Chapter 1

My fated mate, Alpha Kaelen, rejected me seven times.

The first time we bonded, he whispered against my ear, his breath hot. “From now on, my soul sings only for you.”

But then his first love, the Omega Seraphina, came back for him. And just like that, he rejected me.

They shared a mate’s mark from their past.

It left her hopelessly addicted to his scent.

“I’m sorry,” he’d said. “I have to be with Seraphina. The scent addiction is destroying her. She can’t even shift. Her wolf is weakening.”

The first time he rejected me, I slashed a silver dagger across my wrist. I let the blood flow, hoping the pain would make him look at me.

It worked. Kaelen was horrified.

He left Seraphina for a moment and rushed to my side, holding me, comforting me.

The third time, I disguised myself as an ordinary pack wolf.

I got an internship at his pack headquarters, just to breathe in the air he breathed.

But this time, he looked right through me, as if we were strangers.

By the sixth rejection, I had learned how to calmly erase my scent from his suite. I left without a sound.

My screams. My surrender. My begging.

And what I got in return? Every time he was with her, the full moon would rise, and he’d call me back. Just to play the same sick game all over again.

Until now. I heard Seraphina was coming back again. So I handed him the ceremonial dagger myself.

He set the date for my return, just like always.

He had no idea.

This time, I'm the one severing the bond for good. And I am never coming back.

...

“Seraphina’s back. This rejection ceremony…”

Before Kaelen could finish, I was already on my feet.

I placed the silver ceremonial dagger and the obsidian bowl for the wolf’s blood right beside him.

I’d heard the news last night. His first love, Seraphina, was returning.

I knew what was coming. Another rejection.

And I would have to endure the agony of our mate bond shattering, no matter how much I cried and begged.

Kaelen paused for a second as he took the dagger, his golden Alpha eyes locked on my face.

“You’re quiet tonight, Elara.” His voice was cold, as usual. “What new trick is this?”

“No tricks. I just know what’s going to happen.”

I stepped back to give him room for the ritual. “Let’s get this over with.”

Kaelen’s brow furrowed.

He wasn’t used to me being so cooperative.

But his arrogance returned quickly. He took the dagger. He sliced his palm open with practiced ease.

I’d never prepared the ritual for him before. Not unless he commanded it.

I stood there, silent, letting the familiar pain tear through me.

I clenched my fists so hard I thought my bones would shatter.

Just one last time, Elara, I told myself. Endure it one last time.

When the ritual was over, I looked at his indifferent face and couldn't help but wonder.

Doesn't the bond breaking hurt him, too? Or does his power just shield him from the agony?

He made the same casual promise he’d made the last six times.

“Next full moon, I’ll call you back. You’re still my fated mate.”

Before, I would have clawed for more than an empty promise.

I would have forced him to swear on the Moon Goddess, to seal it with a blood pact.

Anything to claw my way back to my mate’s side, to bond with him again.

But this time, my heart was a frozen wasteland.

I didn’t even have the energy to respond.

“Elara, are you listening to me?”

Kaelen’s frown deepened. His Alpha dominance radiated off him, a silent warning against my silence.

I just nodded.

“Yeah.”

But I didn't stop what I was doing.

I went back to the bedroom, folded my last moon-white dress, and placed it in my suitcase.

When Kaelen said he’d call me back, he meant it. He would re-establish our mate bond on that exact day.

He was the strongest Alpha on the continent. His word was law.

There was no doubt about that.

We weren't mates.

We were a contract, one he tore up and renewed on his schedule.

The contract was called the "Mate Bond." Every year, it was broken. Then it was re-forged.

I had already endured the soul-tearing agony seven times.

I still remembered what he told me, with the Moon Goddess as our witness. He promised he would never be unfaithful during our bond.

And he kept his word.

After all, once the rejection ritual was done, he was free to mark whoever he wanted.

The cost? I was a joke. The Luna he could summon and discard at will.

My strange behavior today seemed to throw Kaelen off.

He must still remember me hysterical, slashing my wrists with a dinner knife, threatening to jump off the bridge if he broke the bond, and crying for him again and again.

I walked to the fireplace in his penthouse. Using the power gifted to me by the Moon Goddess, I erased every trace of my scent.

The fragrance of Moonpetal orchids vanished.

The warmth from my favorite wool blanket disappeared.

Even the faint traces of my magic in the air were wiped clean.

He watched me erase myself from the room, faster than I ever had before. He spoke, a hint of awkwardness in his voice.

“Maybe this time… I could just move into the guest room…”

Click.

I snapped my suitcase shut, cutting off his pathetic offer.

“I already made plans. I’m staying with Brenna.”

Kaelen’s face darkened, as if he’d just remembered something.

“Don’t play your games again. Are you planning to go undercover as an intern at pack headquarters to spy on me?”

“Elara, can’t you get a life? Can’t you stand on your own two feet without a mate?”

I knew what he was really saying.

He didn't want me anywhere near pack headquarters, ruining his perfect little world with Seraphina.

After all, with Seraphina back, Kaelen would want his "delicate" Omega childhood friend to feel his presence at all times.

Maybe he wanted to relive their teenage fantasies, marking each other in his office.

After the second rejection, I had disguised myself as a new intern.

I walked into his office carrying his favorite Bloody Mary, my heart full of hope.

And I saw him. He was kissing Seraphina, who was sitting on his lap.

He was kissing her like he wanted to devour her.

I lost it. My wolf took over. I lunged for Seraphina, but Kaelen slapped me so hard I hit the floor.

Outside the office, all the pack elites were watching the show.

Everyone thought I was still his Luna. They looked at Seraphina with contempt.

To protect her reputation, Kaelen ignored my shaking head, my silent pleas. He announced to everyone that we had performed the rejection ritual.

The glowing red sigil of our bond materialized in the air, then shattered into ash.

Our broken bond was laid bare for the whole pack to see.

After that, he made our rejection public every single time.

Everyone knew. Kaelen was protecting Seraphina.

I was the one clinging shamelessly, refusing to let go.

But this time, Kaelen’s worries were for nothing.

I grabbed my suitcase without a second thought.

“Don’t worry. I won’t bother you again.”

Kaelen stared at me, suspicious.

It wasn't until I stepped out the door that he called out, a hint of urgency in his voice.

“Next full moon! Don’t forget! We re-establish the bond.”

I felt a wave of dizziness.

Funny.

That was the exact day my private jet was scheduled to take me off this continent.

Forever.