Ever since I started working with Beta Lucas, he has been suggesting that I try working in our overseas branch as it paid more or at least take on the Wilson’s project, but I kept saying that I would think about it because Kaden didn't want to relocate.

“Have you thought about it well? The Wilson project might take you four years to complete, and you can't come back home until you complete it.” He explained in a soft voice.

“Will our Alpha approve you leaving the pack?” He asked before I could reply.

“I've thought about it and I'm sure that Kaden wouldn't mind me leaving the pack.” I answered him.

He didn't ask anymore questions and I was glad that he didn't.

Accepting Kaden Heath as my mate was the biggest mistake that I've ever made.

I didn't realize that he didn't love me until it was too late.

I have always dreamed about becoming Kaden's Luna mate since we were just pups.

I thought he was cool and handsome, but I didn't know his attitude and personality very well.

Kaden only ever cared about Penny since he asked her to be his mate while we were in high school.

Everyone in our pack talked about how they loved each other and how they have never seen a love greater than theirs.

Kaden didn't get his wolf until he was twenty two even though we usually get our wolves by age twelve.

Before he got his wolf, rumours went around the pack about how he might not be able to become Alpha because of that. So Penny rejected him and transferred to another pack.

However, I didn't leave Kaden like Penny did. I was there for him whenever he and Penny fought, and when she finally left him.

On the day that she left, he locked himself in his room for days without eating. He wanted to punish himself for that which wasn't his fault.

It was only after coaxing him for almost an hour that he finally left him room and ate

As he ate in the pack house’s dining room, he glanced at me and said in a drained voice, “I’m a failure! I don't even have a wolf and I can't be an Alpha like my Dad. No wonder Penny left me.”

I placed my hand on his and caressed it in a comforting manner, “You’re not a failure, and you'll get your wolf; some people get their wolves late.”

“But Penny left me. Everyone will leave me.” He muttered as he ran a hand down his face in frustration.

“No one will leave you. It's just Penny, and look, I'm still here. I'll never leave you.” I replied as I gave his hand a comforting squeeze.

His lips lifted up into a smile as he finally started seeing me.

“Will you be my mate?” He asked as he took my hand and interlaced our fingers.

“Yes!” I exclaimed as I hugged him tightly.

I was so happy and I thought that I have finally achieved my goal in life.

That day changed my life.

Kaden wasn't one to show much emotion nor was he the romantic type, but he still said that he loved me every day, so I thought he loved me so much.

However, he stopped doing that after he got in touch with Penny again.

I found out it was because of her due to her messages in her WhatsApp channel.

I saw her message asking me to join her channel with the link pasted in the message, and I agreed to join it.

I soon regretted joining Penny's WhatsApp channel since all her messages there were either about my mate or her life in another pack.

She would send pictures of them together whenever he went to visit her along with pictures of gifts he had sent her.

That was when I understood why she had asked me to join her channel. She wanted to show everyone that she was Kaden's true mate while I was just a backup.

Kaden didn't get over her and from the looks of it, he couldn't.

On the night of our mating ceremony, Kaden didn't show up to my room. He traveled to the pack that Penny had transferred to just to go running in wolf form with her because she wanted to run with him.

I waited all night for him until sleep finally washed over me.

He marked me after he returned and then we mated.

Five years after we mated, I fell sick and was admitted into the pack’s hospital, but then Penny called him, claiming that she was also sick.

Kaden left me alone in the hospital and went over to Penny's new pack to take care of her.

He explained that she didn't have any family to take care of her in the new pack, so that was why he had to leave.

I had to call my sister to come to the pack’s hospital to take care of me.

Three months ago, Kaden stood me up again.

It was on the day of my promotion at work when Mr. Lucas called Kaden to give a speech as the Alpha and my mate, but he was nowhere to be found.

I found out where he was when I checked Penny's channel.

She had sent a video of the two of them at a picnic outing and he looked elated to be there with her.

That was when I realized that Kaden would never change – Kaden will always love Penny.

How did I end up mated to a he-wolf that didn't love me back? It was a question that I kept asking myself everyday.

I regretted accepting him as my mate and wanted nothing to do with him anymore.

I was attacked and I lost my baby because of him, yet he didn't care to pick up my calls or reply my texts because he was with Penny.

This would never happen again because I was done with him.

“Since you love Penny that much, you can be with her because I've had enough of you!” I declared as I made up my mind.

Since I lost my baby, I've been experiencing these bad headaches and that was what I was suffering from that night.

As I tried to fall asleep, I heard Kaden murmur, “Some rogues just breached the border of our territory, I have to go and investigate the situation, and I might not come back tonight, so don't wait up for me.”

I turned to him to see that he was already making his way towards the door.

My heart raced as I thought about getting attacked by rogues. It reminded me of the time that those omegas attacked me which led to my miscarriage.

However, I remembered how Penny would send pictures and videos of the two of them together whenever he said that there was a rogue attack or that he has a meeting with another Alpha.

Did he think I was a fool?

He wanted me to worry just because he wanted to sneak out to see Penny.

My chest bubbled with anger, but I stayed calm as I replied, “Alright.”

He stopped and turned to me, looking anxious as if he didn't expect me to easily accept that he was going out this late.

It must have been because I usually acted suspicious whenever he would bring up an excuse to go out.

Kaden walked back to the bed and wrapped me in a hug.

He pulled back and stared into my eyes, “A few rogues can't keep me away from you – I'll be back soon. You must still be angry with me for not answering your calls or replying to your texts. I swear I'll treat you better than this from now on.”

I merely nodded and watched as he made his way out of the bedroom.

I knew that he wouldn't treat me better than this since Penny was his priority.

I wouldn't let those words sway me from my decision – I must leave Kaden.

***

The next evening, I was reading a novel on my phone when I heard Beta Lucas's mindlink, “Hi, Leanne. Do you know where Alpha Kaden is? I haven't seen him since two days ago and he's not answering my mindlinks.”

“Wasn't there a rogue attack last night? That's what he said before leaving the pack house.” I asked him, feeling my heart drop as I realized what I had thought was true.

There really wasn't any rogue attack. He just needed an excuse to see Penny.

Beta Lucas replied in a nervous tone of voice, “Oh, well, I don't know what you're talking about. Just let him know I'm looking for him about pack business.”

“Sure.” I replied as I sighed.

My phone beeped at that moment and I checked it to see a notification from Penny's WhatsApp channel.

I felt anxious as I checked it because I already knew what I would see.

There was a video, so I played it.

Kaden and Penny were holding hands while sitting on a couch as she narrated, “My love is my hero! Even though I arrived back home late at night, he came out to welcome me. He even took me out to dinner and he stayed with me throughout the next day.”

“You're also my hero, Penny!” Kaden replied as he pecked her cheek.

The video ended and saw many heart reactions on the post.

Most of the people in the channel were our pack members.

She must have added them just to show everyone how much she disrespected me.

Why was I even still in the channel?

I was curious, but I decided to leave the channel on the day that I would leave the Kaden and move overseas.

Even though I had expected that he was going to see Penny, it still hurt to see them together.

I called Kaden, but he didn't answer, so I sent him a voice note on WhatsApp, “When are you coming back?”

He sent a voice note, and I wasn't surprised to hear Penny's voice, “After I'm done with him.”

The audacity! I felt so angry that I growled, and before I could reply, another voice note came through.

“I might not be coming home tonight since there's still so much more investigation that I need to do about the rogue attack.”

I felt so frustrated that I wanted to cry, but I didn't want to cry over someone that didn't value me.

So I drew in a deep breath and let it out as I tried to calm myself down.

Did he let her reply to me just to make a fool out of me? It seemed so.

Then there was the lie he kept using. He said it without any shame.

Was this the man that I fell in love with?

Penny posted so many videos and pictures of her and Kaden.

I checked each one of them and my heart broke every time I saw them together.

There was one picture which she sent with a message under it that read, [We all know the werewolf saying; Werewolf mates that run together, grow old together.]

The picture of the two of them in wolf form as they ran through the woods.

How could he go running with her?

Running was very intimate with werewolves. There was the pack run then running among a few pack members and running with your mate.

Two people only went running together when they have feelings for each other.

“All I can say is happy mating, Kaden.”

I was working on my laptop when Kaden walked into the pack house.

He looked anxious as soon as his eyes landed on me.

“Why are you working this late? You have to think about our baby, you can't let work stress you. Stress can lead to miscarriage and we don't want that.” He murmured with a panicked look on his face.

He raised his hand to brush my hair away from my face, but I flinched. He paused when he saw my reaction and then dropped his hand.

How could he act like he cared when he didn't really care?

‘I already had a miscarriage, you jerk!’

That was what I wanted to say, but I couldn't bring myself to tell him about the miscarriage without breaking down.

I drew in a deep breath and let it out as I tried not to hyperventilate.

He stared at me with guilt on his face when he noticed my demeanor.

Running a hand through his blonde hair, he murmured, “Please forgive me, Leanne. I didn't mean to drift away from you. It's just that there's so much pack work that needs my attention.”

I glanced at him then looked back at my laptop and when he noticed my silence, he added, “The full moon will be in two days, let's go for a mates run.”

I gave him a tight smile, “Sure.”

I already knew that he was going to stand me up just like every time we had plans, and it was always because of Penny, but I decided to have a little faith in him.

His lips tugged up into a smile as he looked satisfied with my answer.

On the day of the full moon, Kaden cancelled all his plans and stayed home with me.

It was soon the night of the full moon and we were standing right outside the pack house. Just as we were about to shift into our wolf form, Kaden's lips broke into a grin.

I instantly knew what was happening before he even said anything.

He turned to me and his grin disappeared, replaced with a nervous look in his eyes, “Beta Lucas just mind-linked me and he said that there has been a breach at the pack's border. I need to go and check it out. I'm so sorry that I can't go running with you, but you know how urgent this is.”

Did he think I was a fool?

Why would he grin like that when we were under attack?

Besides, he only grinned like that whenever Penny mind-linked him.

I didn't let him know I knew what he was up to, I just nodded curtly, “I know.”

He didn't seem to notice how indifferent I was and smiled as he added, “I know that we haven't been on a mates run for ages, but I swear I'll treat you right and go on that run with you soon enough.”

We wouldn't be going any run because I was done giving him chances!

Why did I put up with him for so long?

Maybe it was because I felt indebted to him because he once rescued me from some bullies in the pack.

I had been playing in the woods in wolf form all by myself and when I approached the pack house, I shifted into my human form.

The two bullies saw me and teased me about how I had no friends and played alone all the time.

I was only a pup, so I could only cry.

Kaden ran up to me and stood in front of me. He growled at them and they felt scared since he was the future Alpha.

They ran away and he turned to me as he comforted me, “You might be feeling lonely, but you don't have to feel that way anymore because you have me now, and I'll always be with you!”

That was the day that I knew that I wanted Kaden to be my mate.

I sighed as I felt my heart breaking. My hand went to my chest and I clutched it as I tried to will the pain to go away.

It wasn't until I took in deep breaths and let them out that the pain eased and I was able to let go of my chest.

I looked up at the moon and couldn't help, but feel relieved.

I could finally see Kaden for who he really was.

I still wanted to go on a run, so I shifted into my wolf form and started running through the woods that were beside the pack house.