I had been mated to my calm and dependable Alpha Darion Silverclaw for three years,yet during all that time,he never learned how to show affection.He never even gave me gifts during Moon Festivals or winter celebrations.

Everyone around me always said the same thing.

"Alpha Darion is a gifted scholar of moon magic,holds a high rank in the Silverclaw Pack,and he is loyal.He would never betray his mate.Isn't that enough?"

I kept repeating those words to myself too.But the very next day,while passing one of the grand restaurants inside the Crestfield Territory,I saw him there,hosting a welcome feast for his first love who had just returned from a distant kingdom across the sea.

Rare moon lilies and carefully wrapped spirit stones filled the table.Darion's face,usually cold and distant,carried a warmth I had never once received from him.

That night,I searched through every crystal file inside his study and found a hidden moon journal linked to his wolf magic.

The last entry was written on the day Briona Wintermoon left the northern territories.Thousands of entries filled the pages,soft words and enchanted photographs recording every memory of their time together.

So Alpha Darion Silverclaw was never truly cold after all.When it came to the woman he truly loved,his heart burned fiercely.

I finally accepted the truth that he had never loved me.I picked up my communication crystal and contacted my business partner.

"I'll do it.I'll help open the overseas trade route.I'm leaving the pack lands with you."

***

Darion,who always returned to the pack house on time,did not come home until nearly midnight that night.

The moment he saw me,surprise flashed across his face before quickly disappearing.

"You're still awake,Isara?"

I stayed silent.He sighed softly and walked over to wrap an arm around me.

"Isara,there was an error during the moonstone experiment today.I truly couldn't leave."

"I'll return early tomorrow and cook for you myself.We'll celebrate your birthday then and make up for today.Alright?"

The arm around my waist felt stiff.A faint trace of another woman's scent still clung to him.Even his wolf carried it clearly.

"Oh,so you still remember my birthday?"

A bitter smile touched my lips as I stepped away from his embrace.

Last year during my birthday,I had told him beforehand that I reserved a table at a restaurant inside the central pack city,yet he never came.

I waited there alone for three hours before he finally answered my call.

"Why are you waiting for me?Was today important?"

The impatience in his voice was obvious.He had completely forgotten,yet somehow,I became the unreasonable one for disturbing him.

He had always remembered.The only reason he offered to make it up to me tonight was because he felt guilty.

And even that guilty apology could never compare to everything he prepared for Briona.

Something twisted painfully inside my chest,so sharp it almost stole my breath away.

"Isara,what is your problem?I already said I'll make it up to you.What else do you want?"

Darion frowned deeply as if I were the difficult mate who refused to understand him.

Throughout all these years,I had rarely disturbed him or interfered with his duties as an Alpha.

I was about to speak when his communication crystal suddenly lit up.

He glanced at the name,and all the coldness on his face disappeared instantly.He answered without hesitation.

"Darion,I think I caught frost fever.I feel so weak..."

The soft and helpless voice echoed clearly through the silent room.

I watched his eyes tighten.He immediately grabbed his coat and headed toward the door as though he had forgotten his own mate was standing there.

"Briona,I'm taking you to the healer hall.Put on something warm and wait for me.I'll arrive soon."

After ending the call,he pulled a gold bank token from the cabinet near the entrance and rushed outside.

"Darion,"I called his name.

He paused for only a second before answering,"Isara,Briona just returned to the Cresfield Territory.I'm the only friend she has here."

"Don't make trouble out of this.You're just overthinking."

Then he left without looking back.The sound of the door locking echoed through the empty house,and my mind turned blank.

Three moons ago,I suffered a sudden burst of pain from acute stomach sickness.The pain woke me before dawn,so unbearable that I could not even sit upright.

I grabbed Darion's hand and begged him to take me to the healer hall,but he pulled away from me.

"Isara,I need to travel with my elder today.This moon research is important."

"I'll call your mother to come over.Just stay in bed and wait."

I did not know when I lost consciousness.When I finally woke up,I was already inside the healer hall.

My mother kept complaining beside me.

"You just went through surgery,and he still left for pack duties?Darion is truly unbelievable!"

"Mom,stop worrying.I'm alright now,aren't I?"

"Darion has always been like this.His entire heart belongs to moon research and ancient wolf magic.So serious and devoted.That was what made you fall for him in the first place."

Back then,I was still making excuses for him,forgetting that I was the one lying sick in bed,the one being ignored and abandoned.

Pain tightened around my heart like claws crushing everything inside my chest.

I slowly walked toward the ice chest and took out the mooncake I had bought for myself.

I blew out the candles alone.The sweetness of the cake mixed with the bitterness of my tears as I swallowed both together.

From this day onward,I would place my own feelings first.Always.

A birthday.

And a completely new beginning.

The next morning,I woke up and discovered Darion's hidden moon journal had been updated during the late hours of the night for the first time in four years.

“After all this time,you are still the only one who can stir my wolf's heart.”

The picture beneath the words showed Briona asleep peacefully with her eyes closed.

She was wrapped in the fur blanket I had left inside Darion's carriage.The healing crystal connected to her arm rested carefully in his hand while he used his warmth to keep it from turning cold.

The woman looked peaceful while the man beside her looked gentle and attentive.They truly looked perfect together.

If only that man had not been my mate…

I swallowed the pain rising inside my chest and took a carriage toward the kingdom office to apply for my travel permit and overseas residency seal.

This assignment beyond the sea would keep me away from the werewolf kingdoms for a very long time.I likely would not return anytime soon.

Before leaving these lands,I planned to settle every remaining matter completely,including ending my mate bond with Darion.

Inside the carriage,a message crystal suddenly lit up.

I'll be traveling overseas for a week soon.There will be an exchange meeting with another moon research tower.

I glanced at the message before putting the crystal away without replying.

When I arrived at the permit hall,I saw them through the glass doors.

Darion and Briona.

They kept a careful distance between them,never touching each other openly.Yet their eyes continued searching for one another,and every glance carried emotions too deep to hide.

My fists tightened as I forced myself to stay calm,but something bitter and burning spread through my chest.Before I realized it,my feet had already moved closer.

"Darion,your research tower is already busy enough.You truly don't need to accompany me to Whisperpine Territory."

My breathing stopped for a moment before I heard Darion answer softly.

"Watching the Aurora Moonlights together was a promise I made to you long ago.Back then,I lacked the power and status to fulfill it.Now I finally can.Why would I not keep that promise?"

"Briona,once this journey ends,I will return to being a proper mate and Alpha.Don’t worry."

A sharp pain pierced through my chest instantly.Every word cut into me again and again like silver blades.

When we first completed our mating ceremony,I had once made the same request.

"Darion,look at these pictures.The Aurora Moonlights in Whisperpine are so beautiful.Let's go there for our bonding journey."

He had gone still for a second before rejecting me immediately.

"No.Whisperpine is too far from the pack territories.I cannot leave my duties for that long."

I had pulled on his sleeve while trying to persuade him playfully,but all I received was his sudden anger.

"I already said no,Isara!Choose another place,or we cancel the bonding journey completely."

So it was never because Whisperpine was too far away.It was never because he could not leave work behind.

The truth was simple.

The person Darion wanted to watch the Aurora Moonlights with had always been someone else.

A silent laugh escaped me as I wiped away the cold tears on my cheeks.

Good.

One week was more than enough time for me to finish everything.

By the time I walked out with my travel permit and residency seal,the sky above the territory had already turned dark.

I returned home by carriage and saw Darion and Briona standing downstairs.

Briona seemed ready to leave,yet Darion still held onto her arm while the two stood close together beneath the moonlight.

I stood there quietly for a moment,watching them.Briona was the first to notice me.

"Isara..."

She looked startled like a frightened rabbit and immediately tried harder to free herself from Darion's grip.

"Darion,let go of me.Isara’s here..."

But Darion did not react at all.Even with me standing right there,there was not the slightest guilt on his face.

"What are you nervous about?"

He continued holding her arm firmly before turning toward me and speaking calmly.

"Briona's apartment inside the western district had a water pipe burst from unstable moon frost magic.I told her she can stay here for a few days."

I looked at how natural and comfortable Darion appeared and suddenly laughed softly.

"Why not arrange a room for her at one of the grand inns in the central territory?It would be much more comfortable there than staying here."

His brows furrowed immediately.

"I'm not asking for your approval.I'm only informing you.Isara,don't start causing trouble..."

"I don't mind."

I interrupted him before he could continue lecturing me.

"But I've been busy lately,so you'll have to take care of your guest personally."

"Alright,I'm going upstairs.You two continue."

I turned and walked into the pack house,pretending not to notice the confusion flashing briefly across Darion's face.

Once,during a gathering with his pack brothers,one of them became drunk on spirit wine and suddenly asked him:

"Darion,have you truly forgotten Briona?"

That night,we argued terribly after returning home.I kept questioning him about his past with Briona,and all I received in return was three full days of silence.

After that,every matter related to Briona became a thorn in my heart.Even the smallest thing could make me lose control and cling to Darion for answers for hours.

He probably could not understand why I was not creating a scene this time,or why my reaction had changed so completely.

But I understood very clearly.

Arguing and competing for his heart had always been meaningless.Every time I became jealous,Darion only remembered Briona's gentleness even more,and our relationship grew colder afterward.

Besides,I no longer wanted to care anymore.

That night,I felt the bed sink slightly behind me.Darion wrapped his arms around me from behind.

He sighed softly while rubbing circles against my hand with his thumb.

"Isara,I know I've neglected you recently,and I know you've suffered because of it.But you must trust me.There is nothing between Briona and me anymore.We are only old friends now."

I laughed bitterly inside my heart.

How could he speak those words so calmly without feeling ashamed?

If I had not witnessed everything he did for Briona with my own eyes,perhaps I truly would have been foolish enough to believe him.

"Isara,once I return from this journey,we'll live properly together again.No one will stand between us."

Darion whispered softly against my hair.I could not tell whether he was comforting me or trying to convince himself.

I closed my eyes and forced all the painful emotions back down into silence.

The next morning,I was awakened by a call crystal from Keegan Ravenhurst.

The place beside me on the bed was already empty,so I accepted the call.

"Have you finished all the travel paperwork?Should I reserve a sky journey for five days later?"

I silently counted the days in my mind.

"Yes.That timing is fine."

"Have you spoken to Darion about ending the mate bond yet?"

"Not yet.Can you help me contact a lawyer from the Moon Council to prepare the separation agreement?"

He agreed quickly before the call ended.

I pushed open the bedroom door.

Darion,wearing a kitchen apron for the first time in a very long while,was pouring fresh milk into a cup for Briona.The dining table was filled with a rich breakfast feast.

The moment Briona noticed me,she smiled and waved naturally as though she belonged there.

"Isara,come eat.Darion prepared so much food.I've stayed overseas for years.His cooking is what I missed the most."

Then she smiled brightly again.

"Honestly,Isara,I envy you so much.You get to eat meals like this every single day.Darion must prepare all kinds of breakfasts and dinners for you,right?"

The moment those words fell,Darion suddenly stiffened.

Meanwhile,I only smiled quietly and shook my head.