Chapter 1: The Bond He Chose to Break

The late Elder Elias Wren’s daughter was pregnant again.

This time, the way my mate, Kane Calder, chose to repay that debt was by dissolving our bond and making her Luna in my place.

Under Greenridge pack law, an unmated she-wolf who became pregnant risked exile.

So once again, Kane chose to sacrifice me.

I had cried. I had fought. I had even tried to use our own child to make him change his mind, just as Vera Wren was doing now.

None of it worked.

He added an estate to the dissolution papers, then pushed the document in front of me, his impatience a palpable thing.

“Is that enough? Sign it. Vera’s showing, and the council has to acknowledge her and the pup before it’s born.”

I didn’t cry. I didn’t argue. I just signed my name.

At last, Kane smiled, satisfied.

He took my hand, his voice a low promise.

“Evelyn, Elder Elias was my mentor. He vouched for me with the council, helped prove I was fit to be Alpha. I can’t let his daughter be disgraced, pregnant and unmated.”

“Once the child is acknowledged as my heir, I’ll dissolve my bond with Vera and give the Luna position back to you.”

“I’ll only stay in her wing on weekdays. On weekends, I’ll come back to our Pack House. Nothing will change.”

I folded the dissolution papers and quietly watched him pack.

He didn’t know there was a pup in my belly, too. The scent-blocking spray from the healer was hiding it for now.

I had already booked the procedure to terminate the pregnancy, and I had bought a plane ticket out of the pack.

This time, I wouldn’t be waiting for him.

…

“Alpha Kane, Ms. Hart, your mate bond has been officially dissolved. Ms. Hart’s Luna authority will be removed from the Greenridge registry before midnight.”

The registrar handed us two certificates stamped with moonstone seals.

The moment Kane took his, he turned and showed it to Vera, who was waiting nearby.

She was four months along, and the warm scent of new life clung to her, unmistakable. Every werewolf in the registration hall could smell it.

Vera wasn’t just the only daughter Elder Elias had publicly acknowledged; the faction he’d left behind was pressuring Kane to protect her.

Kane didn’t linger. He immediately led her toward the registration window on the other side of the hall.

Once they completed the process, Vera would be Greenridge’s new Luna. The pup in her belly would have first-in-line inheritance rights.

The registrar watched them go, muttered a curse under his breath, and then turned to me with a sympathetic look.

I put my certificate away, hailed a car on my phone, and waited under the eaves outside the hall.

Heavy rain hammered the stone steps.

My wolf recognized the cedar scent lingering on my clothes, but for the first time, she didn’t urge me to go to him.

That silence was all I needed to know the last of my instinctive trust in him was gone.

Before long, a black luxury van pulled up in front of me.

The window rolled down, revealing a smirk Vera barely bothered to hide.

Kane walked over, a frown creasing his brow as he opened the rear door.

“Evelyn, I told you to wait for me at the entrance.”

“It’s pouring, and you don’t even have an umbrella. You know how you get when you’re sick—you won’t take your medicine. You’re always making me worry.”

“When we get back, I’ll make you some hot apple tea. Drink it before you go to sleep.”

I stood by the open door, unmoving.

Kane paused, then shot a glance at Vera in the passenger seat. His expression tightened.

“Vera’s carrying a pup. The back seats will make her sick. You were the Luna. You know how important it is to protect the pack’s heir.”

Vera immediately unbuckled her seat belt.

“I’m so sorry, Evelyn. Kane’s just used to taking care of me. Please don’t misunderstand.”

“I can sit in the back. A little nausea is fine. Please, don’t fight over me.”

She deliberately laced her scent with a trace of fear.

Kane caught it. His protective instinct for the pup overrode any patience he had left.

“Stop making trouble. Get in.”

He reached out to push me into the back, but I sidestepped him.

“I just wanted to ask. Is this a new car?”

Kane buckled my seat belt for me, explaining casually, “Vera’s pregnant.

A roomier car is more comfortable for her. If you don’t like it, we can buy another one after we restore our bond.”

I kept my voice low. “I see.”

Kane loved off-road vehicles, cars that could chase prey through the mountains. During my first pregnancy, I’d suggested we switch to something with a smoother ride.

He’d said he wasn’t used to driving anything else and refused.

But for Vera, he had changed cars without being asked.

His refusal had never been about habit.

It had only ever been about who he was willing to change for.

Not long after we left the registration hall, Vera clutched her stomach, claiming her pup’s scent felt unstable.

Kane went rigid.

He pulled over to the side of the road and turned to me. “Evelyn, get back on your own.”

“I’m taking Vera to the healing center. I can’t let anything happen to her or the pup.”

He left me in the pouring rain.

We were far from the city, and no other cars passed. The black van soon vanished behind the curtain of rain.

I was no longer sad.

My phone chimed.

It was a confirmation message from the healing center, reminding me to check the time of my appointment to terminate the pregnancy.