Chapter 3

I refused to back down.

I thought that as long as I held on, Emily would never be able to call what they had love.

Then they were photographed at a mountain resort.

In the pictures, Jake had his hand on her waist as they entered a suite together.

That time, he didn’t deny it.

His public relations team issued a statement saying his relationship with his current mate had been troubled for some time, and Emily’s companionship had helped him through a difficult period.

They didn’t mention that we still lived together.

That he had been in my bed the week before.

Or that he had never formally asked to end our relationship.

Strangers readily accepted their version.

A young, beautiful Omega who knew how to soothe an Alpha.

And a Luna who did nothing but fight.

They even thought I was standing in the way of true love.

I stormed into Jake’s office and asked why he was humiliating me like this.

Emily was there, too.

He asked her to leave first, his voice gentle, as though he was afraid I might hurt her.

I grabbed the ashtray from his desk and threw it at him.

Blood ran from his temple.

The office went silent.

Jake wiped the blood from his face, looked at me, and finally said it.

“Yes, I cheated on you. If you can’t live with it, end the bond.”

I stood there, shaking with every breath.

“Why should I?”

“Why do you get to do this, and I’m the one who has to give everything up?”

“I won’t make it easy for you.”

At the time, I meant it.

I would rather drag him down into misery with me than watch them be happy without a shred of guilt.

The car stopped at an intersection.

Red light reflected on the glass, blurring Emily’s smiling face on the billboard.

I lowered my head and touched the departure permit in my pocket.

Now, I no longer wanted to drag him anywhere.

I only wanted to get myself out.

Before leaving the pack house, I had imagined countless ways to beat Emily.

I wanted Jake to admit he was wrong.

I wanted the pack to know I hadn’t lied.

I wanted everyone who told me to be gracious to see what I had endured.

Only later did I understand.

When someone controls the things you cannot afford to lose, fighting to win is a luxury.

My mother had been diagnosed with silver-induced organ damage the previous winter.

When she was young, she had worked at a werewolf emergency station and treated survivors of an attack involving silver bullets.

Silver residue from that incident had accumulated in her body for years. As she grew older and her ability to heal weakened, the symptoms finally began to show.

Ordinary hospitals didn’t know how to treat chronic silver toxicity in a werewolf.

We searched for a long time before finding a specialist.

She worked at a werewolf medical center in Canada and traveled to the Blood Moon clinic periodically to evaluate my mother and adjust her treatment.

It was expensive.

I paid from my savings at first.

Later, I sold some of my investments.

Jake knew.

When Mom was first admitted, he had carried her into the emergency department himself.

Standing beside her bed, he had said, “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of you and Susan.”

Mom had smiled, reassured.

So when the clinic called after I made our mate contract public, I didn’t immediately think of Jake.

The nurse told me Mom’s scheduled treatment had been canceled.

The specialist had received notice from Blood Moon’s medical committee that her temporary practice authorization was suspended.

Her access to the territory had been revoked at the same time.

“Why?”

“The document doesn’t specify a reason.”

“My mother can’t stop treatment.”

There was a pause.

“We know. But the Alpha’s office hasn’t approved an alternative.”

My hand slowly went cold.

After I hung up, I called Jake more than a dozen times.

He didn’t answer.

It wasn’t until evening that he arrived with Emily at the house where I was staying.

I held my phone in front of him.

“Did you do this?”

He glanced at the screen.

“Take the post down first.”

I heard myself draw a breath.

“Jake. That’s my mother’s doctor.”

“Then you should try to stay calm.”

Emily stood behind him, her eyes slightly red.

“I just want this to end. The comments have been so frightening I’m scared to leave the house.”

I didn’t look at her.

“Restore the doctor’s authorization.”

Jake walked over and sat on the couch.

“Once you’ve dealt with what you posted.”

That was when I understood.

He wasn’t negotiating.

He knew my mother’s treatment schedule.

He knew I didn’t have time to arrange a transfer, much less coordinate with another medical team familiar with her condition in a matter of days.