Chapter 1

Jasmine finally slid off Caleb's lap, looking reluctant.

The heavy, sweet scent of her heat, mixed with the Alpha's wild musk, almost suffocated me.

I stared at the shocking red marks on her pale neck. The Alpha's hickeys left after a wild mating session.

My body trembled uncontrollably.

I thought we were in love. But he didn’t just break my heart. He shattered it in the most humiliating way possible.

Caleb didn't even bother to fix his clothes. He just slammed a parchment scroll onto the table in front of me.

It was a rejection contract.

I looked down, scanning the cold terms.

Eviction from the Pack House.

Revocation of all access to territory resources.

Official cancellation of future-Luna status.

"Sign it," Caleb said, his voice void of any warmth. "There's 10,000 gold coins as compensation."

He looked at me like I was a beggar. "Take the money and get out of my territory. It's enough for an Omega like you to find another small pack to take you in."

Jasmine leaned into Caleb's strong arms and covered her mouth in mock surprise.

"Oh my goddess, 10,000 gold coins," she gasped delicately. "Aurora, that's enough to build a cozy little cabin somewhere. Caleb is being far too generous. You should be grateful. After all, a worthless Omega with no connections like you can't help him anyway."

My eyes locked calmly onto Jasmine's smug face.

"How long has this been going on?"

Jasmine lifted her chin proudly, intentionally pulling her collar down to show off a fresher red mark on her collarbone.

"I've been back for exactly a month," she said, playing with Caleb's shirt button like a trophy. "For this whole month, he's been with me almost every day. Especially last night..."

She paused on purpose, giving Caleb a sultry look, her voice sickeningly sweet. "Last night went on for five whole hours. He almost broke me."

My white wolf whimpered in grief.

This month. A whole month.

Caleb did stay out late often.

Every time he came back exhausted and smelling of the cold wind, his excuse was always the same: "There are traces of rogues at the border. I took the patrol out."

Turns out, he wasn't patrolling the territory at all.

He was patrolling Jasmine's bed.

My stomach churned violently.

A wave of nausea churned in my stomach—a vicious mix of morning sickness and the raw power of my awakening bloodline. It rushed up my throat.

I bit my tongue hard, swallowing the metallic taste of blood.

I picked up the pen and signed my name at the bottom of the contract without hesitation.

Caleb frowned slightly at how quick I was, but a cruel smirk quickly replaced it.

"Smart move, signing so quickly." He coldly ripped the scroll that symbolized our engagement to shreds right in front of me. "Anyway, I dragged this out for three years and never marked you. We can make a clean break."

My heart felt like a silver dagger had been driven through it.

Right, he never marked me.

I naively thought he pitied my weak "rogue Omega" body and didn't want to force an Alpha's mark on me.

It turns out, it was just his escape plan. A way to get rid of me whenever he wanted.

And precisely because there was no soul-link from a mate bond, I was completely blind to his cheating.

"Hungry?" Caleb put the parchment away and turned to Jasmine, his voice instantly softening. "I'll go to the kitchen and cook your favorite Wagyu beef."

Caleb turned and walked into the kitchen.

Soon, the sizzling sound of searing meat came from the kitchen. Only Jasmine and I were left in the living room.

Without Caleb around, Jasmine completely dropped her fake nice act.

"Smell yourself," she said, blatantly covering her nose in disgust. "So weak, like a piece of trash that could die at any moment. How can you compare to the daughter of a pureblood Alpha?"

She stepped closer, lowering her voice, her tone full of provocation. "Honestly, you should have left a long time ago. Do you really think he was happy these three years? He sighed so many times on full moon nights. Your relationship was dead in the water anyway."

Sighed?

I looked coldly at the self-righteous woman in front of me, finding it utterly ridiculous.

Every time Caleb sighed, it was because his pack was facing threats of being swallowed by larger surrounding factions.

Or when the pack was first founded, there weren't enough healing herbs, and pack members couldn't even maintain their wolf forms.

As the Alpha of a small pack, he was completely powerless.

And after every one of his desperate sighs, I would wait until he was asleep, then slip out into the night.

I was the one who unleashed the terrifying aura of a pureblood Crimson Moon white wolf, instantly scaring off enemy packs trying to steal the mines.

I was the one who used my family's secret channels to quietly bring in cartloads of energy crystals to fill his pack's deficit.

But he always thought the Moon Goddess was blessing his little tribe.

"You're right." I picked up my beat-up canvas bag holding only a few old clothes, my eyes icy. "He and I really aren't a match."

I turned and walked toward the front door without looking back.

Stepping outside, the cold wind blew away the sickening sweet smell from the house.

I took out my black encrypted satellite phone and dialed the number that hadn't rung in three years.

"Mother." I gently touched my flat stomach, my voice calm but firm. "I'm pregnant. My healing Moon Goddess bloodline has awakened."

On the other end of the line, I heard my mother's voice—the voice of the Alpha of the Crimson Moon pack. It was trembling with pure excitement. "Thank the Goddess! Mother will come pick you up in three days!"

"Okay."

I hung up, carried my bag, and walked toward the drafty, rundown shack at the edge of the territory.

In three days, I could finally go home.