"Dion, you're about to have your bonding ceremony with Iris, but you're taking Blair to Moon Goddess Island now? Aren't you afraid Iris will find out?"

I stood just outside the door, my world tilting as I listened to the conversation inside.

Then I heard the voice of my mate-to-be, Dion Hansen.

"I hired a wolf to pretend to get close to her. I'll set her up so she's too busy dealing with a scandal to bother me."

"And if something really happens between them, all the better."

"I can use it as the perfect excuse to sever our bond, and then I can finally be with Blair."

His words shattered my heart.

At that moment, the very wolf Dion had hired was standing right behind me.

Tears streaming down my face, I turned to the wolf behind me with a proposition. "Let's give Dion exactly what he's paying for. Let's give him a real show."

But just as I was about to have my bonding ceremony with him,

Dion knelt before me, his face a mask of agony.

"Iris, I was wrong! Please, I'm begging you—don't do this! Don't bond with him!"

————————

1

I was staring at the contract from the bonding ceremony organizers, debating if I should go through with changing the name of my mate-to-be.

Just then, Dion Hansen returned, wheeling a suitcase behind him.

The moment he opened the door, he barked in an Alpha tone that demanded obedience.

"I'm drained. Iris, get me something to drink."

I frowned, but quickly brewed him an herbal tea.

When I placed the steaming cup in front of him, he didn't touch it.

He just scrutinized me.

"Did any other males approach you while I was away?"

His words made my heart clench.

I immediately recalled the conversation I’d overheard.

My chest seized with a sharp pain, and the air caught in my throat.

I knew exactly who he meant: Ryder Quinn. The same wolf who had agreed to go through with the bonding ceremony in my place.

I masked my emotions, met his gaze unflinchingly, and said, "No."

Suspicion flickered in his eyes.

He sized me up for a long moment, then muttered under his breath, "Did that guy take the money and flake?"

"Hmm? What was that?" I asked, feigning confusion.

Dion waved it off. "Nothing. The tea's not bad."

He quickly finished the tea, wiped his mouth, and then ordered, "Make another batch. I'm taking it with me tonight."

Seeing that I didn't move, he frowned and tossed a small box onto the table.

"Here, a gift for you. It's your style. Don't lose it."

He gestured impatiently. "Now, go make the herbal tea."

Inside the box was an exquisite silver bracelet, its fine chains glinting with a cold, menacing light.

Silver—a metal meant to suppress a wolf's power, to inflict pain.

To me, this was nothing short of a slap in the face.

Before I could react, Dion's patience wore thin.

He forcefully pulled me to my feet. "Hurry up. I have business to attend to."

"Don't interfere with Pack business. You know better than to test my patience."

It was his favorite trick since becoming Alpha—using his authority to keep me in line.

I watched the herbs unfurl in the boiling water, a wave of bitterness washing over me.

He’d loathed herbal tea since he was a pup, yet now he was demanding a thermos full of it.

When I handed him the thermos, he scowled, his impatience palpable. "What took you so long?"

Then, he yanked the door open and left without a backward glance.

I looked down at the wrist I had accidentally scalded while making the tea, a bitter smile twisting my lips.

Suddenly, a receipt tucked into the outer pocket of his suitcase caught my eye.

It was for a moonstone pendant of immense value.

And at the bottom of the receipt, it was clear: the silver bracelet was just a free gift with purchase.

I slowly clenched my fist, the bitterness in my heart so intense it eclipsed the sting on my wrist.

Trying to distract myself, I started browsing social media, only to stumble upon a post from Blair Mona.

She was holding a cup of steaming herbal tea, and the brilliant moonstone pendant around her neck was impossible to miss.

The caption read: "A gift from my love. Works like a charm!"

I lifted my head, my gaze falling on the group photo hanging in the living room.

Tears streamed unbidden down my cheeks.

"Dion Hansen," I whispered to the empty room, "all you've ever given me is pain."

Dion was the mate chosen for me by the council of elders.

He was powerful and striking, a natural leader who always outshone his peers.

My expertise was in history and art, a world away from Pack politics. But I studied tirelessly, determined to become a Luna worthy of standing by his side.

During the most difficult days of his fight for the Alpha position, I used my family's influence to support him without a second thought.

But after he successfully claimed the Alpha title, he looked at me with an expression I couldn't decipher.

I thought he was going to sever our connection.

Instead, he said, "Alright. Let's go through with the ceremony."

The moment he finished speaking, he pulled me into his arms.

His warm lips pressed against mine, and for a breathtaking moment, our breaths mingled.

Because of that one kiss, I never questioned my place by his side.

Even when he refused my family's help, determined to secure his position on his own merit, I endured every hardship with him without complaint.

When he finally solidified his role as Alpha, a friend took me aside and warned me, "Dion doesn't love you. He's just using you. Leave him before he ruins you."

But how could I believe her?

I had given him my whole heart, convinced that my years of devotion had earned his.

As it turned out, I was a fool.

At the celebration dinner the night before our bonding ceremony, Dion received a message that Blair had returned to the Pack.

Without a word, while I was still accepting congratulations from our guests, he turned and walked out.

Facing the pitying stares, I fought back tears and forced a smile. "Something urgent came up. He had to leave."

From that day on, he came home later and later, retreating straight to his study when he did.

Sometimes, I could hear faint, feminine laughter from behind the closed door.

I once asked what he was doing in there all night.

His face immediately darkened. "You wouldn't understand. You have no right to meddle in my affairs."

His words were a cold weight in my chest.

During a training session, I twisted my ankle, dislocating it.

Dion was forced to take time off to drive me to the healer.

But when I got into the car, a strange charm dangled from his keys, reeking of another she-wolf's scent.

A fresh wave of pain seared through me.

Once, I accidentally left my family's insignia in his car. He found it and tossed it in the trash without a second thought.

Now, I choked back the nausea brought on by that cloyingly sweet scent and waited for him to start the car.

But his communication crystal suddenly rang.

"You're hurt? I'll be right there!"

He frowned and shot me an annoyed glance.

"Get to the healer yourself. I have something to take care of."

I watched his car speed away, a bitter cocktail of emotions churning in my stomach.

After getting my ankle treated, I went to a nearby café to collect myself.

But through the window, I saw him: Dion, gently transferring his healing energy to Blair, who had a tiny cut on her finger from a paper file.

Then, the conversation he had with his friend drifted out from the adjoining private lounge.

The wolf Dion had hired to get close to me stood just behind me, his eyes full of sympathy.

"He's not worth this," he murmured.

After taking the herbal tea, Dion didn't return that night.

The storm raged, the moon phase was chaotic, and I was deep asleep when the buzzing of my communication crystal jolted me awake.

His commanding voice crackled through the connection.

"Bring my family's heirloom to the address I just sent you."

"But—"

Before I could say another word, he cut the link.

The storm was relentless.

Visibility on the road was near zero, and I nearly crashed twice.

When I finally arrived at the hotel room Dion had specified, it wasn't him who opened the door. It was Blair.

She stood at the door wearing his shirt, a constellation of fresh, dark marks dotting her exposed skin.

Beaming, she reached for the heirloom in my hands.

"You must be Iris. Dion mentioned how obedient you are. Thanks for making a special trip to bring this to me."

She looked me up and down.

"I really envy you, being able to handle everything so well by yourself. Unlike me."

"Last night, I tried to help Dion with his work and ended up cutting my finger."

She held up her bandaged finger, waving it in front of my face.

"He was so worried," she said sweetly.

"He told me not to lift a finger anymore, that he has someone at home to run his errands at a moment's notice."

She smirked. "I guess that must be you."

Her provocation worked. I couldn't take it anymore. I snatched the heirloom back.

She tried to grab it from me but quickly realized my grip was stronger.

Then, without warning, she lunged and bit down hard on my hand.

A sharp pain shot through me, forcing me to drop the heirloom.

It crashed to the floor, the energy contained within scattering across the carpet. A stray spark of it hit her bare thigh.

Feeling the burn on her leg, Blair shrieked and quickly released her bite.

Hearing her cries, Dion rushed out of the bedroom, bare-chested.

He pulled Blair into a protective embrace, his voice laced with a concern he never showed me. "What's wrong?"

The tenderness in his eyes was a dagger to my heart.

Blair said nothing, just pointed at me while cowering in his arms.

Dion's brow furrowed, and he snapped at me.

"What did you do to her? I asked you to deliver an heirloom, not start a fight!"

"If Blair hadn't hurt her hand last night, I wouldn't have had you come at all."

"She bit me first," I defended myself, holding up my hand, which was still dripping blood.

Dion was dismissive. "It's a scratch. Are you really going to make a scene?"

"She's kind and delicate. If I find out you've been bullying her, I'll cancel our bonding ceremony immediately."

He tried to slam the door, but I wedged my foot in the opening.

He glared down at it. "Do you want to lose your foot?"

I looked him straight in the eye. "Dion Hansen, are you cheating on me in front of my face?"

A flicker of panic crossed his expression, his voice losing some of its bluster.

"What are you talking about? She's an injured friend. I was just taking care of her."

With that, he pried my foot out of the way and shut the door without hesitation, leaving me standing alone in the hallway.

By the time I dragged my exhausted body back to the Alpha's residence, a message from Dion's mother was waiting for me.

"Iris, as the future Luna of the Pack, you will attend the Pack's Ancestors' Night celebration in three days."

I forced out a single reply: "Okay."

Attending the celebration as his mate-to-be would be my final public act as part of his pack.

Once it was over, it would be time for me to leave for good.