Chapter 2

My neighbor, Amy, was young.

Ever since she moved into our neighborhood, the entire werewolf pack had been drowning in excitement.

I once asked Lucas, "Do you think she's pretty?"

He didn't even glance at her. "What does that have to do with me? To me, you're the most beautiful."

That was then. Now, his voice was sharp with frustration as he snarled at me. "You force me into it every weekend! Do you have any idea how exhausted I am?"

"But what did I do wrong? Have you forgotten? You were the one who begged me to sleep with you. You were the one who insisted we do it twice a week…"

My throat tightened. I had done everything he asked—changed for him, compromised for him—yet in the end, he found me so repulsive it made him physically sick.

Lucas was still trying to make excuses. "That was when we were young. Do you really think I have time for that now? You're not exactly in your prime anymore…"

I turned to face him, my voice barely above a whisper. "I just turned 30 today."

The words hung between us.

Then, the weight of it crushed me.

The tears I had fought so hard to hold back spilled over. I had never felt so humiliated, so wretched.

Today was my birthday.

Lucas froze. I saw it in his eyes—he had forgotten entirely.

Even Amy, the young she-wolf next door, had wished me a happy birthday.

Maybe my smile was too bitter because Lucas' face had darkened. He looked both embarrassed and annoyed. "You know you're thirty now, so why bother caring about things that don't matter?

"I've been busy preparing for war with the Silvermane Pack. I can't afford distractions. I still remember how they broke your leg when you saved me. I'll win this fight—for you. Consider it my gift."

Pain shot through my calf as if the wound from that day had never truly healed. The memory resurfaced, raw and sharp, sending a wave of fear crashing over me.

"You want to defeat the Silvermane Pack because it's your ambition, your duty as Beta. Don't act like this is all for me."

A flicker of irritation crossed his face.

It wasn't for me. It had never been for me.

Lucas sighed as if speaking to a child throwing a tantrum. He reached out and patted my head. "Alright, stop making a fuss. I remember now, okay? I'll get you a ruby."

He treated me like a trained puppy, offering a condescending crumb, expecting me to grovel in grateful submission.

I suddenly felt drained, too exhausted to keep arguing.

"Your stomach's upset, so I won't bother you. I'll sleep in another room tonight."

That night, I dreamed of Lucas at 20.

Back then, he was just a nameless warrior, always sent on the most dangerous missions.

On my birthday that year, he had come to see me covered in wounds. He told me he had nearly died in a rogue wolf's den, but the thought of not giving me my gift had kept him alive. He had dragged himself back from the brink.

He spent everything he had to buy me a ruby. It was fake; he had been scammed.

But I didn't care. I had been so touched that I accepted his courtship anyway.

I had many choices, but no one had ever loved me as fiercely as he did.

He once said, "When you turn thirty, I'll give you the biggest ruby. By then, I'll be stronger than I am now. I'll give you the whole world."

Today, I turned 30, and my tears flowed unchecked. By morning, my eyes were raw, and the truth was undeniable—he no longer loved me.

And then, in the sanctuary of sleep, the 20-year-old Lucas returned, whispering to me to leave him.

"Grace, if there ever comes a day when I make you cry, don't hesitate. Leave me. Losing you would be the greatest punishment for me."

I jolted awake, as if waking not just from a dream, but from the last ten years of love.

I had stayed in the pack for Lucas. But if he had already betrayed our love, then I had no reason to stay.

I dug out my offer letter from the Werewolf Genetics Institute. The worn paper still carried the weight of my past achievements.

I mindlinked Ms. Murphy, the woman who had once recommended me for the program.

She had been my mentor, and I had been her brightest student—the one she regretted losing the most.

When she heard my decision, she was as excited as if it were Christmas morning.

Afraid I might change my mind, she immediately made arrangements.

"Come see me now, I'll catch you up on the latest research. Your flight to the Wolfen Kingdom is in three days. Your junior will pick you up."

Three days were just enough time to submit my mate bond dissolution request to the Werewolf Court.