Chapter 1

It's the final round of this year's Pack Pup Tournament. I can't take my eyes off my pup, Patrick Grant, as he wins the title.

When the host calls Patrick's parents onstage to celebrate, I leap up, thrilled.

But then I see Nicholas Grant, my Alpha mate, walk up with his secretary, Natalia Lawson.

They stand side by side under the spotlight, kissing Patrick on both cheeks.

It's as if Natalia is the mother, as if she's the Luna of our pack, as if they're the perfect family.

I can only stand there in the audience, feeling the weight of countless startled stares, too ashamed to lift my head.

Later, Nicholas brushes the incident off. "You were seated farther back. It was easier to bring Natalia up on stage," he explains.

Easier? I swallow the humiliation and force myself to believe it was just an unfortunate coincidence—until today, that is.

I sense through our blood bond that something's wrong with Patrick, so I drop everything and race to the pack hospital.

But when I arrive, Patrick is lying in Natalia's lap, whining to her in a soft voice.

I step forward to introduce myself, but the healer only looks surprised. "The emergency contact form lists Natalia as his mom, though."

It turns out Patrick himself had stripped me of my role as his mother. And Nicholas didn't stop him.

I finally understand. I don't belong in this family anymore.

That night, I tell Nicholas I want to dissolve the mate bond between us.

He doesn't even look up as he says, "Don't be dramatic. You'd dissolve our bond over a single name on a form?"

"Yes."

...

Nicholas Grant rubbed his temples as a flicker of irritation flashed through his eyes.

"This again, Evelyn? Every time we argue, you threaten to dissolve the mate bond. Please, can't you stop being so immature?"

He shoved a few documents into his briefcase without sparing me a glance.

"I have an urgent meeting to attend with the Elders. Let's talk about this when I get back, alright?"

His secretary, Natalia Lawson, stood by the door and handed him his coat while gently reminding him, "Alpha Nicholas, the Elders have all arrived. We really shouldn't keep them waiting."

After she finished speaking, she looked at me with a troubled expression.

"Luna Evelyn, I'm truly sorry. I know you're upset and want Alpha Nicholas by your side, but this meeting is important for the entire pack. He really can't be late."

The two of them played off each other effortlessly. Their tone carried a profound helplessness from being dragged down by my alleged unreasonable behavior.

It was as if I, the rightful Luna of this pack, were the one being inconsiderate.

Just then, Natalia's phone rang. She let out a startled cry as if she had lost her grip, and her finger accidentally played a voice message.

A man's voice echoed clearly through the room.

"Natalia, is Alpha Nicholas still stuck dealing with that petty and moody Luna of his? Honestly, he should've chosen a new mate long ago. A Luna who can't think beyond herself only brings bad luck to the pack.

"You should take her place as the new Luna. Everyone in the pack supports you!"

I recognized that voice. It belonged to the Beta whom Nicholas had personally promoted, the one who had attended our marking ceremony.

Natalia pretended to panic as she locked her phone, then bowed to me in apology. "Luna Evelyn, I'm so sorry. I swear I didn't mean for that to happen."

I ignored her and looked straight at Nicholas. "Is this how your people talk about me behind my back? And you're not going to do anything about it?"

He sighed, showing no trace of remorse, only thinking I was making a fuss over nothing again.

"What do you expect me to do? Go around silencing every single one of them?

"Evelyn, if you didn't make a big deal out of everything, would they even be saying these things? Maybe it's time you looked at your own behavior."

Nicholas didn't even glance at me. He walked straight past me and headed for the door.

I opened my mouth, but no words came out. It felt like a massive weight was pressing down on my chest.

So to them, all my sacrifices were nothing but a string of farces.

When I once voiced concern about how often Natalia showed up in our home, Nicholas had accused me of being petty. He said that even as a Luna, I couldn't tolerate his most trusted female secretary.

I once collapsed from exhaustion and ended up in the hospital after doing chores while sick, so I couldn't accompany him to a pack council meeting. Nicholas only branded me as selfish and irresponsible.

And now, I was heartbroken that my pup had replaced me as his mother, and felt betrayed that my mate had brought another woman to a celebration that should have been mine. Yet to Nicholas, it was nothing but an overreaction on my part.

A flood of grievances and disappointment welled up in me at that moment. I stood there silently, staring at Nicholas.

My voice was soft, but it carried a finality I had never felt before. "Nicholas, let's dissolve our mate bond."

As soon as I finished speaking, a flicker of joy crossed Natalia's eyes, and she was on the verge of breaking into a smile.

She quickly masked it with a look of faux shock, even stepping back a little as if my words had truly startled her.

Nicholas leaned against the doorframe. He irritably undid a shirt button as if his patience had finally run out.

"All this over one emergency contact entry? Is that really worth all this drama, Evelyn? I've already had Patrick's emergency contact changed back.

"At Pack Pup Tournament, you were sitting too far away. Natalia was closer, so I brought her on stage for convenience, that's all. I'm sorry, okay? It was my fault. Is that good enough for you?"

Natalia seized the moment and walked over, looking at me with a submissive posture.

"Luna Evelyn, I apologize to you as well. Please don't misunderstand. Patrick will always be your pup. I momentarily forgot my place, but I had no other intentions."

Nicholas' mother, Fiona Pearson, climbed the stairs with her cane at this moment. She was the former Luna who was deeply respected.

"Evelyn, that's enough. Look at how Nicholas works day and night for the pack. Can't you be a little more understanding? Do you really want the whole pack laughing at our disgrace?"

Her words made even the housekeepers glance at me with judgment in their eyes.

I silently looked at them.

Every single one of them told me I was wrong in their own ways—that I was overreacting, not considerate enough, and forcing my Alpha to give in.

But weren't they the ones who made me the way I now was?

Nicholas and I were once fated mates chosen by the Moon Goddess. We had been the most envied pair in the pack.

But not long after we became mates, my father's unit suffered a crushing defeat in a pack battle. He went missing and was labeled a deserter.

Fiona was afraid that my father's disgrace would damage Nicholas' reputation. More than once, she sighed right in front of me, saying I was a burden to Nicholas.

She tried countless times, both openly and subtly, to convince me to dissolve the mate bond.

Later, when I became pregnant and required care, she insisted that Nicholas and I lived separately. She said I needed proper rest.

When I gave birth to Patrick Grant, I nearly died during labor.

And when I woke from my coma, the first thing I heard was Fiona saying to Nicholas with regret, "It's a pity she didn't die during childbirth. It would have saved us a lot of trouble."

Her words felt like the cruelest curse. It drained every bit of strength from me and drove my wolf into such a rage that it nearly broke free from its restraints.

For the safety of the pack, for the man I loved, and for the pup I bore, I sealed away my wolf with my own hands and forced her into slumber.

And what did I get in return for all of it?

They used that as an excuse, saying I needed to recover and thus handed newborn Patrick over to Fiona's care.

I begged every day just to see my pup, but they never once let me meet him.

When my wolf finally recovered, Patrick had already grown distant. He avoided my arms when I reached for him and wrinkled his nose at my scent.

At every school event, he made it clear he didn't want me there. He even replaced my name with Natalia's on his emergency contact form.

And Nicholas, my fated mate, let all of it happen without a word.

He even turned it back on me, saying I was too sensitive and that as a Luna, I should've been more tolerant.

In the past, I would've kept silent for love, for Patrick. But this time, I was truly tired. All I wanted was to escape this suffocating prison.

"Nicholas, go to your precious meeting and take whoever you like with you. But before you do, we dissolve our mate bond."