Chapter 2

Olivia Summers POV

Before the Marking ceremony, my wedding photographer Amy sent me the finalized wedding photos.

I opened the package with joy and began admiring them.

But I discovered that the woman standing beside Liam in the photos wasn't me.

It was Ava.

The daughter of the beta serving Liam's father. She grew up with Liam, his so-called best friend.

As I flipped through more pages, there were many more photos of just the two of them.

In the pictures, Ava wore an elaborate wedding dress. Liam either embraced her from behind, gazed at her affectionately, or kissed her.

In one photo, Ava's finger clearly wore the ring I had selected.

I remembered that half a month ago, Liam said he needed to help Ava with a favor.

So this was his idea of helping.

Going to take wedding photos with his so-called good friend, then continuing to deceive me by saying they were just friends.

Moon goddess above, he was deceiving his fated mate!

Yes, I am the fated mate of Frostveil Pack's alpha Liam.

But I'm not a werewolf. I'm an ordinary human.

Three years ago, Liam and I met at a friend's gathering and started dating.

After three years together, his proposal wasn't anything special. Just a sentence after dinner: "Get ready. The Marking ceremony is coming up soon."

As a human who grew up in the werewolf world, I certainly knew what the Marking ceremony meant.

Werewolves Mark their mates and form a strong mate bond. It's roughly equivalent to marriage in the human world, but much more solid and binding.

Liam's willingness to officially hold a Marking ceremony with me was a pleasant surprise. But the lack of a proper proposal still left me feeling somewhat disappointed.

So I discussed with Liam about at least taking a set of wedding photos before the ceremony.

He agreed very reluctantly at the time, constantly complaining that I was being too much trouble.

But he didn't find it troublesome to take photos with Ava?

Just then, my phone buzzed with a message from Liam.

"Olivia, what do you want for dinner?"

I didn't reply.

I took a screenshot of the most intimate photo of him and Ava and posted it on Ins.

The caption read:

"I've decided to let them have each other. Congratulations to my boyfriend Liam and his best friend on their wedding. Blessings!"

Liam's call came through immediately, his tone filled with angry interrogation.

"Olivia! What the hell are you doing?! Delete that right now!"

"Am I the one going crazy, or are you?" I said.

"I already told you, I was just helping Ava out! She said she'd never done it before and wanted to experience what it felt like to wear a wedding dress and take wedding photos! As her best friend, how could I not help?"

When I didn't respond, Liam realized his tone was too harsh. He softened his voice slightly and continued more gently.

"You know Ava grew up with us. She still hasn't found her fated mate, so she wanted to experience it. There's nothing between us. Don't be so petty about this."

I thought his words were utterly ridiculous.

"I'm being petty? Should I applaud you two sleeping together to be considered generous?!"

Liam growled angrily.

"Olivia! Watch your mouth! Do you think everyone is as melodramatic as you? Ava has always been straightforward. She's not as filthy-minded as you!"

"Fine, I'm the filthy one. I've defiled your sacred friendship."

At that moment, I felt exhausted.

"The Marking ceremony is off."

Too tired to argue with him, I hung up the phone directly.