로그인One year later.Seattle, an autumn cliffside overlooking the ocean.Inside the bridal suite, I studied my reflection in the mirror. I wore pure white silk.The phone screen on the vanity lit up. A text flashed from an unsaved number.[I wish you happiness.]I looked at the four words in complete silence.No anger. No tears. I flipped the phone face down onto the table. I never typed a reply.Outside on the cliffside lawn, the sea wind fluttered the white drapery.This mating ceremony had very few guests. It was quiet. Yet it carried the crushing, lethal power of ancient Lycan royalty.Rowan stood waiting at the end of the floral arch.He wore a sharp black suit. I stepped into view. His dark eyes flared molten gold. Pure devotion burned in his gaze. He saw only me. I was his one and only.I took a deep breath, gathered my train, and walked straight toward him."All right, most envied pair on the West Coast," Maya grinned. She wore her maid of honor gown, acting as our officiant today.
Julian froze dead in his tracks. Ice-cold rain pounded his face without mercy."You thought I was blind?" I stood tall in the freezing rain. This ended tonight. "Your love was a joke. I was your backup plan. Tell me, Julian. Did you ever want me, or was I just your leash to keep Stella close?"Julian's pupils shrank."You... you heard me..." His throat worked. He wanted to explain, but his mouth couldn't form a single word."Yes. The night of her victory party. You were drunk. I stayed stone-cold sober. I heard every single word." I looked at him with dead eyes. "Now you finally know the agony of a ripped soul. But did you ever give a damn about my pain? I was your fated mate. Yet you treated me like a dirty secret. You shoved me into second place. You handed me her leftover garbage every single day!"Julian parted his lips, but nothing came out. Raw, ugly regret bled across his hollow face. Only right now did the truth hit him. He had personally murdered every drop of love in my heart
I turned to shut the door.Slow, mocking claps echoed from the street.A red stiletto heel kicked the half-open glass door wide.Stella strolled inside. Her bright red trench coat looked spotless. She leaned against the doorframe with a smug grin. Her cold eyes swept over me. Then they landed on Rowan behind me."Running away really did the trick, huh?" She twirled a curl of her hair, her tone dripping with venom. "All our lives, this is the very first time you stole the spotlight from me. Tell me, does playing the main character feel addicting?"I met her eyes without blinking. "This is my shop. You are not welcome here. Be smart and get out on your own."Stella didn't get mad. Instead, she took a slow step forward and dropped her voice to a poisonous whisper."Look at you, all brave now, Chloe. You've been gone a month, and you already dare to raise your voice at me. Everyone laughed at you the night you bolted. They called you an ungrateful little stray." Stella glared straight into
The front door slammed open with a violent crash. Wind, rain, and freezing air blasted into the bakery."Throw those damn flowers away!"Julian's raw roar tore through the shop.He was soaked to the skin. His bloodshot eyes locked onto the moon orchids in my hands, burning with pure madness. The agony of the broken mate bond had eaten him alive for an entire month. His proud Alpha wolf was now just a dying, feral beast, shaking with weak fury.He stormed toward me, slamming his hostile Alpha aura straight at Rowan."Get your hands off my woman!"Rowan didn't even flinch.He stepped forward, shielding me behind his broad frame. Then, his ancient Lycan aura dropped. It hit the room like a tidal wave, a hundred times deadlier than Julian's power.Julian's knees buckled instantly. The sheer weight of royal blood crushed him down onto one knee. He clutched his chest and spat a mouthful of dark blood onto the floor."Drop your pathetic act in my territory," Rowan said, staring down at him. H
"Two calming herb tarts! One to go. Maya, extra moon grass syrup on that one!""Got it! Make way for the best baker on the West Coast!" Maya laughed from behind the counter.I crushed fresh moon grass and scattered it over the warm tarts. A rich herbal scent drifted through the bakery.The Seattle afternoon sun poured through the glass window. It warmed my shoulders and chased away the cold in my bones.It had been an entire month since I ripped my mate bond apart and ran away from the Crescent Pack.I never looked back.Instead, I used my herbal notebook to mix calming remedies into my pastries. My treats calmed rogue fever and feral wolves. Back at the manor, they called my work useless tricks for runts. But here in Seattle, my pastries saved lives.My little shop, Full Moon, was famous across the entire West Coast.I was finally free from the cruelty and the endless comparisons. I had my own life back.The bell over the door chimed. The noisy room dropped dead silent.Several burly
"Search! Send every guard out! Tear this entire territory apart until you find her!"Julian grabbed the butler by the collar and slammed him hard against a tree trunk.The searing fire in his chest ripped through his flesh. Black spots danced across his eyes.The blood on the grass had dried into dark, crusty stains. Under the cold moonlight, it stung his eyes like acid.It was Chloe's blood. It was the raw, open wound of a broken bond. She had torn their link apart with her bare hands.Another wave of copper hit his throat. Julian dropped to his knees and choked up thick blood onto the dirt."Julian! God, what happened?!"Heavy footsteps shattered the quiet night.Chloe's parents rushed into the clearing with several guards. Clan Elders Robert and Evelyn looked terrified. Evelyn took in the pool of blood and the broken Alpha on his knees, and her face twisted with pure fury."Where is that wolfless trash? The ceremony ended hours ago! Everyone is waiting! Where did she go?!""She brok







