Every wolf in the Silver Moon Pack knows the one unbreakable rule: only death can end a mating bond. There is no betrayal.

My father, the pack's former Beta, had one dying wish before he sacrificed himself to protect our territory: for the Alpha, Aiden Blackwood, to take care of me.

Everyone knew Aiden had sworn to the Moon Goddess more than once that he would mate with me.

Following my father’s last wish, the pack elders announced our bonding ceremony.

I thought he would be thrilled. He was my future leader, the man I had grown up with for twenty years.

But when Aiden heard the news, he just sat on his bed in a daze. Overnight, streaks of silver appeared in his dark hair.

From that day on, he treated me with an icy coldness.

At first, I told myself it was just too sudden, that his powerful Alpha bloodline needed time to adjust to his fated destiny.

But then he let his one true love, Chloe, steal the only thing my father ever left me.

That's when I finally understood. Everything was wrong from the very beginning.

This time, I didn't cry or plead with him. I contacted my father's old mentor, one of the pack elders, and told him I was ready to take up my father's mantle as a Chronicler on the front lines of the pack wars.

Before I left, I gave myself three days to end everything.

On the first day, I secretly intercepted the mating contract Aiden had submitted to the council.

On the second day, I handed the elders my official resignation from all my duties within the pack.

On the third day, Aiden suddenly remembered the dagger he had destroyed and offered to buy me a new one.

But he forgot. From the moment he told me to get out of his sight for Chloe's sake, I had already vanished from his world.

Later, whenever Aiden saw my face in reports from the war-torn territories, his eyes would turn red. He would trace the lines of the unapproved mating contract he kept locked in his desk drawer.

Tucked inside was a memory of a cold winter, the fated mate who would never return, and the dagger he never got to give her...

...

The elder who knew I wanted to follow in my father’s footsteps howled for me that night.

He sighed heavily over the connection.

"Your father died trying to mediate the Blackstone Pack's rebellion. How can I let you, a future Luna, go to such a dangerous place?"

"Besides, you're about to have your bonding ceremony with the Alpha. You have to think about your mate."

I looked at the mating contract I had taken, a sharp pain stabbing my chest.

He was right. I was about to be bonded to the man I had loved for eighteen years, to finally have the mate I had always dreamed of.

But while I was joyfully preparing for our ceremony, Aiden, who had once cherished me, furiously tore down the decorations in our future home.

He looked at me that day, his eyes exhausted and haunted.

"Eleanor," he said, "why are you doing this to me?"

It was only then that I realized his childhood affections had long expired.

I was the one still clinging to old promises, trapping all three of us in this miserable cage.

So, I chose to let go.

"My mind is made up. Every member of the Vance family is prepared to die for the pack at any moment. I am no exception."

"I will report to you in three days."

The elder sighed again, and our call ended.

Before I could even think, Aiden walked in.

"I've given the mating contract to the council," he said flatly. "So you can stop bothering me now."

Even though he had publicly announced our union, I knew he resented me for it.

He believed I had used my father's legacy and dying wish to force him into this fated bond.

Every time he looked at me, his eyes were filled with disgust.

But back then, I was still lost in the memory of his promises.

To make him happy, I, who had always been clumsy with game, learned how to cook the most perfect barbecue.

I drove ten miles from the pack's center to the training grounds every single day to bring him lunch.

Even in a blizzard, I never missed a day, terrified he might go hungry.

I thought I could reawaken his feelings for me, but I ignored the coldness in his eyes.

One day, after battling through a storm to get to the camp, I found him sharing a piece of steak with Chloe, their bodies intimately close.

I should have known then. Everything I did only made him hate me more.

So this time, I was truly tired.

I hid the exhaustion in my eyes and simply grunted, "Okay."

My lack of enthusiasm seemed to annoy him. He raised an eyebrow.

"What's this? You've learned to play hard to get?"

See? He always assumed the worst of me.

When I gave him my complete loyalty, he thought I was a manipulative schemer trying to become Luna.

When I backed off to give him his happiness, he thought I was playing games to get his attention.

No matter what I did, I was always wrong in his eyes.

I didn't have the strength to argue. As I turned to leave, he grabbed my wrist.

"It's just a dagger. Why are you still throwing a tantrum over it?"

"Besides," he sneered, "you owe her this. If you hadn't gotten in the way, Chloe and I would have already sworn our vows to the Moon Goddess."

My world went dark. It felt like all the strength had been drained from my body.

Three days ago, Chloe took the only thing I had left of my father—a silver dagger inlaid with a moonstone.

It was his coming-of-age gift to me. He wanted me to use it to protect myself, to defend the honor and justice of our pack.

But Aiden had just given it to Chloe so easily. When I tried to argue, he berated me.

And now, my own heartbreak was just a childish tantrum to him.

Aiden's heart was no longer with me. I was tired, so tired of fighting.

Besides, in three days, I would be gone forever.

I looked down. "You're right," I whispered. "I don't want the dagger anymore."

Aiden paused.

"You're not just saying that?"

"No."

After a long moment, he let go of my hand and sighed.

"Fine. I'm off tomorrow. I'll take you to pick out a new one."

I didn't answer him. I just turned and walked away in silence.

The moment I opened the door, Chloe was standing there, her face streaked with tears, holding the dagger out with trembling hands.

"Eleanor, it's all my fault. I shouldn't have come between you two. I shouldn't have taken your dagger."

I froze, about to reach for it, when I saw the smirk hidden beneath her tears.

The next second, her body flew backward, and she crashed hard onto the floor.