The Alpha’s Obsession, the Luna’s Rebellion

"Help me prepare a mate bond severance. I want to leave Tyler for good." I sat before the pack’s legal emissary and spoke with firm gaze.

"Ayleth, the hardest part in breaking a mating bond is the sharing of wealth. Have you brought it up with Alpha Grimvale yet?"

For three winters of our mating bond, my mate, Theros Grimvale, always hid behind his so-called "mysophobe" as a reason to avoid my touch.

I once caught him by my sister’s bedside, his eyes fixed on her old stockings, his hands moving under his body as low sounds escaped him.

Only then I understood the truth. His so-called mysophobia was a lie. His heart was never mine.

I let out a faint smile. "I don't need any of his wealth. Just tell me when it can be completed?"

"I will prepare the mate bond severance within three days and send it to you by spirit mail. If everything is in order, it can be completed in seven days."

I nodded and left the law hall, breathing out in relief. It was over at last.

This time, I will give him one last anniversary gift, the papers to break our bond and release him.

I turned and took my crystal communicator to call. "Evander, is your offer still valid? I have decided. I will become your mate."

——

"Evander, is your offer still valid? I have decided. I will become your mate."

I rested against the healer’s den entrance, my gaze locked on the nearby ward door, bitterness lingering on my lips.

After a short pause, Evander Rustpire gave a light chuckle. "If I am not wrong, you are still bound to Theros Grimvale as his mate, aren’t you?"

My eyes turned slightly red as I took a deep breath. "I will break the bond with him."

Evander’s voice dropped. "I'm sure you must've heard a lot of rumors about me. Aren't you afraid of stepping out of one trap into another?"

It was said five cycles ago, Evander was badly injured that damaged his wolf nature.

He had visited countless renowned healers, yet none could mend him, leaving him incapable of completing a mating bond.

Since then, his temper grew unstable and when he lost control, he would lash out at others.

Though the Rustpire clan was the wealthiest in all the Moonspire Courtlands, no she-wolf dared to go near him.

He still had no mate to this day.

I let out a faint smile. "It's fine. I will accept you, no matter how you are."

"Alright. In half a month, I will prepare the most magnificent mating ceremony to take you as my mate."

After getting his reply, I cut the call and turned my gaze back to the nearby ward door. Then, a soft, indistinct sound came from inside.

I stepped closer and glanced through the small glass window, only to catch an intimate scene inside.

Theros and my half-sister, Luneth Wildbriar, were pressed close together.

His body leaned against her arm as he moved in a restless rhythm.

"Luneth … my love, you feel incredible."

Luneth was originally meant to bond with Theros, but an accident left her in a motionless, unresponsive state.

Since childhood, Theros and I had clashed, our names spoken as enemies throughout the Grimmarow Wastes.

Yet, it was not like that in the beginning. I knew him first. I was the one who held his heart as a pup.

My mother, Ariella Wildbriar, died when I was five and my father, Ronan Wildbriar, burdened with pack duties, barely noticed me.

Till I turned ten, Theros never left my side, staying with me through every lonely and difficult moment.

But when my father brought back his illegitimate daughter, Luneth, everything fell apart. She stole my father and Theros away and from then on, we turned into bitter enemies.

In the same cycles, the Grimvales' business fell into decline.

Their strength and wealth ran dry and they could find no support in the Grimmarow Courtlands other than from my father.

His condition was simple. Theros had to complete the bonding agreement with the Robinson clan.

However, Luneth lay in a deep, lifeless state. How could she complete a mating bond with Theros?

In the end, I was the only possible choice.

Theros looked at me with burning rage. "Ayleth Wildbriar, are you truly that cruel? You will only stop once you separate me from your sister, huh?"

I burst into laughter, my body trembling. "Of course. The Grimvales have already fallen, taking me as your mate is your only option now, so take it or leave it."

On the day of mating ceremony, Theros never came and only sent a life-sized puppet crafted to resemble him.

The crowd showed their discontent, yet I calmly took the puppet’s arm and gently called it "my mate."

Mating with Theros had once been my deepest wish. Now, three cycles later, it had been my deepest regret.

For three winters, I did everything I could to draw near to him, trying countless times to gain his affection, but I ended in failure. I told myself he just couldn't let go of Luneth.

I believed one day I could win his heart if I tried a little harder.

That was when I caught him for the first time clinging to Luneth’s worn stockings, losing in his own desires.

When he was done, he even picked up a call as if nothing had happened.

I could not hear the voice on the other side, yet his scornful laugh reached me. "Ayleth is not even worth a single claw of Luneth. Falling for her? Impossible. Looking at her is enough to make me sick."

Each word pierced me like a blade, yet I still did not give up.

Until I caught him the second time, then the third .…

Sometimes, he would hold onto Luneth’s photo in our den.

Other times, like now, he stayed in the healer’s den beside her still, unconscious body.

I had long stopped counting how many times I caught him and my heart had already gone numb.

"Theros, if you don't choose me, someone else will."