For five whole years, I masked my noble White Wolf royal bloodline by swallowing bitter herbs, playing the part of a fragile orphan with no trace of wolf-scent about me—all to test how true my boyfriend Caleb's heart really was. But today, in the sacred Moon Temple, I walked in on him and my best friend Selena completing the permanent marking ritual right before my eyes. A temple priest, smiling warmly, approached them with a silver chalice in hand. "Congratulations, you two. You are the one hundred and forty-third couple to bind a soul contract at our sacred site this year." "Please accept the key card to our complimentary suite." That suite was an exclusive retreat reserved for fated mates to ride out their heats. As Caleb's mate, I could only stand there and watch him enjoy the privilege with another woman. Selena turned, saw me frozen in place, and cried out with wounded innocence, "Layla, it's all Caleb's fault! He said this was just some interactive game the Moon Temple was running!" Far from showing a shred of guilt, Caleb snorted, wrapped an arm around Selena's waist, and drawled, "Don't make a scene here, Layla. It's not like you even have heats." He put on that false authority of an Alpha, his voice cold. Casually, he tucked a golden suite key card into Selena's collar. "Let's see if you've got the guts tonight to come absorb the spiritual energy in that suite with me," Caleb said, taunting. Selena's cheeks flushed crimson. She bit her lower lip. "Hmph, if it raises my bloodline rank, I couldn't want it more," she murmured, melting softly into his embrace. The two of them went right on with their sweet bickering, too stingy to spare me even a single apology. I didn't scream. I didn't weep. I simply set down the bucket I was carrying, walked down the mountain path, and opened a telepathic link to my father—the most powerful Wolf King in all of North America. "Father, I accept Alpha Griffin's proposal of marriage." The poor little orphan act was over. It was time I retired it. Chapter 1 Layla's POV： I stood frozen, unable to move. The sanctum of the Moon Temple was supposed to be a place of utter purity. Yet the sight before me turned my blood to ice in an instant. My boyfriend of five years, Caleb, stood beside the ancient stone pillars. And my best friend, Selena, was pressed tight against his chest. But it wasn't their embrace that stole the air from my lungs. It was the bite marks glinting faintly at their throats. The marks. The deep binding bite that ties two souls together for all eternity—the supreme claim, the supreme contract. A temple priest, smiling, approached them with a silver chalice in hand. "Congratulations," the old priest's voice echoed through the tranquil courtyard. "You are the one hundred and forty-third couple to bind a soul contract at our sacred site this year." The priest handed them a golden key card. "Please accept the key to our complimentary suite. It brims with spiritual energy—only fated mates are worthy of it." My hands shook uncontrollably; water sloshed over the rim of my bucket. Selena turned, drew a sharp breath, and feigned shock at seeing me. She hastily tugged at her collar, eyes stretched wide in an expression of counterfeit innocence. "Layla! It's not what you think!" Selena cried, rushing toward me. She pointed at Caleb, her voice dripping with a false, tearful wail. "Caleb said the temple ritual was just a tourist experience! Just a silly game!" Selena clutched my sleeve. "He said it was only a role-play interaction task. Who could have known... our wolf souls would lose control, and the marking would just... happen!" I stared at her hard, my chest crushed beneath a thousand-pound stone. I could barely breathe. Caleb's face held not a trace of remorse. Composed, he strolled forward and wound an arm around Selena's slender waist. He pulled her into his chest and smirked down at me from on high. "Don't pin it all on me," Caleb teased, eyes fixed on Selena as if I were nothing but air. He took the golden key card from the priest. A wicked curl touched his lips as he slid the card deep into the collar of Selena's blouse. "Let's see if you've got the guts tonight to come absorb the spiritual energy in that suite with me," Caleb said, taunting. Selena's cheeks flushed crimson. She bit her lower lip. "Hmph, if it raises my bloodline rank, I couldn't want it more," she murmured, melting softly into his embrace. She shot me a contemptuous glance. "Don't you worry, Layla. Tomorrow I'll ask the priest whether the mark can be undone." It was a lie, and we both knew it. Once a mark is made, it can never be undone short of tearing a soul in two. At last Caleb deigned to look at me, his gaze frost-hard. "Don't be difficult, Layla," he snapped, deploying that self-righteous Alpha tone he always used to put me in my place. "It's not like you even have heats," he added carelessly, arms crossed. For five years at the Unified Werewolf Academy, I had used bitter herbs to mask my noble royal bloodline and suppress my scent, playing a scentless, weak, helpless orphan. It was meant to be a trial to find a true and loyal heart—and Caleb had just failed it, utterly and completely. "Since you're so utterly ordinary, go sleep in the common tent by yourself tonight," Caleb ordered. Not one apology. He couldn't even be bothered to invent a decent lie. He simply assumed I would swallow my pride and accept his betrayal. No hysteria. Not a single tear. I just let go, and let the wooden bucket fall. The spring water spilled across the ancient flagstones, washing away five years of blind devotion in one clean sweep. Without a word, I turned and walked down the mountain path. The biting wind struck my face and cleared my head as nothing had before. I closed my eyes, reached deep into my consciousness, and opened the telepathic link to my father. "Father," I called through the link. His deep, resonant voice answered at once. "Layla? What's happened?" My father was the Alpha of the Silver Moon pack, commanding the finest financial empire and the fiercest armed forces in all of North America. "Father, I've made up my mind," I sent the thought, my voice calm and cold. "I accept the marriage proposal from Griffin, Alpha of the Shadow Wolves." A beat of silence, then a flood of boundless joy came pouring through the link. "I'll notify him at once, child. Come home." I cut the link and stood at the edge of the muddy road, waiting for the car that would come for me. Behind me, the mountain wind carried the sound of Caleb and Selena laughing as they walked down the trail. "That energy suite has an enormous bathtub," Selena trilled, her voice drifting through the trees. "Only fated mates may share the merging of energies," Caleb answered, his voice low and thick with hunger. "I can't wait to show you." Every brush of their fingers, every lingering, tangled glance they'd exchanged at the academy—all of it now had a sickening answer. He had crossed the line long ago, and had been hiding behind the fig leaf of "just good friends" the whole time. A black luxury car came speeding up the road and stopped in a cloud of dust. I reached for the door handle, wanting only to leave this revolting place forever. Suddenly a hand seized my shoulder from behind and yanked me backward.

Layla's POV: I whipped around, every muscle braced for a fight—only to find it was just Selena. She clutched my jacket, blind to the cold fury in my eyes. Grinning brightly, she held out a cheap metal key. "This is the key to our tent," Selena said, pressing it into my palm. "Since you're heading back to camp, be a dear and pack up our luggage for us." She swept her long hair over her shoulder, ostentatiously displaying the fresh bite on her neck. "Oh, and cancel our campsite booking at the front desk while you're at it. Caleb and I will be busy in the suite tonight." Caleb stepped out from behind her, smugness radiating off him. He reached out and patted my head as one pats an obedient pet. He had always liked me docile—plain, undemanding, and no embarrassment in front of the Alpha circles he was so desperate to climb. "Run along and get some rest, Layla," he said, his tone dripping with condescending patience. "Be good. Tonight I'll take you out for that famous wolfsbane roasted meat." A bitter laugh nearly broke out of my throat. Because of my hidden White Wolf bloodline, wolfsbane was deadly to me. Even a trace of that toxic plant would swell my throat shut and suffocate me to death in agony—though to ordinary wolves it was little more than a heady seasoning, to me it was death. Five years together, and he had never once learned what could kill me. My phone buzzed in my pocket. An encrypted message from Griffin, Alpha of the Shadow Wolves. "I've arrived at the luxury hotel at the foot of the mountain. I'm waiting for you." I looked at Caleb and Selena, my face blank and unmoved. "You're right," I said evenly, pulling my jacket free from Selena's grip. "I should go pack my things." I turned, opened the door of the luxury car, and slid into the back seat. The car tore away in a spray of dust, leaving the two of them far behind. I never once looked back. The driver, a gray-haired werewolf well along in years, glanced at me in the rearview mirror. "Leaving so soon, miss?" he asked politely. "Mm." I watched the trees flick past the window and answered softly. "That temple is truly beautiful," the driver sighed. "But the priests there keep terribly strict rules." My eyes narrowed. "Strict?" "Oh yes," he chuckled. "For a couple to hold a marking ceremony there, they not only have to file a written application—they have to pass a full three-day background check." A heavy silence fell over the car. This trip had been Selena's project from start to finish. She had planned the itinerary. She had booked the temple visit. Only the campsite reservation sat under my name—my card had paid for it. She knew perfectly well. That marking was never an accident. My phone screen lit up with messages from the academy alumni group chat. Selena was flooding the group with photos—her glossy-coated Omega wolf form romping and running side by side with Caleb's brown Beta wolf along the edge of a cliff. "Look at Caleb's clumsy paws! Not scary at all!" Selena typed, attaching a whole row of laughing emojis. Caleb replied to the group at once. He posted a photo of Selena's wolf draped heavily across his back. "@Layla, look at this! All this thick fur weighs a ton—she's about to flatten me!" Caleb typed, determined to drag me into their revolting little game. Then Selena posted one last photo. A selfie of her and Caleb cuddled beside a moonstone glowing with phosphorescent light. That moonstone was the sacred site I had always dreamed of visiting, to beg the Moon Goddess for her blessing. Selena had stolen my dream, and now she flaunted it in my face. I stared at the screen, expressionless, feeling nothing in my heart but a bone-deep revulsion and cold. "Have fun." I typed the two words, and the screen went dark. The car rolled to a stop before the grand entrance of the luxury hotel at the foot of the mountain. I stepped out into the cool evening breeze on my cheeks. In that instant, I stopped breathing. Beside the entrance stood a man in an immaculately tailored black suit—tall, commanding, radiating an authority that brooked no argument. The moment I drew near, a scent of staggering intensity crashed over me like a tidal wave. The fresh fragrance of deep pine, interwoven with the sharp, cold sting of rain. My heart hammered against my ribs like a war drum; my blood surged hot and roaring. Deep in my soul, my white wolf tore at my consciousness with a deafening, possessive roar—Mine! The mate bond. The ancient soul contract by which werewolves find their destined partners. Griffin turned his head, and those deep, piercing eyes locked onto me instantly.

Layla's POV: Alpha Griffin walked toward me, and the very air grew heavy with his approach. As the dreaded supreme Alpha of the Shadow Wolves, he had nonetheless been my silent guardian for ten years. He had known I was his fated mate since the first stirrings of girlhood, yet he had honored my choice, letting me attend the academy and live the life of an ordinary person. He had waited in the shadows all this time, never once pressing me for an answer. I swallowed the lump in my throat and gave him a slow, steady nod. I was ready to accept the bond between us. Griffin's eyes darkened. In the space of a heartbeat he crossed the distance between us and crushed me against his broad, solid chest. The instant our skin touched, a violent current shot through my whole body, igniting every nerve. An unprecedented peace washed over me like a tide. At last, I had found where my soul belonged. Griffin buried his face in the curve of my neck and drew a deep breath. "I'm taking my Luna home," he murmured, his rich voice making my collarbone tingle. I pulled back slightly and gazed up at his handsome face. "Give me five minutes," I said softly. I slipped into the quiet lounge beside the hotel entrance and took out my phone. Opening the mountain campground's management app, I pulled up the reservation under my name and canceled the booking with a few crisp taps. Then I dialed the campground manager's direct line. "This is Layla," I said, flat and distant. "I've just canceled the mountain campsite. Gather up every last thing belonging to Caleb and Selena, and toss those heavy suitcases straight into the trash bins by the dirt road. If anything of theirs is left lying in the mud, burn it on the spot." "At once, miss!" the manager stammered, plainly rattled by the cold authority in my voice. On my way back to Griffin, my phone began buzzing furiously. A message from a friend at the academy: "Layla! What on earth is going on?! Look at this!" She sent a screenshot from the alumni social feed—Caleb's profile page. He had published a nine-photo post. Dead center was a high-resolution contract certificate issued by the temple priests. The other eight were all intimate selfies of him and Selena kissing and entangled in the energy suite. The caption read: "Lucky day. Picked up a top-grade Omega. Blessings to the Moon Goddess." I opened the app to search his account. A notice popped up: This user has blocked you. A scornful smile curled my lips. Caleb had always refused to make our relationship public, claiming he feared other Alphas would set their sights on me. Ridiculous. He'd simply wanted to keep his eligible-bachelor image intact. I fired back a quick reply to my friend: "Caleb? I'm done with him. Threw him out with the trash." My friend instantly bombarded me with a string of furious voice messages, cursing Caleb and Selena for their shamelessness and their desecration of the Moon Goddess. Then a text message from Caleb popped up on my screen. A location pin—a cheap barbecue joint near the temple. When I didn't reply, my phone rang off the hook. Caller ID: Caleb. I answered and held the phone to my ear. "Where the hell did you die?" Caleb barked down the line. "Get over here now! Selena's pre-heat symptoms are kicking in and she's starving!" "Do you have any idea how far away I am right now?" I asked, my voice calm to the point of danger. "Don't start trouble with me!" Caleb snapped. "Acting like a whiny, drama-queen Omega all day long!" In the background came Selena's simpering giggle and the sound of Caleb's hand slapping playfully at her thigh. They were flirting right in my ear. Utterly shameless. I looked up at Griffin. His face was dark, his gaze fixed on me, killing intent and protectiveness warring in his eyes. Caleb had made himself pitiable and laughable beyond all measure. I drew a deep breath and spoke the vow of the ancient Rite of Rejection. We had never formally bonded, so this was only the dissolution of a mundane partnership—but under the old law, a mating claim alone made us mates in fact, no mark required, and the vow lost none of its weight. "I, Layla, hereby declare my rejection of you—Caleb—as my mate." My voice rang through the hotel lobby, clear and cold as ice.