第3章

Dissolving a mate bond over one look at an Omega secretary sounded ridiculous.

But only I knew how much unspoken love that single glance contained.

This used to be a secret between Grayson and me.

When I first met him, I was still an outsider struggling at the bottom of the pack's warrior academy. My mother had just immigrated to Blackwater Pack with me, alone.

As outsiders, I couldn't fit into any of the school cliques. I fought tooth and nail just to survive there.

Classmates bullied me. Teachers humiliated me.

Back then, Grayson was the famous Alpha's son, the pack's heir. High status, powerful.

He commanded everyone's attention.

My classmates warned him to stay away from me.

They said I was an outsider, a bastard, the daughter of a homewrecker. Trash.

When I was being tormented by my classmates, only Grayson was willing to approach me. No matter how many people surrounded us, his eyes saw only me. In the darkest moment of my life, he was my salvation.

But my shame made me afraid to hope for more.

When he approached, I retreated. Every time he tried to meet me, I ran away in panic.

I never expected Grayson to chase me all the way to my family's safe house.

Actually, my mother was my father's destined mate. Dad didn't work—it was my mother who worked tirelessly to support our family. Once, father swore he'd love my mother forever. With her by his side, he claimed he could never see anyone else.

But later, father's gaze shifted to our Omega neighbor. Then he betrayed us for that Omega. He stole everything my mother had worked for—her savings, the safe house she'd built with her own hands, even the hunting grounds she'd developed since childhood.

To give me a chance at a healthy, happy life, my mother brought me to Blackwater Pack. We wanted to escape those two completely.

But somehow, they still tracked us down. To force my mother to agree to dissolving their bond, my father came to our door threatening to kill me. I was still underage then, unable to shift into my wolf form. I couldn't defend myself against my father's wolf.

Just when I thought I was really going to die, Grayson appeared like a god descending from heaven. To protect me, he unleashed his Alpha wolf power for the first time and drove my father away.

That's when Grayson confessed to me. He said both he and his wolf loved me deeply. As long as I was present, he could never see anyone else.

I thought he was different from my father. I thought his gaze would always stay fixed on me. So despite my mother's warnings, I chose to be with Grayson without hesitation.

I told him:

"You love me very much. I can see it. I can read people's hearts through their eyes. If your eyes ever change, I'll leave on my own."

The barely-adult Grayson struggled to lift his other arm and ruffled my hair.

"Little fool, you'll never see that day come."

I knew he didn't believe me.

He never imagined those words would become prophecy.

When my mother was attacked by rogue wolves and lay dying, in my most vulnerable moment, I desperately tried every way to contact Grayson. I needed his strength. But no matter what I did, I couldn't reach him. In the end, I faced my mother's death completely alone. Only later did I learn that on the night my mother died, he was with his Omega secretary, helping her care for her pet dog that was giving birth.

The mate who swore he only had eyes for me ignored my pain at losing my mother. His heart and attention were completely focused on Stella.

I remembered my mother's dying words, warning me that men's eyes never lie. Whoever they look at is where their heart belongs.

The memories blurred together. The boy I'd cherished had become the same kind of scum as my father. His heart and his gaze had shifted to a third party. His promises to me were nothing but a joke. Only I had taken them seriously.

Then I should leave too.