1

At my eighth Mate-Marking anniversary ceremony, Scarlett, once my best friend, was walking hand-in-hand with Derek onto the ceremonial platform.

Her daughter and my son were being led by their hands, one child with each adult.

I pulled out the mate-bond dissolution agreement and threw it in their faces:

"Yes, it's my fault. So I'm stepping out. Now you four can be one happy family."

But my mate and son suddenly began to panic.

...

The mate-bond dissolution agreement was something I had printed just half an hour ago.

As the Alpha and his mate of Shadow Pack, according to werewolf law, we needed to submit this agreement to the Alpha Council before we could officially sever our mate bond.

Before this confrontation, I had been sitting on the living room couch all night.

On the dining table, more than a dozen dishes I had carefully prepared remained untouched.

The anniversary cake I had baked with my own hands had melted into an unrecognizable mess.

Yesterday was our eighth Mate-Marking anniversary.

I had prepared everything at home. Derek had told me that although the pack ceremony was canceled due to pack business, he would bring Tyler home after he finished, and the three of us would celebrate together as a family.

But as I waited and waited, they never returned. Worried about their safety, I went to the pack house to find them. On my way, I accidentally passed by the ceremony venue and saw Scarlett participating in the carefully prepared ceremony as if she were the Alpha's mate.

How ridiculous.

Derek hadn't expected me to propose cutting our mate bond. He frowned, tore up the dissolution agreement, and looked displeased:

"Alexis, what drama are you creating now? So Scarlett suddenly appeared at the celebration ceremony. I just forgot to tell you, that's all."

As he spoke, his gaze fell on the table full of food, and guilt flashed in his eyes.

He softened his tone:

"You scared Scarlett yesterday. She was afraid you were angry and got so worried she fell ill. I needed to take care of her." He sighed, running a hand through his dark hair. "Look, I admit I forgot to contact you last night. That was wrong of me, and I'll be more mindful in the future."

His amber eyes met mine with practiced sincerity. "I'll clean up here. Why don't you go get some rest? At noon, I'll take you and Tyler out for lunch."

He was always like this—slapping me with one hand while offering candy with the other.

He knew when he'd gone too far, yet he would never apologize. Instead, he'd give me a small concession to save face.

In the past, if I didn't accept his peace offering, he would give me the cold shoulder until I couldn't bear it anymore and lowered my head to him.

Previously, I would always be the first to back down, but this time, I simply pulled out another mate-bond agreement from my pocket and threw it on the coffee table:

"I printed dozens of copies. Tear as many as you want."

Derek's eyes flashed dangerously, his wolf close to the surface as he smashed a bowl against the wall. The ceramic shattered, pieces scattering across the hardwood floor.

He glared at me, his patience clearly wearing thin. "Let's be honest here. You're just jealous that Emma is more attached to Tyler than you are, aren't you?"

He took a step closer, his scent becoming more dominant as his anger grew. "Alexis, don't forget—you owe her!"

His voice dropped to a growl that sent shivers down my spine. "Me and Tyler taking care of her and her daughter? We're just atoning for YOUR sins!"

Atoning? But what crime had I committed?

Scarlett and I had once been best friends. She was an Omega orphan who was bullied at school, but I had always protected her. I even paid for her college education.

During our freshman year, she invited me to play near the forest cliff.

When night fell and I needed to return home, she told me to go ahead, saying she was meeting friends at the cliff later.

So we went our separate ways.

But when I woke up the next day, Derek burst into my house, grabbing me by the collar of my shirt, his claws pricking my skin.

He demanded to know why I hadn't called for help, why I had abandoned Scarlett.

I was completely bewildered. It was only later that I discovered Scarlett had encountered a group of rogue wolves at the cliff edge. She was not only severely injured but also... gang-raped.

She claimed she had drawn the rogues away to protect me, hoping I would return to the pack and bring help for her.

Instead, I had supposedly gone straight home to sleep, leaving her alone.

She was lying.

I tried desperately to explain, but no one believed me. With the security cameras damaged, I was left to bear the blame.

Since then, I became the villain in everyone's eyes.

Derek blamed me for being cold-blooded.

All the love he once had for me was redirected to Scarlett in the name of compensation.

He even took away my child, letting Scarlett raise Tyler, claiming my moral character was too flawed to nurture him properly.

This was why my relationship with Tyler had grown so distant.

But I truly loved him. I had been trying so hard to repair our relationship.

I looked at Tyler, who was also watching me.

His eyes were cold with a trace of disgust, as if I were his enemy. The rejection in his gaze cut deeper than any claw.

"You ruined Dad and Aunt Scarlett's lives," he said, his young voice hard with conviction. "If it weren't for you, Aunt Scarlett would be my mother."

I swayed slightly on my feet, feeling an unbearable heartache spreading through my chest:

"Who told you that?"

Tyler frowned, his adolescent face contorted with confusion and anger. "Isn't it true?"

I turned to look at Derek, my mate of eight years.

Even in this moment, I was still hoping he would offer some explanation, defend our bond.

But he merely avoided my gaze, his shoulders tense as he said:

"Tyler has always believed that without that incident, I would have chosen Scarlett as my mate."

In the past, I would have asked him why he never explained the truth.

After all, Derek and I were childhood sweethearts. I was the one who introduced him to Scarlett. I was his true mate, bound by the Moon Goddess herself...

But now, I didn't care anymore.

Tyler could think whatever he wanted about me. After all, soon I would have nothing to do with him.

Tyler's expression had shifted from anger to uncertainty. For a moment, he looked like the little boy who used to climb into my lap during thunderstorms, seeking comfort from his mother.

"Mom?" he said, the word sounding foreign on his tongue after years of cold formality.

But I hardened my heart. Too many lines had been crossed, too many wounds inflicted.

"Ask your father to explain everything," I said, my voice steadier than I felt.

I picked up my suitcase and headed for the door:

"I've made up my mind. Let's dissolve our mate bond. See you at the Alpha Council."