As the fated mate of the future Alpha of the Silvermoon pack, I've been waiting for Ethan Ford for three whole years.

When he gets close to me, my wolf howls obnoxiously because of the mate bond between us. Despite that, he refuses to complete the marking ceremony on the night of the full moon.

After that, Ethan shows signs of obsessive infatuation with Ella Turner, my stepsister. He claims that Ella is his true love and goes as far as to release his possessive pheromones all over the pack territory while completely disregarding the pack's rules just so he can woo her.

This time, my wolf no longer howls in sorrow, nor do I attempt to get him to stay with me via our mind-link. Instead, I just watch Ethan and Ella's lovey-dovey interactions calmly.

At that moment, I've already taken the initiative to block Ethan out of my mind forever.

I got rid of every item that carried Ethan Ford's scent, and I threw the pure white lace gown I had secretly sewn for the marking ceremony into the blazing flames of the fireplace.

On the day he was about to first shift at the full moon ceremony, I severed my mind-link to the Silvermoon pack and headed to the airport.

Before I boarded the plane, Ethan sent me a text.

"Why aren't you here yet? All the pack members and Elders are waiting for you."

As I stared at the screen, my lips curled into a mocking smile. I didn't bother responding to him. Instead, I just blocked him and the other members of the Silvermoon pack.

What he didn't know was that just half a month earlier, I agreed to be the mate of Lucas Knight, the Alpha of the most powerful pack in the North—the Nightblood pack.

Soon after the plane landed in the North, I would be marked by him and become his Luna.

…

"Lucas, my wolf is ready," I said as I stood in front of the mirror.

I looked at my pale and thin reflection. This was the result of enduring the pain of being a "rejected mate" for far too long.

It turned out that defying the Moon Goddess's original plan wasn't so difficult after all.

"Ivy… Are you sure you want to accept my mark?"

On the other end of the phone, Lucas's voice was deep and husky. It carried the magnetism and authority unique to a powerful Alpha, yet he sounded extremely gentle toward me.

My nose stung—an instinctive reaction to being cared for by someone powerful.

As tears fell, I softly responded, "I accept."

"Ivy, did you know? From the moment we first caught each other's scent at the Werewolf Academy, my wolf has been waiting for this day."

Without my noticing, my reflection in the mirror was already wearing a faint smile.

"Give me half a month. I'll get the Elder Council to release all alliance obligations with the Silvermoon pack," I said.

"Okay. My wolf and I will be waiting for you."

Right after the call ended, my door was pushed open.

"Ivy."

My father, Marcus Turner, entered. He was the Beta of the Silvermoon pack.

He cleared his throat somewhat awkwardly and said, "Ella just went through her first shift, and she had a very intense physical reaction. She has a weak wolf with a frail constitution, and your bedroom is optimally positioned to absorb moonlight energy for recovery.

"The Elder Council believes that, for the future of the pack, you two should exchange rooms."

I didn't respond. My gaze simply fell on the faces of the mother-daughter duo behind him.

My stepmother, Linda Sutton, quickly spoke up. "Marcus, there's no need to trouble Ivy."

Ella Turner—my stepsister—also shrank back, radiating a sickening sense of fragility. "Really, Dad, I'm fine. Please don't let this become a problem for the pack."

"This is the Council's decision," Dad said in a tone that brooked no argument. "Ivy, you're a pure-blooded werewolf who's strong and healthy. You should make concessions for the benefit of the pack."

I stared blankly at Dad.

I thought my wolf would go mad from being betrayed by a close family member. I thought my heart would break because Dad favored a stepdaughter of a mixed bloodline over me.

However, I didn't shed a single tear. My wolf simply acted indifferent and let out a scornful, low snort.

"Fine. I'll swap with her," I said.

In just half a month, I would completely sever my ties to this rotten pack.

Therefore, in this place riddled with power plays, it no longer mattered which room I lived in.

Dad looked very pleased with my "compliance". After all, openly challenging the Council's decision was a major taboo among werewolves, even for a pure-blood like me.

Linda also smiled with satisfaction.

After they left, Ella stayed behind.

"Ivy, let me help you pack your things," she said.

She stood meekly before me, releasing an artificial, overly sweet scent. But as her gaze swept around the room, they held an unconcealable greed—the kind a lesser wolf had for resources above their reach.

"I also didn't expect the Council to make us swap rooms."

Ella looked up with a challenging glint flashing in her eyes. "Ivy, doesn't your wolf really feel like tearing me apart now? After all, I just stole your fated mate, and now I'm taking the room you've lived in for ten years."

I suppressed the urge inside me to teach her a lesson and turned to get my suitcase.

Suddenly, Ella let out an exaggerated scream and fell hard onto the floor. "Ivy…"

When she fell, her arm happened to hit the corner of the desk inlaid with silver wire. Silver had a strong burning effect on werewolves, so her skin instantly turned a burned purplish hue.

"Ivy, what are you doing?" someone yelled.

Ethan, relying on his keen hearing as an Alpha, instantly burst through the door. His expression was dark—a sign of his rising anger—as he carefully picked Ella up.

"Ethan, I'm fine. Ivy didn't mean to do it," Ella cried while forcing a pained, light laugh. "It doesn't hurt at all."

"You're burned, and you say it doesn't hurt?" Ethan looked at the wound on her arm, his eyes filled with pain.

When he turned to look at me, his golden pupils abruptly contracted, and a cold chill emanated from him.

"Ivy, if you have any grievances, take them out on me. Don't hurt Ella. She's a fragile she-wolf who just shifted—unlike you, who was born a noble pure-blood werewolf and lacks nothing."

I thought my emotions would no longer be swayed by the mate bond. I also thought I would never shed another tear over Ethan.

But in the end, I was still just a she-wolf whose bond wasn't fully broken. I didn't have a body made of steel, nor a heart that was unbreakable.

Ethan was an ally who grew up with me. He was also my fated mate, an arrangement blessed by the Moon Goddess herself, for three years.

However, in just a few short days, he fell in love with a young she-wolf who just completed her first shift, all because it was "a novel feeling".

Now, he saw me as a vicious and heartless werewolf.

I didn't want to cry. If anything, I wanted to laugh. Yet my tear ducts ached, swollen and ready to burst.

"Ethan, has your nose stopped working? Can't you smell what kind of person I am, or the stench of lies coming off her?" I sneered.

Ethan's brow furrowed slightly. He looked at me with the scrutinizing eyes of an Alpha, though his expression seemed to soften slightly.

Ella suddenly let out a whimper, sounding like an injured pup. "Ethan, don't fight with Ivy because of me. It's okay. She has every right to be angry with me…"

Ella cried softly, acting as if she had been wronged in the worst way. The sight stirred the overflowing protective instincts within Ethan.

His gaze upon me finally froze over completely as he said, "You're jealous that my wolf chose Ella, jealous that I treat her well, and jealous that all the pack members adore her.

"Ivy, you've changed. Now, your heart has been twisted by jealousy, just like those depraved Rogues."

After he said this, he turned and left, carrying Ella. He left behind a room mixed with the scent of his angry pheromones.

I watched their retreating figures and suddenly realized my tears had dried up at some point.

I suppose that was a good thing. These past days, I had cried many times because of the mate bond that was about to break.

From now on, I wouldn't feel sad over him or shed a single tear anymore.

…

That evening, our group chat for the younger members of several families within the pack—"Wolf Den"—suddenly became lively.

Ethan had posted a message in the group, saying, "I suddenly feel like completing the marking ceremony. What should I do?"

The group instantly erupted into a commotion.

"Ethan, are you finally going to officially become mates with Ivy under the Moon Goddess's witness?"

"Time to start calling her the Luna, right?"

People in the group started tagging me one after another.

"Congratulations, Ivy! Why not treat us to some moonlight wine?"

"Ethan, when is your and Ivy's grand marking ceremony?"

The group chat was chaotic, with many messages starting to flood the screen.

I was just about to post a message to clarify that I wasn't the future Luna, and that the one Ethan wanted to mark wasn't me.

However, Ethan beat me to it.

"You've all got it wrong. I never said the mate my wolf chose was Ivy."

After saying that, he added Ella to the group. Then he tagged everyone and said, "Take a good look. This is the future Luna of the Silvermoon pack."

The clamoring group chat suddenly fell silent, as if an Alpha had cast a silencing command.

For a long while, no one spoke.

That was when Ethan sent another message.

"Why is everyone silent? Greet your future Luna. That's an Alpha's order."

The people in the chat began greeting Ella sparsely, carrying a clearly awkward and submissive tone.

After thinking about it, I sent over a message as well.

"Congratulations. May the Moon Goddess bless you both."

Following that, I immediately left the group chat, thus severing my contact with them.