I stand by the floor-to-ceiling window, fingertips absentmindedly grazing the edge of my phone as Jason's formulaic voice resonates from the receiver.

"Miss Luis, the agreement is valid. There's still one month until the Five-year term ends, and it will take effect automatically upon expiration."

As I hang up, a strange sensation courses through my veins.

I lift my gaze to the wedding photo on the desk. The "me" in the picture dons a pristine white wedding dress, smiling with eyes curved into crescents, while beside me, Alex Brown is impeccably suited, his handsome features set with a jawline that never softens.

"The day is finally approaching. You must be delighted," I murmur to the photo.

​

The sound of a key turning in the lock pulls me back.

I swiftly retract my hand, turning to greet him with the usual gentleness in my voice: "Welcome back."

But as I say the words, I can smell the faint scent of another woman on him.

Taking the suit jacket he removes, I kneel to change his shoes, these actions as familiar as if rehearsed thousand times.

Alex Brown loosens his tie, his cold gaze sweeping over me.

"The Brown pack anniversary gala is next month. You need to attend." His voice is firm, but I can detect a hint of command in it, a remnant of his alpha nature.​

My hand pauses while arranging the jacket, and I shake my head: "I can't make it."

I can feel my own wolf stirring inside me, protesting against the idea of being paraded around at a gala where I'm nothing but a placeholder.​

"Why?" He frowns.

"Is it because I've been with Alice recently? I told you on our wedding day that I have someone I love, and you promised not to interfere."

Right-what kind of husband hands his mate a bond break agreement on their wedding night, confessing, "I have a sweetheart; marrying you is just a stopgap measure"?

And I, as he wished, will exit his life next month, hence my inability to attend that banquet.

But there's more at stake now.

Five years ago, I, who had secretly admired him since childhood, was overjoyed.

But on our wedding night, the bond break agreement he handed me was like a bucket of ice water, dousing all illusions.

"The one I love is Alice Smith. Her family background is ordinary, and the Brown family won't allow her in," he said indifferently.

"In Five years, when I become the family head, I can marry her. For these Five years, be my shield."

That night, I cried in the bathroom until dawn, eventually signing the agreement.

Less than Five months into the marriage,Alice Smith vanished in a fit of pique, and the moment her scent faded from the air, Alex's wolf went into a frenzy.

He searched for her like a madman, his footsteps echoing through the alleys as he followed every faint trace of her scent.

The nights were filled with the howls of a desperate werewolf, his cries piercing the silence and sending shivers down the spines of those who heard. He stayed out all night. When he returned, he reeked alcohol .

Until one late night, as the full moon reached its zenith, he pressed me onto the bed.

His kiss was heavy with liquor, but beneath the alcohol was a primal need, a raw hunger that was both terrifying and intoxicating.

His breath was hot against my skin, and I could feel the rapid thud of his heart.

He murmured over and over: "Alice. Why did you leave? Why be with someone else?"

That was my first time, yet he held me, calling another woman's name all night.

The next day, the metallic scent of blood sent a jolt through my werewolf senses.

Seeing the crimson stains on the sheets, his nostrils flared slightly.

He only paused for a moment, saying nothing.

And I, as if nothing had happened, masked the pain throbbing in my chest.

I prepared his shirt, the fabric carrying the faint, lingering scent of his wolf, and even reminded him of the day's pack meeting.

From then on, I redoubled my efforts to be good to him.

Knowing his stomach was weak, I woke at four every morning to prepare a hearty bowl of steel - cut oats.

Since he liked quiet, I even walked on tiptoe.

Gradually, he seemed to grow accustomed to my presence.

I could sense a shift in the air around him. His wolf, which had once regarded me with indifference, now occasionally met my gaze without hostility.​

He never mentioned the bond break again, as if that agreement were a mere illusion.

The pack bond, which had been strained between us, began to strengthen ever so slightly.

I even naively thought that perhaps time could warm a heart of ice.

Until five months ago, when Alice Smith returned single.

His entire body went rigid, his wolf instantly on high alert.

The moment he caught her scent, it was as if a switch had been flipped.

He almost immediately went back to her side.​

They went shopping, and he nuzzled her neck in public, marking her with his scent for all other werewolves to know she was claimed.

He even canceled a video conference, growling, "I'm in a bad mood."

I was left once again on the outside.

Standing on the balcony. I watched his car head toward Alice Smith's apartment.

I could hear the rapid thud of his heart even from this distance. I finally understood: Even if I bared my heart, it couldn't outweigh her slightest frown.

The primal bond between mates was a force stronger than any made connection, a pull that I, despite five years by his side, could never compete with.​

"Why aren't you speaking?"

Alex Brown's voice pulls me from my thoughts.

I stare at him, my throat tightening-has he forgotten the bond break agreement?

For Five years, I've counted the days, fearing that once the term ended, he'd leave without a backward glance.

But now,I could sense his wolf restlessly pacing within him, drawn to the call of its true mate.

Just as I prepare to remind him, his phone rings, and Alice Smith's tearful voice comes through.

I can't make out the details, but his face changes abruptly.​

He only tosses a hurried "Don't be afraid, I'm coming right away" before grabbing his car keys and dashing out.

Leaning on the wall, I return to the bedroom.

Removing my coat, my shoulder is already bruised.

I take out the first-aid kit, silently applying iodine, my heart feeling as if slashed repeatedly by a dull knife.

Until my phone rings-Alex Brown's number: "Come to Hospital."

Arriving at the hospital, I see him from afar, standing outside the operating room, Alice Smith leaning in his arms, sobbing uncontrollably.

My steps halt, my chest too tight to breathe.

"What's wrong?"

"Alice's mother Suddenly got leukemia and needs a bone marrow transplant," he looks up at me, his gaze calm. "I did a test and matched."

"You're donating bone marrow? That's dangerous-"

My voice cracks, the werewolf in me trembling at the thought of his life at risk.​

"I didn't call you here to object."

I'm his mate, but his wolf has never claimed me.

I bare my teeth in a mock - smile.

"Because the pack laws demand a bonded mate's seal, don't they?"

His jaw tightens, a low rumble vibrating in his chest. "Sign."​

The nurse thrusts the consent form into my hands.

I snatch it, the paper crumpling under the force of my grip.

As I scrawl my name, my werewolf hearing picks up Alice's weak whimpers.

Alex releases Alice.

Just before he steps into the operating room, I howl his name: "Alex Brown!"​

He turns, his eyes cold as the moonless night.​

The moment the door clicks shut, my wolf's howl rips from my throat.

Tears stream down my face.

So his love for Alice Smith is deep enough to risk his life.

And my Five years of infatuation? Just a self-directed joke.

The OR lights blaze like suns, reducing the corridor to the ragged rhythm of my breaths and Alice Smith's soft whimpers.

I huddle on the bench, fingertips numb as frostbitten twigs, while she sits across from me, eyes swollen raw, her gaze flitting to the sealed door every few seconds.

Finally, she sniffs, voice a mere thread: "Miss Luis, I'm sorry. for all the trouble."

My eyes lift to hers.

Sunlight streams through the window, turning her tear into a diamond shard on her cheek.

"I never thought."

"After all these years, Alex still burns for me.

For my birthday last year, he flew to Tossa del Mar just to press that ring into my palm-the very one I'd mentioned in passing. Can you believe he remembered? But I was feeling spiteful, so I flung it back and slammed the door in his muzzle."

My nails gouge crescents into my palms, blood welling like rubies.

I recall the velvet box he'd tossed me after that "business trip," the diamond-studded ring inside. I'd hidapartment it in the safe, too terrified to wear it-turns out, it was nothing but a bone she'd rejected.

"And the Christmas before last," her voice breaks into a wounded keen, "I posted a tantrum about my boyfriend, and Alex materialized that night. He stood outside my apartment until dawn in a blizzard-his lips blue, his coat dusted white, but he wouldn't dare scratch at the door."

An icepick stabs my heart, cracking it like thin ice.

That Christmas Eve, he'd been ravenous, claiming me ten times in a frenzy. I'd thought it was passion, but when I woke to an empty bed, I'd made excuses for the scent of snow on his collar. Now I see: he'd been standing in her snow, a lone wolf howling at her window.

"These past Five years," Alice croons, swiping at her tears,

"I ignored his messages to teach him a lesson, but he wrote to me every single day. " How many nights did I see the study light burning, carrying in coffee only to find him asleep over scattered papers? I'd thought them contracts, but they were love letters.

That Christmas night," she continues, "the storm was so fierce that even the strongest werewolves cowered indoors. But he? He waited downstairs for 8 hours, his body trembling from the cold and the force of the wind. I chose to ignore."​

I close my eyes, trying to block out the image she's painting. I remember that Christmas. He'd come home drenched, his eyes wild with despair. And I'd foolishly thought it was because of pack business, not knowing it was all for a love that wasn't mine.​

"Ten times that night," she laughs, a cold, mocking sound, "he reached out to me through the pack bond, his emotions a maelstrom of longing and pain. It was all just pent - up frustration, a desperate attempt to win back my heart."​

My knees go weak, and I have to lean against the wall to steady myself.

"He risked his life to hunt down an African Diamond raw stone," Alice whispers. "He faced down a rival pack, fought tooth and nail to claim it. But what did I do? I tossed it back in his face, rejecting his gift and his love."​

I remember the day he gave me a box, his eyes shining with a tenderness I'd never seen before.

I'd treasured it, keeping it hidapartment away, afraid to even look at it too often, afraid that my touch would taint it.

And now I learn it was something she'd thrown away, a rejected offering from the man I'd loved for so long.​

Before she can unleash another memory, I lurch to my feet.

"I have to go." I flee the hospital.