Chapter 1

1.

The Bonding Ceremony was at the part where we were supposed to exchange vows.

That’s when my Alpha, Aiden, suddenly called for a three-minute pause.

Then, he turned his back on me and got down on one knee in front of his childhood sweetheart, Layla.

"Layla, I once promised you I would make my vow in front of the entire pack," he said, his voice ringing through the hall. "So, I have to ask… in the next life, will you be my Luna?"

Layla covered her mouth, nodding as tears streamed down her face. She threw herself into my fiancé's arms.

Then, she turned to me. "Clara, I know I won't get to be Aiden’s mate in this life, but I hope you’ll take good care of him for me."

Whispers erupted from our pack members and guests.

Across from me, the man who was supposed to be marking me as his own was locked in a passionate kiss with another woman.

Everyone was waiting, watching, ready to see the fated mate become a joke.

But I just smiled. I walked right up to Layla and shoved the Luna’s ceremonial bouquet into her hands.

"What do you mean you won't get the chance?" I said, my voice sweet as poison. "Since you can't seem to let go of this tainted Alpha, I'll make it easy for you. He's all yours."

…

For ten years, I did everything right. I studied the pack's laws, bent over backward to please Aiden’s family, desperate for their approval.

In the end, the only reason they finally granted me this long-overdue Bonding Ceremony was because I was pregnant with the Alpha’s heir.

I thought that once the ceremony was done and the baby was born, Aiden would finally have to accept our fated bond.

But now, here I was, watching the man who was supposed to vow his life to me kissing someone else like his life depended on it.

I dug my nails into my palms so hard they drew blood, but the pain was nothing compared to the agony in my soul from his public rejection.

Suddenly, I was done pretending. I was done being patient.

My words made Layla clutch her chest and collapse into Aiden’s arms, her "wolf spirit" apparently as fragile as glass.

Without a moment's hesitation, he scooped her up and sprinted toward the pack’s infirmary.

As he left, he didn't forget to scream at me, calling me "vicious" and "petty."

He said it would have only taken a few minutes, but I just had to make a scene and embarrass everyone.

Aiden’s parents―the former Alpha and Luna―and even my own parents couldn't stop him.

So, I was left to face their fury alone.

The Elder holding the book of vows just stared at me awkwardly.

My mother, humiliated, started sobbing and hitting my arm, telling me to go chase after Aiden.

My father just snorted, told me to think about what I’d done, and dragged my mother away.

Aiden's mother, the former Luna, who had always looked down on me for my family's standing, sneered at me. She called me an "outsider" who didn't know her place.

She lectured me, saying that to be the Luna of the Blackwood Pack, I needed to learn to swallow my pain instead of embarrassing my Alpha in public.

For the first time in ten years, I realized that my devotion meant nothing.

I didn't want to be the Luna of the Blackwood Pack anymore.

They left with the remaining guests, ordering me to walk back to my rooms and "reflect on my actions."

I stood at the entrance of the grand hall, clutching the skirt of my white ceremonial dress, and watched them all walk away.

Behind me, the hall was silent and empty.

In front of me, the sky opened up and a torrential rain began to fall.

After the Blackwood family and the rest of the guests were gone, a car pulled up in front of me.

It was my parents.

My mother rolled down the window. The moment I saw them, all the pain and humiliation I'd been holding back burst out. My eyelashes trembled, and a tear rolled down my cheek. "Mom," I croaked.

I reached for the door handle, but I heard the click of the locks engaging.

I stared at them, stunned.

My mother’s voice was sharp with disappointment. "We told you not to get your hopes up. Now, you listen to your future mother-in-law. Go and reflect, and figure out how to get Aiden back. You're carrying his family’s heir. That Layla girl can't take that away from you, no matter what."

"Mom, how can you say that…?"

She ignored me, rolling up the window before the car sped off, leaving me behind.

I bit my lip so hard I tasted blood, watching the taillights disappear into the rain as the tears I could no longer stop streamed down my face.