Chapter 2

The moment I got home, I could hear Xavier chatting to his friends in the living room before I even stepped into the house.

"Xavier, won't Serena be angry that you terminated your bond with her for Talia?" his friend, Chase Yardley, asked in confusion.

Xavier chuckled softly when he heard that. Confidently, he said, "Of course not. She loves me so much that she's willing to do anything for me. She would never be angry with me. Besides, we're only terminating our bond contract. We're not breaking up for real. We'll be back to normal in a year's time."

"But I don't think any she-wolf would be willing to watch her mate do so much for another she-wolf. Aren't you afraid she'll be heartbroken and leave?"

Xavier froze when he heard that. His expression shifted into one of panic before it settled back to normal.

"She won't leave me," he said firmly. "She loves me too much."

"Yes, I will. I won't accept betrayal," I thought to myself.

The door opened with a click as I pushed it open. They fell silent the moment I entered.

"I'm back," I said, forcing myself to sound calm. However, I couldn't help but tear up slightly when I saw Xavier.

Xavier glanced at Chase, indicating for him to stay quiet.

"Serena, wait," Xavier said. His gaze looked slightly apologetic. "Talia's pregnant, and she's not used to the guest room. It'd be more convenient for her to stay in the master bedroom. Can you stay in the guest room for now?"

I pressed my lips into a thin line and looked at him. "How troublesome. I'll just move out."

He froze and instinctively tried to make me stay. "Serena, it's not safe for you out there. You should—"

"You're Talia's mate now. It's not appropriate for me to stay here. If the pack committee or the elders find out that this was all faked just to get Talia's pup the rights to live with the pack, they won't let the pup stay here."

Xavier couldn't argue with that.

He fell silent for a moment before finally giving in. "Okay. Take good care of yourself, Serena."

I nodded and began to walk out the door once I had my suitcase with me.

Xavier was waiting for me in the car. "I bought that beach house you said you liked. I'll send you there to stay in the meantime."

I wanted to turn him down, but I was worried that I wouldn't be able to leave for good if he noticed anything suspicious.

Perhaps due to guilt, he kept trying to start different conversations with me while we were in the car.

"Serena, I upgraded your credit card to a black card. Feel free to buy anything you want, okay?" he said. "I also bought that jewelry set you liked so much. It'll be here in two days.

"By the way, remember that moon silk wedding gown you wanted to wear during our marking ritual? I'm getting it custom-made for you. Once Talia gives birth to her pup, we'll have our marking ritual, okay?"

"Sure," I said, falling silent after nodding in response.

"Cheer up, okay? You're the only one I love. We'll only be apart for a year."

As he spoke, his sincere, cautious expression made me feel as if he truly loved and cared about me. However, I knew that was all for show.

He was willing to lie to me so that he could rightfully be the father of Talia's pup.

A wolf like that was nothing if not perfect at acting sincere.

"Come on. Let's put a smile on that face. I have something to show you."

We reached the parking lot near the beach. He began to run along the coast as he pulled me along with him.

The moment we reached the balcony of the beach house he bought for me, countless fireworks began to fill the sky.

His love for me was spelled out with fireworks. "Serena, I love you."

My tears finally began to fall.

Suppose I had seen that a day ago, I would have been overjoyed. Now, however, I knew that his beautiful acts of love were just a facade to conceal his lies.

My heart began to ache.

He held me in his arms and looked deeply into my eyes. "I swear that I'll love you forever. We'll never be apart again once this is all over. Haven't you always wanted to watch the sunrise? I'll be here with you tomorrow morning."

He began to lean closer toward me. Before his lips touched mine, his phone started ringing loudly.

A frown creased his face as he yanked the phone out. "I put my phone on silent. Why—"

I saw the contact name on his screen. It read "Talia".

The anger on his face immediately dissipated. After he hung up, he acted as if nothing had ever happened.

"What's wrong?" I asked, acting as if I hadn't seen anything strange.

"Something to do with the pack. It seems urgent, so…"

"No worries. Go ahead," I said with a self-deprecating smile.

I knew that he would always choose her over me.

That fact was set in stone from the very moment he decided to betray me.

"Don't worry. I'll be here to watch tomorrow's sunrise with you," he said before kissing my forehead and leaving.

I nodded with a smile as I watched him walk away.