I pushed the door to the ballroom, where the long table was covered in mouthwatering dishes, but I did not have the slightest appetite at all.

Ten hours of travel followed by four hours in the rain had left me drained.

At the party, everyone seemed to forget I existed. I listened to stories of their days at the wolf academy and current conflicts within the pack. No matter where the conversation began, it somehow always found its way back to Alaric and Serene.

Their past lingered in every word, every shared glance, and every tactful smile. It felt as if I was an outsider, through and through.

After the party finally ended, I followed Alaric to his quarters on the border. It was a single, bright room with minimal furnishings and exactly his style.

The only thing that didn't match the room's cool aesthetic was a soft pink throw pillow carelessly tossed on the couch.

He took a new pair of slippers from the cabinet for me, but I noticed another pair of clearly-worn she-wolf slippers by the door. Their patterns matched the pair on his feet.

"Take your seat. I've had someone fetch new toiletries. And I noticed you barely ate just now, so let me make you something," he gently said.

He was always so gentle and considerate that even if we'd never had sex, I'd always believed he loved me. Yet, it turned out to be my wishful thinking all along.

As he busied himself in the kitchen, something tempted me to pick up the pink pillow. Words were stitched in delicate gold thread in one corner. "Sweet dreams, my Alpha. From Serene."

I expressionlessly set it back to where it had been and didn't know how I should describe the emotions I was feeling.

I'd decided to give up, yet my chest still ached with uncontrollable pain. I'd loved him for six years, after all, and it wasn't like I could move on just because I wanted to.

Exhaustion washed over me as I collapsed onto the couch.

Suddenly, my phone buzzed with a message from an unfamiliar number. I tapped on it to reveal a picture.

It was taken on the battlefield. Alaric was covered in blood and dirt, yet he stood tall and unyielding. He cradled Serene against his chest as his sharp, wary gaze swept their surroundings for threats.

In his arms, Serene's expression was one of pure happiness as she gripped his collar tightly and curled her body into his.

So, was this from the moment he'd saved her?

Before I could recover from the shock, another message arrived. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I meant to send it to a friend, but I slipped and sent it to you instead.

"Can't unsend it now, so just pretend you never saw it, and don't get upset, alright? I swear I didn't mean anything by it."

The false sweetness in the words made my stomach churn. At this moment, five years of endurance and blind hope shattered under the weight of such a deliberate provocation.

Sounds came from the kitchen. I shoved the phone back into my pocket and pretended nothing had ever happened.

Alaric sensed nothing amiss and handed me a bowl of chicken soup. "See if it suits your taste."

I took it without looking at him and quietly asked, "Will you tell me what's between you and Serene?"

He calmly answered, "She's my childhood friend, and we grew up together. She was forced to mate with a wolf from another pack because of certain circumstances, and only came back last year."

I took a sip of the soup before murmuring, "Is that all?"

He sharply caught the note of doubt in my tone, and his voice turned cold. "What else would it be? Serene provided us with crucial information about the enemy's secret plans in the pack war and was a hero to this pack. Treating her well is the least I can do.

"Stop overthinking, Kyna. You're my fated mate and the pack's Luna. What more do you want?

"If you're bringing up old matters now, does that mean you don't trust me, or are you questioning the Moon Goddess?"

His matter-of-fact tone and words cut deeper into my bleeding heart.

To him, our mate bond was just a matter of certainty and a will from the Moon Goddess. It had nothing to do with love and was just an issue of identity and duty.

...

That night, we lay in the same bed under two different covers and a vast, unbridgeable space between us. Then, he suddenly took my hand.

My entire body went rigid.

For five years, he'd avoided my every touch, and this was the first time he'd approached me on his own.

The irresistible pull from the fated mate bond made my heart race, and my cheeks burned. I held my breath and wondered if this was it. Was this the moment we finally broke the wall between us?

But his next words hit me like a bucket of ice water and drenched me in a chill that seeped into my very bones.

"Kyna, I'm not ready to return to the downtown district yet. I think I'll stay at the borderlands a while longer."

Alaric's words stabbed deep into my chest like a blade.

A year ago, when he first came to the borderlands, he told me it was just to handle an urgent pack affair and that he'd be away for one week at most. But that one week turned into a month and progressed into a year. And he never came back.

As his Luna, I'd been left alone in the downtown district to manage endless pack affairs and soothe the elders' restlessness over their Alpha's long absence.

I'd always believed he'd return, but now, I wasn't so sure.

Why did he like staying at the borderlands so much? Was it because Serene was here?

In the past, I would have begged him to stay. I would have protested, created romantic surprises, or done anything to make him choose me. But now, I didn't even have the desire to try.

Instead, I slowly withdrew my hand and softly murmured, "It's dangerous and cold over here at the borderlands. Take care of yourself."

Alaric clearly hadn't expected me to accept it so calmly. A flicker of discomfort crossed his face, perhaps out of guilt or regret.

Then, he slowly pulled me into his arms and quietly explained, "The enemy's counterattacks are getting more intense, so I need to stay here and fight alongside everyone. You understand, don't you?"

I obediently nodded and forced a faint smile. "Yeah, I do. As the Alpha, you should stay."

He was about to say more when I rolled onto my side and turned my back to him. Then, I closed my eyes.

Late into the night, his phone buzzed on the table. I didn't need to look to know that it was a message from Serene.

He instinctively hopped out of bed. After glancing at the screen, he said without hesitation, "Serene's still shaken from that rogue attack during the rainstorm and scared by tonight's thunder. I'm going to check on her."

As if to reassure me, he added, "I'll be right back."

I pretended to be asleep and said nothing in reply. But deep down, I knew that I wouldn't wait for him this time.

The next morning, I received a message from Serene. It was a simple location pin from Moon Goddess Church.

Despite knowing it could be a trap, I headed for the location stated in the pin. I couldn't risk ignoring anything, knowing it could be something important at stake.

When I arrived, the scene I saw completely shattered my world. The altar of Moon Goddess Church was draped in white Easter lilies and gauzy silk, a vision straight out of a dreamy fairytale.

Alaric stood at its center, dressed in a sharp suit with his hair neatly combed. His facial features were chiseled to perfection and sharp, while the tension in his pressed-tight lips betrayed a rare nervousness.

Serene stood beside him in a pure white gown and a radiant, shy smile on her face.

Around them, wolves bustled with the final touches as the final rehearsal of a grand mating ceremony was ongoing.

It should have been our fifth mating anniversary, but he had all this planned for someone else.

My wolf let out a shrill, mourning howl. The cry was so sharp it felt like it was tearing my soul apart.

I didn't stay a second longer and turned to stagger away. Pulling out my phone, I booked the earliest flight away from here.

Upon returning to Alaric's quarters, I removed the ring from my finger.

This was the ring Alaric had slipped onto my finger when he and I mated. It was a symbol of my role as Luna and once carried all my hopes and dreams.

I wrote my last words to him on a note. "I'm leaving, Alaric. From this moment on, we owe each other nothing, and let's not meet again."

I set the ring beneath the note and left it in the most visible spot of the room. Everything that belonged to him should be returned to him.

With an empty bag, I walked out without looking back. Then, I grabbed a cab and headed for the airport.

I'd come here believing that this time, Alaric would finally come home with me. Instead, I'd arrived alone, only to leave the same way.

Just before boarding the plane, I pulled out my phone and sent him a voice message in the ancient Lycan dialect he thought I didn't understand.

"Alpha Alaric, by the time you hear this, I'll be seeking out the witch who can sever our mate bond.

"I know you've never been pleased that the Moon Goddess chose me as your fated mate and that it's Serene you want. So no matter how hard I tried to win you, you never touched me.

"Well, congratulations. You're free now."

With that, I shut off my phone, leaned back in my seat in exhaustion, and drifted off to sleep.

…

Meanwhile, in Moon Goddess Church, Alaric surveyed the final decorations with a rare mix of tension and anticipation in his chest.

Five years ago, he owed me a proper mating ceremony, courtesy of his mysophobia. He knew I had endured my fair share of hardship for the past five years.

He'd planned to use our fifth anniversary as a chance to gather the pack and crown me as his only Luna in a grand mating ceremony everyone would remember.

And tonight… he intended to try conquering his inner demons and truly mark me.

He turned to a nearby wolf and smiled. "Everything's ready. Bring the Luna here."

But the wolf sent to fetch me quickly returned. Clutching a ring and a folded note, his face was pale, and his voice shook when he exclaimed, "Alpha Alaric, bad news! Luna's gone!"