My Mate of Twenty Years Married My Best Friend

The silence of the house was deafening. Not even the restless howl of the wind disturbed the stillness that enveloped me like a shroud. In the dead quiet, the vibration of my phone shattered the silence, its buzzing sharp and unnervingly clear.

The buzz of my phone shattered the stillness. I reached for it on the cold marble nightstand. The sender’s name glowed across the misty surface.

Jasmine. My daughter-in-law.

[I’m sorry, Mom, Luna Claire. The seamstress just messaged me about the dress. I was too excited this morning to check my messages. I apologize on behalf of Alpha Lucas. He was too harsh again. You haven’t used your magic or shifted for so many years, it’s understandable you’d forget the old ways. Please don’t prepare tonight’s meal—we’ll bring you something from the summit.

Five-star catering from the royal feast. You’ve sacrificed your life for us. This is just a small token from your daughter-in-law.]

Luna Claire…

A title they’d stripped of all meaning.

My marriage with Alpha Lucas Barlowe was meant to be a strengthening alliance, a bond between power, love, and promise. But somehow, I’d become their servant, their scapegoat, their shame.

The message blurred.

Not from the light of the screen, but from the heat in my eyes.

I had endured twenty years in this hallow pack house—once mine, now being claimed by another she-wolf. I did everything for them, I raised my son, Feed them, oversaw the Pack’s rituals, and led the kitchens, the healers, and the rites of spring and moon. And still, I was seen as… less. Useless. Forgotten.

No more.

I sat on the edge of the bed, my body aching with old wounds—emotional, and spiritual. Scars that couldn’t be seen. Not even by the moon.

At five, I rose.

The sky was still iron gray, the shadows long. I moved like a ghost, silent and careful. By eleven, I had packed every item that did not belong to me. Not a single stitch of clothing, not a single relic of love remained in the house. Only power and pretense fill the halls now.

I grabbed all their belongings and tossed them into silver-etched travel trunks and sent them flying out the window. Each crash below felt like thunder cracking open the sky.

Then I changed the lock on the door.

This house was my inheritance.

My grandmother, the former Luna of the Wildfang Pack, died in battle when I was a girl. This sanctuary had been her final gift to me.

When Alpha Lucas and I bonded, this house became the second pack house of the Sharp Fang Pack.

They always said they loved staying here—claimed it was more grand, more imposing than the one in their own territory.

And I let them in… even though they never asked.

And now, I am done letting others live in it like it was theirs.

On the ancient oak desk, I retrieved the divorce decree I had penned in blood weeks ago—signed with my crest, sealed with truth. I sent it by mail to Alpha Lucas’s office in the Sharp Fang Pack’s northern tower.

It was time they knew I was not theirs to command.

Then I did something I had never dared: I booked an appointment with a famous photographer known across the realms for his ethereal bridal portraits. Yes—wedding dresses were every girl’s dream.

But marriage?

That was a wolf’s cage if made with the wrong mate.

I would give myself what Alpha Lucas never could. A promise. A vow. To myself.

A wedding photo, in the same secondhand gown I owned—without a groom.

And as I stood at the window, staring into the clearing moonlight, I whispered the name of my firstborn. The one I lost so long ago. The daughter no one remembered but me.

“I see you, my child,” I whispered. “Your mother remembers. Always.”

The wind howled softly, like an answer from the moon goddess herself.

I left their luggage with the border guards and stepped beyond the protective wards for the first time in two decades.

This time, my path was mine alone.

--

The flight to Ravenwood took three hours. When I soared above the clouds, I looked down upon the territory that had once held me captive—and saw it for what it truly was.

Small. Insignificant. Shrinking beneath my rising spirit.

I begged Lucas to bring me to Ravenwood in the early years—its moonlit beaches and silver-hot springs were said to heal broken wolves. “When we have money,” he always said.

He had long become a high-ranking official under the Central Alpha Council, wielding power and hoarding wealth. Still, he never took me.

Now, I am alone.

When the plane arrived and my boots touched down in Ravenwood’s enchanted plaza, I exhaled sharply, then a bitter smile escaped my lips.

Freedom tasted like salt and sky.

But my phone buzzed violently.

13 missed calls. All from Lucas.

I hesitated.

My phone buzzed again.

This time, I answered.

His voice cracked through. “Claire! Why the hell aren’t you answering? I only allowed you to have fun a little, go shopping when you are bored, and not to run off like some rogue bitch. My assistant even sent you a black card—”

I said nothing.

Let him speak…

There was silence in the line. Then his voice softened.

“You’re still angry? Fine. I was a bit harsh this morning. I shouldn’t have snapped. I’m… sorry, alright?”

Perfunctory. Hollow.

That had always been Lucas’s way—push until I broke, then offer just enough to keep me stitched together. A growl stirred in my throat, my wolf rising with the memory of every time he’d belittled me in front of the pack.

But I kept my voice level.

“You don’t have to apologize,” I said. “It’s late. Sleep.”

He chuckled.

“There she is. My good girl. Listen, when I return from the High Council Summit, I’ll bring you a gift. Something shiny. Oh, also, Heidy left some documents. Urgent stuff. She said you could swing by and transcribe them—20,000 words. You’re not busy, right? And maybe help clean her house? She left in a rush this morning.”

I clenched the phone.

Before I could respond, a soft female voice interrupted.

“Alpha Lucas, could you bring me a towel? I forgot it in the shower.”

Rustling. Then Heidy’s voice, clearer now.

“Oh, is that Claire? Oh, I didn’t mean to trouble her! I left the documents in my house. I didn’t have time to clean up… I’ll owe her. But she’s always been lazy, hasn’t she? So difficult to coax. If this ruins your marriage, I’ll take responsibility, Alpha Lucas. I just didn’t expect Claire to take things so personally…”

The call ended when I crushed the phone with one hand.

My wolf surged to the surface—eyes flashing, claws forming for a second.

I let her retreat, slowly, purposefully.

I was no longer the timid Luna who waited for scraps of affection.

I was the daughter of Alpha Marcus. I had the blood of a thousand warriors in my veins. I would reclaim every piece of myself, every shred of pride, every ounce of power I once gave away.

Because some chains, no matter how strong, were meant to be shattered.

I am just done…