I rubbed the bruise on my arm where my mother had pinched me, tears dripping onto the floor. How could this happen? I worked tirelessly for this marking ceremony, sacrificing sleep and sanity, only for someone else to live my dream.
The officiant's voice echoed from outside, reciting the mate vows, and Alpha Nicholas’s clear "I do" pierced through to me. Maybe the fitting room was too cramped, making it hard for me to breathe. The moment I heard him passionately declare his love for Luna Goldie, I could no longer fool myself. I kept banging on the door, praying someone would let me out. But it was pointless. As the cheers outside reached their peak, I finally understood how a mate bond could shatter someone completely.
When I opened my eyes again, it was to the hospital ceiling.
"You fainted just like that! Do you know how much your parents worried?"
"Eat something, don’t act like we’re neglecting you."
My mom was sitting by my bedside when I woke up, forcing a buttery shortbread cookie into my hand. I didn’t like crumbly cookies, but it was one of those rare times she showed me any affection. The grease from the cookie clung to my fingers as my mom spoke again.
"What’s gotten into you, child?"
A flood of grievances welled up inside me, and just as I was about to spill my heart out, she cut me off.
"Listen to your mother. Keep the peace. Don’t forget your brother’s future position in Alpha Nicholas’s pack."
"And let’s be honest, you were never really a match for Alpha Nicholas, so stop causing a scene."
My dad chimed in from the other side of the room. "Your mom’s right. Don’t be unreasonable."
"He humiliated me in front of everyone by rejecting me as his mate—is that my fault too? It was supposed to be my marking ceremony! Do you know how helpless I felt?"
But instead of comforting me, my parents chose to blame me.
"We told you he wouldn’t ever choose you, but you insisted on pursuing him. Now you’re embarrassed—isn’t that deserved?"
"I didn’t! He told me he felt the mate bond, too!"
Just then, a familiar voice interrupted my standoff with my parents.
"Who said they felt a bond with you? Are you that eager to spread rumors?"
Alpha Nicholas walked in, one hand holding a shopping bag, the other intertwined with Luna Goldie’s. My eyes landed on their interlocked hands, and I bit my lip fiercely to keep from crying. Even after we acknowledged the bond, Alpha Nicholas seldom held my hand, saying it was too intimate for someone of my status. Yet now, he held his Luna so tightly.
They both wore the marking rings—the ones I had personally selected for our ceremony. How ironic that the rings I had meticulously chosen were now worn by my mate and another woman.
"Alpha Nicholas, do you really not remember me? Just last week we prepared for the ceremony together—I have the photos, you..."
"Enough!" My anxious words were swallowed by the look of disdain on his face.
"Stop making up stories. No matter how desperate I get, I would never choose someone as ordinary as you. I only love Luna Goldie!"
At that moment, Luna Goldie looked at me with a sympathetic expression. "Saylor, I know you’ve felt the bond with my mate for over three years."
"But he really doesn’t recognize you. You can’t just force a bond that isn’t there, right?"
Other pack members and their families in the ward were casting curious glances our way, and someone murmured, "The Omega on the bed is terrifying, isn’t she delusional?"
Alpha Nicholas listened to their insults and speculation about me, not bothering to defend me once. Naturally, with Luna Goldie’s poised demeanor, the entire ward sided with her. I realized I had no one but myself to rely on.
I opened my phone’s photo gallery, revealing pictures and videos of Alpha Nicholas and me together to everyone present. His voice was strong and clear in the video. "Saylor, I, Nicholas Robertson, Alpha of the Blue Moon Pack, accept you as my mate."
Suddenly, every eye in the room was on the couple across from me.
"Did you say you lost your memory and didn’t recognize me, so you humiliated me at our ceremony? Was it my fault, Alpha Nicholas? It was you who acknowledged the bond. This wasn’t just a one-woman show."
The pack members and families watching from the neighboring bed started whispering, "Isn’t he just a disgrace? Wow, even an Alpha can be so cruel."
"All you’ve been saying—isn’t wanting me as your mate just for my loyalty? Pathetic."
"Ask your parents. Can they honestly say we were never bonded?"
He raised his eyebrows at my mom and dad, and a sudden wave of unease washed over me. My mom’s ensuing words made me feel as if I’d plunged into an icy abyss.
