At the pack's festival, a witch hands me a crystal orb that reveals the truth. When I ask "why," she says she was entrusted to deliver it and reminds me only to use it when I am alone.

As the image in the orb grows clearer, and my mate appears, I forget how to breathe.

"Jared Hamilton, do you love me?" a woman asks in her sweetest voice, curling her arms around his neck.

"I do. Of course, I do. You're the only one I'll love for the rest of my life, Luciana."

My hand slips. Even after the crystal orb hits the floor, I can still hear them talking.

"I swear before the sacred Moon Goddess that I'll be with you, Luciana Rose, until my very last breath. If I ever break this oath, may I never know joy again."

I feel suffocated. All I can do is stare in disbelief. The woman he vows to love for life is none other than my very best friend.

I watched Jared Hamilton tangled up with Luciana Rose in the crystal orb. One of them was my mate, and the other was my best friend. Every drop of blood in my body seemed to freeze.

I sat on the couch, as though my soul had been ripped out of my body, and stared blankly ahead. The imagery in the orb continued playing, and I couldn't quite look away as they kissed their way from the living room to the bedroom.

He pushed her down on the bed, fingers sliding over her clothes like he had done a thousand times. "Can we do it tonight?"

She pretended to blush, covering her eyes with the tips of her fingers. "At this point? Just do it already."

Their bodies tangled together, and every moment of witnessing it was a blade twisting deeper into my heart.

When Jared and I first got together, I even introduced Luciana to him. Before meeting her, I had told him, "She's my best friend. We basically grew up together, and I trust her with everything. If she approves of you, our bond will only be stronger."

He had put on the perfect smile and promised me. "I'll make sure of it. Consider it done."

I had gone with him to buy gifts, arms full of bags, as we sat outside a cozy cafe waiting. The moment Jared saw Luciana, his eyes widened—just for a heartbeat—before he snapped back and greeted her with a polite smile.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Jared Hamilton, Monica's mate."

Luciana dropped her usual gentle, sweet act in an instant. The first look she gave him was pure hostility.

"I don't care if you're an Alpha. I'm not convinced you can take care of her. I know just how debauched you Alphas can be behind closed doors. Who knows how many women you've got on the side?"

Back then, I wanted so badly to defend him and tell her that Jared wasn't like the others. Before I could say anything, though, Luciana dragged me away. The whole meeting ended up a mess.

I couldn't understand why she disliked him so much just from a first impression, but then, watching them wrapped around each other in the vision, I finally understood.

After they finished, Luciana curled into Jared's arms and asked softly, "Do you really only love me? What if you fall for someone else?"

Without missing a beat, he answered, "Never. You're the only one I'll ever love, Luciana."

I couldn't hold it in anymore. The tears broke through like a dam bursting, and I cried so hard my chest felt like it was splitting open. I couldn't remember what happened next, as I felt like I had lost all my senses.

It wasn't until the light snapped on that I finally came back to myself. From the doorway came Jared's quizzical voice. "Monica? Why are you sitting on the floor?"

He walked closer, only to be caught off guard when he saw how swollen and puffy my eyes were from crying. He quickly rushed over without kicking off his shoes, then crouched in front of me to gently wipe off my tears.

"Hey… Why are you crying? What happened? You can tell me. Whatever it is, you know I can take care of it."

His voice was so tender and delicate that it almost made me believe he still loved me. For a stupid, desperate moment, I wondered if the crystal orb had glitched.

He continued, "I'm your anchor. You can count on me for anything—always."

There was a time when Jared's arms were my sanctuary. As long as I was with him, I wouldn't have flinched even if the world ended. But now, my heart twisted painfully.

Before I could stop myself, I found myself asking, "Do you love me, Jared?"

My voice shook so hard I barely recognized it. "You said you'd only ever love me. Was that true? You wouldn't fall for someone else while you're still with me, right?"

I felt him stiffen for a split second, then he tightened his hold around me. He nuzzled against my cheek and brushed a soft kiss across my skin.

"Of course, I love you. You're my mate. Who else would I love? We've been together for five years—haven't you realized what kind of person I am?"

Those same words, delivered in the same tone, had been said five years ago.

Back then, it was our first anniversary of being together. The tabloids caught him walking into a couple's hotel with another woman. That got people talking.

"I heard the Alpha has a mate, but that woman sure doesn't look like our Luna."

"Please—it's pretty common for Alphas to cheat. Anyone with power never limits themselves to one partner."

When those comments hit the feeds, I felt like the sky cracked open above me. My mind went blank, and my hands turned cold.

In the photos, the woman wore a mask and a cap. I couldn't see her face at all, but I was certain that the man beside her was Jared. Amid my panic, I immediately called Luciana, sobbing and breaking down.

"He cheated, Luciana! He cheated! The paparazzi caught him. What do I do now?" I cried desperately into the phone.

Crying and shaking, I ran toward the hotel he had gone to. My thoughts were in disarray, like every possible nightmare scenario was collapsing into one big disaster.

"If he really cheated, I'd break up with him on the spot." That was what I swore to myself back then.

After asking around for his room number, I rushed down the hall and barged into his hotel room. The next second, confetti and streamers rained down on me.

"Happy anniversary, Monica!" Jared exclaimed, standing in the middle of the room with a bouquet of roses. He dropped to one knee. "Do you like my surprise? I asked Luciana to help with the decorations."

Luciana stood there with her arms crossed, staring at the decorations like they were beneath her. "If this wasn't for my best friend, I'd never drop my work to help with something this lame. And don't look at me—he's the one who begged me to help.

"He said only I knew what you liked. Even bought me gifts to sweet-talk me into planning with him. Ugh."

She slung an arm around my shoulder. "Cheating? Please. As if I'd ever steal your mate."

When I looked around the room, I saw my name spelled out with balloons on the wall. Immediately, guilt exploded in my chest. I couldn't believe I had doubted him and Luciana because of a single sensational headline.

That feeling never left, no matter how many years had passed. Since that incident, I told myself I would never question Jared again.

Contrary to my beliefs, I saw Luciana sobbing so hard she could barely breathe in the crystal orb. "Don't go. Please, I'm begging you."

Jared turned his face away, like the sight of her tears physically hurt him. He pried her off. "This will be the last time we see each other."

She threw herself into his arms, whispering, "Then, stay with me for one last night… Please?"

That "last night" they spent together was three days before our mating ceremony. That same night, I got into a car accident and was rushed to the hospital. I couldn't reach him, nor could I contact Luciana, who had vanished suddenly.

Later, when I told my friend what happened, she hesitated for a long time before advising, "You should watch out who you befriend, Monica. Don't let anyone take away your mate."

Back then, my smile instantly vanished. I had even snapped back, "Even if the whole world turns its back on me, Luciana will never do that to me."

I used to trust Luciana with my whole heart, and the more I trusted her then, the more it hurt now.

Jared once told me something I should have listened to more carefully. He said he came from a broken home, where his father cheated on his mother.

When his mother found out, she severed their mate bond and walked away without looking back. Since then, young Jared never saw her again.

"There's one thing I hate most in this world, Monica. It's betrayal," he told me once.

"I'll never forget the disappointment in my mother's eyes when she left. I lived through that pain once, and I promise you you'll never experience it. The last thing I'll do is follow my father's path. So, believe me when I say I'll cherish us forever."

And so, I believed him.

Now, sitting beside me, Jared set down the food he had cooked and leaned in with that familiar smile. "Stop crying, okay? It hurts me to see you like this."

He inched closer, intending to kiss away the tears threatening to roll down my cheek.

Visions from the crystal orb flashed rapidly in my mind. Jared and Luciana, tangled together in the bed, were in the heat of passion. He was just as gentle then, kissing her tears away.

She cried, demanding his promise. "Even if we're not together, your heart can only ever belong to me. Promise me, will you? If you ever fall for Monica, I'll make sure she finds out everything you've done.

"That way, she'll leave you, and you'll be mine alone."

Jared's warm breath hit my face, snapping me back to reality. His lips were just inches away when my stomach decided to churn upside down. I couldn't hold it anymore. I bolted to the bathroom and vomited until my head spun.

His eyes were wide with worry. "Monica, are you okay? I-I'll contact the best healer in the pack. Just hang on!"

He pulled out his phone, ready to dial, but an incoming call interrupted him. A ringtone I knew far too well chimed through the room, and my body jolted. That special ringtone was reserved for Luciana.

Had this been before, I would have begged him to answer or even told him, "Hurry up. Don't keep Luciana waiting."

To me, Luciana was more important than I was. At least that was how I used to think back then.

Now, for the first time, I saw the shift in Jared's expression when he saw her name on his screen. Perhaps the panic on his face had always been this obvious, but I hadn't noticed it because my subconscious mind told me not to.

He forced a weak smile, then angled his phone toward me, like he needed to prove something. "Look—your bestie. If I don't answer, she'll probably talk badly about me in front of you and drive a wedge between us. Give me a minute. I'll be quick."

Without waiting for my reply, Jared walked out, leaving me alone on the freezing bathroom tiles. When he answered the call, he headed straight into the study and closed the door.

He did it so blatantly that it almost felt like a mockery at this point, yet I had never once questioned it before. I had trusted them too much. Maybe it wasn't all his fault because I, too, had let them weaponize my naivety.

Through the door, I could hear Luciana's soft, broken hiccups from the speaker. Jared said, "It's okay. I'll come right over to you."

When he came out, he tried covering it all with mock irritation. "Your best friend is seriously a headache. She mixed up some important documents and used them as doodle paper. She got chewed out by her boss, and now she wants me to step in for her."

He ran a hand through his hair and let out a dramatic sigh. "I mean, I can't even say no. What if she starts talking trash about me to you again? Honestly, I'm so inclined to block her number sometimes."

Despite all the complaints, Jared failed to notice the faint, unconsciously fond smile on his face. Even he didn't realize how tender he looked when he talked about her.

"I'll go deal with it real quick," he said, brushing past me. "Just stay there and rest. The healer will be here soon!"