Chapter 2: The Anniversary That Wasn't Mine

The next evening, I stood at the entrance of the Moon Temple and watched Adrian renew his bond with Selene on the same day that was supposed to mark ten years of our chosen bond.

The entire pack was there.

Selene stood beside Adrian in a silver gown and around her neck hung my Luna necklace.

The necklace I’d worn for five years. The necklace Adrian had given me when we chose each other.

Rowan stood at Selene’s side, smiling proudly.

When the priest raised his hand, Adrian reached for Selene’s, his eyes never left hers.

"Before the Moon Goddess and our pack, I acknowledge Selene as my fated mate."

The words tore through me as the crowd erupted in cheers.

Rowan was the loudest. "Mom! Mom!"

Selene turned toward him and Rowan ran into her arms. She laughed and hugged him tightly while Adrian smiled at them.

For one horrible second, they looked exactly like the family I’d spent five years trying to preserve.

Then Adrian looked at me and his expression turned sour.

"Why are you here, Elara? I told you not to come," he sighed.

I almost laughed. "It’s our anniversary, Adrian."

His jaw tightened. "Not tonight, I already made that clear. Why did you have to come here to create a scene and embarrass yourself?"

A bitter smile touched my lips. "I'm embarrassing myself? Couldn't you have done this ceremony on any other day and not today?"

He stepped closer and lowered his voice. "Selene needed this ceremony today. Go back to the estate and stay there. Stop making a fool of yourself."

I stared at him. "Why? You don't want people to see me heartbroken?"

"There’s nothing for you to do here, Elara. Leave!" he hissed at me.

On the day we’d promised to spend our lives together, my husband had just renewed his bond with another woman, and he was telling me there was nothing for me to do.

Selene touched his arm. "Adrian, don’t make her uncomfortable."

He immediately turned toward her and his expression softened.

"Are you tired?"

She shook her head. "I’m fine."

"You should rest." His voice softened.

I looked away. Five years ago, he used to speak to me like that.

"Go home, Elara," he said again. "I’ll come later."

"Yes, Mom. Today is Aunty Selene’s day and we don't want you making her upset by being mean," Rowan added.

I swallowed the bitterness rising in my chest, forced my wolf’s whimper down, and nodded. "Fine."

I walked out of the temple.

Outside, rain had started falling. A pack car was waiting for me, but I kept walking.

I didn’t want the Luna’s carriage, the guards, or Adrian’s protection.

I didn't want to feel anyone’s pitying gaze as they tried to be polite when I could hear their hushed whispers.

For five years, I’d been the one protecting his family from falling apart.

I covered for his absences, I explained away his cruelty, and I made excuses when the pack noticed Selene’s place beside him.

Whenever Adrian created a mess, I was the one left cleaning it up.

That was what loving him had become.

I was always cleaning up after the man who had stopped choosing me.

I didn’t go back to the estate. I went to the Moonstone Registry.

The registrar looked up in surprise.

"Luna Elara?"

I placed a document on her desk. "I want to dissolve my chosen mate bond."

She stared at me. "Are you certain?"

I looked down at my empty neck. The necklace was gone. So was the bond I had spent five years pretending was still alive.

"Yes."

I signed.

By the time Adrian returned to the estate, I was waiting in the sitting room with the folder on the table.

He walked in, his expression tired as he kept a sleeping Rowan on the couch.

"Why are you still awake?"

I pushed the folder toward him. "Sign this."

"What is this?"

"The dissolution of our chosen mate bond."

He looked at me in disbelief. "Elara."

"I’ve already signed."

His fingers tightened around the papers. "Because of Selene? Because I didn't celebrate our anniversary today?"

"It's been five years of fighting for attention with Selene, Adrian. I'm sick of it."

Adrian scoffed. "Selene is my fated mate, she needs me but it doesn't change your role in my life."

"What role is that, Adrian?"

"You’re the mother of my pup and heir. You’re my Luna, and that’s never going to change. What more do you want from me, Elara?"