Early in the morning, Reina Lawson ticked off another square on her calendar. Only ten days remained before she would leave the country. The faint scent of rosemary—Dean’s mate scent—still lingered in the air, a cruel reminder of the bond she was about to sever.

The creaking of the door behind her drew her attention. Alpha Dean Willis stepped inside, shaking off the snow from his jacket before approaching to embrace her. He still hadn’t warmed up to her short hair, a stark contrast to the long, flowing locks he’d once admired.

His eyes were drawn to the calendar, particularly to the heavily marked third day of the upcoming month—the day of their marking ceremony. Dean chuckled softly, playfully pinching her cheek. "Can’t wait to make you my Luna, huh?" he joked, his alpha tone softening into something almost affectionate.

He counted aloud, "Just ten days left."

Dean nestled his face against her neck, his warmth a sharp contrast to the cold air outside. "Maybe we should take some time in the next few days to dye your hair back to black and add some extensions?" he suggested, his voice carrying the subtle command of an Alpha. "You’ll look breathtaking on our marking day."

"No need," Reina replied, her expression unchanged, her gaze fixed on the calendar. "There’s not much time left."

Dean fell silent for a moment, his dominant aura flickering with uncertainty. "Right," he finally said, pulling back.

He grabbed his coat from the chair, his movements brisk. "There’s plenty to sort out for the ceremony. The Crimson Fang Pack’s warriors caused some trouble at our borders yesterday, so I’ll be caught up for a while. I won’t be back anytime soon."

As he spoke, he observed her, his piercing gaze searching for a reaction. Waiting for her to change her mind, to agree, to say, *Okay, Alpha, let’s go dye my hair, let’s extend it again.*

But she simply returned his gaze, her own resolve unwavering. The mate bond between them felt like a weight in her chest, a connection she was ready to break.

"Go ahead," she said. "After all, we only have ten days left."

Dean said nothing, his jaw tightening as he turned and slipped into the night, his broad frame disappearing into the darkness without a backward glance.

With just seven days left until the marking ceremony, Reina Lawson found herself in a tattoo parlor on the edge of the pack’s territory. The shop owner, Adelina Henderson, appeared to be in her thirties, well-kept but with a gaze that spoke of life’s challenges. She glanced at Reina and asked, "What do you want removed?"

Reina rolled up her sleeve, pointing to the "DW" on her wrist, then revealed the lily under her collarbone. "Get rid of them both," she said.

Adelina gave her a knowing look, "It'll hurt to remove them, and you might end up with scars."

Reina smiled, "I'm not worried."

Pain was the last thing Reina feared right now. As for scars—her body already carried so many, a couple more wouldn’t matter. Besides, in six months, this body might become nothing more than ashes.

"Breakup?" Adelina asked nonchalantly.

Reina chuckled, "Almost. In seven days."

Adelina shook her head, "Quite the ritual, a countdown to a breakup?"

Perhaps it was the quiet of the shop or the unexpected camaraderie she sensed with Adelina, but Reina found herself sharing her past.

Back when Dean Willis, the Alpha of the Silver Moon Pack, was pursuing her, she had set a challenge: three hundred days. If he could last, she promised to be with him. Every morning, Dean would show up, counting down the days. "Countdown: 179 days," he'd say. "Reina, in 96 days, you'll my mate." "Just one more day, almost mate."

The same Alpha who fought for her heart over those three hundred days slowly became indifferent over the next decade.

As Reina and Adelina bonded while the tattoos were being removed, Reina shared their significance. The "DW" on her wrist was inked after she'd been with Dean for a year. She had been kidnapped by rogues from a rival pack as leverage. Dean, despite knowing it was a trap, had shifted into his wolf form and rushed to save her, nearly losing his life in the process. After his release from the pack’s healing center, Reina tattooed his initials on her wrist, a pledge to him. She naïvely thought she was committed to Dean forever.

But when she showed Dean her still-red wrist later that night, he looked surprised rather than appreciative. He frowned, asked why she'd do such a thing and whether it hurt. In the end, he hugged her and said, "Don’t do it again; I don't like it. I don't want you to hurt yourself. You're perfect just as you are, Reina. I love the pure, untouched Reina."

In her youth, she misread his words as affection. She didn't see then that Dean was expressing his true feelings.

The lily on her chest was inked when Dean promised to mark her by age twenty-eight. He adored lilies for their pure white beauty, so Reina had it inked over her heart, waiting for Dean's marking ceremony.

Now, as Dean finally scheduled the ceremony for when she was twenty-eight, he was preparing for a marking just days away, while she was planning her exit. Even though her body was weary from the rare wolf-borne disease slowly claiming her life, she didn't want to leave with any memory of him.

Pointing to the other side of her collarbone, Reina told Adelina, "Let's tattoo a rose here."

Dean loved lilies, but Reina preferred roses. He wanted her to be pure and flawless, but for the remaining days of her life, she wanted to be like the proud rose scaling lofty walls. She wanted to be herself, not the mate Dean thought she should be.