Paige’s POV

"Noah Hanson, do you take Paige Lopez as your mate and Luna?"

"I do."

The memory of our mating ceremony burned painfully in my chest.He answered so quickly and I didn’t realize he'd let go swiftly too.He had claimed me before the entire Frostridge Pack, bit my neck as the Moon Goddess bore witness. Back then, he’d spoken those words with such conviction—I was his fated mate, not just some business arrangement.

But then, on our anniversary, he shattered everything.

"Sign the mating bond dissolution papers, Paige. I’m giving you one week to sign them and vacate the house."

Tears rolled down my cheeks. "Why?" My wolf, Tiana, whimpered inside me, feeling the pain of rejection.

I’d loved Noah since our college days. When our wolves recognized each other as mates during a pack gathering, I thought the Moon Goddess had blessed me. So when he proposed a mating contract—marriage in exchange for an heir to secure his Alpha inheritance—I signed without hesitation. I was naive enough to believe love would grow between us, that the bond would deepen beyond duty.

For three year, I played the perfect Luna—hosting pack feasts, mediating disputes, even restructuring the pack’s finances using my business degree.And tonight, on our three-year mating anniversary, he slammed the papers onto the desk, demanding that I sign—his complete and final rejection.Was I never enough from the beginning? I just can’t understand. I gave him everything.

His forehead creased."Why?We had a deal. You’d give me an heir to secure my position as Alpha. Three years, Paige. The council won’t accept an infertile Luna."

The words gutted me. Right. Why did I even forget about the only reason?

Infertile. Like I was a defective broodmare instead of his mate.

"But we still have time and you didn't tell me that you'll reject me if I fail to give you a heir," My voice trembled with grief as I pleaded, feeling the bond that once united us now tearing apart.

"Enough!" His fist slammed the mahogany desk, the Alpha command in his voice making my knees weaken instinctively. "It was just a simple logic, Paige. You know me well. I am a pack leader. I won't invest in something that won't benefit the pack."

He’s so heartless.I tasted blood where my teeth pierced my lip. "So that’s all I am? An investment?It's all just pack politics to you? Don't you have feelings for me, Noah? Don't you feel anything? We've been mated for three year. Today is our anniversary. Is this how we're gonna celebrate our bond?”

He looked at me with annoyance. "Do we need to celebrate, Paige? There's nothing to celebrate. I'm rejecting you as my Luna and I won't take it back."

I shook my head as tears continued streaming down my face. "Noah, please! Don't leave me. I need you, Noah. I need you. Our wolves need each other. Did I do something wrong? Offend you somehow?Is it me—my scent, my body? Not strong enough, not alluring enough?Am I not a good enough Luna? I'll change myself, Noah. Just please… Please, don't leave me."I’ll carve away whatever parts of me he finds lacking.

“Stop it, Paige!”

I shook my head and cried harder.I dropped to the floor, my silk dress pooling around me. Pathetic? Maybe. But the thought of losing him made my wolf whimper. "Noah! You know h-how much I love you.Our bond is everything to me. Please, don't do this to me."

Noah's nostrils flared at the scent of my distress, but his voice was cold. "My father's final law is clear: if I don't have an heir, Neo takes my birthright—he'll rip the pack from my hands." His jaw clenched at the name of his half-brother, the son of his father's mistress. "Would you have me kneel to that bastard?"

I kneel before him. "Please, Noah. Let me try again. I'll do anything - black magic, bargaining with witches, ancient fertility rites - just give me one more chance to bear your pup."

He eyed me aggressively. His face was so red in so much anger. "Have some shame, Paige! Leave some dignity to yourself."

I didn't care about dignity. Not when my soul was splitting in two. "I'd rather be humiliated than lose you.You're my mate, my Alpha."I whispered, pressing my forehead to his hands—a submissive gesture that made Ryder, Noah's wolf, growl in discomfort.I need him.

"Damn it, Paige!"He hauled me up by my wrists, his grip too tight for a human—but just right for a mate like me."You’re embarrassing yourself."

I sobbed. “Noah…”

He looked at me mockingly. "Have you gone mad, Paige?You’re not the strong Luna I thought you were.”

He threw the papers at my feet."I, Alpha Noah, reject you,Paige Lopez, as my mate."

"Noah! Noah, please!" My voice cracked."You can’t do this to me."

My fingers barely grazed Noah's sleeve before he jerked away, his broad shoulders blocking the moonlight streaming through the house windows.

As the door slammed, my wolf,Tiana,collapsed, her whines echoing my shattered heart. The bond with Noah wasn't just breaking—it was being ripped away, a physical pain like claws tearing through muscle, thread by thread, leaving raw edges that would never heal.

Every cell in my body screamed to chase after my mate, but the bond between us hung in tattered shreds, sapping my strength. I felt so weak—my knees refused to move. I can't lose him. The thought alone threatened to shatter what remained of me.

Tiana raged inside me. "He can't do this! The Moon Goddess bound us—"

“Noah! Noah, c-come back, please!” I cried while trying to pull myself up. I’ll swallow my pride. I’m willing to take another risk. I don’t wanna be alone!

When I finally managed to pull myself up, I didn’t hesitate. I bolted out of the house with the desperate thought of following him, only to bump into someone who, with gentle urgency, caught me by the waist.

The familiar scent of cedar and honey laced with healing herbs flooded my senses.

"Paige. Oh my God! What happened? Why are you crying?"

I cried harder at the sight of Aunt Precy's worried face—the Lightning Pack's revered doctor who had raised me since my parents' death. I held her arms helplessly. My tears won't stop from falling.

"Aunt Precy… N-Noah… Aunt Precy, bring me to Noah." I pleaded, my voice trembling with the ache of a broken mate bond.

“What? What really happened, darling? Did you have a fight with your mate?” she asked, her tone switching between shock and compassion.

I felt so weak that my knees buckled once again. As Aunt Precy continued to console and question me, my thoughts began to drift away. Even my wolf, Tiana, whispered quietly, “Hold on, Paige—I’m with you.” But the tender reassurance was lost in the haze of my overwhelming despair until, finally, I passed out, crying.

***

Hospital lights stabbed my eyes. Not a human clinic, but the pack's hospital, where the walls smelled of antiseptic. Machines beeped in time with Tiana's shallow breaths in my mind.

I remembered what happened,Noah is rejecting me. It hurts! It hurts so much. I loved him very much and I can't lose him. I don't wanna lose him.

"He's really gone," I whispered.

Tiana lifted her head, amber eyes glowing. "Not yet. You haven't accepted it, and he hasn't completed the rejection."

I swallowed hard and licked my dried lips as I roamed my eyes around. I need to leave. I need to see Noah. I need to talk to him again.

I ripped out the IV, ignoring the blood beading on my arm. Hiding my face, I managed to sneak out of the hospital. I rode a cab to go to the Hanson Group. I was so lost in my anguish that I didn’t realize I had no fare money until the taxi driver’s impatient words snapped me back.

“You shouldn’t have ridden my taxi in the first place. What the hell is this, Miss?”

I bowed apologetically. "I-I'm sorry…"

"How much is her fare?" A man's voice interrupted. I looked at him but I couldn't see his face. He paid my fare. I thanked him politely and ran to the Hanson Group's building.

My hands are trembling. I can still feel dizziness but I ignored it. I entered the elevator and went to the floor of Noah's office. His beta Oliver was shocked upon seeing me. He fixed his eyeglasses. "Luna Paige…"

I swallowed hard. "Where is Noah?"

"Uh… Luna Paige–"

"Is there a problem?" I cut him off. He seems so worried and it scares me. Did something happen? Is Noah okay?

He quickly shook his head and swallowed hard. "T-The thing is… Luna Paige. It's because…"

My forehead creased. "What's the problem, Oliver? Where is your Alpha?"

He looked away and sucked his breath before answering. "He's in a m-meeting. He's busy, Luna Paige. I-I suggest you just wait for him at the house tonight."

I nodded slowly while staring at his elusive eyes. "Then I'll wait in his office."

"Wait… Luna … Luna Paige, please don't–"

I ignored Oliver because my mind was occupied by some thoughts.All at once, I heard groans and moans from inside.

I opened the door of Noah's office and almost passed out again when I found him sprawled across the couch—a familiar she-wolf straddling his lap, her hands buried in his hair as their mouths moved together with wet, hungry sounds. His hands gripped her hips hard, hiking up her skirt while she ground against him with a moan. The scent of Noah's arousal hung thick in the air, that intoxicating mix of whisky, aftershave, and cedar that used to be mine alone.

The she-wolf is Thalia—Noah's first love, a renowned actress and daughter of Frostridge Pack's senior elder.She'd abandoned Noah ages ago. What right did she have to return now, slinking back to steal what was mine?

Tears rolled down my cheeks like a bullet as I felt my whole body become numb. Tiana howled in anguish as we witnessed our mate's betrayal.

So, this is it. It was all because of this—not some fabricated lie about my supposed infertility, not some excuse about heirs. He just wanted me gone so his precious first love could take her place as Luna.

My stomach was hit with another wave of pain. Fresh tears rolled out as I gasped for air.It's so damn painful.