Chapter 5

I looked at the man in front of me and began to doubt myself.

It seemed I had never truly understood him despite having liked him for so many years.

Perhaps whenever Christine was involved, he'd lose all sense of reason and principle.

"Augustus Brock!" I called him by name as well. "You're the Alpha of Brock Pack. I'll leave the matter of severing the mate bond to you.

"Think about it. This is what benefits you the most, isn't it?

"You can resolve the issue with the news and get what you've always wanted, your one true love.

"Your parents and your son like her more too. It's a win-win."

Augustus stood up. "You're still angry. I understand you're speaking without thinking. We'll talk again once you calm down."

With that, he took Ethan's hand and left.

As for the viral news, it was handled exactly the way he said.

The headline disappeared without a trace, and the buzz died down quickly.

From beginning to end, Brock Pack's official page never issued any statements.

All parties involved remained silent.

But everyone knew that silence meant acknowledgment.

Brock Pack had tacitly accepted the narrative of that family of three.

I felt nothing about it anymore.

I simply waited quietly for Augustus to complete the preparations to sever our mate bond.

But three days passed, and there was no movement on his end.

When I called, his assistant always answered in a professional tone. "Alpha Augustus is unavailable at the moment."

On the fourth day, I still couldn't reach him.

So I sent a message through our mind link.

[If you don't sever the mate bond with me, I'll hold a press conference as the real Luna.]

He quickly replied.

[Let's talk after I get home from work.]

That night, Augustus still showed no intention of severing our mate bond.

He seemed convinced I was just throwing a tantrum. "Alright. I'll apologize. This matter is over. Stop making a fuss," he said impatiently.

"I truly don't understand," I said while looking up at him. "You clearly like Christine. Why not just sever the mate bond with me and mark her?"

"If I do it right after she returns, what will the other werewolves in the pack say about her?"

"Oh!" I suddenly understood. "You don't want her to carry the reputation of ruining our relationship.

"But that's none of my concern! I just want to sever this mate bond with you. Whether her reputation is good or bad has nothing to do with me."

"Hannah, even your willfulness should have limits," Augustus said harshly. "If I really say yes, you'll regret it."

"Augustus, I'll say this one more time. I'm not joking.

"If you don't go through with severing the mate bond tonight, I'll publicly announce on every werewolf platform that I am the real Luna, and that Christine is the third wheel who ruined our relationship!"

"You wouldn't dare!" he snapped. "Fine. As you wish. I'll have the Alpha King arrange it now. Don't regret this!"

"Hurry up," I urged.

"Ethan is a pup of Brock Pack. I won't give him to you," he added.

"That's fine. He doesn't like me anyway. Even if I wanted him, he wouldn't come with me."

More than two hours later, the elders of Brock Pack arrived at our door.

They handed me an agreement to sever the mate bond.

I skimmed through it. Ethan's custody would go to Augustus, and I would have visitation rights.

What surprised me was that Augustus was relatively generous when it came to material matters.

Back when we formed the mate bond, under his parents' insistence, we had signed an agreement stating that the Brock family's assets had nothing to do with me.

I had already prepared to leave with nothing.

But in this agreement, he allocated a handsome share of the assets to me, including the house we lived in.

I didn't dwell on it. I picked up the pen and signed the agreement.

After signing it, I said to him, "We'll go to the Werewolf Council tomorrow to register it. You can leave now."

As the door closed, Augustus said coldly, "Hannah, I won't indulge your willfulness. You'll pay the price for this."

Even now, he still believed I was just throwing a tantrum.

He was warning me that if I kept this up, I would truly lose my way back.

But what he didn't know was that once I decided to leave, I had no intention of turning back.

The next day, we went to the Werewolf Council to register the mate bond severance. We agreed that one month later, the Alpha King would formally sever the mate bond.

During that month, Augustus and I never saw each other once.

On the weekend, I went to pick up Ethan as usual.

He asked me, "Are you really going to sever the mate bond with Dad?"

I nodded.

The joy on his face was impossible to hide.

I no longer felt hurt by the fact that he disliked me.

He spoke in a way that sounded as if he was doing me a favor. "You can come see me in the future, but not too often.

"Hmm. Once a month is enough. Otherwise, I'm worried Christine won't be happy about it."

I didn't respond.

That's how it was. I had done everything I could with Ethan.

I decided to let go. I had accepted the fact that he didn't love me.

A month later, under the witness of the Alpha King, Augustus and I officially severed our mate bond.

It seemed like Augustus wanted to say something to me, but I didn't want to see him anymore.

I turned around and walked away without looking back.