Chapter 2

After showering at the hotel, I saw Ruby's new social media post.

[I have my own exclusive Alpha now. @Kade.]

Before I could close the app, Kade's messages popped up.

[Cora, I'll officially act as Ruby's mate for the next few days. Whenever you're ready to fall in line, this game ends.]

[That's what you get for disrespecting me in public.]

I stared quietly at the screen.

I finally realized my casual "Keep him" had struck a nerve.

My knuckles turned white from gripping my phone. I only relaxed when my palms started to sweat.

I was leaving anyway. Whoever he was with had nothing to do with me.

On the clinic's system, my transfer approval to the United Pack was still flashing.

An elder from the Medical Alliance sent one last message.

[Cora, this transfer to the United Pack Medical Center is for three years. Are you absolutely sure?]

I replied: [I'm sure.]

A year ago, they offered me the exact same spot.

Back then, Kade held my hand and begged me to stay. He said he couldn't live without me.

The mate bond tied me down. I got soft-hearted and gave up my career opportunity.

This time, I wasn't sacrificing my future for anyone.

The next afternoon, I stepped out of the elevator to check out. I glanced through the lobby windows and saw his familiar car parked across the street.

I forgot Kade could easily track me using his Alpha senses.

Soon, a timid Omega from the pack walked into the lobby and stopped me.

"Miss Cora, the Alpha told me to give this to you." She handed over a black velvet box. "He said you should stop throwing a fit, take the necklace, and go home with him."

I looked at the gorgeous gem coldly, burying the very last trace of emotion in my heart.

The young Omega swallowed hard, her eyes full of envy.

"The Alpha is so generous to you. This gem is priceless. If only I could meet a mate who treated me like this..."

"If you like it, keep it." I cut her off.

The Omega's eyes widened. She let out a shocked squeal.

"Oh my Goddess, you aren't joking, are you?"

"Take it."

My trash could be someone else's treasure.

The same went for the Alpha who disgusted me.

I didn't head for the main doors. I turned and left through the side exit.

The second I got into a cab, Kade's text popped up.

[You got the necklace, right? As long as you listen to me, I'll always reward you like I promised.]

Staring at the screen, I remembered when we first mated. Kade used to give me everything I asked for.

But the catch was, I always had to follow his rules.

Like the time we went to the valley to gather herbs. He insisted on crossing rogue territory.

As a healer, I was useless in a fight. I grabbed his arm and begged him not to.

He gave me a cold look and ordered me to stay put and think about my attitude.

Then he bolted into the dense forest without looking back, leaving me completely alone.

That night, a pack of feral wolves surrounded me. If the border patrol hadn't arrived in time to save me, I would have been torn to pieces.

Afterward, he looked at my trembling body and mocked me for overreacting.

He actually claimed it was my punishment for daring to question an Alpha's decision.

From then on, I numbed myself. I hid all my sharp edges just to keep him happy.

But he pushed his luck. He crossed the line again and again, dragging Ruby right between us.

I finally saw his true colors the day he destroyed my greenhouse. I had poured my heart into it.

After that, I shut off my emotions. I obeyed his absurd demands like a puppet.

Ironically, my submission only made him lose his temper more.

I shook my head in self-mockery and turned off the screen, forcing myself to stop thinking about it.

When I finished my handover at the pack clinic, my assistant leaned in and lowered her voice.

"Head Healer, I saw Alpha Kade in the south district last night. He was with some sketchy woman. You should keep an eye out..."

Kade had always hated the noisy, low-class environment of the south district.

Whenever I wanted to go there to clear my head, he'd reject me coldly.

Looking back, he didn't hate the place. He just didn't want to go with me.

"It's fine. That's his business."

I calmly packed up my office. It was the end of my shift.

I walked out carrying a few pots of rare herbs I was still cultivating.

His familiar SUV was parked at the bottom of the stairs. It was the one he had just bought.

Ruby stepped out of the passenger side.

She was wearing a rare snow fox wrap. It was the birthday gift I had politely declined. Kade had turned around and given it straight to her.

At the time, I just mentioned wanting to see the Northern Lights for our anniversary. He gave the fur to his childhood friend instead to punish me.

"Oh, Cora, why are you carrying all those weeds? Did you get fired?"

Ruby's sarcasm made Kade frown from inside the car.

He looked like he wanted to ask, but he kept his mouth shut.

I didn't answer. I just adjusted the pots in my arms.

"You're just too proud. You should have just stayed home after you mated. Look at me! With Kade protecting me, I don't have to worry about a thing!"

When we first mated, Kade ordered me to quit my job and stay at the main estate as Luna full-time.

I didn't want to become a mere trophy and lose myself, so I refused.

He immediately turned around and asked Ruby if she wanted to move in.

Ruby happily accepted.

So Ruby shamelessly lived right under my nose for two whole years.

Later, when my lab ran out of funding and was about to shut down,

I swallowed my pride and begged him for a loan to help me out.

His answer was completely ruthless.

[Cora, second chances aren't for losers.]

So this time, I wasn't giving this Alpha a second chance either.

"Cora, this is the first time I've come to pick you up as Kade's mate. Even though it's just a game..."

"Who said it's a game?" Kade reached out and pulled her close, raising his voice. "If I want it to be real, it's real."

He kept his eyes glued to me as he said it. I looked away.

"Cora, let's go get dinner together. The Alpha is paying."

With Kade backing her up, Ruby wasn't even hiding her smugness.

I shook my head immediately.

"No thanks. I need to go process these herbs."

"Oh, don't be like that! A huge blizzard is coming. You can't walk back carrying all that."

I opened my mouth to refuse again, but a biting wind suddenly swept through. Heavy sleet and snow started smashing down.

I glanced at the fragile seedlings in my arms. I gritted my teeth and compromised.

"Fine."

Ruby got back into the passenger seat. I reached for the back door, but it was locked.

The next second, the SUV's engine roared and sped off.

Slush and ice hit me hard in the face. My phone screen lit up with a text from Kade.

[Since you refuse to behave, go cool off in the snow. Nobody here is going to pamper you.]