Returning to my former pack for Duke Robinson’s birthday gathering, the air was thick with anticipation and the sharp scent of pack hierarchy. Jonas McDonald, Alpha of the rival Redmoon Pack, stepped forward, his towering frame and commanding presence immediately silencing the room. His deep-set eyes, usually so cold and calculating, softened as he shielded me from the wave of drinks being thrust my way. Amid the whispers and teasing of the crowd, he awkwardly pulled out a mate certificate, the parchment thick and ceremonial. With a deep, resonant voice, he dropped to one knee and declared, “Charli, I’m here today to claim you as my mate.”

The room erupted in murmurs, the pack members assuming I would unhesitatingly accept his claim. After all, I had pursued Jonas with fervor and passion for ten years, my devotion to him as clear as the moon in the night sky. But they forgot—or perhaps chose to ignore—how Jonas had once falsely accused me of betraying the pack because of Georgina Hicks, an Omega who had slithered her way into his life. He had even sent a wreath to my grandfather’s birthday celebration, mocking his failure in raising a worthy heir. The stress of that betrayal had caused Grandpa Reid, a respected elder, to suffer a stroke, and I had nearly broken under the weight of the pack’s scorn.

Now, my old packmates, their faces a mix of envy and expectation, were telling me, “Jonas gave up on his ambitions just to help your grandfather. He knelt before the Alpha Council for an entire day to secure the resources for his treatment.”

“He’s been waiting for your return all this time; you’ve been upset for four years, isn’t it time to forgive him?”

“Charli, why don’t you just say yes? The moon is at its peak, and the bond is strongest now.” Veda Long, a pushy yet supportive packmate, recounted Jonas’s deeds on my behalf, her tone light but insistent. I smiled faintly. Living abroad in a foreign pack for four years had cut me off from this world, and it was understandable they didn’t know I had already found my true mate. I sidestepped Veda’s hands gently nudging me forward and calmly stated, “Mate bonds are sacred; they’re not something to be taken lightly.”

The mate certificate slipped from Jonas’s hand and fell open on the ground, the ink gleaming in the moonlight. On it was the date we had first acknowledged our connection, with large, bold letters beneath: “Jonas McDonald and Charli Moreno—bound by the Moon Goddess.”

From the moment I met Jonas, everyone around us knew how deeply I yearned for him. The moment I turned eighteen, I launched a bold pursuit of the Alpha, my wolf urging me forward with a fierce determination. Faced with my straightforward confessions, Jonas would repeatedly flee with flushed ears, his alpha aura flickering with uncertainty. Although he claimed he was focused on leading his pack, his actions spoke of how special I was to him. He remembered I only drank coffee with 30% sugar and knew I disliked garlic-flavored meat. He would brave the rain to pick me up from my patrols, his scent a comforting presence amidst the storm. He would trek through the snow on the longest night of the year to sing me a birthday song outside my den.

Afraid I’d get jealous, he awkwardly declared he wasn’t interested in taking a mate, earning himself three years of teasing from his warriors. My affection for him was well known to everyone, and his special feelings for me were evident. Yet he never directly responded to my confessions. He said I was like the moon—dazzling, and he was afraid he couldn’t offer me a future worthy of my light. Yet he couldn't bear to let me be with another wolf. Through persistence, we finally acknowledged our bond.

It was the same day Jonas gave me his family’s ancestral pendant and the mate certificate. He promised that I would be his one and only for life, bound by the Moon Goddess herself. But that promise didn’t survive the summer solstice. Jonas met Georgina Hicks, an Omega from his pack, during a patrol. Initially, I didn’t pay much attention and even shared my experiences with her. But soon I realized she was learning from me how to pursue an Alpha.

Because of Georgina’s presence, my alone time with Jonas dwindled, and our arguments increased. Jonas stopped buying me coffee and even criticized me for not maintaining my strength as a warrior. On our first anniversary as mates, I planned a surprise, but only received a short message that he was too busy to come. Assuming he was occupied with pack duties, I went to the training grounds, only to discover him teaching Georgina about combat techniques. His hands were wrapped around hers as he guided her movements, and he softly praised her progress. The other warriors teased that they were a match made by the Moon Goddess, and Jonas merely smiled in agreement.

My tears fell as disjointedly as the amateur strikes Georgina attempted. In a moment of impulse, I rushed forward and smashed the training dummy. Georgina shrieked and fled into Jonas’s arms, and he merely looked at me with a furrowed brow. His cold, detached gaze was like a sharp blade, slicing through every shred of my dignity. “Jonas, is this what you’ve been doing—falling for someone else?”

Sheltering Georgina behind him, Jonas replied coldly, “Charli, I don’t want to waste time explaining anything to you. If you’re here to start unfounded accusations of jealousy towards Georgina, then maybe you should leave, so as not to spoil everyone’s mood.”

I bit my lip, shaking with anger. He would never forget our anniversaries, nor would he ever accuse me because of someone else. But now, because of Georgina, everything had changed. I dried my tears and ran out, hearing hurried footsteps behind me. Jonas caught up to me at the edge of the forest, his breathing uneven. “I’m sorry, Charli, I shouldn’t have treated you like that.”

I stood with my back to him, stubbornly refusing to turn around. A soft sigh came from behind me, and he handed me a beautifully wrapped gift. “I might forget other things, but I’ll never forget our anniversary. Georgina’s trials are approaching, so I needed to help her quickly improve. I planned to find you afterward, but you showed up, as impatient as ever.”

I glared at Jonas’s hand angrily. “But you held her hand…”

He laughed softly, pulling out a wet wipe to clean his hands thoroughly. “Is this better? She has no foundation, so I have to use unconventional methods to teach her.”

I grabbed his fingers tightly, just as Georgina ran towards me, looking pale and anxious. “Charli, Jonas is just adding an extra training session because I’m close to my trials, and he didn’t mean to delay our date. I’m sorry for interfering, please don’t give Jonas a hard time.”

Before I could respond, the pack members began gossiping about me, spurred by her words. “She thinks she’s a Luna; it must be exhausting for Jonas to have such a mate.”

“Georgina seems more compatible with him; she’s always considerate of him, unlike this woman who humiliates herself by making a scene here.”

“She must have troubled Georgina a lot; no wonder Georgina’s been feeling down lately.”

Hearing the last comment, Georgina tearfully shook her head. “Charli misunderstood us because we’re close… please don’t blame her…”

Georgina’s words fueled the pack’s gossip, and although I was angry enough to explain, Jonas pulled me away. Once outside, I cried and shook off his hand. “Why didn’t you let me clarify? I never bullied Georgina!”

He patiently wiped my tears over and over. “Georgina’s trials are soon; I don’t want any distractions to affect her performance.”

He didn’t want Georgina’s trials affected, yet he was willing to let me carry the false accusations? I wanted to ask him what he was thinking, but the words died on my tongue. Jonas stayed with me until midnight, seeing us through our first anniversary, but my heart wasn’t in it. He spent most of the time responding to Georgina’s messages, barely speaking to me.

I stayed up all night, unable to fathom how things had gotten so bad between Jonas and me. For half a month, I didn’t see him. The next time I did was through Georgina’s social media. She posted a collage of photos, celebrating her trial success with Jonas sipping from the same cup. Jonas gifted her a training dagger and wore a child-like bracelet Georgina had bought him as they sparred together.

Just as I was about to turn off my phone, Georgina sent me a playful emoji. “Even though I met him later, he’ll still be mine because we’re soulmates.”

Her words were the final straw, confirming the dreadful shift I’d felt for so long. Jonas McDonald was no longer the wolf I once knew.

When I showed Alpha Jonas the chat logs, he wearily rubbed his temples, the weight of his authority pressing down on the room.

"It's just a young Omega messing around, why are you blowing it out of proportion?" he sighed, his deep voice resonating with the alpha tone that made my wolf shrink back.

"You'll understand her better once you know her. She's had a tough life, and since she’s under my protection, I have to guide her well. Charli, please don’t add to my stress, okay?"

"When will you learn to be as mature and sensible as Georgina? It’s really draining for me."

A lump seemed to form in my throat, making it ache, and even breathing became a struggle. My head spun, and I stumbled, feeling a wave of pain. But Alpha Jonas just sighed in frustration, his towering frame casting a shadow over me.

"Charli, pretending to be sick is a trick only pups use."

His phone chimed, and when he opened the voice message, I could hear Georgina’s playful voice. Watching the gentle smile spread across Alpha Jonas’s face, I realized with certainty that the person before me was no longer my mate.

Turning away in silence, I had barely taken a few steps when Alpha Jonas called after me, his voice carrying the commanding alpha tone that made my steps falter.

"Charli, Georgina has only two months of training left. I hope during this time you don’t cause her any trouble for personal reasons."

"You should take a moment to calm down and reflect on your behavior lately."

I nodded quietly, the weight of his words pressing down on me, and walked away quickly, my wolf whimpering in the back of my mind.

For the next two months, as per Alpha Jonas’s request, I kept my distance from Georgina and avoided him as well. To escape the chaos he caused, I focused all my energy on preparing for my Gamma trials. Alpha Jonas and I became like two parallel tracks, drifting further apart with no intersection.

But on the day of Grandpa Reid’s birthday, as I was about to share the good news of passing my Gamma trials, Alpha Jonas suddenly appeared with Georgina.

In front of all the pack members, Alpha Jonas approached Grandpa Reid and me with a serious expression, his alpha aura radiating through the room.

"Grandpa Reid, I have a gift for you, but before that, I need to ask Charli some questions."

"Charli, I always thought you were just being immature, so I overlooked it when you bothered Georgina. But why did you ridicule her mother? Do you realize your words hurt someone?"

I looked at Alpha Jonas in confusion, not understanding what he meant. Before I could question him, Georgina stepped forward, tears streaming down her face.

"My mom was a janitor, yes, but she worked hard to give me a good life. What did she do wrong?"

"I know you’ve been upset with me because of Alpha Jonas, but blame me, not my mom. Why did you make her life difficult? If it weren’t for your scorn and mistreatment, she wouldn’t have lost hope."

"There’s video evidence; you can’t deny it!"

With that, Georgina presented surveillance footage. In the video, I was reading in the library when a cleaning lady approached me and said something. I then poured the water from my cup onto the floor...

The footage continued, showing me and the cleaning lady moving to a blind spot in the surveillance, and finally, me emerging alone from that area.

"My mom had just mopped the floor and asked you to stop making a mess, yet you took her to the blind spot to insult and demean her, demanding she kneel and apologize, and then drove her from the school."

"To protect me from any fallout, she..."

Facing the angry stares of the pack members, I hurriedly tried to explain, my voice trembling under the weight of their judgment.

"She told me the library’s water supply was cut, and the floor was dirty. She’d be fined if it wasn’t cleaned. She asked if I could pour some water out for her. That’s why I did it."

"We went to the blind spot because she needed help moving some things!"

But against that incriminating video, my explanations seemed weak. I watched the footage over and over, suddenly spotting a familiar figure lurking through the gaps in the bookshelves. It was just a side profile, yet unmistakably Alpha Jonas. The bookshelf was near where I sat; he must have overheard the conversation between the cleaning lady and me.

With a trembling hand, I paused the video and looked up at Alpha Jonas with a choked voice.

"You were there. You heard our conversation, didn’t you?"

He furrowed his brow, his alpha aura intensifying, and after a long pause, nodded under the hopeful gaze I gave him.

"I heard it."

The room fell silent, the pack’s judgment hanging heavy in the air, and I felt the cracks in my world begin to spread.