Chapter 1

On the day of their third full moon mating anniversary, which was also Elara Vance's twenty-seventh birthday.

Her mate, Alpha Damian Blackwood, gave her a special gift—

A signed mate rejection agreement.

Damian calmly picked up a pen, signed his name in the Alpha's slot at the bottom left, and then pushed the document across the table to Elara.

"Chloe has a wild streak; she's hard to tame. Only a formal rejection agreement will convince her I'm serious."

"I've already signed it. Now you sign."

"Don't worry," he added. "It's just a formality."

His tone was flat, without a hint of emotion, as if he were discussing the pack's patrol routes for the night.

Although Elara no longer paid attention to his private life, the rampant gossip within the pack and all over the internet made it impossible for her not to know who Chloe Summers was.

She was a young, new she-wolf in Damian's pack, barely in her twenties, radiating a vibrant and seductive energy.

What made her stand out was that Damian, an Alpha, had been publicly pursuing her for nearly two months, yet she still hadn't officially accepted him.

Usually, Damian would lose interest in the women who flocked to him within a month.

But this Chloe was different. Not only had she broken his record, but she had driven him to demand this "fake rejection"—an ultimate humiliation for a fated mate.

Elara took the agreement, a symbol of his betrayal, and forced a bitter smile.

"Is this the gift you got for me? How... special."

At her words, a rare look of confusion crossed Damian's face. When he finally remembered what day it was, a flicker of apology appeared in his eyes.

"I've been busy helping Chloe adjust to the pack. I forgot it was our anniversary and your birthday. I'm sorry. I'll have my Beta send a gift over later."

So, he found a new toy and completely forgot his fated mate, Elara thought, her lips twisting into a sarcastic smirk.

"Don't bother. We're about to end our mating, aren't we? You should save your gifts for someone else."

Damian's brow furrowed in annoyance.

"It's just a fake rejection, a piece of paper to appease her. We're not actually going to the Elder Council to perform the final bond-severing ceremony."

Is that so?

Because she had already decided to turn this little act into reality.

Elara said nothing more. She picked up the pen and, stroke by stroke, signed her name.

She was putting an end to three years of a sacred bond.

After she finished, Damian let out a sigh of relief. He took a photo of the agreement and made a call.

Whatever was said on the other end, Damian's mood visibly brightened, his voice softening as he cooed into the phone.

"I've rejected her. Now you can be with me, out in the open. Wait for me in your cabin, sweetheart. I'm coming to pick you up to celebrate."

He hung up, grabbed his jacket, and headed for the door.

Just as he was about to close it, he seemed to remember Elara and glanced back.

"Today is the first day Chloe has agreed to be with me. I need to be with her."

"I'll celebrate your birthday and our anniversary with you next year."

With that, he eagerly shut the door, rushing off to his new flame.

He never heard Elara's whispered reply.

"Damian, there won't be a next year for us."

Once the roar of the engine faded into the distance, Elara went upstairs. She opened the safe and removed two mating certificates, embossed with the pack's crest, from the very back.

She opened the red certificate, and two radiant smiles looked back at her.

It was a photo of her at twenty-four and Damian at twenty-six.

They were pressed close together, their eyes filled with the joy of finding their fated mate and the hope for their future.

Elara's gaze drifted back to the signed rejection agreement on the table.

How did they end up like this?

She remembered meeting Damian for the first time at a movie wrap party.

Back then, she was just an up-and-coming actress. She found him in a corner, clutching his stomach, his face pale. He wasn't used to human parties and had drunk too much. She handed him a yogurt drink.

That simple act of kindness led them to recognize the unique scent on each other—the scent of fated mates.

That bond, a gift from the Moon Goddess, eventually blossomed into an irresistible love.

But Damian was the Alpha of the Black Moon Pack, a leader far beyond the reach of an ordinary werewolf like her. Elara was just from a small family, trying to make it in the human world. Aware of her place, she had rejected him.

But Damian didn't give up. Instead, he stayed by her side constantly.

The high and mighty Alpha became her personal assistant, preparing her meals, rushing her to the hospital when she was sick, and handing her a cup of ginger tea the moment she finished a difficult underwater scene.

She wasn't made of stone. Day after day, his warmth chipped away at her defenses until she fell completely.

The final straw was a wirework stunt that went wrong. As she was about to fall, Damian used his powerful werewolf body as a cushion to break her fall.

She was unharmed, but Damian broke two ribs—a severe injury, even for a werewolf.

After they got together, Damian declared to the Pack Elders that he would marry no one else, his resolve unshaken even by their objections.

Not wanting to hold him back, Elara threw herself into her work. She spent four years clawing her way to the top, finally winning the Best Actress award, which made the pack reluctantly accept her as their Luna.

On the day of their mating ceremony, every pack celebrated with them.

Some even remarked that Damian was a rare, devoted Alpha.

Elara believed it, too. She thought their love would last a lifetime.

But in the second year of their mating, the scent of another she-wolf appeared on his shirt.

The first time, the wavering of their mate bond sent her into agonizing pain.

The ever-proud Damian knelt before her, swearing it was a setup by a rival pack and that he would never let it happen again.

Thinking of their deep bond, Elara chose to forgive him.

But soon after, he started staying out all night.

She questioned him like a madwoman, followed him, and their nights became filled with hysterical arguments.

Damian would just watch her, letting her vent, before calmly telling her:

"Elara, in our world, no Alpha has just one woman by his side forever."

"You just need to know that you're the only one I love, and you will always be the Luna of the Black Moon Pack. That's enough."

It wasn't just Damian. Everyone around her said the same thing. The other women were just fleeting distractions. She just needed to hold onto her title as Luna, and the Alpha would eventually return to his mate. All she had to do was wait.

So she waited and waited. She waited until today, when Damian proposed a fake rejection for his new lover.

The moment she saw Damian sign his name, the invisible chains of the "mate bond" that had shackled her heart suddenly shattered.

Did she mate with Damian for the power and status of an Alpha's mate?

No.

It was purely for the love they shared, a love born from destiny.

But now, that love had turned into a foul, stinking mess.

Even their once-cherished bond was now just a tool for him to please his new conquest.

If that was the case, then this mating had no reason to exist anymore.

Snapping back to the present, Elara took the rejection agreement and their mating certificates to the Pack Elders.

After confirming the documents, an Elder informed her that, according to the rules, there was a mandatory one-month cooling-off period. She was to return in a month to complete the final bond-severing ceremony and receive the official certificate of dissolution.

As she walked out of the Elders' Hall, sunlight washed over her, and for the first time in a long time, she felt a sense of relief.

She pulled out her phone and dialed a number she had saved for a long time.

"Allen, about that movie you invited me to shoot in the UK... I'll do it."