“It’s for the best that you’ve finally come around about your inheritance. The New Moon Pack your stepfather left you might not be the most powerful, but it’s enough to make you a strong Alpha in your own right. You’ll be set for life, never having to answer to anyone again.”

In the past, I would have argued with her.

I would have said that being with my fated mate was all that mattered.

That power and status meant nothing.

But now, I couldn't say a word.

In my nine years with the Blackwood Pack, I never truly had a place of my own.

“So, when are you coming home? I need to prepare your succession ceremony.”

I glanced at the calendar on the wall, my eyes landing on a circled date.

In ten days, it would be the tenth anniversary of the day I met Aiden, the day we discovered we were fated mates.

“Ten days. I’ll wrap things up here and then I’ll be there.”

I hung up the phone and realized Aiden was standing right behind me.

He was frowning, trying to peek at my phone.

“What’s in ten days? Who were you talking to?”

I placed my phone face down on the table and gave a vague answer.

“Just a friend. Talking about starting a new life.”

“There’s still a place for you in the pack. You don’t have to rush off. Even if Sophia becomes the Luna, there are other positions.”

Aiden pursed his lips, genuinely confused as to why I was so determined to leave.

“I don’t need one.”

My coldness seemed to irritate him, but before he could respond, Sophia called up from downstairs.

“Aiden, we’re having dinner at the main estate tonight. Don’t keep the elders waiting.”

Hearing that, my fingers twitched.

When Aiden and I first became mates, his parents and the pack elders despised me.

They saw me as a weak she-wolf from a minor branch, with impure bloodlines, unworthy of Aiden’s noble Alpha heritage.

But back then, Aiden always took me with him to the estate. He defended me without hesitation, fighting his own parents for me.

He swore to the Moon Goddess.

He swore that as long as he was alive, there would always be a place for me in the Blackwood Pack.

This time, though, Aiden’s eyes darted away, his tone awkward.

“After what happened… you know how much the elders value tradition. If they see you, they’ll just bring it all up again.”

“Don’t get the wrong idea. I’ll talk to them again about the bonding ceremony with Sophia. It’s just… they watched her grow up, so they’re closer to her. Once things calm down… they’ll come around.”

Every word was a defense of Sophia.

He hadn’t forgotten his promises to me. He had simply decided that his alliance and his duties were more important.

I forced a smile, the way I always used to.

I didn’t argue. I didn’t make a scene.

Sophia called for him again, and Aiden’s patience with me finally ran out.

He turned to leave without a backward glance, tossing a final comment over his shoulder.

“Elara, I get tired of having to explain these complex situations to you every day. Just try to understand me for once.”

Whenever we had a problem, he would always pull out that line, his face a mask of exhaustion.

And I would always feel a pang of guilt, wondering if I was being too selfish.

I would swallow my feelings and continue to drown in our worthless, fated bond.

Aiden in his expensive suit, Sophia in her couture dress.

Walking side-by-side, they really did look like a perfect Alpha and Luna, a true power couple.

As I watched them disappear, I began to pack my things.

Nine years. We had made so many memories.

I used to believe he loved me.

The villa was decorated exactly to my taste.

He wanted an open-air balcony so we could sunbathe with our future pups.

But we never even had pups. And now, he didn't love me anymore.

Back then, we didn’t have servants.

Aiden knew I wasn't used to the big city, so he cooked for me himself every single day.

But all of that was just a faded memory now.

He once knitted me a scarf, afraid I’d get cold on winter patrols. His technique was clumsy, but the gesture was full of love.

“Whatever other she-wolves have, my Luna will have too.”

He’d said that as he wrapped it around my neck, placing a soft kiss on my cheek.

He ruffled my hair, nuzzling against my neck like a big, affectionate wolf.

“Come home soon. Your Alpha will be worried.”

I don’t know when it all changed, when he grew tired of us.

The first time I suggested the bonding ceremony, Aiden said we were too young, that bonding too early would kill the passion.

The second time, I planned a surprise for him, only to overhear him talking to his Beta.

“The spark with Elara is gone. It’s so boring now. But she’s my fated mate, and I don’t want to hurt her.”

“Does she really not see that I don’t need her like I used to?”

And the last time…

I offered to give up everything. I stood before his parents and the elders and proposed to Aiden, even saying I would renounce all rights as Luna.