The storm shelter my mate, Alpha Frank Wells of the Silver Moon Pack, had built for me was supposed to be impenetrable. But as the hurricane raged outside, the roof was ripped away as if it were paper. Terrified, I reached out through the pack’s mind link, desperate for Frank to come to my rescue. To my horror, I saw him across the way, safe in another shelter with Aura Gordon, the Beta of the Crimson Fang Pack—his lifelong infatuation.

"Leona," he said, his alpha tone carrying over the chaos, "this is the shelter I’ve perfected through countless trials just for you!"

And just like that, I was swept away by the storm, plummeting to my death. He didn’t know. He lost not only me but also our unborn pup forever.

The wind howled, and the rain lashed against the shelter with a fury that mirrored the storm in my heart. Frank, my mate and the Alpha of the Silver Moon Pack, had built this shelter after the pack’s Gamma warned of the approaching hurricane. He’d imported materials from overseas, boasting that not even a Lycan’s strength could breach it. So I’d trusted him. But then, with a deafening crash, the roof was torn away, and I was left exposed to the tempest. I screamed, my voice swallowed by the storm’s roar.

I scrambled for the flashlight Frank had left, my hands trembling as I switched it on. He’d assured me this shelter would withstand anything. Now, with the roof gone, the storm’s power was undeniable. My heart clenched as I remembered the mind link call that had drawn him away earlier. He should have been back by now. Fear clawed at me as I imagined him battling the storm to return to me.

My hand drifted to my slightly swollen belly. He didn’t know. I was carrying our pup—our first after five years as mates. Tonight, I’d planned to surprise him with the news. Unable to wait, I reached out through the mind link again, but there was no response.

I considered braving the storm to find him, but the wind was too fierce. As I struggled to think of another way to reach him, the mind link finally connected. Relief flooded me. "Alpha, are you back?" I asked, using his title as was customary.

There was no reply. Just as I feared something had happened to him, a woman’s voice came through, dripping with disdain: "Aren’t you tired of this?"

I froze. Even as hail and rain stung my skin, I felt nothing. Questions swirled in my mind. Why was Aura using the mind link? Why did her voice sound so smug? I wanted to demand answers, but the connection severed abruptly.

The wind surged again, and the shelter’s walls, now stripped of their roof, trembled like fragile twigs. I clung desperately to the support pillar, my heart sinking as I realized it was hollow—filled with nothing but styrofoam. The storm didn’t give me another chance. I was thrown upward, my body slamming into the wall with a force that knocked the breath from my lungs. Warm liquid pooled between my legs as I writhed in agony.

No, I couldn’t die yet… I hadn’t seen Frank return… We had a pup now, and if we could just survive, everything would be okay… As I fought to stay conscious, I saw him across the way, safe in another shelter. Relief washed over me, knowing he was unharmed. I wanted to call out for help, but then I saw her.

Standing beside him was Aura Gordon, her golden hair gleaming even in the storm’s chaos. "Leona, this is the shelter I’ve perfected through endless trials for you!" Frank declared, his voice ringing with finality.

So, this was the indestructible shelter he’d spoken of. My heart shattered into pieces. My cries for help turned to blood in my throat as the storm rose once more, tearing me from the wall and hurling me into the void.

In my final moments, my belly ached with a pain that mirrored the ache in my soul. I felt life slipping away—life that had once held all my hope. In this storm, I lost not only my mate but our pup and my life itself. Meanwhile, Frank found safety with Aura, abandoning me in his quest for survival.

Perhaps my resentment ran so deep that I became a spirit untouched by the storm's rage.

Floating above, I listened intently to my mate, Alpha Frank Wells, and Aura Gordon's conversation.

"No wonder the safe house you built remains untouched by the storm!"

Upon hearing praise from his old flame, my mate, the Alpha of the Silver Moon Pack, swelled with pride.

"Absolutely, only the best for you."

He had once spoken those words to me.

When the storm first loomed, he vowed to build a safe house for our pack. He pulled all-nighters sketching out plans and gathering materials, and I, worried for him, urged him to take breaks to stave off exhaustion.

Back then, he brushed me off.

He claimed he wanted nothing but the best for me, ensuring I wouldn’t be harmed in the slightest. It was the first heartfelt promise he made after our marking ceremony, and it moved me enough to commit all our pack’s resources to construct the safe house.

Our mate bond had been sealed with the blessings of our families and the Moon Goddess, and I saw that promise as the start of deepening our bond.

But I never saw this coming.

My unwavering love led to a safe house built with foam pillars and a flimsy roof and walls!

Hearing those words again chills me to the core!

"What about your Luna? Her place is made of foam; is she really okay?" Aura, the Beta of the Crimson Fang Pack, suddenly glanced over and mentioned me!

Alpha Frank's expression darkened: "Why worry about her? She's not going anywhere!"

"That’s not a foam structure! It’s built with leftover materials from this safe house. A gust of wind couldn't knock it down!"

What a joke.

We've been acquainted for seven years, mates for five, yet I only warranted the scraps from his precious safe house.

I'm certain even if I were to perish before him, he'd be irritated that I died too close, casting a shadow on Aura.

"Well, she's safe then."

Aura nodded, smirking.

"Why fret about her? Even if the safe house isn't secure, she’ll survive!"

"And if not, hopefully far from here."

My heart twitched and laughed bitterly.

The mate I've loved for seven years is truly that indifferent.

Alpha Frank clearly wanted to steer the conversation away from me: "Rather than concern yourself with her, focus on us."

"Aura, don’t you want a pup that's just ours?"

He gazed at Aura with the warmth I once yearned for.

Earlier, my mate and I mostly met late at night when he returned home drunk. He never turned on the lights, shunning any closeness with me.

I tried everything, but he remained unmoved.

So when I discovered I was pregnant, I thought it would be a delightful surprise for him.

Yet now, it’s glaringly obvious.

The pup was indeed a surprise.

But Aura’s pup would be the real surprise.

My pup was an unwanted shock, a burden.

The wind howled for days, and inside the cabin, they remained wrapped in their own world. At first, the sounds tormented me, but eventually, I grew numb. Regret washed over me. Why had I accepted his mate bond so willingly, only to realize now that he never truly loved me?

On the first night after the storm cleared, a pack warrior stumbled upon my lifeless body. My limbs were shattered, my abdomen torn open, revealing the faint outline of our unborn pup inside me. Her scream echoed through the pack grounds, alerting the pack healer and the others.

The healer arrived quickly, and the pack ran DNA tests on my dismembered body before trying to reach my mate—Frank Wells, the Alpha of the Silver Moon Pack. But he was still in the cabin, unable to pull himself away from the she-wolf who truly held his heart—Aura Gordon, the Beta of the Crimson Fang Pack.

"I don’t want to leave, Aura..." His phone buzzed, interrupting their moment, and he dismissed the call with annoyance.

It took several attempts from the determined pack messenger before he finally answered.

"Alpha Frank, are you the mate of Leona Wells, the Luna of the Silver Moon Pack?"

At the mention of my name, anger flared in his eyes.

"What drama is she causing now? She’s a Luna; why can’t she just handle things herself?"

"I built her a safe house. Why does she always act like the victim?"

His words reduced me to nothing.

Before I realized I was carrying our pup, I would find myself vomiting violently in the pack infirmary and would mind-link him for help. I begged him to visit, to take me to the pack healer. He only visited once, disheveled, with clear signs of Aura’s scent lingering on him. He looked at me with eyes full of disdain, piercing me like a thousand needles.

As if I were the unwelcome outsider.

"If you’re sick, go to the healer. I’m not a healer."

"You’re just throwing up; it’s not life or death. Stop bothering me!"

He watched with cold indifference as I retched and writhed, unmoved until I broke down, crying out for answers.

"I’m busy, Luna. I’m building a safe house to keep you and our pup safe. Stop the dramatics."

"Leona Wells, stop being pathetic. Be grateful."

Back then, blinded by love, I internalized his words. He was right, I thought—I had to be grateful. He sacrificed his time to build me a safe house; I shouldn’t burden him further.

So, I swallowed my pride and waited, hoping he might change. But looking back now, all I want is to shake my past self awake.

Without another word, he ended the mind-link. When the pack messenger tried to reach him again, he shut down the connection.

Aura sensed his frustration and comforted him, and soon they were lost in each other again, erasing me from their minds.

Of course. To him, I was never truly loved.

Alpha Frank Wells, do you even remember?

Today is my birthday.