PUZZLED FEELINGS

Seraphina's POV

My mate betrayed me.

I stood outside the car, watching helplessly as his mistress sat on his lap, his face buried in her chest, her head thrown back, her fingers tangled uncontrollably in his hair, and the car rocking violently like a small boat in a storm.

I covered my mouth, unable to believe what I was seeing, tears sliding down uncontrollably. Then the burning pain hit—fire erupted beneath the mate mark on my neck, searing my nerves like liquid silver, and my neck felt like a pair of hands were squeezing it tight. I couldn’t breathe. Even though I’m human, the pain cut deep into my bones.

My legs almost gave out. Why? Why would Marcus betray the Moon Goddess’s bond? Three years ago, he didn’t.

As a human raised in the pack, no one believed Alpha Marcus would accept me as his mate. When his mother, Lady Grinhild, learned that Marcus’s mate was me—a human—I saw the spectacular shift in her expression. In the end, she practically screamed with murder in her eyes: “An alpha wolf will never be satisfied by a mate—especially a lowly human woman!”

Guess what my mate Marcus did then? He stepped forward like a wall, standing in front of me. “As Pack Leader, I will never betray the Moon Goddess’s blessing. Even if she is human, I will treat her life as my own!” he roared, pulling me into his arms with those strong hands.

His scent—the fresh pine and the smell of a storm—wrapped around me. In that moment, I felt grounded, safe.

Grinhild backed off, but her resentment never faded. Even so, I accepted his mark, as if it were my fairy-tale moment—like a human Cinderella.

I had planned to leave the pack after turning twenty and live in the human world. I grew up in the pack; my parents were both omegas. They told me they found me near a human town. I used to think I might be a werewolf, but even at twenty, I never established a wolf link. I can say with certainty—I am human.

But Marcus gave me a home. I stopped dreaming and committed myself to helping him grow his business. For two years, I fully enjoyed Marcus’s love.

However, a year ago, everything began to crumble. Marcus was always traveling, and the distance between us grew. I even considered getting pregnant to keep him.

How foolish. I see it now. I’m only grateful I realized it before dragging a child into this. Marcus may be an alpha, but he is still a man—and what man keeps his promises?

I suppressed the stabbing pain in my chest and took out the divorce papers Lady Grinhild gave me last week. I could imagine how happy she must be now.

One week ago, Grinhild came to me. She wanted me to get Marcus to sign the papers by any means necessary—and without Marcus knowing. If I could do it for thirty days, she would give me one billion dollars.

Thirty days. The Werewolf Council has an unwritten rule—they say an alpha’s marriage affects pack stability, so it can’t be dissolved easily. That’s why they enforce a mandatory one-month cooling period.

As long as nothing happened in the pack during these thirty days, I could walk away with the money—effortlessly, without drawing attention.

At the time, I kicked her out, furious she would even suggest such a thing. I told her directly that Marcus would never betray me. Obviously, Grinhild already knew Marcus was cheating.

The nausea surged up my throat again. Imagining how the pack had treated me like a fool for a whole month—the humiliation washed over me like a tide. I had to end this farce.

I grabbed my phone and texted the queen herself—Grinhild: [Get my billion ready.]

The moment the message was sent, I jumped into the car, my eyes locked on Marcus’s direction… locked on the rocking Bentley. I slammed the accelerator! With a roaring blast, my white Maserati shot forward like a mad thing, crashing straight into his black Bentley, which was still shaking like some cheap old junk car.

BANG! A deafening crash. The screech of twisting metal tore at my ears. And of course, I heard their disgusting curses.

I let out a cold laugh. 

I didn’t wait for them to put on their clothes. I snatched the folder from the passenger seat, rushed over, and pounded on Marcus’s window.

A few seconds later, the perfectly statue-like face of Alpha Marcus appeared. When our eyes met, his jaw clenched tightly.

“Seraphina? What the hell just happened?!” he said darkly, without a trace of panic for being caught cheating. As if I were the dirt beneath his feet and he owed me no explanation.

But none of that mattered now. As long as he signed the divorce papers today, I would be satisfied.

I ignored his anger and calmly held the folder out through the window. God, if I could, I would shove those damn papers straight down his smug, lying throat.

“Oh, Alpha Marcus,” I said, pretending to be composed, “looks like I mistook the gas pedal for the brake. Must be low blood sugar. Anyway, here’s something you need to sign.”

“Give it to me.” Marcus stiffly nodded, then quickly scribbled his name where I marked.

Seeing his signature on the document that would sever our bond—just seeing it—made my lungs finally breathe again.

“Sorry to interrupt. You can continue playing with your little sweetheart now,” I said with a bitter smile, ready to leave—until I saw a flicker of displeasure on Marcus’s face.

“Wait!” he shouted.

I stared at him coldly and sneered, “What? Alpha Marcus? Need a condom? Lube? Or Viagra?”

“Dammit! Sera! It’s not what it looks like!” Marcus frowned, but a sugary voice cut in. “Alpha Marcus, my dress is torn… you have to compensate me…”

The smile on my face froze instantly. I bit my lip hard, the taste of blood filling my mouth. I had to get out of here immediately, or I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from grabbing the gun in my car and aiming it right at their temples.

I couldn’t let my parents be exiled from the pack along with me.

Back to my

car,

I sat in the driver’s seat, on the verge of breaking down—like I was the only one still stuck on the last page of the fairy tale, where the prince and princess walk off under applause while no one wants to see what comes after.

As if everyone else already knew—that was where happiness ended, and what followed was only betrayal and deceit.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and wiped away the tears at the corner of my eyes. Now, only Grinhild’s money could comfort me.

My phone buzzed. Unsurprisingly, it was Grinhild. Her tone still arrogant: “I want to see my son’s signature with my own eyes.”

I let out a small laugh, snapped a photo of Marcus’s signature on the agreement, and sent it to her.

“As you wish. You know which account.”

At that moment, Bruce appeared, knocking on my window urgently.

He handed me a delicate velvet box. His smile was polite, but his eyes darted nervously, as if he didn’t dare look at me.

“Luna Seraphina, this was chosen by the Alpha. He said it’s your anniversary gift.”

I opened the box. Inside was a luxurious set of diamond jewelry—exquisitely designed, sparkling even under the dim garage lights.

Clearly worth a fortune. If Marcus hadn’t cheated, I might have accepted—smiled, stayed quiet, played his invisible Luna, pretending it symbolized our love.

But now? It was nothing more than a beautiful cage.

I snapped the box shut and looked up at Bruce. “How thoughtful of him, right? Putting his dick in another woman’s vagina while remembering to buy a gift for his idiotic Luna.”

“Luna Seraphina,” Bruce said nervously, “Alpha Marcus may have his reasons…”

Sure. Unless cheating had become a medical emergency, there was no excuse. But Bruce was one of the few around Marcus who treated me kindly. Maybe he just didn’t want to see me hurt. It was all he could do—he was only an assistant.

“Give it to me,” I said, extending my hand. No need for Bruce to suffer—Marcus was strict with his staff, and Bruce needed his job.

When I took the box, Bruce visibly relaxed. I understood—his job was on the line.

After he left, I took out my phone and snapped a photo of the necklace. Then I sent a message to the second-hand luxury dealer I usually contacted.

[Can you sell this set as soon as possible? Donate all the money to the Crescent Pup Foundation I support.]

After sending the message, I leaned back in my seat and rolled down the window. The breeze brushed across my face.

The sky was painted with brilliant colors by the sunset. For the first time in a long while, the world didn’t feel so painfully suffocating.

Thirty days. Just thirty days, and I would be completely free from this hell.