"I knew you couldn't resist coming, but today is an important occasion for the pup. Don't—"
I didn't give him the chance to finish. I lunged toward Lyra Ashvale and struck her hard across the face.
"Remember your place as a hidden consort. Don't be like your mother, that old homewrecker, always coveting what belongs to others."
As I spoke, I pulled out the ceremonial shears and slashed through the traditional gown she wore.
The fabric tore with a satisfying rip, accompanied by her shrill scream as I ripped the garment apart.
"If you have nothing to wear, then stand bare. This was a gown my mother made for me. You're nothing but a secret Omega mistress—I'd rather destroy it than let you wear it!"
The gathering descended into chaos, yet the Matriarch Regent, who always valued the pack's reputation above all else, remained standing in place without intervening.
Fenris Hawthorne draped his coat over Lyra's shoulders and glared at me with fury burning in his golden eyes.
"How can you be so vicious? With so many pack members watching, where do you expect her to put her dignity? She only borrowed it for a moment. Do you really need to make such a scene over something so trivial?"
Watching him twist right and wrong so shamelessly, I let out a cold laugh. My hand moved swiftly, cutting off every button from the matching ceremonial shirt my mother had sewn for him with her own hands.
"You've forgotten the oath you swore to my mother—that you would treat me well for the rest of your life. It doesn't matter. I won't forget. What was between us is like this shirt now—our bond is severed, our ties cut completely!"
"May your little family enjoy a hundred years of happiness together."
With those words, I walked out amid the stunned silence of everyone present.
The full moon celebration didn't end well. Lyra fainted from emotional distress, and Fenris rushed her to the Healer's Ward.
The Matriarch Regent was left alone to host the remainder of the ceremony with the pup.
The next morning, I successfully obtained the Bond Rejection decree.
My communication device still showed messages from Fenris demanding I apologize.
I blocked and deleted him, then took the decree and went to the memorial grounds to visit my Rowan.
Half a moon cycle earlier, I had already asked the cairn keepers to erect his name-stone.
Looking at the carved words—Beloved Pup, Rowan Ashvale—endless grief flooded my heart.
I opened my mouth, about to say something.
From behind me came Fenris's voice.
"I knew you'd come here. Whenever you felt wronged before, you always came to see the pup. But yesterday you went too far. In front of everyone—"
Before he could finish, Lyra let out a dramatic gasp.
"Alpha, she actually gave that pup the same name as our pup!"
"Sister, even if you don't like that pup, you'll be his mother from now on. Why would you use the same name to curse him to an early death?"
Fenris frowned and stepped closer to read the carved name—Rowan Ashvale.
His gaze dropped lower, and he saw that only one name was listed as the one who raised the cairn: Mother—Selene Ashvale. His name was nowhere to be found.
The fact that the pup bore his mother's bloodline name instead of the Hawthorne line stirred a strange unease within him.
But that unease quickly dissolved in the sound of Lyra's weeping.
He fixed me with a furious stare.
"The pup's death is a wound in my heart too. But why did you act on your own? Are you trying to curse your own nephew to death?"
"I haven't even confronted you about humiliating Lyra in front of the entire pack yesterday. Do you think that because I love you, I'll tolerate anything from you?"
"I'm giving you ten minutes. Have the cairn keepers destroy this stone immediately. Once I've chosen a proper name, I'll have a new one erected!"
I looked coldly at this man who had once wept inconsolably after our son's death.
"And if I refuse?"
He froze, staring at me in disbelief.
After a long moment, deep disappointment filled his amber eyes.
He raised his hand, and three pack guards emerged from the carriage.
"Selene Ashvale, he was my pup. But Lyra's pup is also my pup. If you insist on doing this, then I'll have no choice but to dig up his cairn!"
"I'm sure his spirit would understand that I'm doing this to protect his younger brother. He wouldn't blame me."
Even though I already knew the ugliness of his true nature, hearing that he would desecrate my child's cairn for the sake of his mistress—all over a name—sent a sharp ache through my chest.
I watched his expression, so confident he had already won. He was certain I would yield to protect my son's resting place.
I smiled faintly.
Calmly, I reached into my cloak and pulled out the bond rejection decree, tossing it at his feet.
"I'm afraid, Alpha Heir, you no longer have any authority over what I name my child."
"Because as of one hour ago, we are no longer mates."
