Conan Must Go

My fated mate, Alpha Ronan Thornwood, gets betrayed by his best friend, Asher Crowe, during a pack battle. In order to preserve his position as the Alpha, Ronan begs me to travel to the Onyx Wolf pack with him in search of help. I accept his request immediately. But three days before our journey is set to begin, Ronan gets shot in the leg by a silver arrow when he's hunting a deer for me. In order to not delay our trip, he suggests that I travel to the pack on my own. Out of guilt toward Ronan, I decide to drop by the Healing Sanctuary to visit Ronan before the journey. But that's when I overhear his conversation with Asher. "So you first pretended to have bad blood with me, then you pretended to get hurt? All this just to trick Freya into traveling to the Onyx Wolf pack? You do realize that in order to get there, one must travel through the Dark Forest, right? Rumors have it that ferocious Rogues prowl that place! "You and Freya have grown up with each other since you two were pups! Do you really have the heart to let her embark on such a dangerous journey?" As Ronan unties the bandages around his leg, he replies coldly, "Those are just rumors. It's not like there really are Rogues infesting the forest. "Anyway, Freya is too docile and boring. The thought of being bound to her forever after she turns 18 suffocates me to no end! Willow, on the other hand, is different. She might be an Omega, but she's passionate and bold, not to mention she's also interesting and outgoing!" "So, are you going to abandon Freya and be with Willow?" "No way!" Ronan replies firmly. "Freya is my Luna. I just want to spend an unforgettable time with Willow before bonding with Freya." It turns out the pack battle, the betrayal, and Ronan's injury are all lies. Ronan wants to trick me into leaving the pack just so he can be with another she-wolf. After drying my tears, I change my destination. Now, I'm heading toward the Moon Goddess' Sacred Ground. I'm born with the mark of the Moon Goddess, which automatically makes me a Luna. But this mark doesn't just represent the title of the Luna—it also represents the most prestigious position in a pack, which is the divine messenger. From now on, I have nothing to do with Ronan.

It was my birthday. I thought he would take me to see the fireworks by the sea, but he showed up with another woman and her child. “Vera has a kid with her, and it’s inconvenient for them. Be a little understanding. She doesn’t know her way around here, and she has a lot of luggage. I’ll just drop them at the hotel.” He said it so casually, as if he were just explaining some trivial, everyday chore. It was that very gentleness of his that made me feel like I was so unreasonable getting angry over it. He helped them into the car. He leaned down to buckle the seatbelt on the child. Then, he turned to me with a smile. “I’ll be right back. Don’t overthink things.” I stood by the roadside and watched them drive away like a picture-perfect little family. As night fell, the sea breeze turned sharp and biting. Still, I waited until a notification of Vera Cannon’s social feed update lit up my screen. He was holding her daughter in his arms. They were watching the fireworks by the beach. It was a surprise I had planned for my own birthday. The comments poured in. [What a perfect match. What a beautiful little family!] Someone asked him why he was not picking me up. He just smiled and said, “Indy is very patient. She won’t be mad.” At that moment, my birthday cake melted into a puddle of frosting. I finally realized that he had not done that to be cruel to me. He was certain that I would always wait for him. However, even the warmest heart grew cold when neglected too many times. The waves crashed against the shore, over and over. With each crash, another shred of my hope washed away. This time, I was not going to wait for him to come back.

My genius lawyer boyfriend, Shane Falkner, is always white-knighting for my community college bestie, Sabrina Langford. Sabrina can't find a job after graduation, so Shane recruits her into the law firm despite fierce objections. I am tasked with reassuring our annoyed colleagues instead. At the banquet we're holding for our major clients, Sabrina orders all the child-friendly dishes, complete with juice boxes and everything. To win back our clients' trust, I am forced to go out there and get blackout drunk. Every time I cry and make a fuss about it, Shane just responds airily, "Marina, you know I love protecting vulnerable people. Moreover, if it weren't for the fact that you and Sabrina grew up together, I wouldn't have gone so far for an idiot like her." He's had me under his thumb, and I've had to grin and bear it for three years. But that ends today. Shane has forgotten about our anniversary. Instead, he tells me in a frazzled tone, "Your trainwreck of a bestie got in trouble again. I can't believe she misplaced something as important as the IPO filing drafts for Verity Group. She's really dejected, so I'm taking her out to get her mind off things. "Marina, I'm sorry, but I need you to figure something out." Looking at the resignation letter I've already written, I put on a faint smile. "Sorry, Mr. Falkner, but I'm afraid I can no longer help you with that."

My wife, Charlene Weber, has taken me to the Scumbag Court. If I'm found guilty, all my assets will be taken from me, and I'll face 10 years of imprisonment. Charlene, on the other hand, will get to marry her ideal man—Joel Quinlan—as she wishes. If I'm acquitted of all charges, Charlene will be made to divorce me without alimony. She'll also be cursed with bad luck and disfigured so badly she'll be the ugliest woman in the world. Conversely, I'll be given 10 million dollars in reparations and gain a lifetime's worth of good luck. Everyone is advising me to admit to my mistakes, but only because Charlene has always been a virtuous, devoted wife in their eyes. They think that there must surely be some complicated grievances between us at the moment. However, they are unaware that I've been reborn. This time, I'm going to tear off Charlene's mask of hypocrisy.

I arrived at yet another family gathering to see Declan Mercer's assistant sitting in my seat. I turned to him. "She's sitting in the hostess's seat. Do you really have nothing to say?" He looked at me like I was wasting his time. "You showed up late, so don't blame her for taking your spot. There's an empty seat right there. You can sit there, or you can get out." I was about to respond when Declan's inner voice flooded my head. "Come on, babe. Get mad already. "Tell me you need me. Tell me you want to sit next to me. "Prove to me that you love me. That's the only way I'll feel secure." This time, I did not give his inner voice what it wanted. I simply looked down and slid the ring off my finger. "If there isn't a place for me at this table, then I suppose I'm not needed here anymore. "Let's get a divorce."

I stood at the airport in a downpour and waited four hours. All I got for it was a message from Nicole McKenna: [Something came up at the office. Just grab a car and head home on your own.] I called a ride, but with the storm outside, it took another hour before a driver actually picked up my request. As unlucky as that was, I felt strangely calm once I finally climbed into the car. I even felt a flicker of relief when I saw the post from Freddy Sandler, Nicole's college junior. The photo showed the two of them at a candlelit dinner, captioned: [I said the rain was boring, so you came to keep me company.] None of it stung anymore. I'd finally made up my mind to leave her. The realization put me in such a good mood that I tapped "like" on the post without even thinking twice. Afterward, though, Nicole came to me with her eyes rimmed red and begged, "We've been together for years. You're really just going to let it go?"