Chapter 1Eighteen years after I severed our mate bond, I ran into Patrick Blizzard because our pups were dating.
The pack instructor kept us after everyone else had cleared out, slid a scented note across the desk, and pushed it toward him.
"Alpha Blizzard, your son wrote this to Anna. Look, I get it - they're teenagers. But with the Ranking Trials two weeks away? This is the worst possible timing. You need to shut this down."
Patrick didn't say a word. Just stared at me like he'd caught a ghost-scent - his wolf going dead still inside him.
The instructor had to clear her throat twice before he snapped out of it and mumbled some half-assed apology, his claws twitching at his sides.
Once we left the office, he stopped me at the stairwell. Kept opening his mouth, closing it, his pupils blown wide. Then finally:
"Anna... she's yours?"
I nodded. Left it at that.
His face crumpled, a low rumble escaping his chest. "But you told me you'd never mate again. You swore on the Moon."
...
Yeah, I did say that.
The day we signed the severance papers, I swore I'd never take another mate or bear another pup.
And technically? I kept that promise.
Anna's adopted - a lone pup I found abandoned at the edge of the territory.
But he doesn't need to know that.
"Patrick, you don't get to ask me that. We're done."
My tone was ice-cold now, my wolf bristling beneath my skin - done with this conversation.
Eighteen years had passed, and the cocky young wolf I used to know had turned into this polished, put-together Alpha-in-training.
But his eyes - still sharp, still gold-flecked and familiar - flashed with something I'd never seen before.
Guilt, maybe. Regret.
A scent of sorrow leaked off him.
"I didn't mean it like that. I just... God, Ophelia, I've been wondering all these years if you were okay..."
"I'm fine."
I cut him off and looked past him toward the training hall door down the corridor, where some young wolf was tugging on a she-pup's sleeve, whispering something in her ear.
I frowned, ignored whatever else Patrick was saying, and walked over.
When Anna saw me coming, she panicked. "Mom - " Her head dropped so fast I thought her neck might snap. Her wolf cowered behind her eyes.
The boy, though? Totally unfazed.
He straightened up and stuck out his hand with this easy, arrogant confidence that made my wolf snarl low in my chest.
"Hey, Mrs. Winters. I'm Randy. Randy Blizzard."
Randy Blizzard.
Of course. Patrick and Jessica's little love trophy - their precious heir.
I repeated the name in my head, then gave him the politest, coldest smile I could manage, my canines aching to lengthen.
I remembered how excited Patrick had been when I was carrying his pup all those years ago - stayed up all night scribbling down pup names like a crazy wolf. We were barely two moons in, and he already had it all planned out.
He'd said if it was a male, we'd name him something that tied our bloodlines forever. A female? Same thing.
Back then, I used to daydream that no matter what, the pup would look just like him. Act like him. Be him.
Guess he got his wish after all. Just with someone else's whelp.
Randy seemed like he wanted to chat, but I was already pulling Anna toward the stairs, letting the crowd of young wolves swallow us up.
No matter how hard I could feel Patrick's eyes burning into my back - his wolf calling to mine - I didn't turn around.
On the drive back to our den, Anna was dead silent - slouched in her seat, wouldn't even glance my way. She knew exactly why the instructor had called us both in.
"You and him? Not happening. Break it off. Stop seeing him."
I finally said it at a red light, flat, no room for argument.
Anna's head jerked up, tears already pooling in her eyes, her wolf whimpering inside. "Mom, I promise it won't affect my Rankings - "
"This isn't about Rankings."
The light turned green and I eased onto the gas, kept my voice steady. "At your age? Love doesn't last. Mates don't stick."
"How do you know?" Her voice cracked, but for the first time in her life, she actually yelled at me - her eyes flickering amber. "Grandma told me you mated your high school sweetheart. Your first true mate."
"So why was it okay for you, but not for me?!"
Chapter 2
I went quiet.
So did she.
The rest of the ride back to our den was just the hum of the engine and the sound of her sniffling in the passenger seat, her wolf whimpering softly beneath her skin.
When we got home, Anna finally worked up the nerve to push back.
"Mom, Randy is really good to me. I really like him. Can you please just stay out of it? I promise it won't mess with my Rankings, and I'm not gonna do anything stupid."
She took a breath. "And I know - I know - we're gonna have a great future together. He feels like my true mate, Mom. I swear it."
God, she sounded exactly like every other she-pup who's head-over-heels in love.
Watching her fight so hard to prove this was real... it was like looking in a mirror.
I remembered saying the exact same things to my own mother:
Patrick's so good to me. I really like him. We're gonna have an amazing future together.
I'm willing to bet everything on him.
And I lost that bet.
Lost it bad.
"Little wolf, I used to think just like you. Look how that turned out."
I sighed and headed into the kitchen, rolled up my sleeves, and started prepping dinner. That's when the scar peeked out - the one on my wrist from eighteen years ago, when I tried to end it all.
Anna's eyes locked onto it. Her face crumpled, her wolf letting out a soft, pained whine.
"Mom... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up."
She stepped closer, voice soft. "You've never told me what happened back then. And you never let anyone get close to you, never even thought about mating again. But I'm older now. Can you tell me? What really happened? I want to know."
She'd asked me about my past more than once over the years.
I always brushed it off. Told her I'd forgotten, that it'd been forever since I even thought about it.
But the second she asked again today, I realized - every single thing that happened eighteen years ago, every word, every moment - it was all still there. Crystal clear.
My wolf stirred restlessly, claws prickling under my skin.
I hesitated for a second, then started talking. Started telling her the story I'd buried for eighteen years.
Patrick and I? Yeah, we met senior year too.
Teenage wolf love hits different. It's intense. Reckless.
And Patrick back then? Way crazier than his pup could ever be.
He brought me fresh-kill breakfast every single morning.
When other wolves at school called me trash for being packless, he'd shift right there in the hallway and throw punches without thinking twice - claws out, eyes blazing gold.
Every day after school, he'd shove these handwritten love notes into my bag - stayed up all night writing them, his wolf howling outside my den window.
The wildest thing he ever did? Grabbed the mic right out of the Pack Elder's hand during the annual assembly and confessed his feelings for me in front of everyone. Barely kept his shift under control.
The sun was brutal that day. But somehow, he looked even brighter - like a true Alpha in the making.
That's how Patrick and I started courting.
A week before the Ranking Trials, Patrick got into it with some wolf from another pack. When the guy turned around, Patrick hit him. Hard. Messed up his leg bad. His wolf went feral for a second.
It happened in a blind spot - no witnesses, no proof.
So when the Enforcers started asking questions, I stepped up and took the fall. Got detained for ten days in the pack's holding cells.
Missed the Ranking Trials completely.
Anna's face went red, her eyes flickering amber. "So that's why you only finished basic training. You took the fall for him and missed your shot at the elite academies."
Her voice got louder. "And he just... what? Went and took his Trials like nothing happened?"
I shook my head.
At first, when Patrick found out I'd covered for him, he wanted to confess.
But his parents threatened to sever their own pack bonds if he did. Literally said they'd rather lose their wolves than see their son throw his future away.
So he caved. Took the Trials anyway.
The day he came to see me in holding, he swore up and down he'd get into a good academy, make something of himself, and give me the life I deserved - claim me as his true Luna.
Patrick was a decent wolf. And somehow, he crushed those Trials. Got into a solid pack academy.
I wanted to be close to him, so I ditched the idea of retaking my Trials and just... followed him. Moved to his academy town, got a job, helped pay his den fees while he trained.
The year Patrick graduated, I was carrying his pup.
Back then, having a pup before a formal mating bond? That was shameful. Wolves talked. Whispered.
But I didn't care. My parents were furious, told me not to do it, but I was so happy I ignored them and bonded into his family anyway.
No ceremonial ride to pick me up. No pack blessing.
Hell, we didn't even have a real mating ceremony.
Anna's eyes went wide. "Wait - Mom, you had a pup? How come you never told me? Did he get custody after the severance?"
A pup?
I touched my belly - flat, empty - the same way I used to eighteen years ago, back when I was careful, gentle, like I was holding something precious.
But now? All I could do was smile bitterly, a low growl caught in my throat.
"She's gone."
My voice was quiet. "Seven moons. That's all she got."
It was a female. Just like Anna.
If she were still here, she'd be at her Trials by now.
Anna froze for a second, then her face just crumpled.
She threw her arms around me and held on tight, her wolf howling softly inside her.
"Mom, don't be sad. You still have me."
She pulled back, eyes searching mine. "But... seven moons? What happened? How did you lose her?"
I tugged my sleeve down, covering the ugly scar on my wrist. My voice didn't shake.
"The day I found out he was cheating, he shoved me."
I paused. "I fell. And that was it."
Chapter 3
"Cheating?"
Anna's hand flew to her mouth.
"You took the fall for him, gave up your Trials, sacrificed everything - and he cheated on you? And he's the reason you lost your pup?"
Her voice cracked, her wolf's hackles rising beneath her skin. "Who was she? Did you know her? Was she pretty?"
Her questions pulled me right back to that fall, eighteen years ago.
Just like Anna, when I first realized Patrick was stepping outside our bond, I couldn't believe it either.
The she-wolf's name was Jessica Fletcher. She was Patrick's department head at his pack's company.
She wasn't even pretty. And she was seven years older than both of us.
Anna's frown deepened, a low growl rumbling in her chest. "Seven years older? What the hell was he thinking? He had you - young, gorgeous - and he went for some older she-wolf who should've been past her prime?"
I kept chopping vegetables, didn't stop.
But the memory of catching Patrick flashed through my mind and the knife slipped. Blood dripped onto the cutting board.
Anna panicked, her wolf surging forward. She grabbed a Band-Aid and pressed it onto my finger.
"Mom, you're bleeding so much. Does it hurt?"
I smiled. "It's nothing. Doesn't hurt."
I looked at the cut. "Compared to what I went through eighteen years ago? This is nothing."
Back then, Patrick and I were newly mated. Still in that honeymoon phase where everything felt perfect - our wolves intertwined, our scents mingled.
His pack's marketing team threw parties almost every week - celebrating closed territory deals, new contracts, whatever. He'd bring me along most of the time.
That's how I met Jessica.
She knew I was carrying his pup, so she'd always sit next to me, make sure I was comfortable, ask how my wolf was feeling.
We even exchanged numbers, talked about pack gossip and she-wolf stuff.
She felt like this sweet, caring older sister.
I actually really liked her back then. After those pack parties, I'd tell Patrick how nice she was, how sweet.
But every time I brought her up, he'd get this look on his face - like he was annoyed or something.
"Nice? She's plain as hell. Average wolf. Thirty years old and still unmated."
He'd shake his head, his eyes flickering gold. "The only reason she got promoted that fast is because of her bloodline and her pack's connections. She's not a good wolf, Ophelia. Stay away from her."
I didn't really agree with him, but I didn't argue either.
I kept texting Jessica, talking about random stuff, sharing bits of my day.
But then Patrick stopped bringing me to those parties. Said my belly was too big, that it wasn't convenient anymore - that the other wolves might gossip.
At first, I didn't think much of it.
But then he started coming home later and later. "Working late" turned into his go-to excuse.
Pregnancy hormones didn't help. My wolf went restless, pacing inside me.
I started spiraling, convinced he was gonna sever our bond.
When Jessica found out I was worried, she swore up and down she had my back.
"Ophelia, just relax and focus on the pup. I'm keeping an eye on him at work. No she-wolf's getting anywhere near him, I promise."
She'd reassure me, her voice so soothing. "Stop overthinking. We've been slammed at work lately - everyone's putting in extra hours. And when Patrick stays late? I'm there too. He's not out running around, trust me."
I did trust Patrick.
And hearing that from her made me feel so much better. My wolf finally settled.
Until I hit seven moons. Patrick had been "working late" for six nights straight.
And my wolf finally couldn't take it anymore. We were both going feral with worry.
That night, I made him homemade bone broth, grabbed the thermos, and waddled my pregnant self to his pack's territory office.
It was almost 10 p.m.
The building was dead - barely any lights on, the scent of other wolves faint.
I told the territory guard who I was, and he let me in without a second thought.
The office floor was empty. Quiet.
No sign of Patrick at his desk. No scent trail either.
But there was one office with the door cracked open, light spilling out into the hallway.
And inside, I could hear it -
Two voices. Heavy breathing. Tangled together.
I knew those sounds. My wolf knew them too - she started snarling.
I froze. Felt like I'd been struck by lightning straight through my chest.
I took a few more steps, peeked through the crack in the door, and saw them.
Patrick and Jessica. Kissing. His hands all over her. Completely lost in each other.
That snapped me out of it. My wolf lunged forward.
I shoved the door open and lost it - screaming at the top of my lungs like a feral beast. No dignity, no control, just pure rage. My claws extended. My eyes burned gold.
I was screaming at Patrick, demanding to know why he'd do this to me, why he'd break our bond like this.
But he didn't say a word. Didn't apologize. Just scrambled to grab his shirt and threw it over Jessica, shielding her like she was the one who needed protecting - like she was his true Luna, not me.
When he looked at me, there wasn't a trace of guilt in his eyes. Just cold, hard anger. His wolf was hostile, not ashamed.
"What the hell are you doing here?! Are you out of your mind?!"
His voice was sharp, a growl ripping through it.
"If someone hears you, how is Jessica supposed to show her face at this pack after this?!"
