Chapter 1: Chapter 1
My Alpha was grinding on his assistant on the dance floor.
The pack cheered them on. "Alpha! Give us something hotter!"
For three years, he never acknowledged me as his fated mate.
He even forced me to drink poisoned wine in front of everyone.
I collapsed in agony.
He just watched. "Pathetic."
Then, I got pregnant.
My Alpha knelt before me. "Give me one month. Let's start over."
I pointed at his assistant.
"Exile her."
He stiffened. "Is there another way?"
I pulled the Bond Severance Agreement from my bag.
"Then sign this."
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1
I pushed open the door to the Blackfang Pack’s private clubhouse.
Gavin Blackfang, my Alpha, was on the dance floor with his assistant, Talia.
They were pressed close, their bodies grinding to the music.
The pack members around them were whooping and hollering.
“Alpha! Give us something hotter!”
Whistles and cheers deafened the room.
I stood in the doorway for ten seconds.
Each one felt like an eternity.
The two of them finally broke apart.
Across the crowd, I saw the smug smile on my fated mate’s face.
And his assistant, Talia, playfully smacked the shoulders of her cheering friends.
“Stop it, you guys! Gavin has a mate, you know! If I hadn’t lost the game, I would never…” She trailed off, her eyes flicking back to Gavin with a sultry glance.
He seemed to relax at her words, a hint of affection in his eyes.
When Talia turned back around, she finally saw me.
“Elowen! When did you get here?” she asked, her eyes wide with feigned surprise.
The memory of the last few moments flashed in her mind; a flicker of panic was instantly replaced by defiance.
Under the table, she ran the tip of her stiletto up Gavin’s calf.
She thought I couldn’t see.
But the table was glass, reflecting her every move.
“What are you doing here?” Gavin asked.
The smugness on his face melted away, replaced by annoyance.
His friends awkwardly looked away.
His furrowed brow was a clear sign of his displeasure.
When I didn’t answer, he strode toward me.
“Speak up! I’m talking to you!” he growled, his Alpha aura pressing down on me, making it hard to breathe.
Over Gavin’s shoulder, I saw the look of victory in Talia’s eyes.
It was no surprise. Everyone in the Blackfang Pack knew she was the one he wanted.
And I was just the shackle fate had forced upon him.
Our bond had never been one of equals.
Looking at the man I had loved since the day fate chose me, I felt, for the first time, utterly exhausted.
“The Elder wants to see us,” I said softly.
This wasn’t the first time Gavin had been intimate with other women in front of me.
As his fated mate, his betrayal sent waves of immense mental and physical pain through our bond.
He seemed to enjoy watching me break.
My pain gave him a thrill of vengeance.
The last time, it was also here.
His friends’ taunts were directed at me.
“Elowen, drink this glass of wolfsbane-laced wine, and we’ll let the Alpha go home with you!”
Gavin said nothing.
He just stood there, a smirk on his face, thoroughly amused by the situation.
He was doing it on purpose.
I wanted to leave, but he spoke.
“If you dare walk out that door, you will never have my acknowledgment,” he said.
I froze. He knew wolfsbane caused a violent reaction in my system.
Still, I picked up the glass, and under everyone’s watchful eyes, I downed it in one go.
A sharp, burning sensation exploded down my throat, and soon, a violent, cramping pain seized my entire body.
The agony felt like my heart was about to burst.
By the time I finished the drink, I had almost lost consciousness.
I collapsed to the floor, drenched in a cold sweat from the pain.
Gavin’s friends started to look worried.
But he just stood there, looking down at me with cold, mocking eyes.
“Pathetic.”