Chapter 1

I signed the application to dissolve our Mate Bond, but Alpha Nathaniel thought it was a gift I wanted.

After he signed, he pretended to dotingly pinch my cheek:

"For our child, I'd give you anything you want."

He didn't know our child had died the night he was with his first love.

One hundred and one missed calls, met with his excuse: "The Pack has urgent business."

Later, when I received the Silver Moon Order, the highest honor among werewolves, he was gravely wounded, near death.

His last wish was to see me.

I brought my new Mate with me.

Evelyn POV

I had just finished watering the white roses on my windowsill when Judge Benjamin Hayes from the Werewolf Arbitration Council called.

"Ms. Shaw, the application to dissolve the mate bond has been sent. Please note that both you and your mate need to sign it before the Council can proceed."

"Okay."

I hung up, my fingertips tracing the damp rose leaves.

The doorbell rang.

The delivery driver handed me a document envelope. I signed for it.

Just as I closed the door, I heard footsteps outside again.

Nathaniel was back.

He walked over to me, stopped, and bent down, pressing his cheek against my flat stomach.

"I'm home," his voice was low, laced with fatigue and apology. "I've been so busy these past few days, I didn't get a chance to reply to your messages."

I felt his warm breath, penetrating my thin loungewear, touching my skin.

"How's the baby? Why does the scent seem so faint?"

I lowered my eyes, looking at the crown of his head.

"Maybe it's because I've been taking some medication to protect the baby recently. Nathaniel," I said, using his full name.

He looked up, his eyes confused.

I hadn't called him by his full name in a long time.

I avoided his gaze. I turned, picked up the document envelope from the console table, tore open the seal, and took out the papers.

I flipped to the last page, covering the terms with my palm, revealing only the signature line at the bottom.

"This is the gift I want," I said. "A gift after the baby is born."

Nathaniel paused, then chuckled.

He took the pen, didn't even glance at the content I'd covered, and smoothly signed his name, his movements swift and practiced.

After signing, he handed the document and pen back to me, dotingly pinching my cheek.

"It's yours if I give it to you," he chuckled softly. "Aren't you afraid you'll take my entire fortune?"

I looked at his name on the paper and found it utterly laughable.

I didn't want his wealth or power.

I wanted freedom.

Just then, Nathaniel's phone vibrated in his pocket.

He pulled it out and glanced at it, the screen light illuminating his face.

Caller ID: Isabella.

His expression remained unchanged. He simply turned off the screen and put the phone back in his pocket.

But he lost all patience for asking about the baby.

"The Pack has some urgent business," he stood up, adjusting his shirt cuffs. "I need to go handle it."

He headed for the door, then stopped after two steps, as if suddenly remembering something.

"Oh, right, why did you call me so many times the other day?"

I looked up at him.

"It's nothing."

Nathaniel didn't ask further, turned, and left.

I was left alone in the living room.

I looked down at the application to dissolve the mate bond in my hand.

Nathaniel's signature, sharp and decisive, just like him.

Nothing?

How could it be nothing?

Five days ago, I went out to buy some things for the baby.

On the way back, a sharp pain suddenly pierced my mind.

Then my lower abdomen.

Waves of cramping pain racked me, leaving me unable to speak.

I was losing the baby.

My hands trembling, I dialed Nathaniel's number. I just wanted him to see our child one last time.

First call, unanswered.

Second call, unanswered.

Tenth call.

Fiftieth call.

One hundred and first call.

On the other end, there was always only the automated voicemail prompt.

Finally, his phone was off.

I eventually reached the Pack's physician, but she just glanced at me when she arrived and declared the baby was gone.

Then, she looked at me with pity.

I looked into her eyes and suddenly understood.

That sudden, excruciating pain wasn't for any other reason – it was because my mate had betrayed me.

While he was ignoring all my calls, he was with Isabella, who had just returned from abroad, on a mountaintop outside the city, having sex under a rare supermoon.

Isabella later posted photos on her TikTok account.

In the photo, she leaned on Nathaniel's shoulder, smiling sweetly.

The caption read: "May the Moongoddess bless us forever."

Four years of marriage, I had always believed that even if Nathaniel didn't love me, he at least respected me as his Luna.

Only then did I see the truth.

I was just Isabella's substitute.

A shadow used to maintain the Pack alliance and superficial stability after his fated mate left the country.

Now, the real person was back.

It was time for this substitute to leave the stage.

I picked up the signed application and gently traced the still-damp ink on the paper.