Chapter 1

I was struck dumb when I pulled those black stockings out.

I happened to see Beth Seymour wearing it when I walked into the female washroom during the day.

At the time, I was puzzled by the fact that she was wearing ripped black stockings toward the end of her working hours.

The youthful Beth blushed with embarrassment and told me she had a date with her mate. This was the way they kept things spicy between them, she said.

"My darling says he loves it most when I have ripped stockings on. It excites him to the core every time.

"I'm still young, and I enjoy going along with the way he likes to have fun. Luna Amber, please keep this between us."

She couldn't hide the smugness from her face.

At that time, I was still wondering why she sounded somewhat provocative. Little would I have known I would find these stockings in Matthew White's suit pocket that night.

Even the ripped part of the stockings was at the exact same spot—the thigh area.

I knitted my brows together and held back the feeling of disgust within me.

I lifted my hand, but before I could even put my hand up to my nose, I caught a whiff of the cheap perfume that was unique to Beth.

My blood ran cold, and I froze.

"What's on your mind, my love?"

Matthew, who only had a towel around his lower body after taking his shower, pulled me into his warm embrace from behind.

Nevertheless, all I could feel was chills down my entire body.

The upset look on my face worried him. He placed his hands on my shoulders and turned me around to face him.

"What happened, babe? Did someone mess with you? Tell me who it was!"

I did not answer but simply watched his act in silence.

Everyone said that I was the one who had control over Alpha Matthew's mood. If I was happy, he would be particularly approachable and delighted. If I was down, he would be frosty and merciless.

How the pack's day went depended entirely on my mood. As such, none of the werewolves in the pack dared to look down on me or take advantage of me.

I even jokingly told Matthew that I would be committing a great offense if his work in the pack was affected by our relationship.

Back then, he held onto me tightly and said coquettishly, "Since you understand how important you are, you should continue staying by my side happily and never leave me."

This memory was deeply etched in my mind, so much so that it felt like it was just yesterday.

However, this man before me had changed.

While holding back the heartache within me, I showed him the black stockings in my palm. As much as I was trying to feign composure, I choked, "This fell out of your pocket. What is this?"

Matthew's panic was as clear as day when he saw the black stockings in my palm.

Even so, his usual expression came back across his face in just a few seconds. "It must have been those darn warriors!"

Devoid of any diffidence, he continued with a confident expression on his face, "It happened to be April Fools' Day when I met with them for a meal last week.

"Those drunk dudes put this in my suit pocket intentionally because they wanted to play a prank on me to make you jealous and misunderstand me.

"After all, everyone knows you're the most important person to me. You are my only weakness, babe."

Last week?

I would've believed him if I hadn't seen this pair of stockings just today.

As I looked him straight in the eye, I scoffed inwardly. All of a sudden, Matthew teared up when he saw how silent I was.

With a miserable look on his face, he asked, "Babe, you believe me, don't you? I only like it when your legs are bare. I despise black stockings, so why would I stuff such a thing in my pocket?"

While he nuzzled against my neck and planted kisses on me, he explained, "If you have doubts, I will find that warrior who played this prank and get him to come over to apologize to you right now. Then, I will chase him out of the pack!

"You know how much I loved you all these years. I'll swear on my life—you are the only one I love!"

When I looked at him lie and swear without any sense of diffidence, I felt my heart fill with sorrow and hopelessness.

"Alright," I said.

I put my hand over the hand he was holding up. "I believe you," I said.

Filled with surprise, he threw his arms around me and kissed the top of my head. "I knew it. I knew that you'd believe me, babe. I'll make your favorite dinner for you."

As he said that, he put on a casual outfit and trotted happily to the kitchen.

Throughout the years of having a mate bond with him, he never made me cook dinner for him, not even once.

Prior to sharing a mate bond, he swore to treat me well and never to have me work hard. He claimed that he couldn't bear to have me cook for him and that the maids didn't know my preferences as well as he did.

So, he declared that he would cook dinners for me for the rest of his life.

However, he forgot that I also made a promise just like he did back then. I said to him, "Matthew, if there comes a day when I find out that you lied to me, I swear that I will leave you."

I suppose it was time for me to keep my promise.