hasn't the Alpha finalized the details yet?"

"Yeah, Alpha."

"Alpha, haven't you seen the messages? We've been reminding you since this morning, and now it's already night."

My fingers trembled as I exited the group chat and logged into his email, withdrawing the Alpha Council bonding application. The moment I finished, I finally felt a sense of relief.

Early the next morning, I carried my suitcase and prepared to leave.

Damon happened to wake up just then. Seeing me standing by the door, he was still half-asleep. "Baby, where are you going?"

"To pick up my brother," I said calmly.

Damon glanced at my suitcase, seeming confused. "Just picking someone up—why bring luggage?"

"These are northern territory specialties I prepared. I want my brother to take them back south."

Now I seemed to have learned from Damon—lying came so naturally.

Sure enough, I fooled Damon. He didn't ask more questions, just got out of bed and hugged me. "Wait for me, I'll go with you."

I shook my head. "I'm afraid my brother won't be able to accept it. You go to the birthday celebration first. Let me meet with my brother and calm him down. After all, we haven't seen each other in a long time."

Damon thought about it and seemed to agree it was too rushed, so he ruffled my hair and nodded with a smile.

"Alright, but come over early. I'll be waiting for you at the birthday celebration."

After washing up, he drove straight to the celebration venue. I stood there watching his car disappear before hailing a taxi to the airport.

Check-in, baggage claim, boarding—everything went smoothly.

Only after getting on the plane did I open Damon's chat window.

The last message I wanted to send him—I had thought about it so much beforehand.

I wanted to tell him that I knew about all his schemes and manipulation.

I wanted to ask him why he treated me this way.

But now, when it was truly time to end things, I only typed a short sentence.

[Damon Blackwood, I, Sage Rivers, refuse to accept you as my mate. I don't love you anymore.]

After sending it, I deleted all contact information. The plane slowly took off, carrying me home.

Never to see Ironwood Pack again.

And never to see Damon Blackwood again.