After getting into the car, I noticed a woman’s coat and a child’s rattle in the backseat.

“A friend of mine and his mate came with me to the pack run today, but their car broke down. They left these behind when they switched cars,” Axton explained quickly, his voice tinged with nervousness.

I thought of what he had said during the pack run, how he had claimed to still care for me, yet here was evidence of another life he was building—one that didn’t include me.

He had once sworn to me, under the Moon Goddess, that I would be his only mate. But now, it seemed those words meant nothing.

I said nothing, instead turning my gaze to the window, letting the passing scenery blur as I tried to steady my thoughts.

Throughout the drive, Axton kept asking about how I had been these past three years. His questions felt hollow, and I answered distractedly, my mind elsewhere. I didn’t want small talk; I wanted the truth.

The chill from the pack run air lingered, and I coughed lightly. My eyes fell on a handkerchief resting on the car’s console.

I reached for it, but Axton stopped me.

“That one smells like jasmine. I remember you hate jasmine,” he said, pulling out another handkerchief from a hidden compartment. “Here, use this one.”

The scent of roses wafted from the new handkerchief. Roses—the smell I despised most, the one that always made my eyes sting and my throat tighten.

He had once seen me in tears after smelling roses and promised, “I’ll always remember. No roses for you.”

But now, he was handing me a rose-scented handkerchief, oblivious to the irony.

“What’s wrong? You used to love roses,” he said, his brow furrowed as he noticed my discomfort.

I didn’t bother explaining. Instead, I closed my eyes, pretending to rest.

Back at the Taylor pack house, Axton had the kitchen prepare a lavish meal for me.

“Eat up. You’ve lost so much weight these past three years,” he said, his tone soft but distant.

The table was filled with spicy dishes, each one a reminder of how much he had forgotten. I couldn’t eat spicy food—it always upset my stomach. He used to know that. The meals in the pack house had always been tailored to my tastes, light and mild.

He didn’t notice my hesitation, eating heartily as he spoke.

“With the marking ceremony coming up, you should stay here and prepare. It’ll be good to have you back,” he said casually.

My hand tightened around my fork. He had forgotten everything—my dislikes, my preferences, even my dreams. I had written to him about my desire to teach at the pack academy, but he seemed to have dismissed it entirely.

I forced myself to take a bite, the spice burning my throat.

“I mentioned in my letters that I wanted to—” I began, but a pack member interrupted, knocking on the door.

“Alpha—” the pack member started, glancing at Axton with a mix of hesitation and urgency.

Axton’s expression shifted, a flicker of panic in his eyes. He stood abruptly, tossing a quick excuse my way.

“Victoria, I’ll be right back. Something urgent came up.”

Before I could respond, he was gone, leaving me alone at the table.

I watched him leave, my heart aching. For three years, I had counted the days, longing to return to him, to our life together. But now, those hopes felt like sand slipping through my fingers, impossible to hold onto.

I was seven years old when I came to the Taylor pack, only because my father had done a great service to Alpha Taylor, and they had become close allies.

After my parents tragically died at the hands of rogues, Alpha Taylor brought me into their household. But both Alpha Taylor and his Luna, Margaret, were often busy, and their care for me was inevitably a bit lacking.

Added to that, when I first arrived, I was unfamiliar with the pack and extremely timid.

I tiptoed through every day, careful in everything I did, even afraid to eat too much at meals.

Being an orphan, the pack's lower-ranking members gradually began to bully me.

Once, I remember an Omega slacked off and forgot to bring me food, and I went hungry for an entire day.

Starving, I snuck into the kitchen to get something to eat.

But I was caught by the kitchen staff, who accused me of stealing.

Just as I was in despair, it was Axton who helped me. He scolded them fiercely:

"Victoria is the daughter of our pack's savior. Who dares to treat her like this?"

He reprimanded the staff and reported it to Luna Margaret.

Luna was furious and exiled several of the Omegas who had been bullying me. After that, my life improved.

That was the first time I met him, and later I learned he was the eldest son of the Taylor pack, the future Alpha.

He was also the one with whom I had a verbal promise of becoming mates.

After that, he would ask about me every day when he returned to the packhouse, taking great care of me.

He always said, "Victoria, don't be afraid. From now on, I’m your family."

On the day of my Come of Age Ceremony, he was drunk and, uncharacteristically bold, barged into my room, holding me tightly in his arms.

He said he loved me and wanted me to be his Luna.

At that moment, I was overjoyed and couldn’t help but nod.

From then on, I always dreamed of becoming his mate.

Back in my room, I was still lost in those memories when the door suddenly burst open.

It was Camila.

She was wearing a stunning dress, her eyes brimming with a mix of feigned innocence and hidden triumph as she said to me:

"Victoria, you’re back. I have something to tell you. Axton has taken me as his chosen mate, and we’ve had a child. Once you join the pack, he’ll formally mark me as his mate."

"I’m sorry, Victoria, but Axton fell for me, and I couldn’t refuse…"

She shed two tears, her eyes red, but deep within them was a glint of challenge.

In that moment, she finally revealed the ambition she had been hiding all along.

If this had happened before, I would have rushed to Axton, crying and making a scene, maybe even running to Margaret Taylor to complain.

Because I still remember his promise: he would mate only with me, and he would never take another.

There had been times when other Omegas in the pack had tried to flirt with him, and I had always dealt with them swiftly and decisively, making sure the entire pack knew about it.

But this time, I didn’t feel like making a fuss.

I just felt so tired.

“Congratulations on getting what you wanted,” I said flatly, my voice calm despite the storm inside me. “I just wonder if Axton knows you came here today.”

Camila’s face paled slightly, and she quickly excused herself, leaving in a hurry.

After my attendants helped me freshen up, I sat at my desk and picked up a pen.

During the three years I’d been away, I hadn’t just been focusing on my duties. In my free time, I’d also been teaching at the pack academy. Roy Hunt, the Gamma who ran the academy, had praised my teaching skills, saying I was a natural educator.

Before I returned, he’d asked if I’d consider staying on as a full-time instructor.

At the time, I’d declined, eager to come back and finally solidify my mate bond with Axton.

But now, after everything that had happened, I couldn’t help but wonder if I’d made the wrong choice.

I sighed softly and began writing a letter to Roy, telling him I’d changed my mind and would be moving to Ludos to continue teaching.

Once the letter was finished, I sat there for a while, lost in thought. Eventually, I decided I owed it to Margaret and her mate to tell them my plans before I left.

They’d always been so kind to me, and I didn’t want to disappear without a word.

The next day, just as I was preparing to go see Margaret, Axton showed up at my door.

“Victoria,” he said, his tone light, as if nothing had happened. “I’ve arranged a welcome-back gathering for you at the pack’s favorite diner. Everyone is there. Come with me.”

The sight of him made my stomach churn, and for a moment, I wanted to lash out at him, to scream and make him feel even a fraction of the pain I was feeling.

But then I thought of Margaret, and I forced myself to stay calm.

Fine, I thought. Let this be my final goodbye to everything here.

When we arrived at the diner, Axton didn’t come in with me.

“You go ahead,” he said, his voice casual. “I’m waiting for someone.”

I walked in alone, steeling myself for whatever was to come.