This was to be my 99th bonding ceremony with my mate, Garrett Zane.
Everything was ready.
Just then, his childhood sweetheart, Lindsey Sykes, called.
She was crying, saying she was trapped in a bar by a group of Rogues.
That it was dangerous.
Everyone could see it for what it was: another one of her ploys to stop our union.
But Garrett Zane fell for it every time.
Every time, he rushed to her rescue.
At our 99th bonding ceremony, Lindsey Sykes called, sobbing.
“Garrett, I’m trapped in a bar with a bunch of drunk Rogues…”
Garrett Zane’s face changed in an instant. He dropped the ceremonial token and made to leave.
“Garrett Zane.”
I grabbed his arm, my face devoid of expression.
“I’m only going to ask you this once, and it will be the last time. Are you sure you want to leave?”
He shook my hand off impatiently.
“Mia, why are you being so selfish? We can have another ceremony, but Lindsey only has one life. She’s in danger right now, I have to go save her!”
A sudden laugh escaped my lips.
I let go of his arm.
“Then go.”
Garrett Zane shot me a grateful look. “Mia, I knew you’d understand.”
“Next time, I promise I’ll make it up to you with an even grander bonding ceremony.”
There won’t be a next time.
————————
1
After Garrett Zane left, the guests were all used to it.
Even my parents just sighed.
Grace Zane, his mother, simply flipped through a calendar.
“Mia, why don’t you pick another date for next time?”
“There’s no need.”
I shook my head. “This mate bond… I’m not maintaining it anymore.”
…
At these words, everyone turned to look at me in shock.
Grace Zane’s face paled, and she hurried over to persuade me.
“Mia, don’t stoop to that brat’s level.”
“You two have been mates for ten years. You’re so close to completing the ceremony, don’t be impulsive…”
She held my hand warmly.
“I’m not being impulsive.”
I pulled my hand away, my expression flat, and offered a small smile.
“Grace, you’ve seen it yourself. Garrett always cares more about other people. He’d walk out on something as important as a bonding ceremony without a second thought.”
“Since he has no real intention of completing this union with me, there’s no reason for me to keep throwing myself at him.”
“I will cut off the mate bond between us.”
When I came out after changing out of my gown, more than half the guests had already left.
Grace Zane was on the phone, practically shaking with rage.
“You little brat, you get your ass back here right now!”
“Even if Lindsey Sykes drops dead out there today, it has nothing to do with you…”
She had it on speaker.
A clamor of noise came from the other end. Garrett Zane was shouting to be heard.
“Mom, what did you say… I can’t hear you.”
“Look, whatever it is, we’ll talk later. I’m busy right now.”
But I could clearly hear party music from his side, mingled with Lindsey Sykes’s laughter.
“Garrett, I knew you couldn’t bear to see me upset. You even ditched your bonding ceremony for me. Girls, how many times does this make?”
A few girls laughed and played along.
“Of course! Who in our circle doesn’t know Garrett Zane spoils you the most?”
“If you just agreed to be his mate, that Mia Weston wouldn’t even be in the picture, right?”
“Lindsey Sykes, you really are a vixen, just stringing him along like this. You just enjoy the ambiguity, don’t you?”
