Evelyn's POV:
"I wanted to end our bond."
The moment I said it, my stomach felt like it was stuffed with cold rocks. I clenched my fists so hard my nails dug into my skin, forcing myself not to pass out right there in front of everyone.
My husband, Alpha Theodore, froze with his fingers in mid-air as he adjusted his black cufflinks. He turned his head, those heavy Alpha eyes locking onto me, full of pressure and warning.
"Today was my brother Grayson’s funeral, Evelyn." His voice was sharp and cold, like ice stabbing straight through me. "And you picked this moment to pull something this disgusting just to get my attention?"
Disgusting. The word kept echoing in my head, over and over, making my eyes burn. Three years of marriage, and he never had sex with me. I used to stupidly think he just needed time, that he would warm up to me someday.
Three days earlier, I had found out the truth. I pushed open the study door and saw him gripping a photo, jerking off to it. My whole world shattered. The woman in that photo had curly blonde hair—it was Leah, the one crying at the grave right then—his brother’s wife. I was still breaking apart inside. I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t even dare to ask him about it.
My husband was jerking off to his own brother’s wife.
Half an hour earlier, right after Grayson’s funeral ended, Theodore ignored everyone in the family and told the whole pack that he was bringing Leah and her son Luca into our pack, into our home.
And he knew damn well Leah got Grayson killed. She forced him to climb a cliff late at night to pick flowers for her—after he had worked all night, so tired he didn’t even shift into his wolf form before falling to his death.
He was willing to throw away his Alpha name for her. That was the last thing that broke me.
I took a deep breath, my eyes going past him, landing on the woman crying at the grave. Her curly blonde hair shined in the sunlight, her thin body looking weak and pitiful. Just like in the photo. We had grown up in the same orphanage. I knew Leah too well. She was not weak. Not even close.
I swallowed hard and said, "You knew why I was doing this."
"No, I didn’t! I would never be as cold and selfish as you!" Theodore growled. "For God’s sake, Grayson was my brother! He just died, and I promised to take care of his family. If I didn’t protect her, Leah would be ripped apart by rogue wolves!"
He paused, his eyes drifting past me without control, full of something twisted, looking at Leah. "You grew up with her. How could you have zero sympathy?"
Sympathy? Protecting his brother’s widow? Looking at him acting all noble, I almost laughed.
"Theodore, you should have stopped lying to yourself. Was it really just sympathy?" I asked. "You knew she killed Grayson!"
"It was an accident!" His voice shot up, cold and dangerous. "Leah made a mistake, but she already lost her husband. She deserved a second chance. Evelyn, why couldn’t you just be more tolerant?"
I stared at him like I didn’t even know who he was anymore. "Were you serious? If your idea of tolerance meant a wife ignoring her husband cheating, then let me tell you—I would never do that!"
"Cheating? Don’t be ridiculous, Evelyn!" He snapped.
He suddenly stepped closer. The pressure from him hit me like a wall. I couldn’t breathe. I stumbled back, my knees going weak under him.
"I regretted letting this look like some ‘equal’ talk and giving you the wrong idea." He looked down at me like I was nothing. "You really thought you had the right to stand there and bargain with me?"
He grabbed my chin hard, forcing me to look up at his cold, violent eyes.
"Now get out. Act like a proper Luna. Or the only thing waiting for you would be getting torn apart by rogue wolves outside."
He shoved me away like trash.
That was it. Like a final sentence. Everything between us—gone. Even the last bit of hope I had—gone.
His coldness felt like a whip covered in spikes, hitting me again and again. In his eyes, I wasn’t his wife. I was just something dirty. Something used. Something he could throw away anytime.
I stood there, watching him walk straight to Leah without even looking back.
Right in front of everyone in the Silver Moon pack, he pulled Leah into his arms like it was nothing. Soft. Careful. Gentle. Then he even picked up little Luca.
Leah leaned into him, her blonde hair against his black suit, looking like some perfect picture. It made me sick. Luca wrapped his arms around his neck, smiling—Theodore had never looked at me with that kind of care.
Everyone’s eyes—pity, mocking, judging—stabbed into me like needles. I couldn’t breathe. My chest felt ripped open.
I didn’t even remember how I moved. I pushed through the crowd and ran to my car like I was escaping something.
The second I locked the door, shut out all those eyes, I finally broke.
Why? Moon Goddess, why was my life always like this? My parents left me. My mate rejected me. Was it because I was an omega? If you hated omegas so much, why did you let us be born?
Did I really have to keep taking this from Theodore?
That image wouldn’t leave my head—his face when he jerked off to Leah’s photo, twisted and ugly, and his face just then, acting like some hero protecting her. It all mixed together into something sick. If I stayed there, watching him look at her like that every day, watching them play happy family in front of me…
I would lose my mind. I knew I would.
I looked at the mirror. Pale face. Empty eyes. If I left the Silver Moon pack, where could I go? A lone wolf outside… rogue wolves would tear me apart.
Theodore knew that. He knew I wanted him more than anyone. That was why he treated me like this. But I wouldn’t let him do it anymore. No matter what it cost.
My hands shook as I called Ava. She was a werewolf court lawyer. The only person I had in that cold city.
"The funeral was over?" Ava asked, worried. "Leah… she didn’t pull anything, right?"
"I didn’t care anymore, Ava." I closed my eyes. Tears slid down my face, but my voice stayed steady. "Help me get the bond-breaking papers ready."
Silence.
"Evelyn, were you crazy?" Ava shouted. "Think about it! You married Theodore for protection! If you gave up being Luna and left the territory, did you know what would happen to you?"
I knew.
But if I didn’t do that, I would break right then.
"Ava," I said quietly, staring at the dark sky outside, "there was a 30-day waiting period. I would find a way."
