That night, Liam served me my usual evening tea. I trusted him completely—he was my mate, after all, and a respected healer of Thornpack.

I shouldn't have.

When I woke up the next morning, my head was spinning. The special safe where I kept the morphing inhibitor—the one I'd spent my entire savings to import from Europe for our daughter Isla—was empty.

Racing to the healing center, I found Liam celebrating. He was handing out moon-blessed wine, beaming with pride as Natalie's daughter Anna showed off her perfect transformation. My inhibitor had been used on his first love's pup instead of our own daughter.

The shock triggered something in my brain. When I collapsed, they diagnosed me with the rare tumor that plagued our kind.

Without inhibitors, I couldn't stop Isla's transformation that came early, her six year old body couldn't handle the massive wolf form and the force ripped through her young body.

And I, for one, don't even have enough money to keep her in a treatment center.

She died in my arms three days later, her little claws drawing blood as the pain overwhelmed her. Until her last breath, she kept asking why Papa hadn't come.

Now, in my cold, empty home, with the white porcelain urn containing her ashes on the table, I touch her and decide to sever our partnership.

1

My mate secretly gave the morphing inhibitor I had prepared for our daughter to his first love's daughter. Without the morphing inhibitor, our pup died.

At ten in the evening, I heard Liam's footsteps at the door. My enhanced wolf senses picked up his scent—a mix of the healing center's sterile smell and something distinctly feminine that made my stomach turn.

My wolf Bella bristled inside me, no longer recognizing the mate she had once adored.

I sat quietly in the dark living room, holding Isla's white porcelain urn close to my chest. The moonlight streaming through the windows cast long shadows across the floor. I must have been sitting there for hours, but the pain in my heart far outweighed any physical discomfort.

The key turned in the lock. I heard him humming—actually humming—as he entered.

When he closed the door and changed his shoes, I remained motionless in the darkness. Let him feel a fraction of the uncertainty I'd felt these past weeks.

"Olivia!" His sharp voice cut through the darkness as he flipped the switch. The sudden brightness made my head throb—another reminder of the tumor growing inside me. "Have you lost your mind? Sitting here in the dark trying to scare people?"

The authoritative tone he used with junior healers grated on my nerves. My wolf whimpered at the stranger our mate had become.

Even at this late hour, Liam's appearance was impeccable. Not a hair out of place, his healer's uniform crisp and neat. The silver emblem of Thornpack's healing center gleamed on his chest like a mockery of everything he was supposed to represent.

It was clear how important that mother and daughter were to him—important enough to drug his own mate and steal our daughter's inhibitor. Important enough to dress up and stay late at the healing center, while our own daughter...

I pushed the thought away before it could break me.

"Still sulking?" he asked, lip curling in that new way he had, so different from the gentle smile I'd fallen in love with. "By the Moon Goddess, when will you let this go?"

My hands tightened around the urn. Isla's ashes shifted inside, the sound nearly breaking my heart again. He didn't even know what was inside—hadn't bothered to ask why I clutched it so desperately.

"Haven't I explained?" His voice took on that reasonable tone that made me want to tear his throat out. "The inhibitor worked perfectly for Anna! Her transformation was flawless—just look at the results!"

His voice grew louder with each word, as if volume could make his betrayal acceptable. "As head healer, I had to consider what was best. Anna was at the perfect stage, the inhibitor had the best effect on her! You should have seen how beautifully she shifted!"

I remained silent, remembering how Isla had screamed during her transformation. How I'd begged the healers at the public center to help her, only to be turned away because we couldn't afford their fees.

My silence only fueled his anger. He began pacing, gesturing wildly.

"I know you spent money on it, but there will be more inhibitors in six months! What's a little wait? Isla was my daughter too, of course I would have taken care of her..."

But that little bit of time made all the difference.

After losing the inhibitor, Isla's condition had rapidly worsened. The transformation tore through her small body like wildfire. We couldn't even afford to keep her in the healing center.

She never opened her eyes again.

My baby girl was so young. Before she died at home, she gripped my hand tightly, her little claws drawing blood as she asked why Daddy hadn't come, if Daddy didn't love her anymore.

I could only keep kissing her cheeks, telling her Mommy was here, Mommy would always be with her. My wolf howled in agony as we watched our pup slip away.

Until she closed her eyes for the last time, Isla never got to see her father one final time.

But Natalie's daughter Anna survived because she got my inhibitor—the one I'd saved for years to buy.

Seemingly finished with his lecture, Liam pulled off his uniform jacket. The scent of another she-wolf clung to it so heavily that my eyes watered.

"Take this and wash it until it's white as snow, like you always do." He tossed it at me carelessly. "And why isn't dinner ready? Have you just been sitting here all day like some statue?"

When I didn't move to catch the uniform, letting it fall to the floor, his eyes flashed with anger. His wolf stirred beneath his skin, showing in patches of fur that rippled across his neck.

"What's wrong with you? Get up and do your duties!" His gaze fell on the urn in my hands, and his lip curled. "And put that ugly thing away—it's morbid to keep it out like this. What kind of decoration is that anyway?"

He strode over, reaching for the urn. "I said, put it away!"

My heart stopped as his hands closed around the porcelain. I lunged forward, but my weakened body betrayed me. The tumor made even simple movements difficult now.

"Don't you dare—" I started to say, but my voice cracked.

Something in my expression must have warned him. He paused, still holding the urn, his eyes narrowing as he really looked at me for the first time tonight.

"What's so special about this thing?" he asked, his tone suspicious. "You've been acting strange ever since—"

I looked up, meeting his eyes, and spoke with deadly certainty:

"I want to dissolve our mate bond."

Liam froze, his face showing shock. The urn trembled in his hands for a moment before he set it down, as if suddenly afraid of breaking it.

"What did you say?" His voice had lost its arrogant edge.

I forced a slight smile, though it felt more like baring my teeth:

"I said, Liam, I want to break our mate bond. Completely and irrevocably."

I slid the prepared statement of severance across the table. In the harsh electric light, I watched him stand without moving a muscle.

"This is my written statement. I relinquish any pack assets or territorial rights in your name. The Joint Council opens at nine tomorrow morning. Don't forget to bring your Clan identification."

For a moment, the air in the living room seemed to freeze. Even our wolves fell silent.

Liam's face darkened with rage, his wolf pushing to the surface as his eyes glowed golden. The change rippled across his features, distorting them into something monstrous.

"Enough!" He snarled, fangs lengthening. "You're really going to make this into a big deal? Isla is a Thornpack pup, and she'll stay that way. Don't even think about taking her back to Stormpack!"

His posture became threatening, trying to force me into submission like he'd done so many times before.

I remained unmoved, my voice cold and clear:

"Liam, I'm dissolving our mate bond—this isn't a negotiation."

His face instantly turned cold, followed by a mocking laugh:

"So you're trying to threaten me now, are you?"

He retrieved his uniform from the floor and put it back on, his face tight with anger as he turned toward the door.

Clearly, Liam had decided to avoid the confrontation. He wouldn't be spending the night in our home.

At the doorway, he turned back with a cold warning:

"Olivia, let me tell you something—even if we do dissolve the mate bond, Isla's guardianship will definitely be mine. Don't make me take this to the Pack Court. You'd better not regret this!"

With those words, Liam slammed the door behind him, the sound echoing through the empty home.

The living room returned to its suffocating silence.

I stroked the white porcelain urn, as if soothing a frightened pup.

From his entrance to his departure, Liam hadn't once asked if his daughter was in pain today, if she was sleeping well this late at night.

He hadn't even bothered to control his volume, the door slam loud enough to wake any sleeping pup.

From start to finish, he didn't ask what the white porcelain urn I was holding in my hand was, and I couldn't believe he hadn't seen it at the treatment center.

2

The next morning, I waited punctually at the entrance of the Joint Pack Council. The morning air was crisp with the scent of autumn, but I barely felt the cold.

After nine o'clock passed, when Liam still hadn't appeared, I decisively called him.

His agitated voice immediately burst through the phone:

"Olivia! Is throwing tantrums all you know how to do? Are you deliberately trying to make things difficult for me?"

I kept my voice steady, though my wolf Bella was snarling inside:

"Come sign the severance statement, Liam."

"I don't have time for your games! I have surgeries scheduled—"

"Then make time," I cut him off. "Because our mate bond is already breaking."

There was a moment of shocked silence on the other end.

"What nonsense are you—"

"Can't you feel it, Liam? The cracks in our bond?"

I closed my eyes and focused on the mate bond that had once been so precious to me. With all the strength of my grief and anger I uttered the words, "I, Olivia Wood, reject Liam's continuation as my mate. "

I heard his sharp intake of breath as the first crack appeared.

"Olivia, stop this madness right now!" His voice held a note of panic.

"This isn't madness, Liam. This is what happens when a wolf completely rejects their mate."

Another crack formed. I felt his desperate attempt to reinforce the bond, but it was too late.

"You can't do this!" he snarled.

"It can when one mate's actions have made the bond irreparable," I replied coldly. "The moment you chose another pup over our daughter, you stopped being my mate."

With those words, I felt something inside me shatter. The pain was excruciating, like molten silver in my veins, but I welcomed it.

Through the phone, I heard Liam's agonized howl.

"What have you done?" he gasped.

"I've freed us both," I said quietly. "Now you have no choice but to come and make it official. The Council needs to record the spontaneous bond breakage."

His breathing was heavy, pained. "I'll destroy you for this."

"You already have." I ended the call.

Twenty minutes later, Liam stormed into the Council building. His usual pristine appearance was in disarray - his healer's uniform wrinkled, hair disheveled, eyes wild with a mixture of pain and rage.

The ancient Council Elder, Margaret, looked between us with concern in her silver eyes.

"A spontaneous mate bond breakage," she murmured. "I haven't seen one in decades."

"Because she forced it!" Liam snarled, his wolf eyes flashing gold.

"No force was needed," I said calmly. "The bond was already dying. I just stopped pretending otherwise."

Margaret watched us both carefully, and I felt an alpha force wrapped around my body seemingly probing." The partnership termination agreement is ready. Though given the current state of your partnership bond, this is more of a formality."

I stepped forward to sign first. My hand was steady as I wrote my name.

Liam's claws extended as he grabbed the pen, nearly tearing the paper as he signed.

"There," he spat. "Happy now? Was this little power play worth it?"

"This isn't about power," I said quietly. "This is about consequences."

His lip curled in a sneer. "Speaking of consequences - don't forget what I said about Isla's guardianship. I'll take this to the Pack Court if I have to."

I looked at him for a long moment. Even now, he spoke of our daughter as a possession to be fought over, not a pup to be loved.

"You should focus on your healing center," I said finally. "And on Natalie and Anna. Isn't that what you've been doing anyway?"

His face flushed with anger. "Don't you dare bring them into this!"

"Why not? They're the reason we're here, aren't they?"

"I did what was best for everyone! Anna needed that Inhibitor more—"

"And now you have what you wanted," I cut him off. "You're free to be their family openly. No more pretending to care about your actual mate and pup."

His claws dug into the wooden table. "I won't let you take Isla back to Stormpack."

I didn't bother responding. Soon enough, he would learn the truth. But not from me.

Margaret handed me the stamped certificate that belonged to me, her ancient and kind eyes full of sympathy.

"May the Moon Goddess guide your path, child."

I nodded in thanks and turned to leave.

"This isn't over," Liam called after me.

"It was over the moment you chose them over us," I replied without turning back.

I walked out of the Council building alone, holding Isla's urn close to my chest. The morning sun was bright, but I felt only cold.

My wolf, once so devastated by the bond breaking, was now quiet. Peaceful, almost.

Soon, very soon, we would join our pup.

But Liam would never see either of us again.

I'd made sure our names would be struck from the Thornpack records. In death, as in life, we would no longer be his responsibility.

The thought brought me a bitter kind of peace as I walked away from my old life, never looking back at the mate who had betrayed us both.

Let him run back to his precious Natalie and Anna. Let him pretend he was the wronged party.

The truth would find him soon enough.

And when it did, he would understand exactly what his choices had cost him.

3

I didn't return to the house I had shared with Liam.

All of Isla's belongings had been cremated by me along with her body. There would have been very little left of my own possessions after I bought that inhibitor, except for some clothes along with pictures of Liam and I, which I burned.

The tumor was progressing faster than expected. My balance was getting worse each day, and the headaches would come in waves so intense they left me gasping.

Just forcing my wolf Bella's power to disconnect the mate bond again made my head hurt even more now.

The reason I was so anxious to push Liam to dissolve his partnership and sign a separation agreement as soon as possible was because I needed to make sure I was no longer connected to Liam in any way - even in death.

That day, clutching Isla's urn, I returned to Stormpack territory.

My parents had always respected my decisions.

Just like when they initially disapproved of Liam - a mere omega healer from a low-ranking family - but eventually gave their blessing because I was adamant about our love.

My father Oliver, as Beta of Stormpack, had seen too many ambitious wolves try to climb ranks through mating. He had been particularly wary of Liam's exceptional healing talent and charm.

But for my happiness, they had compromised.

Now it was the same.

When they saw me stumbling at their doorstep, barely able to hold Isla's urn, my father caught me before I fell. His strong arms trembled as he lifted me, his Beta strength seeming to fail him for the first time.

"My little pup," he whispered, his voice breaking. "What has he done to you?"

My mother rushed to help, her eyes filling with tears at my gaunt appearance and unsteady gait.

They already guessed what had happened. Yet they didn't press me for answers.

They simply helped me through each day. My mother would hold me during the seizures, while my father acquired the best medications his position could access.

After a particularly bad episode that left me unable to walk, my father brought home a wheelchair.

"It's the finest artifact in the pack," he said gruffly, trying to hide his pain." The stable seat for the Beta’s best daughter."

Looking at their brave faces as they cared for me, I felt overwhelming regret.

I regretted coming back only to make them watch me die.

As if reading my thoughts, my mother knelt beside my wheelchair, finally breaking down:

"My darling girl, your father and I are grateful you came home. Being able to care for you in your final days... it gives us peace."

The tears I had been holding back finally fell.

One golden afternoon, my father insisted on taking me to the highest point in Stormpack territory. He pushed my wheelchair up the winding path to Moonhowl Hill, where generations of pack leaders had been laid to rest.

The view was breathtaking - endless forest stretching toward the mountains, painted in autumn colors.

"Remember this place? Little Wolf, you used to bring you here when you were little." My father said to me gently.

"And how do you like it here? My dear daughter." There were tears in the father's eyes.

"I remember, it's beautiful here, and I missed it when I lived in the Thornpack." I said trying to smile.

I didn't have the strength to speak anymore and just nodded.

In the warm light, I saw Isla's spirit.

She wore the white dress I had burned as an offering to the Moon Goddess. She danced around my wheelchair, smiling brightly:

"Mama! Isla can touch you now!"

I reached out to hold my daughter's ethereal hand, watching as my father surveyed the plot he had chosen - a beautiful spot overlooking the valley.

"You and Isla will rest here," he said softly. "Where I can visit you every day."

Isla blinked her clear eyes:

"Mama, Grandpa can't see us anymore..."

I stroked her head:

"But we're always in his heart, little one."

Though I didn't understand why our spirits lingered, after seeing my parents begin to find peace, I decided it was time to take Isla to see her father.

In life, Liam had been too preoccupied with Natalie and Anna in the neighboring ward to visit his own daughter.

Every day, Isla had hoped her father would come see her, but she never got to see him one last time.

Now, I would grant her final wish, letting her see her fill of the father she had longed for.

At the healing center, Liam had just finished surgery.

Isla finally saw the father she had missed so desperately. She excitedly ran circles around him.

But Liam couldn't sense her presence. He sat there resting, completely oblivious.

Another healer passed by, and Liam suddenly called out:

"Hey John, how was my daughter's recovery before she left the center?"

That healer smiled:

"Oh, the recovery was perfect! The treatment was so timely, there weren't even any complications!"

My heart filled with confusion and rage.

When Liam admitted to giving Isla's inhibitor to Anna, I think Isla was immediately transferred to the United Council of Wolves treatment center.

The new center has put us on the waiting list for the next inhibitor, but it's far from clear when the next inhibitor will arrive.

And Isla couldn't hold out any longer. She asked me to take her home. Three days later, suffering from the deformity, she died in my arms.

By the time we left Liam's treatment center, Isha was in a very bad way, how could this therapist say such a thing?

Yet Liam seemed relieved by the response, thanking the healer before returning to work.

After he left, that healer scratched his head in confusion.

"What's up with Liam? Hasn't he been personally overseeing his daughter's case?"

"The transformation on the eleventh went so well, he even gave out moon-blessed wine to the whole center. How could he forget so quickly?"

I froze in place.

Isla tugged at my ghostly form, her eyes bright:

"Mama, did Papa come see me that day?"

I couldn't speak past the lump in my throat.

The 11th was the day Isla died in my arms.

I still remember her petite, light body, cold little hands and pale face in my arms.

And Anna morphed perfectly that day after using that inhibitor for Isha.

It turns out that everyone at this retreat center thought Anna was Liam's daughter.

It turns out that on the 11th, he cheerfully distributed moonshine to everyone.

Though as a spirit, I couldn't feel the cold in my body, I began to shiver.

Liam, did it ever occur to you that while you were celebrating Anna's successful metamorphosis, your own daughter was at home closing her eyes forever?

Isla kept asking for you until her final breath!

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the bitter irony.

Liam, you never deserved to be a father!