He had once sworn I was his fated Luna, the Omega he cherished above all.

However, just a month shy of our bonding, he decided to repay a life-saving grace by fathering a child with his old flame. To add insult to injury, he swiped the herbal research I was on the cusp of unveiling.

He claimed he was trapped, obligated to both sides.

I, however, was done with him. I cut ties, called off our Bonding Ceremony, and set off for the Northwood tundra to lose myself in my research.

Two years on, he pleaded for my return, professing I was his one true love.

However, by then, I was renowned far and wide, and he was nothing to me.

"Nancy's got Argentosis, with just a year to live. She got sick saving my life, and I can't let her die holding onto regrets. She just wants to leave behind a pup—her own child—her final wish."

Zack Carter had said those lines more times than I could count.

I am Maggie Blake, his supposed Luna. Every time, he acted like it was his righteous duty, as if my refusal made me heartless. Still, could having a child really settle a debt?

I said no, yet he would not drop the matter. He would hound me day in and day out.

What started as sweet-talking had turned into full-blown fights.

Our love was hanging by a thread.

"We're supposed to bond next month, and you want to have a kid with someone else? What am I supposed to be?"

The fights were draining me.

I looked at the Alpha I had loved for five years with nothing but disappointment in my eyes.

Zack was the hotshot Alpha pharmacist at Central City Medical College, the youngest they had ever seen. We had pored over hundreds of herbs together, and he had even promised to bond with me under the watchful eye of the Moon Goddess.

Here he was, backing out and granting another Omega's plea right before our Bonding Ceremony. I could not hide the hurt. Tears streamed down my face, and the wolf within me wailed with grief.

The agony was intense, a bitter gift from the man I loved.

Zack fell silent, his stern features slowly softening. In a hushed tone, he said, "It's just this once. You're still the one I love the most, the only one meant to be my Luna.

"Maggie, I can't turn down her final request.

"You love me, so you'll bend, won't you?"

Despair washed over me like briny waves, overwhelming and suffocating.

Did Zack really think my love meant I had to accept his betrayal?

I fought to steady my shaking frame, but it was no use.

That was when it hit me. Zack had made up his mind to have a child with Nancy, and my feelings did not count for much.

My anguish threw Zack off balance, and he wrapped his arms around me, concern etched on his face.

He was about to say more when a shrill ring cut him off.

Nancy's call. He shot me a hesitant look, then brushed a quick kiss on my cheek. "Sweetheart, I need to grab this call. Nancy's condition..." He did not finish, rushing off to the balcony. I stared after him, a bitter laugh escaping me.

10 years since college, and that was where we ended up.

For a decade, I have been his shadow, loving him from a distance without ever stepping over the line.

I believed he would trust me.

Alas, Zack's phone was a no-go zone for me.

There was a time when Zack was doubled over in bed with a stomach ache, not sleeping off the pain until late into the night.

I tried to mute his constantly buzzing phone to keep the noise from waking him, but I ended up getting a harsh kick from a groggy Zack.

He glared at me, annoyance written all over his face.

"Maggie, dear, who gave you the right to touch my phone?"

His voice had never been so sharp with me in all our five years.

I spent that night curled up on the hard, cold floor, nursing my hurt.

After that, I swore off ever touching his phone again.

However, today, I felt compelled to break that rule.

I got up, aiming for the balcony, but collided with Zack on his way out.

"What are you up to?" Zack's wary look sent a chill down my spine.

Luckily, he let it slide and said with a grin.

"I'll be out to sort out some details for the Bonding Ceremony. Just hang tight at home."

I watched him leave, a knot of anxiety tightening in my chest.

It did not take long to figure out why I was so uneasy.

Nancy had sent me a text.

At first glance, my heart sank, and a wave of pain washed over me.

Nancy was pregnant, no doubt about it.

The pregnancy report she sent showed she was eight weeks along.

That meant Zack had been with Nancy two months ago, for their so-called Breeding Ceremony.

Zack's recent behavior? Probably just guilt eating at him.

That explained his earlier excitement.

His beloved childhood Omega had finally done it—she had gotten pregnant.

I bet he was at the hospital, by her side, toasting to their future.

I stood frozen, feeling like my heart had been ripped out.

My breath caught, and I nearly blacked out.

All the love we shared over the years—gone in an instant.

We had just picked our bonding date in front of the elders, and we were supposed to be crowned Alpha and Luna next month.

I had dreamed of that day, walking hand in hand with him to the altar.

At this point, though, it was all a cruel joke. The Alpha I have loved for so long was then father to another Omega's child.

The buzz of my phone snapped me back to the present.

I answered the call. It was my senior, Carol.

"Maggie, won't you reconsider coming to the Northwood research station? You're the professor's star pupil.

"He said he'll give you a half-month off to reunite with your Alpha after two months of experiments."

Her words felt distant.

I knew about the professor's medicinal plant institute in Northwood ages ago. He had invited me once.

However, Northwood was a world away, cut off from contact once I was in the lab, sometimes for months or years.

During research, outside communication would often be banned.

Back then, I could not stand being away from Zack, not even for 15 minutes. That was why I turned down the offer and chose to work in Zack's lab instead.

In the end, Zack claimed all my research as his own.

"What's mine is yours. How is that stealing?" he had said.

Remembering his smug look still made me curse.

However, I was too in love, too blind to see he was using me. I let him take everything I worked for.

He rose to stardom on the back of the herbal remedy research that should have had my name on it, becoming an overnight sensation as a pharmaceutical prodigy.

He was the Alpha everyone talked about in our pack, not just because of his impressive talents and noble bloodline, but also for his groundbreaking work on werewolves' resistance to the lethal effects of Argentosis.

Ever since, he's solidified his spot at the heart of the pack and even got himself on the Central Elder Council's list of top-tier Alphas.

Me? I was just the footnote, the name that got brushed aside in the wake of his triumph.

I stared at the text on my phone.

Zack had become a father to some other Omega's kid. He never gave a thought to our future, never cared to hold onto what we had.

Well, if that was how it was, there was no point in forming a bond.

I murmured, "Carol, I'm heading out. Business as usual, no time off."

She was taken aback at first, but her surprise turned to delight. "Amazing! The professor will be over the moon!

"When are you thinking of coming over? A week after the Bonding Ceremony?"

I shut my eyes, having decided already. "No, I'm leaving the day we make the bond."

15 days until the ceremony. 15 days to let go of all my hang-ups.

'In fifteen days, Zack, you and I will part ways for good,' I promised myself.

That night, Zack did not come home. I, on the other hand, did not bother asking where he had been.

Asking was pointless anyway.

Nancy had already flaunted the pictures all over social media.

Zack had gone back with Nancy to her pack. Her grandmother was grinning as she held Zack's hand.

His other hand rested on Nancy's belly, his eyes brimming with deep affection.

I could barely look at the photo.

For five years, Zack had given me that same loving gaze time and again.

I had reveled in every moment.

It was only at this moment that I came to understand the love I thought was mine could just as easily belong to someone else.

"Zack, do you ever feel guilty?"

My tears blurred the image of Zack's smiling face on my phone screen, and the words just spilled out of me.

In all our five years together, Zack had met my family just once. He had claimed he was not comfortable around older folks, that it made him feel stiff.

However, he did not smile, not even once, during that visit.

I inhaled sharply, frustration boiling over, and chucked my phone onto the bed.

The truth hit me hard: It was not about his discomfort with elders at all. He simply did not want anything to do with my family.

The following day, I met up with my friends to break the news about the Bonding Ceremony being called off.

All the while, the wolf inside me was pacing and growling with restless anxiety.

I clutched at my chest, feeling sick, my face ghostly pale.

The truth was, Zack had never wanted the Bonding Ceremony. I had to beg him to even consider it.

My friends were in shock when I told them.

"After all the trouble to get Zack on board with the Bonding Ceremony, why cancel it now?"

"You're so in love with him. How can you stand to leave?"

I could only offer a wry smile in response.

Let him go? Impossible.

'Years of love aren't easily cast aside,' I thought bitterly.

However, that relationship... it was never mine to demand.

I had tried so hard to be close to him, to be his one and only. Then Nancy came along, and everything shifted.

He gave her all the patience and smiles that used to be mine while he grew distant toward me by the day.

I lied to myself, saying she was his lifesaver, that he was just repaying a debt.

However, when she mentioned wanting a child to remember him by, he did not hesitate.

He had always said he would consider my feelings, but behind my back, he had gone ahead with the Breeding Ceremony.

In that moment, it was crystal clear: Zack and I were over.

Sometimes, the hardest thing was walking away, even when it tore me apart. Still, I had to do it.

I kept my reasons to myself.

All I told anyone was that I was heading to Northwood to dive into herbal research, and I would not be easy to reach for a few years.

After a night out with friends that stretched into the wee hours, I stumbled home to find Zack, fresh from his own late return.

He caught a whiff of my night out, his expression darkening as he recoiled.

However, then, as if a thought struck him, he composed himself and pulled me into a hug. "My dearest Maggie, hitting the bottle."

His eyes shone with affection as he grinned and caressed my forehead.

"Not exactly the behavior of a good Omega, leaving your Alpha to drink the night away."

Zack's attempt at humor fell flat, and I just stood there, mute.

Once, that look in his eyes would have had me spellbound. Now, it just made my stomach turn.

"Maggie, make me a promise, will you? Once we're bonded, no more booze." Zack laid it on thick, playing the part of the concerned fiance.

"Omegas are delicate, you know? Too much drink is rough on your inner wolf."

He deserved an Oscar for that act. If I had not known better, I might have fallen for it.

I let out an icy laugh and shoved him away. "Why don't you hit the showers? You reek of some other Omega."