It was the third anniversary of my registration of a mate bond with Xavier Ashford, the alpha of Shadowcrest Pack.

My gift to him was a positive pregnancy test, but his gift to me was a contract terminating our bond as mates.

I froze, too distraught to reach out and take it from him.

Xavier cleared his throat awkwardly. "A wolf tricked Talia into getting pregnant. A pup born out of mate bond can't get the rights to live in the pack. My plan is to terminate our bond as mates and become mates with Talia for the time being so that her pup can have a legal identity. After she gives birth to her pup, then you and I can become mates again. How does that sound?"

He passed me a bond termination contract.

It had clearly been prepared a long time ago.

He noticed my hesitation and explained gently, "You're my one true love. I'm only helping her as a friend. Even after we split up, I can guarantee that you won't be mistreated."

I looked up at him with a smile and stayed silent.

Then, I reached into my pocket and felt the pregnancy test under my fingers.

The two red lines on the screen were as clear as day.

It was my birthday. I was dressed in a silk nightgown as Xavier Ashford pressed me down against the couch and kissed my neck. He reached up and under my nightgown, beginning to tease me.

He was as passionate as ever, and I enjoyed the pleasure I felt while carefully shielding my stomach from too much motion.

Once we finished, I was about to break the news of my pregnancy to him when someone started knocking on the door.

He hurriedly got off from on top of me and began to walk out as he straightened his clothes. "Sweetheart, I'll be right back. I just want to see who's at the door," he said.

I felt a strong sense of unease and got dressed so I could go downstairs. The moment I reached the top of the stairs, I heard Xavier gently consoling a she-wolf. "Talia, don't worry. Now that you're back, no one will dare to lay a finger on you. Mark my words."

Talia?

I stopped walking. My grip on the staircase railing tightened.

Talia Seeton was Xavier's childhood sweetheart. They were extremely close, and everyone in the pack thought Talia would be Xavier's Luna.

When he saw me, Xavier said, "Serena, let's terminate our bond as mates."

My head shot up as I looked at him in disbelief.

Talia was curled up in his embrace. Her eyes were red, brimming with unshed tears, making her look vulnerable and pitiful.

Xavier grabbed my hand and said sheepishly, "You know what happened. Talia's pregnant because some scumbag tricked her. She doesn't have a mate, so her child won't be able to get the rights to live with the pack. We need to terminate our bond so that I can become her mate."

When she saw my deathly pale face, Talia meekly tugged at Xavier's shirt and said, "Xavier, it's okay. I… I'll leave. Serena can't possibly agree to such a huge favor…"

"No!" Xavier refused in a deep voice. "You're a pregnant omega without a mate. That's incredibly dangerous."

He gently caressed Talia's stomach, staring at it with a gentle gaze that I had never witnessed before.

"Serena, don't worry. We'll only terminate our bond for a year. After that, we can get back together. You'll still be my Luna," he said sincerely as he passed me a bond termination contract.

I looked down at the single piece of paper in his hand. It felt like my heart was being squeezed by a large, invisible hand. Even taking a breath felt painful.

"Serena, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to, but this is the only way…" Talia trailed off as she began crying. Through her tears, she looked at me mockingly.

"Xavier, if I were pregnant too, would you still be willing to father another omega's pup?"

Talia's expression soured immediately. "You can't possibly be pregnant. The doctors all said you were too weak to have any pups."

"Serena, it's not the time for tricks," Xavier said, looking at me angrily.

"It's not a trick," I said as I went back to our bedroom to get my prenatal checkup report.

While I was in the bedroom, Talia sent me a picture of an ultrasound with a text that read, "I'm pregnant with Xavier's pup. I'm the one he really loves. Hurry up and leave him, you infertile bitch."

I ripped my prenatal checkup report to shreds and signed the bond termination contract with zero hesitation.

Xavier let out a sigh of relief and grabbed my hands. "Talia has nowhere else to go. Can she stay with us for the time being?"

"Sure," I said calmly. I returned to our bedroom and began to pack my bags so I could leave.

In the five years we spent together, Xavier never marked me. We only had our mating agreement on paper, so as long as our bond termination contract went through, I was free to leave.

Early the next day, I went to the administrative center to complete the process of leaving the pack.

"Ms. Flint, are you sure you want to leave the pack? The request will be activated in 24 hours. Once you leave, you will no longer be protected by Shadowcrest Pack."

It was that worker's first time seeing someone request to leave the pack.

I pressed my lips together and fell silent for a moment. The image of Xavier and Talia acting all close and cuddly suddenly appeared in my mind.

"Yes, I'm sure. I'll leave tomorrow."

The moment I got home, I could hear Xavier chatting to his friends in the living room before I even stepped into the house.

"Xavier, won't Serena be angry that you terminated your bond with her for Talia?" his friend, Chase Yardley, asked in confusion.

Xavier chuckled softly when he heard that. Confidently, he said, "Of course not. She loves me so much that she's willing to do anything for me. She would never be angry with me. Besides, we're only terminating our bond contract. We're not breaking up for real. We'll be back to normal in a year's time."

"But I don't think any she-wolf would be willing to watch her mate do so much for another she-wolf. Aren't you afraid she'll be heartbroken and leave?"

Xavier froze when he heard that. His expression shifted into one of panic before it settled back to normal.

"She won't leave me," he said firmly. "She loves me too much."

"Yes, I will. I won't accept betrayal," I thought to myself.

The door opened with a click as I pushed it open. They fell silent the moment I entered.

"I'm back," I said, forcing myself to sound calm. However, I couldn't help but tear up slightly when I saw Xavier.

Xavier glanced at Chase, indicating for him to stay quiet.

"Serena, wait," Xavier said. His gaze looked slightly apologetic. "Talia's pregnant, and she's not used to the guest room. It'd be more convenient for her to stay in the master bedroom. Can you stay in the guest room for now?"

I pressed my lips into a thin line and looked at him. "How troublesome. I'll just move out."

He froze and instinctively tried to make me stay. "Serena, it's not safe for you out there. You should—"

"You're Talia's mate now. It's not appropriate for me to stay here. If the pack committee or the elders find out that this was all faked just to get Talia's pup the rights to live with the pack, they won't let the pup stay here."

Xavier couldn't argue with that.

He fell silent for a moment before finally giving in. "Okay. Take good care of yourself, Serena."

I nodded and began to walk out the door once I had my suitcase with me.

Xavier was waiting for me in the car. "I bought that beach house you said you liked. I'll send you there to stay in the meantime."

I wanted to turn him down, but I was worried that I wouldn't be able to leave for good if he noticed anything suspicious.

Perhaps due to guilt, he kept trying to start different conversations with me while we were in the car.

"Serena, I upgraded your credit card to a black card. Feel free to buy anything you want, okay?" he said. "I also bought that jewelry set you liked so much. It'll be here in two days.

"By the way, remember that moon silk wedding gown you wanted to wear during our marking ritual? I'm getting it custom-made for you. Once Talia gives birth to her pup, we'll have our marking ritual, okay?"

"Sure," I said, falling silent after nodding in response.

"Cheer up, okay? You're the only one I love. We'll only be apart for a year."

As he spoke, his sincere, cautious expression made me feel as if he truly loved and cared about me. However, I knew that was all for show.

He was willing to lie to me so that he could rightfully be the father of Talia's pup.

A wolf like that was nothing if not perfect at acting sincere.

"Come on. Let's put a smile on that face. I have something to show you."

We reached the parking lot near the beach. He began to run along the coast as he pulled me along with him.

The moment we reached the balcony of the beach house he bought for me, countless fireworks began to fill the sky.

His love for me was spelled out with fireworks. "Serena, I love you."

My tears finally began to fall.

Suppose I had seen that a day ago, I would have been overjoyed. Now, however, I knew that his beautiful acts of love were just a facade to conceal his lies.

My heart began to ache.

He held me in his arms and looked deeply into my eyes. "I swear that I'll love you forever. We'll never be apart again once this is all over. Haven't you always wanted to watch the sunrise? I'll be here with you tomorrow morning."

He began to lean closer toward me. Before his lips touched mine, his phone started ringing loudly.

A frown creased his face as he yanked the phone out. "I put my phone on silent. Why—"

I saw the contact name on his screen. It read "Talia".

The anger on his face immediately dissipated. After he hung up, he acted as if nothing had ever happened.

"What's wrong?" I asked, acting as if I hadn't seen anything strange.

"Something to do with the pack. It seems urgent, so…"

"No worries. Go ahead," I said with a self-deprecating smile.

I knew that he would always choose her over me.

That fact was set in stone from the very moment he decided to betray me.

"Don't worry. I'll be here to watch tomorrow's sunrise with you," he said before kissing my forehead and leaving.

I nodded with a smile as I watched him walk away.

As expected, Xavier never showed up the next morning.

I called him plenty of times, but he never picked up.

Talia finally sent a picture of Xavier sleeping. "He exhausted himself last night. He's still sleeping."

I tucked my phone away with a bitter smile.

I knew he had betrayed me, but I couldn't stop my heart from hurting when I actually saw it happen in real time.

My tears began to fall once again.

After watching the sunrise, I went back to the beach house.

The house had clearly been furnished to my liking, but I couldn't feel any joy from looking at it.

It wasn't an act of love. It was a way to make up for lies that had already happened.

My phone buzzed. I received a text that read, "Ms. Flint, your request to leave the pack will be activated in eight hours. Please leave the pack when the time is up. Your bond as mates with Xavier Ashford has been terminated."

I put my phone away with a smile. I decided I was tired of Xavier's honey-coated lies.

Around noon, I suddenly got a text from Xavier.

It was a reminder to join the pack's party that afternoon.

It was the night of the full moon.

Every year, the pack would throw an extravagant party on the night of the full moon. All of the pack members would attend.

Back then, I always attended with Xavier as his Luna.

However, since I'd already terminated my bond with Xavier, I no longer had that privilege.

I wasn't planning to attend, but that afternoon, Xavier sent someone to pick me up and send me to the party.

I frowned. I was feeling suspicious, but I decided to stop by anyway.

The party had already started by the time I arrived.

Xavier was dressed in a white suit and looked like the picture of grace. Talia was in a custom-made dress, and she was holding onto his arm with a happy smile.

The sight of them standing together made my heart ache.

When other members of the pack spotted me, they started to whisper among themselves as they looked at me strangely.

"Isn't that Serena? I thought she terminated her bond with Xavier. What's she doing here?"

"Who knows? Maybe she regretted her decision and came to beg him to take her back."

"How shameless. I can't believe she's still pestering him after terminating their bond."

I silently pressed my lips together and forced myself to stay calm.

I didn't want to stoop down to their level, so I found a seat in the corner where I could sit in silence for a moment.

However, Talia clearly didn't plan on letting me have even one moment of peace.

She stuck her pregnant stomach out as she walked toward me and looked at me haughtily. "Serena, how dare you show up here? You've already terminated your bond with Xavier. You can no longer call yourself his Luna."

She glared at me and said, "Listen here. Once I give birth to my pup, I'll be Xavier's official Luna. You won't have a place here anymore."

Talia's grin was cocky, and her tone even more so.

Without Xavier around, she no longer bothered to put on her usual innocent front.

I looked at her and felt a sense of sorrow deep in my chest.

That was the she-wolf Xavier had fallen for—cunning, cruel, and mean.

I bit my lip. I didn't want to talk to her, so I started to get up, but before I could walk away, Talia's hand shot out, stopping me short.

"Serena, are you too scared to face the facts? Are you still too scared to admit that I'm more important to Xavier than you ever will be?"

Before I could react, Talia roughly pulled me toward her.

I stumbled and slammed into the dessert table beside us. With a loud crash, the sweets and dishes tumbled to the floor.

My hands were gashed open by shattering glass.

My stomach had also slammed against the table's corner, and I was in too much pain to speak, so I could only hiss in pain.

I wanted to reach out to Xavier for help, but before I could even call out to him, he sprinted toward Talia, sweeping her up gently in his arms.

"Talia, are you okay? Let's go to the hospital right now!"

I was covered in crushed desserts and spilled liquor. I was an absolute mess, and I was shaking violently from the pain.

Xavier bolted past me with Talia in his arms. He didn't even look at me.

He didn't recognize me.

"Somebody call a doctor! Hurry!"

Xavier's voice boomed in my ears. I strained to look up, only to see his back turned completely toward me.

I finally gave up.

I stood up and changed my clothes after a shower. Then I took my bags and went to the airport without looking back once.

I booked a ticket for a southbound flight, determined to put as much distance as possible between myself and the place that had hurt me so much.

Before getting onto the plane, I checked my phone. Talia had updated her social media with a picture of Xavier personally peeling an apple for her.

Xavier had a gentle look on his face, and Talia was smiling happily.

I chuckled lightly and blocked both of them on all platforms.

Then, I turned and boarded the plane.

Xavier, I could finally leave you behind for good.