For Our Anniversary, I Returned His Mark

Even after three years of being mated, Alpha Darius Nightbane and I didn’t always sleep in the same bed.

He claimed it was because he didn’t like anyone lying beside him at night.

But I knew better.

It wasn’t “anyone” he couldn’t tolerate. It was me.

I was the Luna by title only—unmarked, unclaimed, and unwelcome beneath his sheets. His wolf never reached for mine. His scent never wrapped around me like a true bond should. I was the shadow of a promise he never intended to keep.

And yet, he was always gentle with Lexie.

He probably had a whole speech rehearsed to justify giving her my room. Something polite. Something pitiful. But when I agreed without a fight, it clearly threw him off.

“All right,” I said lightly. “There’s a lot of my stuff in there anyway. I’ll just move it all out.”

Besides, it didn’t matter whether I left that room now or later.

We both knew—sooner or later, I’d be gone.

When I mentioned I’d be taking all my things, I saw something flicker behind his eyes. An instinct. A protest rising to the surface.

But before he could say a word, Lexie—the golden wolf, the precious one—cut in with that sugary tone of hers. “Thanks, sis… Luna Avelyn.”

I didn’t answer. Just bent down, and let my arms tremble as I lifted one of the heavier boxes and turned toward the stairs.

The thing was too full. My foot slipped across a hidden shard of glass on the floor. And then—I fell.

My knee slammed onto the floor hard, and a stabbing pain tore through my skin. Sharp edges sliced through me as if the floor itself wanted me gone.

My body went rigid. Pain sang down my leg, sweat gathered at my temple, and my wolf whimpered softly beneath my skin.

But I didn’t make a sound.

Darius didn’t see. He was too busy being led away by Lexie, who clung to him like he was hers.

And maybe he was.

So I stayed there on the floor, broken pieces of glass beneath me and tears falling silently onto the tiles.

I used to believe those tears would matter. That someone would notice.

But I knew better now.

In the Moonveils’ pack house, Alpha Darius never let Lexie carry anything heavier than a teacup. “Our Lexie’s a little princess,” he’d say, full of warmth. “She should be treated like one.”

When I was still the maid’s daughter, I scrubbed floors until my hands bled. I lifted more than I could carry. I learned to keep moving, no matter the weight.

Now, I am the daughter of a powerful wolf. Now, I was Alpha Darius’s wife. I was Nightshade Pack’s Luna.

And still, nothing had changed.

It took me the rest of the day to finish packing. Box by box. Memory by memory.

By sundown, I had everything loaded onto a truck.

“You didn’t have to throw so much out,” Alpha Darius muttered as he passed by. There was a small frown between his brows. “Lexie’s only staying for a little while. When she leaves, you’ll move back in. What’s the point?”

To him, I was acting strange. Too calm. Too quiet.

“They’re old,” I said simply. My voice didn’t shake. “It was time to let them go.”

He studied me like he was trying to read something between the lines.

“You’re not the wasteful type.”

No. I wasn’t. Never had been. I never grew up with luxury, only with leftovers and hand-me-downs. Every object I owned had a story. A cost.

I just smiled faintly. “They’ve been with me a long time. Sometimes… you need room for something new. Out with the old, right?”

Just like people, I thought.

He couldn’t argue with that. If he pushed again, he’d only make himself look petty.

“There’s an auction tonight,” he said instead, shifting the conversation. “The organizers invited me. You’ll come. With your sister Lexie.”

I was about to say no.

But he cut me off. “You may be my Luna but outside, you’re still my secretary. I can’t show up to an event like that without one.”

I looked at him for a long time.

So many words gathered in my throat like a rising tide, I wanted to cry out—And bringing your mistress is appropriate? What am I now? The staff?—but I said none of them.

Instead, I nodded.

One final task.

One last show before I disappeared.

Night fell fast.

The auction hall was bright—white lights cast over velvet curtains, polished glass, and high-ranking wolves in tailored suits and elegant gowns. The air smelled of money, power, ambition… and secrets.

Alpha Darius walked ahead, he walked tall, letting Lexie clutch his arm like she belonged there.

Sable, the host, came out to greet him. “Alpha Darius Nightbane,” she beamed. “Your seat is ready. Right this way.”

She gestured for two seats.

“I heard you got married?” Sable smiled. “The second seat is for your wife.”

And just like that—the moment I always knew would come—arrived.

A beat of silence. Long enough to feel like a lifetime.

Alpha Darius of Nightbane’s Pack marriage had always been a secret. Hidden away, like I was something shameful.

Two women. One seat.

The choice wasn’t surprising.

He didn’t hesitate.

“I’m not married,” he said coolly. “Not sure where that rumor started.”

My heart didn’t break—it had already done that, long ago.

But something tightened in my chest. A cold burn beneath the ribs. The ache of final clarity.

Sable blinked. “And these two?”

Darius reached for Lexie’s hand. “This is Lexie Moonveil, daughter of Alpha Jonas of the Moonveil Pack.”

Sable nodded politely.

Then—like it pained him—Darius flicked a glance at me. “That one next to you is my secretary.”

Only this time, I didn’t flinch.

I had prepared myself for this moment.

But no amount of preparation could dull the sting of public rejection. Not when you are already bleeding from a thousand cuts beneath the skin.

I stayed upright. Proud. Dignified.

A Luna only in name. A mate only on paper.

They took their seats while I stood behind them—like a servant. Like I was nothing.

Maybe it was just the air, too cold and sharp. Maybe it was the weight of betrayal pressing against my bones. But pain stabbed at my lower abdomen, sharp and sudden.

I pressed a trembling hand to my belly, each step away from him heavier than the last. I turned and walked toward the restroom—not with grace, not with strength, but with the quiet desperation of a wolf retreating from a battle, she already knew she had lost.

At least… for now.