Frustration boiling over, Roryn raked a hand through his hair and roared, "Is this really the time for that? We were in love for six years. Isn't it normal for an Alpha's instincts to kick in and remember your bloodline during a crisis?"

But I had just sacrificed my pup. My body was incredibly weak. How could I possibly transfer any aura?

And even if I could, why should I help him clean up his mess?

"I just sacrificed my pup. I have nothing left to give. Find someone else!"

Roryn's anger flared instantly.

"Phoebe Aurelian, all this talk about how much you love me, and you won't even save one person when I ask? You'd even lie about sacrificing a pup!"

"I never thought you were the type to watch someone die! No wonder I can't remember ever loving you!"

He was right. If he had ever truly loved me, he wouldn't have faked an injury to deceive me, nor would he have turned a blind eye to my deathly pale face.

And he certainly wouldn't be forcing me to transfer my golden aura to his new plaything.

Nearby equipment began to beep erratically. The healer, not wanting to waste any more time, rushed the woman into the emergency room.

Roryn tried to drag me over by force, but I planted my feet firmly, refusing to move.

In a fit of rage, he slung me over his shoulder.

"Phoebe Aurelian, whether you like it or not, I'll owe you one for this. Damn it, if it comes to it, I'll even go through with the bonding ceremony with you!"

In that instant, I stopped struggling.

Since he had once saved me from the claws of a rival pack, I would consider this the last time I repaid that debt.

As I watched the golden aura flow into the energy sphere, a final chill seeped deep into my bones.

After the transfer was complete, Roryn and a healer rushed into the emergency room.

As he left, I whispered to his retreating back:

"Roryn, we're even."

A wave of dizziness hit me as I walked out of the treatment room. My vision went black, and I collapsed.

When I woke up again, Dr. Finch looked like he wanted to scold me, but the words died in a heavy sigh.

"Take care of yourself. In your current condition, you can't use your golden aura again for at least six months."

I smiled weakly and said okay.

As Dr. Finch was leaving, a young nurse quietly sent him a message through their mind-link:

Healer, why didn't you tell her we couldn't reach her emergency contact? What if she misunderstands and thinks we didn't even try...

She won't misunderstand. That poor girl knows all too well. It's a damn shame she fell for the wrong man.

I picked up my communication crystal and saw that Dr. Finch had already sent over a dozen messages to Roryn on my behalf.

Not a single one was answered.

Instead, a new message from Roryn himself was waiting for me:

Phoebe Aurelian, can you stop causing trouble? Know your place.

In that moment, I was actually glad he hadn't replied to the healer.

Otherwise, I couldn't imagine what vile words he would have used to humiliate me.

I didn't reply. I lay in bed for a full day before I had the strength to walk.

The moonlight was stunning, so I went to the manor's atrium for some fresh air, only to run straight into Roryn's Beta and his entourage.

Each of them was holding a bouquet of moonlight flowers.

I thought they were there to see me and instinctively turned to hide.

But they surrounded me, eyeing my patient gown with amusement.

"Well, well, I heard Roryn is at the hospital with his new flame, so you decided to stage a pity party of your own?" one of them sneered.

"You just transferred a little aura. Is it necessary to act so weak?"

"I have to admit, the deathly pale look is a nice touch. So convincing. See? I told you she was a conniving Omega, but Roryn never believed me..."

Roryn's followers had always thought I wasn't good enough for him.

If he hadn't forced them to address me as their future Luna, they would never have accepted me.

Now, playing along with Roryn's charade, they could finally speak their minds without restraint.

When Roryn came to pick them up, he froze for a second upon seeing me, then frowned.

"Phoebe Aurelian, do you have to be so dramatic?"

"I've already agreed to bond with you, yet here you are, bribing the healer and faking an illness to keep tabs on me. Do you think this is some kind of game?"

"Do you have any idea how suffocating you are?"

"I'll be honest with you. If you're still like this after we bond, we'll be applying to the elders to sever the mate bond sooner or later!"

"You don't have to worry about that. I don't need your bonding ceremony."

In the six years we were in love, I had always given him his freedom.

When he wanted to drink, I would sit quietly by his side, never rushing him.

If it wasn't a place I should be, I'd leave the moment he asked and wait to pick him up later.

When he was drunk, I'd take care of him without complaint until he was comfortable.

When he wanted to go hunting alone with his friends, I would plan the entire trip for them.

Even when he offered to let me check his communication crystal, I never did.

I loved him, and I didn't want to repeat my mother's mistake of driving her mate away with her suffocating control.

I thought I had given him enough space.

At least, before his "accident," we were inseparable, still deep in our honeymoon phase.

But now I knew. My love suffocated him.

So, was that the real reason he faked an injury to seek cheap thrills?

Our eyes met, and I couldn't see a single trace of the man who had once loved me.

I swallowed the question that almost escaped my lips.

My steady gaze only made his frown deepen. He snatched the moonlight flowers from his Beta's hands and thrust them into my arms.

"Alright, now that you have my attention, stop putting on this act. Take the flowers and get out of here!"

He thought I was still just some meek Omega who could be appeased with a cheap gift.

He couldn't believe that the woman who had sworn to be his and his alone would actually go back on her word.

I handed the flowers back to his Beta.

"These are for your new lover. It's not appropriate for me to accept them."

"I transferred the aura voluntarily. You don't have to force yourself to bond with me."

A strange panic flashed in his eyes.

Shouldn't she be ecstatic? Why does she keep refusing the bonding ceremony? Is she… actually angry?

A flicker of anxiety crossed his eyes. "Phoebe, I..."

A pointed cough from one of his followers made him switch tracks instantly.

"Phoebe, I am a man of my word."

But I just smiled.

"You should go be with your lover."

"I'm leaving now."

Hearing my calm dismissal, Roryn's heart skipped a beat.

He felt that something was different about me tonight.

But he couldn't put his finger on what had changed.

Seeing his hesitation, his friends draped their arms over his shoulders and pulled him away.

"Come on, stop looking, or your Sabrina will get jealous! This is just a switch from a pity party to playing hard to get. An Omega's tricks are all the same. Only a naive guy like you would fall for it!"

"Exactly! And look at the mess you made. You're not a rookie, how could you let someone get hurt by a silver weapon? Luckily, Sabrina is magnanimous, not like some people who donate a little aura and try to force a marriage..."

Listening to their jeers, spoken just loud enough for me to hear, I felt no stab of heartbreak—only a bone-deep chill.

Even the bright moonlight couldn't warm me.

I watched them leave, then discharged myself from the hospital.

While Roryn was away, I called a neutral cleaning company to help me at the Alpha Manor.

The Omega supervisor of the company stared blankly at our meticulously decorated home.

"Phoebe, these are all brand-new ceremonial decorations. Are you really just getting rid of them like this?"

"Yes. My Alpha is dead. I have no use for them anymore."

The Omega immediately apologized and offered her condolences.

To spare me the pain of revisiting old memories, she started with our ceremonial totems and dozens of photo albums.

In just half a day, all traces of our shared joy were erased from the home I had built with so much love.

A cold house for a cold me.

The Omega looked at the dozen bags of de-scented items at the door, sighed, and shook her head.

"Phoebe, try to look on the bright side."

I nodded with a faint smile.

After the cleaning company left, I made sure no trace of me remained in the manor, then went before the ancestral totem, carved away my bloodline imprint with a ceremonial dagger, and left the territory of the Crestfall Pack forever.