Chapter 1

I had been with Alpha Julian for ten years, yet he had always refused to Mark me.

Right on the eve of our Mate Ceremony, he gently cupped my face and dropped a bomb on me.

"Babe, I won't be attending your Mate Ceremony."

I froze in shock. "What do you mean?"

He smiled, planting a soft kiss on my temple.

"I fell in love with a younger she-wolf. She's got quite a temper and refuses to just be my side-piece, so I had to Mark her."

"I'm someone else's Mate now. If I still walk the aisle with you, it'll break her heart."

A loud buzz filled my ears. My voice trembled uncontrollably. "Why?"

He gave me an apologetic, innocent shrug. "Come on, men will always love eighteen-year-old girls."

"If you still want to hold the Mate Ceremony, just hire an escort to stand in as the groom. Don't deprive yourself of the party. It would break my heart to see you sad."

He was right. As the lost daughter of the most powerful Alpha in the werewolf realm, I certainly had no reason to deprive myself.

Julian casually ruffled my hair, as if none of this was a big deal.

"She's stubborn as hell. Told me straight up she wouldn't let me touch her unless I Marked her."

"Took me six whole months of chasing."

I felt as if a hand were wrapped tightly around my throat. Cold dread seeped into my veins.

He smiled fondly at the memory. "Right where you're sitting now. Feisty like a little wildcat at first, scratching and biting, and then melting into pure silk."

My gaze followed his nostalgic stare.

Right on the passenger-side windshield, faint smudges of handprints were still visible.

A wave of violent nausea surged up my throat.

I gripped my seatbelt so hard my knuckles turned white, tears burning in my eyes.

He cupped my bloodless cheeks, his brow furrowing in confusion. "Why are you crying? You're still going to be the Luna of Silver Creek Pack."

In Julian's eyes,

there was still that thick, suffocating affection.

It was as if he hadn't just casually confessed to Marking another she-wolf.

A sickening sense of surrealism crushed down on me.

I could barely draw breath.

He sighed helplessly. "I know this is hard on you, but she's sensitive. If I show up at our Mate Ceremony, she'll cry her eyes out. She's not like other she-wolves; she's pure, innocent, and demands undivided loyalty. It took me six months to finally take her virginity, so I have to be responsible for her. You've always been mature and understanding. You get it, right?"

Six months.

We had been planning our Mate Ceremony for six months.

All this time, he had micromanaged every detail—the venue, the flowers, the custom invitations—pretending to build my dream wedding.

While behind my back, he was pouring every ounce of his passion into bedding another she-wolf.

I curled my freezing fingers, numbly closing my eyes.

"Since you've already Marked her, we're done."

He paused for two seconds, then chuckled softly. "Don't say things you don't mean."

"You gave yourself to me the day you shifted. You've already lost two litters of pups for me. If you leave me, what wolf out there would ever want you?"

I stared at him.

My heart felt like it was being scorched over glowing coals.

Ten years. We had slept under concrete bridges, split single bowls of instant noodles, and drank tap water just to fool our starving bellies during the darkest days.

The first time I lost our pups was during a brutal border clash. I took a direct hit to the stomach during an ambush, before I even knew I was pregnant. The second time was the year he claimed the Alpha title; I threw myself in front of an assassin's silver blade, rogue claws tearing through my side. Both times, I couldn't save them.

Back then, Julian had knelt beside my sickbed with bloodshot eyes. His trembling, blood-stained hand had covered my tears as he whispered fiercely into my ear, "Emily, I swear on my wolf that I'll give you everything. If I ever betray you, may the Moon Goddess strike me down into a miserable grave."

A heavy vow. One I believed in for half my life.

And now, it was effortlessly shattered by a she-wolf he had known for six months.

I couldn't fathom how a man who loved me so deeply could rot from the inside out so fast.

A phone rang—a distinct, custom ringtone.

It had rung in the dead of night countless times. Julian had always claimed it was urgent business from allied Packs.

I had trusted him so blindly that I never questioned it.

Now I realized just how pathetic and foolish I had been.

He didn't answer immediately. Instead, he spoke in a patronizing, soothing tone, like calming a throwing-a-tantrum pup.

"Why make a fuss over a little fling? Are you really going to throw away ten years of history over a single bite Mark?"

"You're not young anymore, Emily. You have no Pack to back you up, no royal bloodline. I'm the only one who will ever take care of you. Pushing your luck won't end well."

He pulled over to the curb. "Call an Uber home. I have to pick her up. Think about what I said."

The car door slammed shut, delivering a stinging slap to my soul.

Watching his SUV vanish down the road, I dropped to my knees on the sidewalk, vomiting until tears streamed down my face.

Julian was wrong. No Alpha Marks a mere toy.

That Mark was the Luna crown I had waited ten agonizing years for, only to never receive.

His heart hadn't grown cold; it had just moved on to someone else.

I stared up at the overcast, gray sky, feeling a hollow gust of wind blow straight through my chest.

After a long time, I pulled out my phone and dialed a private number.