A Reagent for a Broken Bond

The day I first shifted at sixteen, I begged my mother to perform my first shift ceremony under the holy moonlight.

That was supposed to be the most sacred of nights.

But no blessing awaited us.

We stumbled upon my father, entangled with another she-wolf on the ceremonial altar.

Moonlight cascaded over her naked body, and the ring my father had promised my mother was on that she-wolf's hand.

That night, my parents' mate bond shattered.

From that day on, the ceremonial altar and that ring—a symbol of his infidelity—became my personal nightmare, a wound that would never heal.

The night I forged my bond with the Alpha of the Thornmoon Pack, Jasper Thorne, amid the pain and pleasure of his marking bite, I whispered in his ear.

"Jasper, if you ever want to end our relationship, just tell me directly. Don't insult me with your infidelity."

He frowned, his eyes burning with possessiveness, and silenced me with a kiss.

"Don't be ridiculous, Aurelia. You're my fated mate. How could I ever betray you?"

Later, on his birthday, his intern, Dahlia, presented him with a pair of silver cufflinks engraved with his name. A gift of silver is a grave insult to our kind, and to have it engraved with a name… that's a gesture of shocking intimacy.

Jasper flew into a rage and threw her and the ominous gift out the door.

At the time, I was touched, even persuading him not to be so harsh on a low-ranking wolf.

But six months later, Dahlia was promoted to Jasper's personal assistant.

On my birthday, she swayed into my lab, dangling a moonstone ring, the very one Jasper had promised me.

I called Jasper, demanding an explanation.

On the other end of the line, his tone was casual.

"Dahlia probably just wanted to give you a surprise. Don't be so sensitive, Aurelia. You need to have the grace of a Luna."

A high-precision genetic reagent tube slipped from my hand.

It turned out my mother had been right all along.

A cheating mate deserves only one thing: to have the bond severed.

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1

Dahlia left the moonstone ring on my lab bench, along with an ultrasound image of a twelve-week-old pup, then strutted out like a victorious queen.

I stared at the image.

Twelve weeks.

My inner wolf let out a low, mournful whimper in my mind.

Three months ago, the Thornmoon Pack needed a new gene stabilizer.

Jasper told me that conceiving a powerful, pure-blooded heir required optimal timing, and now wasn't the right time.

So, for the pack, I’d injected myself with a high-concentration suppressant I developed, shutting down my own body's ability to conceive.

Three months later, he had planted his seed in another woman.

Twelve weeks. The timing was a cruel joke.

While I toiled day and night in the lab, breathing in toxic fumes to save his pack, Jasper was taking Dahlia into our bed.

The sofa, the balcony, even the spot in front of our bonding ceremony photo—their scent was everywhere.

The bedroom that once felt like my sanctuary now made my stomach churn.

I heard a noise at the door.

Jasper strode in, reeking of alcohol.

A flicker of recognition crossed his face when he saw the ring, but his expression quickly smoothed over as he wrapped his arms around me from behind.

He pulled out a velvet box, holding it in front of me, his voice low and magnetic.

"This is a new obsidian wolf-fang pendant. Do you like it?"

"It's past midnight, Jasper. My birthday is over."

I glanced at the pendant, my heart a barren wasteland.

I wasn't fond of jewelry, but this pendant looked disturbingly familiar.

Just this afternoon, Dahlia had flaunted an identical one in front of me.

Was this a bulk purchase, or a buy-one-get-one-free deal?

Did it matter?

No, it didn't matter anymore.

I suppressed the nausea rising in my chest and calmly turned to face him.

"We need to talk."

Jasper thought I was still angry about the ring.

A flash of impatience crossed his eyes, and he let go of me.

"She just wanted to surprise you; she didn't know I had promised it to you. Besides, I've already given her a verbal reprimand."

"Aurelia, stop making a scene, alright? Managing a pack is exhausting."

He rubbed his temples, a weary look on his face, as if I were some unreasonable, hysterical woman.

I was about to say more, but his phone suddenly buzzed.

He glanced at the screen, and the fatigue on his face vanished, replaced by a look of eager anticipation.

He snatched up his phone, a smile touching his lips as his fingers flew across the screen, and walked straight into the bedroom.

Watching his broad back, I smiled.

But the smile didn't reach my eyes.

We had been in love for ten years and mates for seven.

We went from having nothing to building our pack into a regional power.

But the Alpha he had become had no time left for me.