Chapter 3

I wandered aimlessly through the snow.

After who knows how long, I found myself in a familiar birch forest.

I was once an Omega with a weak bloodline, bullied in my home pack.

When I was twelve, my pack clashed with the Shadowcrest Pack.

In the chaos, several adult wolves cornered me, tearing at my fur.

Then Damien came through them like a storm, a god of fury in the chaos, his howl scattering our attackers.

He drove off the brutes and wrapped me in his Alpha scent.

And discovered, to his shock, that I, a weak little Omega, was his fated mate.

He brought me back to the Shadowcrest Pack.

He trained me himself, unlocked my potential, and helped me earn everyone's respect.

"Then make yourself stronger," he once told me. "No one can reject a strong mate."

Our bond deepened with every passing day.

Until the news of his brother's death arrived.

Leaving behind his grieving mate, Lilith.

Damien promised he would always protect Lilith and the pack she inherited.

From then on, Lilith constantly used "territory security" and "his brother's dying wish" to come between us.

She would appear while Damien was training me, crying about her pack's troubles.

She would send an urgent message while we were alone, saying her mate's favorite war hound had run off—the only creature he'd left her.

And she always did it with such fragile helplessness that I never even had the right to be angry.

I once asked him cautiously, "Can't you... stop putting her first all the time? I'm your mate."

But Damien just said, "Don't be jealous of her. She was my brother's fated mate. Before he died, he made me promise to take care of her."

Later, we fought about it.

One time, I finally broke.

The tears I had held back for so long finally fell.

I looked at Lilith, my voice trembling from the effort of holding myself together.

“If you know it affects our bond, why do you keep running to Damien with every little problem? He is not your Alpha.”

My voice was a whisper, yet every word was laced with pain. “Or is it… that you desire your own mate's brother?”

Damien's face went white.

He looked from my enraged face to Lilith's tear-streaked one, his eyes filled with panic.

He chose the fastest, most hurtful way to end the chaos.

He unleashed his Alpha command on me.

"Elena! Shut up! Go apologize to Lilith!"

I stared at him, unable to believe he could be so blind.

"No!"

"Then have it your way. Go cool off by yourself."

He really did it.

He severed our mind-link.

For a whole month.

He left me alone to suffer through the tearing agony night after night.

In the end, it was me who broke.

I went to him and begged him to reconnect.

Again and again.

My tolerance convinced him that no matter what, the fated bond could never be broken, and I would never leave him.

Until just before the Luna ceremony.

I was so exhausted from overtraining I could barely hold my human form.

I pleaded with him. "Damien, I feel so sick. Your Alpha energy..."

Before I could finish, I felt Lilith's frantic voice in his mind.

"Damien, this territory dispute is a nightmare. You have to help me solve it today. I forbid you from leaving!"

Damien's response was fond. "Alright."

Then, he cut his link with me.

I struggled to reconnect, but he rejected the attempt.

I had no choice but to call my teacher, Isla, for help.

Then I passed out.

When I woke up from the coma the next day, I dragged my weak body to Damien's tent.

I heard Lilith's voice from inside. "Damien, you're awake? You should go check on your little mate. She's probably throwing a fit since you rejected her link yesterday."

Damien: "Forget it."

Lilith, coaxing: "Please? Go soothe her, or she'll blame me for ruining your relationship again."

Damien, annoyed: "Let her."

"You're really not going?"

"No."

"What if she threatens to reject the bond again?"

There was a long pause, then a soft, cold exhale of breath.

"Then let her try."

In that moment, something inside me shattered for good.