Once Broken, Twice Claimed

"Luna, are you sure you want to delete your identity and sever your mate bond with Alpha Amiel? That means you’ll have no protection, no identity, no rank, not even as a rogue."

"Yes." Eleanor's fingers trembled as she looked down at the documents clutched in her hand. "I want no trace left for him to cling to, not a damn fingerprint, not a hair, nothing!"

Her decision to sever all ties didn’t come out of impulse but out of her mate’s cruel choices.

A month ago, she was ambushed by rogue wolves and thrown into a pit like garbage.

Bleeding and broken, Eleanor had done the only thing she could. She reached out through their mate bond, screaming for help with what little strength she had left. And where was her noble Alpha mate? He was too busy screwing her sister in the brooks behind the packhouse.

While she clawed at stone and death, he was clawing at her sister like some horny dog in heat.

At first, she thought the ambush had been the worst of it.

But the real cruelty came after because instead of remorse, Amiel had leveled up his betrayal. He mated with her sister again—this time right outside the infirmary window, where Eleanor could hear every moan, right in front of her blind eyes.

What Amiel didn’t know was that Eleanor’s sight had quietly returned the night before she was discharged. 

She was done with unrequited love and constant betrayal. It was time to walk away for good.

So, on their fifth anniversary, she gave him the only gift he truly deserved: a rolled separation scroll and a sonogram photo of the twin pups she had carried... and lost.

___

That evening, Eleanor returned to the Alpha villa she once called home.

She found Amiel already seated at the dinner table, a half-eaten bowl of stew in front of him.

"If you're hungry, sit." He didn't look up right away. “How was your checkup at the hospital?”

He sounded concerned, but Eleanor knew it wasn’t care. It was guilt for what happened when she was left to die in that rogue attack.

Maybe once, concern like this would’ve softened her.

But now, his concern only disgusted her.

Guided by the soft tap of her metal cane, Eleanor made her way to the table. “The doctor said my nerves are still recovering. So for now, I'm still in the dark. Literally."

He didn’t probe further.

Eleanor remembered how she ended up with a mate like him.

Sadie had been his true fated mate who recognized the bond when she turned eighteen.

But instead of embracing it, Sadie felt overwhelmed. She just wanted to travel, live among humans, and chase happiness without responsibility. So she rejected the bond and flew to Milan, pursuing her modelling career.

That left the twenty-year-old Eleanor to clean up the mess, as always. Their father, Alpha of their pack, arranged for her to take Sadie’s place.

But regardless of the political union, Eleanor had loved Amiel since she was young.

Amiel held a steaming ladle and served redroot stew onto her plate, flashing what he must have thought was a thoughtful smile. "I remembered you liked this."

The ache that bloomed in her chest was sharp.

Sadie liked redroot.

She, on the other hand, was allergic to it. And after five years, her mate hadn’t bothered to remember.

Of course he didn’t remember. He never had. Not really.

Instead, she drew a sealed scroll from her cloak and placed it quietly on the table.

“I need you to sign this.”

Amiel raised an eyebrow as he gazed at her. "Can't it wait for later or maybe tomorrow?"

Before she could respond, Amiel’s eyes glazed—a private mindlink pulsed in his aura. His lips twitched into a smirk.

Of course—it was Sadie, calling him with her mindlink again.

Within seconds, he was on his feet, trying to sound casual. “I’ll be right back. Just a quick matter to handle."

It was the same excuse he always used when Sadie came calling.

As she placed the scroll on the table, her throat burned, and she realized that even the scent of the redroot stew he served her had triggered an allergic reaction.

"Wait!" She stepped in front of him. Even though pain was shooting through her chest, she shoved the scroll into Amiel’s hands with trembling fingers. “You haven’t signed this.”

With an impatient grunt, Amiel snatched the scroll. “What is this even about?”

“Read it,” she said, coughing as she clutched her chest.

For an Alpha, he should be cautious about legal documents. But he didn’t. He flipped to the last page and signed with a careless flick of his pen.

His obsession with Sadie made him reckless and Eleanor had counted on that.

“There. That’s all you need, right? Bye.” he muttered, barely sparing her a glance as he turned toward the door.

Gone just like that.

She reached into the inner pocket of her coat, groping blindly for the emergency syringe she always kept there.

But she collapsed with a thud, hitting the cold tiles hard.

She hadn’t noticed the faint scent of fresh pine lingering at the edge of the doorway… someone else had been watching.

Just as everything started to go black, a strong arm wrapped around her back and lifted her up gently.

Then a sharp sting pierced her upper thigh.

"You're going to get better..." His voice was deep and raspy, with a strange softness to it.

A second later, cool air began rushing back into her lungs, and the swelling had stopped.

"Who... who are..."

The antihistamine made her drowsy fast, and she blacked out a few seconds later.