Three years ago, my father sent me to Damian’s side.

Every day is a battle of wits with that cold, ruthless Alpha. Every night, I lose myself in his arms.

I think… I've finally found the love I am destined for.

I was so happy, so sure of our future, that I started planning our bonding ceremony.

Until Clara showed up.

By then, I realized just how naive I had been.

For Clara, Damian locked me away in the isolation cell to teach me a lesson.

He spent millions on her without a second thought, but left me alone in a hospital ward unconscious for seven hours.

When it came down to life and death, he never hesitated to choose Clara, leaving me bleeding on the ground.

The most ironic part?

When I finally gave up and walked away, he lost his mind.

He started insisting that I am his mate, his one true love.

Damian, you're too late.

"One more time."

I tried to steady myself from shaking, reaching out to touch Damian's sweat-soaked chest.

His Alpha scent still hung in the air, a blend of cedarwood that captivated me and something untamed that I couldn't quite name.

"Aurora." His voice was low and rough as he pulled me into his arms. "You're different today..."

"Different how?" I pressed even closer, letting my lips brush along his jawline.

"Passionate," he said.

I didn't answer. I simply let him draw me back into that intoxicating darkness.

When everything was over, I slipped from his embrace, about to walk barefoot into the bathroom.

Just then, my phone rang. My father's voice came through.

"Aurora, have you thought about the engagement?"

I glanced at Damian, who was still asleep—the Alpha of the Blackmoon Pack, CEO of the most powerful pack group in Northland.

The moonlight carved out the sharp lines of his face. His breathing was still uneven from all the excitement. My fingers brushed over the fresh scratches on his chest.

Three years.

It had been three years since my father sent me to Damian "for discipline" when I turned twenty-one. We had been maintaining a hard-to-define relationship since then.

"I agree," I replied quietly.

"Good. About the Risingdawn Pack…" My father's voice barely hid his excitement.

"But I have one condition," I cut him off.

"Whatever it is, just say it. I'll make it happen," he said.

"I'll tell you when I get back."

After hanging up, I quietly got out of bed and slipped into a silk robe.

Damian turned over behind me, murmuring my name with the lazy contentment of someone who had just been satisfied.

I didn't turn around. As I reached the door, my gaze landed on a freshly opened envelope on the cabinet.

It was titled Clara's Health Assessment Report.

My fingers trembled as I opened the envelope. It was a detailed medical record with notes on old injuries dating back five years. Everything was laid out, even her preferred painkillers.

'Why did Damian have Clara's health report? Who's Clara?' I thought to myself.

The questions gnawed at me.

The next evening, Damian left work early for a business meeting. I followed the trace of his Alpha scent to a nearby cafe.

From a distance, I saw something that made my heart stop. Damian was pulling a girl in a white dress into his arms, gentler than I had ever seen him.

"Does it still hurt? Why don't you wear something warmer when it's cold at night?" he asked.

The girl rested her head on his chest. He stroked her hair, like she was made of something fragile.

I clenched my fists so tightly, my knuckles turned white.

Three years of memories flooded back.

I was a young, up-and-coming designer in the world of Werewolves, bold and outspoken.

Damian was the most powerful Alpha in the Blackmoon Pack, taking the group to third place among all the packs in just two years.

Three years ago, my father forced me to work at Damian's company, threatening not to let my mother be buried in the Pack's ancestral grounds unless I agreed.

Officially, I was there so Damian could "discipline" me.

Back then, I already had a reputation in the design world and hated being controlled. But for my mother's last wish, I had no choice.

I was a rebellious young wolf back in those days, always challenging his authority—spilling his coffee, questioning his decisions in meetings, and shredding his confidential files. I remembered how fiercely I resisted at first, and how he used his overwhelming Alpha presence to make me surrender, leaving me utterly lost in him.

No one else knew about our relationship. Nobody would've guessed two people with such different personalities would end up together like this.

On stormy nights, when thunder woke me, he would hold me close and soothe me quietly. After my mother died, nobody had ever been this gentle with me.

I started to believe in him. I thought maybe this was fate. After all, I had talent as a designer, and he was the strongest Alpha.

I thought he cared about me.

So, I started to change.

I tucked away my thorns, tried to be gentler. I thought that was love.

I even secretly prepared for a bonding ceremony.

A white dress, a delicate floral crown, and a silver ring studded with a gemstone I had designed myself to symbolize eternity.

On his birthday, I waited to tell him the news excitedly.

But he never showed up. Not even by midnight.

Then, I saw the news.

The Pack's Alpha personally welcomed his old flame home. In the photos, he was gently carrying the luggage of a girl in a white dress and guiding her into his car.

The comments all said how perfect they looked together, that they should have been mates from the start.

My phone slipped from my hand and fell on the floor.

I couldn't believe my eyes.

If Damian already had a destined mate, what was I? Just a secret lover he could call whenever he pleased?

My hands were shaking as I tried to call Damian for an explanation, but he never picked up.

After the last call failed, I put down my phone. Then I stormed into his study, a room he had never let me enter.

The walls were covered in Clara's photos.

From childhood to adulthood, Damian had preserved every stage of her life.

A waltz under the moonlight, a graduation photo from the Pack Academy...

All it took for one's heart to wither was an instant.

Tears poured down my face as I smashed all the birthday decorations I had prepared. I tore the white dress meant for the bonding ceremony to shreds.

The next day, when Damian returned, he simply told the staff to clean up—as if all I had done was nothing out of the ordinary for me.

I watched as the white dress I had poured my heart into was thrown out like trash.

Maybe Damian would never know what it was. He would never know I had once wanted to spend my life with him as bonded mates.

Suddenly, the driver's voice brought me back to reality. "Miss Aurora, where would you like to go?"

"Home." My voice was icy as I opened my eyes, a new resolve forming in my heart. "Take me back to my father's place."

Two hours later, I arrived at my family's estate.

Mr. Thorne, my father, sat in his leather chair while my stepmother, Elena, stood gracefully by his side.

"Aurora? Why are you back?" Elena frowned. "It's late. Is something wrong?"

I looked straight into my father's eyes. "I'll marry the Alpha of the Risingdawn Pack, but I have one condition."

My father's eyes sparkled with joy. "So you're finally willing to become the Alpha's mate? What's your condition?"

"From this day forward, I sever all ties with the Snowfang Pack." My voice was cold. "Including our blood ties."

My father sucked in a deep breath. "Aurora! Do you know what you're saying?"

My stepmother put on her sweetest voice. "Aurora, you're your father's daughter. How can you say something like that?"

I turned to her, my lips curling into a cold smile. "Elena, you know exactly what you did to marry my father. No point pretending to be a loving stepmother now, right?"

"You…" Elena's face went pale.

"And you, Father." I looked sharply at him. "You drove my mother to her death for the sake of the company. Now, you're selling your daughter for profit. You know the Alpha of Risingdawn Pack is gravely ill because of a deadly poison, but you're still sending me to him. What a great show of familial love!"

Mr. Thorne shot up from his seat. "Aurora, you…"

"What? Did I say something wrong?" I smiled even brighter. "It doesn't matter. I won't be your daughter much longer. There's nothing left to hide."

Before I finished, the door quietly swung open.

A familiar figure appeared at the doorway.

Clara, standing there in a white dress, so fragile she looked like she might collapse at the slightest breeze.

"Clara? What are you doing here?" My voice trembled slightly.

She managed a weak smile. "Aurora, I'm Elena's daughter. I was sick and getting treatment overseas in the past. I'm finally home."

What?

I stared at my stepmother, Elena. She looked unsettled, her gaze shaky.

Fate really had a twisted sense of humor. Damian's so-called ex-girlfriend turned out to be my stepmother's daughter.

"Aurora, Clara isn't well. She needs a quiet place to recover." My father stood up, his tone allowing no argument. "Give her your design studio."

That studio was my favorite place in the east wing of the estate. It had the best views with perfect lighting.

"Give it to her?" I let out a cold laugh. "And why should I?"

"Because she needs to be cared for," my father said sternly. "You're her older sister. You should know better and be more mature."

I looked at Clara's face and thought of what I'd seen at the park. Anger flared in my chest.

"Sorry, but I'm not obligated to take care of the homewrecker's daughter." My voice was ice-cold.

Elena's face changed. "Aurora! How can you say that?"

"Say what?" I shot a mocking look at the two of them. "I haven't even left yet, and you're already so eager to help your daughter take my place?"

My father roared furiously, "Aurora! That's enough!"

I ignored him and went upstairs to pack.

While I was at it, I booked a ticket to the Risingdawn Pack's territory, leaving in two weeks. Fifteen minutes later, I dragged my suitcase downstairs.

"Aurora, where are you going?" Elena asked, her concern clearly faked.

"I don't want to spend another second in this disgusting place," I said without looking back.

"Stop!" my father yelled. "What are you doing now? Don't forget what you promised!"

I stopped and slowly turned, giving him a mocking smile. "Don't worry. I'll become mates with the Alpha of Risingdawn Pack, no question."

I left that suffocating place I called home without another word.

That night, I anonymously leaked my father's business scandals to the media—illegal mining, tax evasion, and threatening pack members. By the next day, his company's stock price had plunged thirty percent.

That was my way of getting back at him. Afterward, I checked into a luxury hotel.

My father was livid, calling just to roar at me.

"Aurora! Have you lost your mind? Are you trying to get me removed as Alpha?" His voice became hoarse from the yelling.

"Not enough," I replied coolly, sipping champagne by the window. "After all, you're planning to trade me for a whole pack's loyalty and resources. A little scandal is the least you deserve."

Outwardly, I was calm, but inside, I was plotting for more. I wanted the Risingdawn Pack to invest their resources in me personally and make sure that my father's company could never receive a single cent.

The alliance he wanted? He could keep dreaming.

"Come back now!" he shouted, practically shaking with anger.

"And live where? The basement?" I sneered. "Or are you planning to kick out your precious Clara for me?"

I hung up.

Three days later, my father used every connection he had to freeze my accounts and got me blacklisted by nearly every design supplier in the industry.

He didn't waste any time.

At an industry gala the next week, a vindictive rival humiliated me in front of everyone.

"Well, if it isn't Aurora! I heard your own father cut you off," he sneered. "You used to be so high and mighty, but look at you now. The so-called design prodigy was just backed by her own family's influence."

Snickers rippled around the room.

"The so-called prodigy can't even afford materials for her project, right?"

"I heard she's blacklisted from the entire industry's supply chain. Hahaha…!"

I wanted to retort, but nearly everyone there had a grudge against me. There was no way I could win.

Just as I was backed to the corner, a powerful and suffocating Alpha's presence swept over the room.

The rival Alpha fell silent, his face going pale.

I didn't need to turn around to know who it was. That familiar cedarwood scent, mixed with the scent of something primal and dangerous.

"Out."

It was one cold and commanding word, and the werewolves immediately scattered.

Before I could react, strong arms pulled me out of the banquet hall.

I still didn't look at him. I didn't want him to see me like this.

"Let go of me!" I struggled, but my strength was nothing compared to his.

Damian gripped my wrist.

"What are you up to again?" His voice was low and tight with anger. "Why didn't you come to me after you've been blacklisted by the whole industry?"

Damian's words brought back all my memories from the past three years.

Every time I fought with my father, Damian would always be there like some silent guardian, shielding me from everything.

Those gentle hugs in the middle of the night, the quiet words during thunderstorms, the way he took care of me when I was sick…

After I joined his company, my design projects had his backing. My reputation in the industry only grew.

At parties in the past, I was known as a prodigious designer. Everyone seemed to shower me with praise.

But now, looking back, how much of that protection was ever genuine?

All this time, I was just his secret lover, while his room was covered in photos of Clara.

"Why should I come to you?" I laughed coldly, forcing my voice to sound like I didn't care.

Damian's grip on my wrist tightened slightly. I could feel the shift in his mood.

"Aurora." His voice was soft, tinged with the helplessness I knew too well.

"Don't call my name." Anger and hurt exploded out of me as I stomped hard on his foot.

"Aurora!" Damian grunted, but he didn't loosen his grip around my wrist. "Are you done?"

He looked at me, his eyes full of emotions I couldn't read. I turned my head, refusing to let him see the tears in my eyes.

Half an hour later, the familiar estate came into view.

When I first arrived here three years ago, I had naively thought this would be my home. That this aloof man would become my whole world.

Now, I saw it for what it really was. It was just a temporary shelter.

"I'm only staying for another half a month," I said, trying to sound calm. "I'll pay rent. I'll reference the hotel rates."

Damian frowned. "You can stay as long as you want. You don't need to pay."

I cut him off, flashing a mocking smile. "Don't worry. I won't be a bother after that."

His face darkened, jaw set tight.

"Clara's family once gave up everything to save me. I owe her," he said softly, like he was trying to explain something.

"Aurora, don't target Clara because of Elena," he finally said, his tone threatening. "She's not well. She needs to be looked after. The past is more complicated than you think, and I doubt you'll understand."

Needs to be looked after.

Those words cut into me repeatedly.

And what about me? Didn't I deserve it too? Was my pain, my heartbreak, my tears really so worthless in his eyes?

"Fine." I kept my tone flat, forcing myself to look unconcerned. "I won't bother her. After all, I'm just an outsider here."

The next few days passed quietly, and we didn't step on each other's toes.

Damian was busy handling business while I wandered around the estate alone, just like when I first arrived three years ago.

But this time, everything felt different.

Three nights later, Damian suddenly asked if I wanted to go to a party.

"Why do you want to take me so suddenly?" I asked.

"You've been cooped up in here for too long. You should get out for a bit." His explanation sounded reasonable enough.

I changed into a black silk dress, added some simple jewelry, and followed him to the most luxurious hotel downtown.

The moment I stepped into the ballroom, a giant banner caught my eye.

"Congratulations to Miss Clara on Her Recovery and the Launch of the Art Foundation."

I froze, feeling like the whole world was laughing at me.

So this party was meant for Clara?

Then, why did he bring me here? Was I supposed to stand by and watch him show everyone how important she was to him?

The ballroom was bright with light as every important figure in the pack was there, all with flattering smiles on their faces.

And me? I felt like an outsider who never should have come.

I turned, ready to leave this suffocating place.

"Aurora! I'm so glad you made it!" Clara rushed over and blocked my way, her face lighting up with excitement.

"We have nothing to do with each other," I snapped, yanking my hand away when she tried to hold my arm. "Drop the act."

I shook her off and walked straight to the dessert table.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Clara's eyes fill with tears as she went to find Damian. He gently stroked her hair and said something to her.

Clara wiped away her tears as Damian comforted her and shyly leaned against his arm.

And I stood there, nothing but an extra, a spectator with no place here.

Pain stabbed through my chest. I looked down and knocked back a shot of whiskey, letting the burning alcohol numb my throat.