Chapter 3

There was a time I dreamed of travelling the world with Luke. But he had responsibilities in his pack. He needed to stay in his territory a lot.

He was always too busy to even go on vacation as mates. Everytime, I conceded to staying in the pack territory.

I felt sorry for how hard he worked, so I stayed behind, working as his assistant for seven years, and never complained.

But everything changed the moment Doris arrived. Luke, who had said was too busy, found time to take Doris traveling by pushing work into me.

At first, I actually thought he was away on Pack affairs, until Doris began posting photos on social media.

In every photo, they were smiling intimately, framed by famous landmarks.

The captions were full of suggestive undertones.

I felt like a fool. After being 'understanding' all these years, I only have room for him to treat me as he liked.

In the photos Doris posted, he did all the things, he would never do at home for me. He who was a proud Alpha and would not lift a finger for me, was waiting on Doris.

Luke, who never lifted a finger in the kitchen, brewed fruit wine for her family.

He sat around the fireplace, smiling like a lovestruck pup.

The aloof, cold Alpha bent down to serve tea to her clan, even clinking cups with her amid teasing cheers.

I recalled that he once complained about being unable to sleep in unfamiliar places. But in the photos, he would doze off in her family’s courtyard, as his head rested on her shoulder.

The moment I left, Doris posted another one of these photos.

I simply hit "like" on the post without leaving a comment. Then, I blocked both of their accounts. I was done with them.

I spent a few days exploring nearby packs, waiting for the bond breaking certificate.

When I finally picked it up, I felt surprisingly calm.

A flood of relief washed over my inner wolf. I felt free.

I went back to our den to pack up. Before that, I stopped by the temple and picked up our broken bond string. Looking at the string, I felt relieved. I was no more Luke's mate.

The moment I walked into our den, I heard a voice speaking.

"Luke, Doris might be from an omega family, but she’s way more dependable than Alice," the old she-wolf said. I easily recognized that voice. It was Luke's mother.

Not knowing I was there, she continued; "She doesn’t have any bad habits either, except a little drinking sometimes, butom once she’s pregnant, that’ll stop."

"Mom, what are you talking about? Alice is my mate!" Luke answered her. But his voice sounded smug, but half-hearted to my ears.

Her words hurt. This was my mother in law. She had chosen me specifically for Luke because of the prestige of my clan, yet I could not compare to Doris?

A bitter taste filed my mouth.

I let out a cold laugh. Unlike Doris, I never drank. I had no bad habits.

But in his parents’ eyes, I had never been "feminine enough."

"So what if she’s your luna? You can still break your bond! That Doris is solid. Much better than that good-for-nothing Alice, who only knows how to live off the pack," I heard Luke's father say, his voice dripping with contempt.

Clearly, they’d already accepted Doris as Luke's future Luna.

They’d forgotten how, seven years ago, they chose me for my strong clan, for my ability to help Luke and the pack. My hands balled I to a fist as I took a deep breath to calm my inner wolf.

I didn’t want to hear any more so I stepped inside.

The moment the three of them saw me, their expressions shifted rapidly.

Luke was the first to recover. He pointed at me aggressively and snapped; "Alice, so you recall this is your den. You only returned this late, do you no more have our bond in your heart? Are you tired of our bond? Keep throwing tantrums, and I’ll lock you out for real! See if I let you through that door again!"

I froze mid-step and looked up at his self-righteous face.

It dawned on me that he still had not realized that I had snapped out bond string.

Back then, every time I did something he didn’t like, he’d lock me out.

It didn’t matter if it was freezing wind or sweltering heat, it mattered even less if I was not covered up against the cold.

One time, it was just because I hadn’t used taught Doris well enough to hold down a pray and she was scratched. That day, he held her Doris and turned to me with a cold face fell then he threw me out without hesitation.

He then spent the whole night alone in the den with her.

Their laughter drifted out from behind the door like needles piercing my chest.

At this moment, Doris voice full of annoyance rang out in the room.

"What’s all the noise? Just throw her out. If she dares make a sound, I’d like to see it," she said confidently as she stepped down the stairs in silk pajamas; clearly, she was just waking up from sleep.

Luke’s gaze flickered with hesitation. But his parents immediately chimed in:

"Throw her out then. A leach like her getting defiant needs to be taught a lesson. You can't let her walk over you, Luke."

"You can't be soft with discipline, Luke."

Encouraged by his parents Luke's face slowly showed irritation.

"Just go. Let me cool off for a few days. Doris will be staying here to keep me company. If you keep acting out, don’t blame me when I actually break bonds with you. You’ll be crying then," he said, as he turned his head and waved me off like shooing a stray cat.

I let out a cold, sharp laugh.

"No need to wait."

Under their stunned gazes, I pulled a broken bond string from my bag and placed it on the table.

"You can relax. You have your wish. I have broken our bond," I said and she room stilled.

All four of them froze in place, staring blankly at the string.

Doris narrowed her eyes at me, stepping forward to snatch up each half of the string and carefully examining them.

"A she-wolf like you with no backbone and no future would actually give up your position as Luna? These must be fake," she declared and Luke's stiff face eased slightly, but a second later, it darkened as he turned to glare at me:

"Alice, still playing your dirty little games? How many times have I told you to cut it out? Want me to call throw you into the basement?" he asked, expecting me to beg for forgiveness. But I remained calm, standing firm without care.

I even smirked, cold and sarcastic which caused Luke to frown as unease started to churn in his stomach.

"What are you laughing at?" he asked me.

"I’m laughing because you forgot the bond breaking document you signed."

"What papers…?" he started to ask but trailed off, his face turning pale in an instant..As if, at last, he remembered that document I handed him not too long ago.