I am known as the reliable Omega among everyone in the Dublin Pack. So dependable that my mate, Alpha Ezekiel, has left me at the altar ninety-eight times, yet each time, I forgave him. Until our ninety-ninth mating ceremony attempt, when someone anonymously gifted us a hundred thousand pounds. But instead of our bonding photos, the screen displayed Ramona, a rogue werewolf, being auctioned off for her first night at the same price. Tears filled her eyes, as if she were bidding a final farewell to life itself.
"Alpha Ezekiel," she said, her voice trembling, "if I can’t be your mate, then holding on to my purity is pointless. Just promise me you’ll never forget me."
Alpha Ezekiel tossed aside our bonding ring and ran off without a second thought. The crowd murmured, fully aware that I was his fated mate, but he only had eyes for Ramona, the rogue who had manipulated her way into his life.
Everyone was speculating whether our hundredth mating ceremony would happen, but I knew there wouldn’t be one. I also knew Alpha Ezekiel would regret it, because his true savior was me.
After skillfully ushering all the pack members out, I dialed a number. "Does the promise we made ten years ago still stand?"
A gentle chuckle answered through the receiver, "It stands, Mina."
As I hung up, news of Alpha Ezekiel’s outrage over Ramona’s embarrassment had already become the talk of the pack. He stormed into the private room, disregarding the auction rules, paid two million pounds to leave with Ramona, and roughed up every werewolf who had participated in the bidding.
The pack’s mind link buzzed with gossip and excitement, with only a few mentioning that Alpha Ezekiel had a fated mate. But those were quickly drowned out by comments like "The one who isn’t loved is always in the way."
Ramona updated her status on the pack’s network: “Three years of waiting, finally achieved it today~” Alongside was a picture of shredded clothes and a hint of crimson on sheets, with Alpha Ezekiel’s sleeping profile.
Instead of falling apart like I did the previous ninety-eight times, I casually liked the post and left a comment: 99.
Not half an hour later, Alpha Ezekiel called. "It took me forever to calm Ramona down. What’s with your sarcastic comment?"
"I promise you, this is the last time. She won’t act up again."
I’d lost count of how many times Alpha Ezekiel promised it would be "the last time."
The first mating ceremony, Ramona threatened to end her life. The second, she faked a pregnancy. The third, she threw ten thousand pounds at me to leave Alpha Ezekiel.
Every time Ramona caused a scene, Alpha Ezekiel indulged her. His explanation always boiled down to, “This is the last time."
Yet there was always a next time. I finally saw through it: an Alpha’s words are nothing but lies. So I simply replied:
"Alpha Ezekiel, there won’t be a next time. I, Mina, Omega of the Dublin Pack, reject you, Ezekiel, Alpha of the Dublin Pack, as my mate."
He was silent for a long time, then hung up without a word. When I returned to the pack house, I found the lock was already changed.
As I was about to call a locksmith, the door swung open. Ramona stood there, wearing my camisole, smugly leaning against the frame.
"Alpha Ezekiel was worried about me being alone outside, so he let me stay here," she said with mock innocence. "Guess he didn’t tell you, huh~"
Just then, Alpha Ezekiel emerged, shirtless, with signs of passion evident on his chest.
"Ramona’s still not stable emotionally, so I thought she could stay here for a bit," he explained. "I changed the passcode to her birthday so she wouldn’t forget it."
I nodded and moved past him inside. When I started packing my suitcase, panic flickered across Alpha Ezekiel’s face.
"Where are you going?" he asked, as if he’d forgotten I’d rejected him just half an hour earlier. He embraced me from behind, whispering casually, "Next month, during the full moon, I’ll take you to the Northern Territories to see the Aurora, okay?"
Before he finished, Ramona whimpered from the doorway. "Ramona, what’s wrong?" Alpha Ezekiel’s attention snapped to her, his eyes filled with undisguised concern.
"Zeke, I’m feeling a bit tight in the chest. Probably a reaction to the incense from the auction," Ramona murmured.
Without a second thought, Alpha Ezekiel scooped her up, never once glancing back at me. As the bedroom door closed, my eyes met Ramona’s triumphant stare.
I let out a small laugh.
I wanted to tell her she needn’t bother.
A few minutes later, the sounds from the master bedroom left me flushed with embarrassment. I sighed.
My heart didn’t ache as I expected; rather, it felt relieved. You’ve both gotten what you wanted, now it’s time for me to fulfill my ten-year promise.
I gathered all my documents and found a nearby hotel to stay the night. I planned to head straight to the airport in the morning. But to my surprise, my hotel room door flew open at dawn, kicked in by Alpha Ezekiel.
Looking frighteningly furious, he yanked me from the bed by my hair and dragged me across the floor. "Mina, how could you be so cruel! Ramona just loves me too much. What has she done wrong?"
Pain seared through my scalp, stealing my breath away. Tears welling up, I looked at him and asked, "What have I done?"
Alpha Ezekiel slammed his phone against me. "You secretly recorded Ramona’s video and spread it online, slandering her as the other female to ruin her!"
"Did you know she nearly jumped off a building because of it!"
Glancing at the news on the phone, I instantly realized it was another one of Ramona’s ploys. I scoffed coldly, "I didn’t post the video, but the internet isn’t wrong. She is the third wheel, isn’t she?"
Enraged, Alpha Ezekiel laughed in disbelief, grabbing my hair and dragging me outside. He didn’t stop until we reached the hotel rooftop. There, he released my hair, squatted down, and gripped my jaw tightly.
"Mina, start a livestream now, say you’re the one who came between me and Ramona, then kneel and apologize to Ramona. Only then will this matter be settled."
Agonizing pain coursed through me, but I stubbornly refused to beg.
Three times he said, "Okay," then Gamma Lucas tied my hands, suspending me with a rope over the edge of the rooftop, dozens of meters above the ground.
I glanced down, and dizziness overtook me. Memories of being nearly thrown off a cliff by rogues as a pup returned, draining the color from my face.
My voice trembled uncontrollably, "Alpha Ezekiel… I didn’t post the video. Please pull me up…"
Alpha Ezekiel’s ominous voice echoed above, "If not you, then who? I gave you a chance, but you wasted it."
He instructed the Gamma, "Capture her pathetic state and send it to Ramona. When Ramona is satisfied, then pull her up."
I didn’t know how long I was suspended there. My heart pounded relentlessly, and my stomach churned continuously.
Eventually, my breathing became labored. Just before I lost consciousness, I saw Alpha Ezekiel press a reverent kiss to his phone screen.
When I regained awareness, I was lying on a cold concrete floor. The sensation brought slight relief to my tense heart.
Just when I thought Alpha Ezekiel’s torment had ceased, he appeared, more enraged than before.
Before I could speak, he kicked me in the chest. Blood gushed from my mouth as I gasped.
Alpha Ezekiel wasn’t done. He seized my collar and slapped me twice across the face.
"Mina, you were the one who called my parents during the earthquake claiming I was dead!"
"You’re responsible for their accident and subsequent death!"
"My parents treated you so well. How could you! You’re a demon!"
Not giving me a chance to respond, he hauled me into the car. Speeding recklessly, I vomited uncontrollably along the way.
Our destination was his parents’ grave.
I knelt before their tombstones, forced to bow 999 times by Gamma Lucas pressing my head.
By the end, my forehead was torn and bloody, my face a horrifying sight. Yet Alpha Ezekiel didn’t blink, merely watched coldly.
"Mina, I spared your life for my parents’ sake. You’ll have to kneel here for three days and nights…"
Before he could finish, I laughed quietly.
"Alpha Ezekiel, you believe everything Ramona says. You’re the biggest fool in the world. I’m just grateful I didn’t bond with you."
Momentarily stunned, Alpha Ezekiel struck me again, outraged, "Even now, you dare speak of Ramona!"
Dizziness overwhelmed me, and the world spun out of control.
Mina, this is the male you’ve loved for so many years. It’s simply not worth it.
Using the last of my strength, I looked up at Alpha Ezekiel, surprisingly calm in my tone, "Alpha Ezekiel, I deny every accusation. You can kill me, but it wasn’t me!"
