"Alpha, you’re tying the knot with Rebecca in two weeks. What’s the plan for your little side situation? You know, Elyse, your mate?"

I froze just outside the door, my breath catching as my name slipped into the conversation—followed by Rebecca’s, the she-wolf I’d long suspected was tangled up with Max, my mate and the Alpha of the Harrison Pack.

The words hit me like a fist to the stomach. So, it was true—my mate, Alpha Max, had another woman. And instead of choosing me as his Luna, he’d gone with her?

I flattened myself against the wall, my heart pounding so hard I was sure they’d hear it.

Then Max’s voice cut through, slow and casual, like he was shrugging off a passing rain shower. "Just keep it under wraps. As long as you don’t spill, Elyse won’t catch on."

Won’t catch on? So that was his game—carry on with Rebecca, build their perfect little life, while I got shoved aside as the dirty secret?

Tears pricked my eyes, blurring the world around me. The man I’d loved for years—the one who’d sworn I was his mate—was reducing me to some shameful footnote. The truth sank in, sharp and undeniable, and my mind was already spinning, plotting my escape.

That was it. I was done. I reached out through the mind link to the one person I’d avoided contacting until this moment.

"Are you sure? If you go through with this, Elyse Garza will disappear—completely. No one you know will ever track you down."

"Yeah, that’s exactly what I want." A bitter laugh slipped out, my voice steady despite the storm ripping through me.

"Got it, Ms. Garza. We’ll have it all sorted in two weeks and set you up with a new identity. Here’s to a clean slate."

A clean slate?

Sure. I’d settle for that—if I could just outrun the wreckage.

....

I cut the mind link, my legs stiff from crouching, and made my way to the street to hail a cab. Back to the pack house, I showered and was about to climb into bed when the door burst open. Alpha Max, my mate, stumbled in, the scent of alcohol heavy around him.

He found me immediately, wrapping his arms around me and whining playfully, "Honey, why didn’t you come to pick me up? I’ve been waiting for you... You smell so nice..." He buried his face in my neck, his hands starting to wander.

My mind drifted back to the three years he had spent pursuing me, proving his love. When Juliana, his mother and the former Luna of the Harrison Pack, had opposed our relationship, he’d clung to me, saying, "It doesn’t matter if my mother doesn’t approve of us. I’ll never take another mate. We can be together forever. Trust me, I’ll never mark anyone but you."

Later, when Luna Juliana couldn’t shake me, she had Max dragged back to the pack house, forcing him into an arranged mating with the daughter of the Phillips Pack’s Alpha. When he escaped back to me, pale and exhausted, I learned he’d been on a hunger strike, refusing to be manipulated by his mother. From then on, no matter how much Luna Juliana threatened me, I never backed down. I had someone fighting alongside me.

But now, I was grateful I’d overheard the conversation earlier. Otherwise, how long would he have kept deceiving me? Until the mating ceremony? Or when I was publicly shamed as his mistress?

Swallowing my bitterness, I gently disentangled myself from him and murmured, "I’m a bit tired today."

Alpha Max didn’t push me, tenderly helping me onto the bed and holding me from behind. "You should get some rest. I feel like you’ve gotten thinner lately."

I feigned sleep, refusing to respond.

---

The next morning, I woke to find Max at the wardrobe, changing into his tailored suit. Hearing me stir, he turned and pressed a kiss to my forehead. "Good morning, love."

"It’s Packgathering Eve today. Let’s go out and have some fun. Get dressed."

Before I could decline, he was already heading downstairs.

Once dressed, I joined him in the kitchen. Jazmin James, the Beta housekeeper, greeted me warmly. "Good morning, Luna. I’ve got some coffee and spiced honey cake ready for you."

The title stung. We weren’t officially mated, but Max had insisted the household staff call me Luna, claiming I would be his only mate. Yet, in two weeks, he would have a legitimate Luna, and my unofficial title was nearing its end.

I lowered my head with a self-deprecating smile and joined breakfast.

Afterward, Alpha Max dismissed the driver, claiming we needed some alone time, and drove me himself. We strolled through the pack, visiting a garden restaurant and an aquarium. He was incredibly attentive, stopping to rest whenever I seemed even slightly tired.

---

That evening, just when I thought we were heading home, Max drove up a hill. Seeing my confusion, he explained, "You once mentioned that watching fireworks from the hilltop would be beautiful. I thought we could experience it tonight, see if it truly is."

It was something I had casually mentioned while watching a video, a passing comment I’d almost forgotten. Yet, here he was, remembering it.

I didn’t respond, and he didn’t mind. Noticing my low spirits, he chatted incessantly, trying to cheer me up. Though Alpha Max was generally a man of few words, he seemed never to run out of things to say when he was with me.

Half an hour later, we reached the summit. The night view was mesmerizing.

As the final hour of 2024 ticked away, Max’s phone buzzed suddenly. Glancing at the screen, he gave me a wary look. Seeing I was still watching the view below, he relaxed, quickly swiping to reply.

With a slight turn of my head, I glimpsed the message contents.

"Alpha, spending pack gathering alone is so lonely. Can you come over? [wink]"

I saw him reply with a dismissive "Don’t be silly."

"But I’m scared of the dark, dear Alpha. I need you."

After two seconds of hesitation, Max sent back a "Wait for me."

Before he could see my reaction, I turned back to the view.

Max’s voice reached my ears, "Elyse, there’s an urgent issue at the pack house. I’m sorry, but I have to go."

I replied with a calm "Okay," maintaining a façade of indifference, though my fists clenched tightly, betraying my true emotions.

Max was gone in under a minute from the moment he spoke. He was so eager to leave, he forgot he’d taken the only car, leaving me stranded with no way down. Ridesharing services didn’t reach up here.

With a pang of sadness, my heart felt as if gripped by a massive hand.

The second hand moved into place, and fireworks exploded in the valley below, magnificent and dazzling, breathtakingly beautiful.

I knew the display was for me, but the one who had orchestrated it all was now at another woman’s side.

Almost as if to confirm this thought, my phone buzzed in my hand.

As I glanced at my phone, a message from an unfamiliar number appeared. Seeing the contents, I immediately guessed it was from Rebecca, my mate's mistress. Or I should say, his true mate.

Rebecca had sent a photo of herself comfortably perched on Alpha Max’s lap. In the picture, he looked down at her with a soft smile, and it was clear from the background that they were at the pack house.

"We’re getting mated soon. Alpha Max feels it’s pointless with you. It’s time to read the signs and move on."

My grip tightened around my phone. Those words cut into me deeply, as if each letter was painfully etched into my heart, making it hard to breathe.

Below the mountain, the fireworks display had ended, leaving the summit in silence and darkness. My phone had shut off from the cold, leaving me in the faint glow of moonlight on the mountain path.

Snowflakes began to fall gently, and I realized that if I stayed here, they’d find my body by morning. I had no choice but to start descending. As I stepped into the darkness, a chill ran down my spine.

Though I dreaded the darkness and whatever might be lurking in it, it seemed Alpha Max had forgotten about my fears. I spent the entire descent through the mountain path enveloped in terror and freezing temperatures. I trudged on for four hours before reaching a place where I could catch a cab.

When I finally arrived home, my face was pale, and my lips were nearly blue from the cold. The house was in complete darkness. Jazmin, the Beta housekeeper, had left, and Alpha Max was with his fiancée.

I forced a strained smile onto my numb lips; wasn’t this how it was supposed to be? I was nothing—an Omega—and he, the Alpha of the Harrison Pack, rightfully should be with his fiancée and mate, his future Luna.

---

The next morning, I was woken by a gentle shaking. Groggy, I opened my eyes to see Alpha Max’s worried face.

"Elyse, you have a fever. I need to take you to the hospital."

Too out of it to resist, I let him carry me to the car. All I could think was: Why was he back? Wasn’t he with his fiancée?

It wasn’t until my head cleared a little, seeing the bright daylight through the car window, that I realized it was already noon.

In the car, Alpha Max held me tightly, and as soon as we reached the hospital, he carried me into the emergency room.

In the examination room, I could barely sit up, so he stood by me, holding me in a rather awkward embrace to keep me steady. Throughout the process, he seemed very anxious, repeatedly asking the doctor about what needed to be done.

As I was about to receive an IV, the doctor remarked, "You’re lucky to have Alpha, such a caring mate."

The scent of his closeness clung to him, filling my nose. I chuckled softly, with a hint of bitterness.

A caring mate? Fresh from his fiancée’s side, and this counts? Throughout my hospital stay, Alpha Max didn’t let me walk on my own, carrying me here and there.

When the nurse came to insert the needle, he cradled my head in his arms, continually reassuring me, "It’s okay, don’t be scared. It’ll just hurt for a moment."

He treated me as if I were a child, yet everything I was going through was because of him. I wanted to tell him I wasn’t afraid, that this pain was nothing compared to the terror of the previous night.

But I said nothing. Saying it out loud would only give him an excuse to put on an act. In those moments, he seemed like the perfect mate, and no one would know he had a future Luna which is not me. Even I almost fell for it.

---

Lying on the hospital bed, he tucked me in and asked if I was feeling any better. I shook my head slightly and closed my eyes, refusing to engage.

Eventually, I dozed off. When I awoke, he was no longer by my side. I removed the nearly empty IV and got out of bed to go to the restroom.

Coming out of the bathroom, I saw Alpha Max with his arm around Rebecca’s waist, emerging from an obstetrician’s office.

Although I hid in the restroom, I could still hear their conversation.

"The pup is two months along now. You’re going to be a mother, so no more acting reckless," his gentle voice sounded.

Rebecca, in a playful tone, clung to his arm, "Then my Alpha, you have to keep an eye on me, and the pup needs their father around, okay?"

He indulged her, saying, "Alright, with the mating ceremony less than two weeks away, you don’t have to worry about anything. Just focus on taking care of yourself and the pup..."

As their voices faded, I stood frozen, unable to move. When I finally snapped back to reality, my heart felt like it had been shattered with knives. I clutched my chest, bending over with heavy breaths, as tears streamed down my face.

They already had a pup. Two months along.

So they had been together for two months while I remained clueless. If I hadn’t overheard, how much longer would I have been kept in the dark?

I let out a bitter laugh, wiping my face to find it was cooled by a tear slipping over the ring on my finger.

The ring was a gift from Alpha Max, given on a day when he had knelt on one knee, looking up at me with a nervous intensity. His dark eyes held nothing but me, and his voice trembled, "Elyse, would you spend the rest of our lives together? I, Max Harrison, Alpha of the Harrison Pack, accept you, Elyse Garza, as my mate. I love you so much; I can't imagine mating with anyone else."

Those words had felt like a dream, and anyone thinking rationally might have doubted them. Yet, I chose to believe.

The excitement I once felt was now met with heartbreak. I regained my composure and left the room. My finger was bare, marked only by a faint band where the ring had been, while the exquisite ring sat untouched on the bathroom sink.

It wasn't until ten that night that Alpha Max hurriedly opened the door. As soon as he entered, he knelt before me, who was seated on the couch. Before I could react, he slid the ring I had left behind back onto my finger. He held my hand and looked up at me tenderly.

"Sweetheart, did you lose the ring and not even realize it? You really should be more careful. This is our mating symbol."

The affection in his eyes was unchanged, but for me, the feelings from those days were now irrevocably tainted.

Instead of answering his question, I asked, "Where were you today?"

I fixed my eyes on his, catching a fleeting hint of guilt. It disappeared almost instantly as he replied, "I had some pack matters to take care of. By the time I got back to the office, you were already gone."

Hearing this, I felt a deep fatigue and turned my attention to the television without a word.

Alpha Max assumed my silence was due to annoyance at being left uninformed and coaxed me gently, "Darling, how about we go to the countryside tomorrow for some fresh air? You've always wanted to, and the healer did say you should get more sunlight."

I remained noncommittal to his offer, too weary of his deceit. I just wanted to wait for the right moment to leave.

The next day, Alpha Max took me to a horse stable in the countryside. Upon arrival, I discovered Rebecca Phillips was there. It was my first time meeting Rebecca, whom I had only heard about from others. Rebecca's elegance suggested she was from a powerful Alpha family, and standing next to Alpha Max, they made quite the pair.

Bitterness surged within me. I thought that with Rebecca present, Alpha Max would ignore me, but to my surprise, he kept me close. "Elyse, come, I'll teach you how to ride a horse," he said, acting as if Rebecca was invisible.

He helped me choose a gentle horse and guided me closely. My interest in riding soon dispelled my earlier feelings. After about half an hour, I said I was tired, and Alpha Max immediately stopped to take me back to rest. We had barely sat down when I saw Rebecca leaving. A few minutes later, Alpha Max said, "Elyse, wait here a moment; I'll get you some coffee."

The care with which Alpha Max attended to me stirred my heart momentarily, but it swiftly calmed when he walked a few meters away. Quietly, I stood and followed him.

I discreetly trailed him to a quiet spot where Rebecca was already waiting. As soon as she saw Alpha Max, Rebecca rushed to him. Alpha Max caught her and frowned, "Didn't I say we should pretend not to know each other until after the mating ceremony? If Elyse makes a scene, it won't be good for either of our packs."

He had indeed mentioned this before. Rebecca, however, pouted, "I just wanted to see you. Besides, she hasn't noticed, has she?"

'She' obviously referred to me. As soon as Rebecca finished speaking, I watched Alpha Max's frown soften, and he appeared resigned before they kissed, completely oblivious to their surroundings.

Witnessing this, I felt as if my heart was being torn apart. My hands clenched into fists, nails digging into my palms without my realizing. The sound of their kiss echoed in my ears, but I refused to continue torturing myself by listening further. My steps were unsteady as I headed back to the rest area.

Half an hour later, Alpha Max returned with coffee, placing it before me with an apologetic tone, "Darling, I had to take a call, so it took a while. You weren't waiting too long, were you?"

Hearing him call me 'darling' brought back the image of their recent kiss, and I felt a wave of nausea. I sipped the coffee to quell my disgust.

Alpha Max noticed the bruising on my palm immediately, taking my hand in concern, "What happened here?"

Only then did I realize my palm was bruised from my own grip. Surprised, I subtly withdrew my hand and casually deflected, "Must have been from holding the reins too tightly."

Alpha Max insisted on treating my hand, but I didn't want him to touch me anymore and pulled away again, saying, "No need. I'll go ride."

Seeing Alpha Max's intention to follow, I quickly added, "I want to ride alone."

He didn't press further.