The two cubs clung to Isabella the whole time, pointedly ignoring me, their birth mother.
Ethan stood by the sacred stone altar, holding a wine glass in his long fingers, his gaze drifting to Isabella now and then.
There was a tenderness in his eyes I’d never received.
“Our Alpha is so devoted, isn’t he? After all these years, he still only has eyes for Miss Isabella, his first Omega.”
“You said it. Look at those two cubs, they’re just like him, only recognizing Isabella’s scent. Mrs. Aria… well, she’s Luna in name only, isn’t she?”
The guests‘ chatter, carried through the pack’s internal link, reached my ears clearly.
“The Alpha, Miss Isabella, and I all studied at the Wolf Academy together. Back then, when the Alpha was chasing Miss Isabella, it was a huge deal. Every wolf in the academy knew,” an Alpha whispered to his mate beside him. “He was this close to swearing an eternal mate bond to her under the full moon on graduation night, right in front of the Moon Goddess.”
“No wonder!” A Beta female next to him suddenly understood. “First love, right? Even if she stormed off back then and lost her chance, now that she’s back, she’ll always be the most important one in the Alpha’s heart.”
“Some Omegas, even if they manage to become Luna through a pack alliance, scheming all the way, so what?” A wolf glanced at me with contempt, his voice dripping with schadenfreude. “So what if she gave the Alpha heirs? She still can’t win his heart. I bet she’s doomed to be tormented by this broken mate bond for the rest of her life, all alone.”
I listened quietly, my heart feeling like it was wrapped in thick ice and snow.
Numb, but strangely, it didn’t hurt as much anymore.
1/3
Chapter 5
+25 Bonus
Maybe it was because the pain had been so extreme, I’d just lost all feeling.
I took a deep breath and turned to leave.
Just as the elevator doors were about to close, a slender hand suddenly reached in, carrying a sickly–sweet Omega scent.
Isabella stepped in gracefully, a triumphant little smile on her red lips.
“Aria, the high point of the full moon night, the bond–breaking ceremony, will be over soon.” She looked straight into my eyes. “You’ll keep your promise to the Moon Goddess and leave as soon as the ceremony is done, right?”
I pressed the button for the ground floor, “1.” My voice was calm. “Of course.”
“More than any wolf, I want to leave this pack full of betrayal as soon as possible.”
Isabella finally smiled, satisfied. She leaned closer to me, lowering her voice. “Don’t worry, I’ll ‘take care‘ of this pack for you, take care of Ethan and the cubs.”
“Besides, Ethan and the cubs don’t like your bitter healing wolf scent anyway. They’ll slowly forget you, like forgetting a bad dream.”
The elevator descended with a slight shudder.
I didn’t answer her, just quietly felt the last, faint threads of the mate bond being slowly stripped away by the Moon Goddess’s power.
Suddenly-
A deafening crash!
The whole elevator jolted violently, then plunged into darkness!
“Ah-!” Isabella shrieked, fumbling for her phone. “Ethan! Help! The elevator’s broken!”
Caught off guard, I slammed hard against the cold metal wall.
A sharp pain shot through my forehead again.
Warm wolf blood trickled down my cheek.
I don’t know how much time passed before we heard frantic footsteps outside.
“Anyone in there? Can you respond?” The anxious voice of a pack rescue team member came through the warped elevator doors.
“Get us out of here!” Isabella cried, banging on the doors. “My leg… my leg is trapped! It hurts so much!”
The grating sound of metal being pried open filled the air.
A blinding light shone through a crack in the door, making me squint.
A Beta wolf from the rescue team peered in, his face instantly growing grim. “Alpha! This isn’t good! Both… both ladies have their legs pinned by the twisted metal door and fallen debris. But the rescue passage is narrow, and time is short. We can probably only get one out at a time right now! Who…. who do you want us to save first?”
Through my blurry vision, I saw Ethan standing anxiously behind the rescuer with Mason and Maya.
His Alpha scent was thick with worry.
His gaze skipped right over me and landed on Isabella.
Without a moment’s hesitation, he said, “Save Isabella!”
“Save Aunt Isabella first!” Mason and Maya cried out too, their small hands clutching the rescuer’s leather vest. “Save her! She’s our pack’s future Luna!”
The Beta wolf rescuer frowned deeply.
He glanced at my bleeding forehead and clearly more serious injuries, then hesitated. “Alpha, Young Master Mason, Young Miss Maya, the other one… Mrs. Aria’s injuries look worse. For the good of the pack, we still recommend saving her first. Her healing…”
“I said, save Isabella!” Ethan commanded, his voice cold. “She has to lead the ritual next month. It’s vital for the pack’s future! Her leg can’t be damaged!”
The Beta wolf sighed, helpless. Under the Alpha’s absolute authority, he had no choice but to obey, reaching out to pull at the metal pinning Isabella’s leg.
I watched as they carefully, trying everything, finally freed Isabella.
2/3
Chopper B
+25 Bonus
And then the already unstable elevator door, which had lost some support from Isabella’s side, made a terrible sound!
The heavy, twisted metal slammed down onto my legs and back.
Agony ripped through me, so intense even my wolf spirit trembled!
Before darkness completely swallowed my consciousness, the last thing I saw was Ethan, holding a shaken Isabella, surrounded by Mason and Maya, turning and walking away without a second thought.
The two cubs even let out a few happy yelps because Isabella was saved…
And I was left behind in the wreckage, forgotten.
I burned through every last drop of healing power in my body.
And the cost was this: the mate bond broke completely.
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