Chapter 1

The night before the marking ceremony, I found another woman's underwear in my home.

To find out who this woman was, I went to check the security footage at home.

But I accidentally overheard my fiancé Isaac say:

"I have no intention of marking her. I'm just doing this to piss Floyd off."

"On the day of the ceremony, I'll announce that the game is over."

Floyd was the fated mate who rejected me, and also Alpha Isaac's sworn enemy.

I immediately bought a plane ticket out of the country.

Four years later, Isaac found me and begged me to go back with him.

I just laughed and replied: "I stopped loving you a long time ago."

He didn't know that I was now a werewolf's mate.

Caroline POV

Ten minutes ago, I found women's underwear on my living room couch.

Isaac's scent completely masked that woman's scent though.

To find out who this woman was, I went to check the estate's security footage.

I quickly found the video.

It was Bethany, that woman Isaac said was his sister!

I angrily wanted to rush out and rip that woman's throat apart, but suddenly heard a mocking laugh coming from the video.

"Isaac, you and I are having sex in your home. If Caroline finds out, won't she be angry?"

My hand on the mouse froze.

I thought I would hear Isaac defend me.

"Angry?"

Isaac's voice was cold, accompanied by the hoarseness after passion. "Right now her head is full of how to be the most beautiful bride. She doesn't have time to be angry."

My smile froze on my face.

The conversation in the car continued, each word cutting like a knife.

"To piss Floyd off, spending so much on this ceremony—is it worth it? What if Caroline actually clings to you? Are you really going to become mates with her? But you haven't marked her in four years, so you probably don't plan to, right?"

On the screen, Isaac exhaled a smoke ring, blurring his handsome profile.

But it didn't blur the coldness in his eyes.

"This small price to see Alpha Floyd's shitty expression of displeasure? That's a good deal."

He chuckled lightly, as if discussing some worthless object. "On the day of the ceremony, I'll announce in front of everyone that the game is over. Alpha Floyd's face will definitely be spectacular. After all, no matter what, she's still his fated mate. And he hasn't found a second one yet."

Bethany laughed wickedly, then turned over to straddle Isaac.

"What about Caroline after that? She was abandoned by her fated mate, and then publicly rejected by you. Won't she go insane and die?"

Isaac flicked his ash, casual and indifferent:

"Adult games. She's the stupid one. Who else can she blame?"

The video stopped abruptly.

The study fell deathly silent.

I sat frozen in my chair, my blood turning to ice.

So these four years of devotion were just an elaborate, calculated lie.

All because his sworn enemy, Alpha Floyd, was my fated mate.

Though he rejected me, until he marked someone else or I was marked by someone else, we would be bound together by this cursed fate.

I could feel his pain. Likewise, if I suffered, Floyd would suffer unbearably too.

But Isaac knew full well that publicly rejecting me at the marking ceremony would turn the moonlight that symbolized blessings into a curse.

It would cause my wolf to go insane, and I might even die on the spot.

My stomach churned violently.

I rushed to the bathroom and dry heaved over the toilet, but nothing came up.

Tears splashed onto the floor. I wiped them away viciously.

Caroline, don't cry.

This scum isn't worth it.

My wolf, already quite weak since Floyd's rejection, reminded me calmly.

I splashed cold water on my face, looking at my pale reflection in the mirror.

Since you want to play games, I'll give you what you want.

I returned to the computer, hands still shaking, but my eyes had gone cold.

I clipped the segment of Isaac and his lover Bethany having sex and backed it up to the cloud.

Just then, my phone lit up. A message from Isaac popped up:

"Date tonight? Remember to wear that black lingerie. It looks beautiful on you."

I looked at that familiar profile picture, at his familiar flirtatious words. My fingertips went white from the pressure.

Finally, I replied:

"Okay."

I put down my phone and walked into the closet.

I found that set of black lace lingerie. He'd had it custom-made last week by a private designer in Paris, then flown back on a private jet.

He said only my curves could carry such pure yet dangerous black.

He said he enjoyed the feeling of having sex with me, yet he always held back from marking me.

The memory flashed back instantly to that rainy night four years ago.

Floyd suddenly rejected me, which broke my heart, but I loved him, so I wanted to win his heart back.

But when I went to give him his birthday gift, I happened to see him kissing a woman I didn't know.

I wanted to confront him, but he threw my birthday gift into the trash and mocked me in front of everyone: "Caroline, can't you understand what I'm saying? Just looking at you makes me sick."

The whole room laughed. I was as humiliated as a clown.

It was Isaac who stepped out from the corner, draped his coat over me, and shielded me from those humiliating stares.

He also soothed the pain that my wolf and I endured.

"Come with me," he said. "I'll take you home."

That night, I thought he was my salvation.

Now I know it was all fake.