"Beta Austin, I want to break the bond with Alpha Brown and reclaim my pack."
Austin's frown deepened, the weight of old warnings heavy in his expression. He had cautioned me against merging our packs and allowing Brown to become alpha.
"You made a grave mistake, Luna," Austin murmured, his voice thick with regret. "You shouldn't have trusted him or surrendered everything that rightfully belonged to you. Now we're nothing in this pack because of that decision. Alpha Brown will never release you easily."
A month ago, I had suffered severe blood loss from a stomach ulcer. That day, the healer made countless desperate calls to my mate, pleading for a blood transfusion since we shared the same rare RH-negative blood type. Something we had discovered before we mated.
When Brown finally answered, his voice was dismissive. He claimed he was in a crucial council meeting and couldn't come.
But through our mind-link, agony tore through my wolf's consciousness. Brown wasn't at any council meeting. He was tangled in bed with Mia, my foster sister. It felt as though he was deliberately punishing me for bearing his mark.
The emotional pain was only the beginning. Every hour he thrust into her, visions of their intimacy flooded my mind, accompanied by Brown's whispered words of devotion to Mia. Words he had never spoken to me.
Blood soaked the sheets beneath me, spreading rapidly until half the blanket was stained crimson. I nearly died from blood loss, saved only by a good Samaritan who came to my rescue.
I had finally awakened from my fantasy, and this time, I was ready to walk away for good.
"Put your trust in me one last time, Austin," I whispered urgently. "We have to find a way to make him reject me and get ourselves out of this nightmare."
I had known for years that my mate never loved me.
That evening, I returned to the villa to find Brown arranging fresh flowers in the living room. White lilies and baby's breath in an elaborate bouquet.
He had never cared about flowers before. During our first anniversary, when I had filled our home with roses, he complained about the pollen making him sneeze and threw them all away.
But when Mia mentioned she loved floral arrangements, he suddenly developed a passion for floriculture.
Tonight, he stepped back to admire his handiwork. "You're late. Did the pack council meeting drag on through another moon phase?"
Even in casual clothes, Brown's presence filled the room with an effortless elegance that had once made my heart flutter.
I kept my expression carefully neutral. "The alliance negotiations with the Northern packs required more time than expected."
He nodded absently. Work was always my excuse, and he never questioned it.
"Why don't you go shower and come down for our anniversary dinner? I've asked the omegas to prepare your favorite dishes."
As I headed toward my chamber, my eyes caught sight of our mating ceremony photograph. It was now shattered on the floor.
"Oh, I forgot to mention," Brown said casually, "Mia arrived earlier and insisted on spending time with us since it's our anniversary week. She'll be staying with us for now. She accidentally broke the photograph while the omegas were moving your things to the omega quarters."
My blood chilled. "Moving my things?"
"You know she's timid and can't sleep alone at night, so I told her to take your chambers." His tone was matter-of-fact, as if displacing his own wife was perfectly reasonable.
A dull ache stirred in my chest as my wolf, Jayla, growled inside my head, demanding I let her rip him apart. But I pushed the rage back. I couldn't afford to ruin everything now.
"Sis, you're back!" Mia's voice echoed sweetly as she emerged from what used to be my room.
Brown moved quickly to cover the fresh hickeys on Mia's shoulder, but I still caught a glimpse of them. His abrupt movement shoved me hard, and I fell backward into the broken photograph frame. Glass shards pierced my skin, drawing a sharp hiss of pain.
Brown didn't even notice my cry as he pushed Mia back inside, grabbing the door handle and locking it behind them.
Watching him shut me out, I let out a bitter laugh.
I wasn't even bothered by their fairytale romance anymore. All I wanted was to find a way to make Brown reject me and reclaim my pack.
If it were an outsider, I would have fought for my marriage long ago. But since my foster sister was the one destroying it, I refused to battle her over a man who had never chosen me. Not even once.
When my father was still alive, he always said I would marry into the Raymond family, as foreseen and sealed by the Moon Goddess. After he died, I was adopted by my foster parents who happened to be Brown's omegas and Mia's parents.
Brown Raymond and Mia had been childhood sweethearts. Just before their planned mating, I entered their lives, unaware of their relationship.
But out of greed for my inheritance, my foster parents devised an alliance with Brown to make me fall for him and become his Luna, so they could seize control of my pack through him.
"Two people can't be alpha of one territory," my adoptive mother had whispered in Brown's ear. "I advise you marry her and subdue her powers."
Their plan worked flawlessly. They were promoted to Betas, and he promised to make Mia his Luna eventually.
When he proposed to me, I was overjoyed, believing I was fulfilling my father's dying wish.
Unfortunately, I discovered their betrayal too late. After I had lost everything and everyone in my pack who once looked to me as their Alpha now despised me because of how Brown treated and demoted them all.
All those years of supposed love had been nothing but pretense to steal my inheritance. Marrying me was simply the fastest way to claim everything my bloodline held. Love was never part of their plan.
As these bitter thoughts intensified, a spark of realization flickered across my face. I pulled out my phone and rushed to the balcony to make a call.
"I think I've found the perfect way to make Alpha Brown reject me," I said, unable to hide the hope in my voice.
