My mother’s final wish before she died from poisoning was to see me crowned as Luna.

Over again, I begged my boyfriend Weston to marry me. But after his 99th rejection, I finally accepted the proposal of my childhood friend, Logan.

He had proposed to me a hundred times, promising to make up for all the pain I’d endured from Weston. He swore he would make me the happiest bride in the world.

With tears in my eyes, I rushed to share the good news with my mother—only to overhear a conversation between Logan and the Omega, Maya.

"Maya, if becoming Weston’s Luna is what will bring you happiness, then I’ll go against the Moon Goddess’s will and make Amalia my Luna instead."

"But let me handle your welcome party. I may not be the one to give you a lifetime of happiness, but I want to witness every step of your life."

My wolf howled in anguish inside me. So this was the truth behind those one hundred confessions—he had only used me to help an omega chase her own love.

As the daughter of an alpha, I couldn’t let my dignity be trampled like this. Furious, I told my mother the wedding was off.

But before I could speak the lie, she already knew the humiliating truth—and died on the spot, heartbroken and breathless.

My mother’s funeral ended up being held on the very same day as Maya’s wedding.

In the center of the pack’s square, I stood dressed in black mourning clothes and locked eyes with my fiancé, Logan, who wore a crisp white suit. His face was full of shock.

—

Fulfilling my mother’s final wish, I scattered her ashes into the sea.

Neither my Alpha father, Damian, nor my fiancé, Logan, showed up at the ceremony.

I stared at the hastily scribbled note on the table. [The lighting technician from the wedding company took leave. We’ll have to postpone the wedding.]

Before I knew the truth, I used to comfort myself, naïvely believing Logan only postponed things because he wanted our wedding to be perfect.

Looking back now, I finally realized it was all just to free up the venue for Maya’s welcome party at Weston’s company.

Every guest meant for my wedding had become part of Maya’s celebration.

The wedding my mother and I dreamed of for ten years had become the biggest joke in the world.

And Logan, the man I thought would save me from the pain Weston and Maya caused me, ended up being the sharpest blade driven into my heart.

When the doctor told me my mother was in critical condition, I didn’t care about the stares. I transformed into my wolf form and sprinted straight to the hospital.

But all I saw was the final tear of resentment and sorrow falling from her eyes.

At that moment, everything I treasured—Logan, the wedding, none of it mattered anymore without my mother.

I simply packed my things, ready to return to my pack.

Just as I reached for the door, Logan appeared on the threshold.

Like 999 times before, he wrapped his arms around my waist and buried his face in my neck, breathing in my scent.

“Amalia, guess what flowers I bought you today?”

I kept my eyes down and said nothing. He tilted my chin, leaning in for a kiss. That’s when I smelled gardenias in his hair—Maya’s favorite perfume.

I turned my head away. He was holding a bouquet of 99 blue roses—my favorite, yes, but the petals were already wilted from being left out too long. Besides, I had seen a photo of that exact bouquet—sent by Maya eight hours ago.

If I hadn’t known, I might’ve smiled and hugged him like I always did.

But he couldn’t fool me anymore.

“Amalia, I wanted to cover our wedding aisle with blue roses, your favorite. But the florist said they were all sold out, so I had to switch to pink hydrangeas.”

I laughed coldly inside.

Pink was Maya’s favorite color. And I’m allergic to hydrangeas.

So, all along, he was just chasing Maya’s shadow through me.

Seeing I was silent, he quickly added, “If you don’t like hydrangeas, Amalia, how about gardenias instead?”

I stepped back, pulled the ill-fitting engagement ring from my finger, and said firmly, “Let’s break up.”

Logan immediately pulled me into his arms, and worried said, “Amalia, what’s wrong? What happened? I’m sorry for coming home so late...”

I let him hold me in silence, but all I could smell was Maya’s scent clinging to him.

I frowned and pushed him away. “It’s nothing. You’re a great guy. I just... don’t want to get married anymore.”

He ran a hand over his furrowed brow. His handsome face was shadowed and weary.

“Amalia, be reasonable. Don’t make a scene. Haven’t I done enough to make our wedding perfect? It wasn’t my fault it got delayed—the lighting technician was—”

I sighed and cut him off. “Was it really the lighting technician’s fault?”

His eyes flickered, his brows tightening. Just as he was about to answer, his phone lit up—and so did his face.

A message from Maya flashed on the screen and a bright smile tugged on the corner of his lips.

I scoffed, peeled his hand off mine, and turned to leave.

He called out behind me, still smiling, “Amalia, don’t be mad. I’m just stepping out for a bit. I’ll buy you your favorite bag, okay?”

I silently placed all the hundred gifts he’d ever given me on the dining table.

Ninety-nine of them had been "compensation" after he abandoned me for Maya. I must’ve been out of my mind to feel happy receiving them.

When I returned to the small apartment my mother left me, my phone rang.

“Hello, Miss Maya? The wedding gown you custom ordered has arrived. Would you like to come in for a fitting?”

I stared at the luxurious dress and shook my head.

“The wedding is canceled. I won’t be needing it.”

Just as I finished signing the five million-dollar refund paperwork, four assistants carried in an even more extravagant dress—the couture showpiece I had fallen in love with during the runway show.

“Miss Maya, you’re truly lucky. This eighty million dollars gown had two men fighting over who would pay for it.”

“We should call you Mrs. Nowell now. We’re all omegas here—when will it be our turn to find our fated alpha?”

Miss Maya.

Mrs. Nowell...

Was it him?

I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself.

Since I was still working at Logan’s company, I figured I’d resign while he wasn’t around. As soon as I walked into the building, the receptionist greeted me with thinly veiled sarcasm.

“Oh wow, if it isn’t the CEO’s fiancée! Gracing us with your presence today?”

I gave her a glance. Before I could reply, a colleague approached, linking her arm with mine.

“Amalia, are you here to visit? The CEO’s been working day and night on your wedding. There are design drafts piled up like mountains!”

I offered a small smile but didn’t respond. The truth was, every bit of that wedding design had been done by me—because he once said he wanted everything to reflect my vision. But now, I realized, the person keeping him up at night wasn’t me. It was Maya.

“And he even bought that 80 million wedding dress you liked at the fashion show! Plus three hundred million in jewelry! Sir Logan is so in love with you...”

Their congratulations and envy cut through me like blades, because the woman they were praising him for wasn't me.

“Logan, the jewelry you gave me is too expensive. What if I lose it with my clumsy hands?” Maya’s voice rang out from the entrance. She clung affectionately to Logan’s arm.

“You’re the most precious thing in this world. As long as you’re with me, nothing else matters.” Logan brushed her hair tenderly, his gaze filled with love—a side of him I’d never once seen.

Maya had spotted me the moment she walked in. She smirked, challenging me with her eyes.

Even though I had already decided to leave, the sight of the two of them so intimately close still stabbed at my chest. My wolf howled in agony inside me.

“Oh, are you here to check on your fiancé at work, sis? Didn’t bring one of those sweet homemade lunches this time?”

Those “love-packed lunches” I used to prepare for Logan always ended up in Maya’s hands. And right in front of me, she’d dump the food—made with fingers I’d cut ten times over—straight into the trash.

Logan frowned when he noticed me. “Where did you run off to last night? The housekeeper said you dumped a pile of trash on the dining table. Do you still want it?”

He showed me a photo of the gifts he had given me.

When I noticed the identical Bulgari bracelet on Maya’s wrist, I suddenly understood. The ones he gave me were all fake. No matter how carefully I had preserved them, they’d lost the luster of true luxury. No wonder the housekeeper mistook them for garbage.

I shook my head. “If it’s trash, then it belongs in the trash.”

Logan stared at me, sensing something was off, but said nothing.

I was about to leave when my wolf suddenly grew restless. I looked up—and there he was.

Weston.

My fated mate for the past eight years.

“Logan, your fated mate is standing right in front of you,” he said coldly. “Yet you’re holding my fiancée like that—don’t you think that’s inappropriate?”

Weston's eyes swept past me like I was no one, like I wasn’t the mate chosen by the Moon Goddess herself.

My wolf let out a pained cry, but I forced myself to remain calm.

Logan’s eyes turned bloodshot. “If you know Maya is your fiancée, then why were you messaging another woman late at night?”

My heart twisted. Maya stood between them, her eyes red with emotion, looked at the two of them with a mix of grievance and nervous tension—but through mind link, she still found a way to provoke me. “So what if you’re an Alpha’s daughter? I’m just an Omega, and I’ve crushed you underfoot. Even your fated mate—I’ll take him too.”

My wolf nearly broke free from my control. I winced as I let out a low, pained growl. Maya staggered dramatically and collapsed.

Both men rushed toward her. She fell softly into Weston’s arms but kept her teary gaze fixed on Logan.

“Amalia, I know you were once Weston’s fated mate,” she said pitifully, “but you already accepted Logan’s proposal. Why are you still going after Weston? Why can’t you accept that he’s moved on?”

“Maybe... I was wrong to defy the Moon Goddess.”

Logan hadn’t even pulled his hand back before he turned to me, his eyes were cold, exuding Alpha dominance.

I let out a soft, bitter laugh. “You don’t believe me?”

His eyes flickered with disgust. And Weston—standing beside him, seemed even more desperate to distance himself from me.

“I’ll never love Amalia,” he declared. “Even if she’s my fated mate, I’ll follow my heart. I choose my true love.”

“Maya, you're the only love in my life. Don’t you understand how deeply I feel for you? My Luna can only ever be you."

“Some people think that just because someone is the mate chosen by the Moon Goddess, it’s set in stone—but as a mature Alpha, I have every right to question that. Even the Goddess can make mistakes. Being bound to someone by fate doesn’t mean I’ll love them. I won’t. Because my heart already belongs to you, Maya. Please, believe me.”

Maya nestled into his arms, her voice trembling. “But you and Amalia were chosen by the Moon Goddess. I’m just the outsider... a latecomer. I know I may never take her place in your heart."

At her words, Weston turned to look at me—his eyes filled with nothing but intense disdain and revulsion.

Maya lowered her gaze and murmured, "Maybe my presence here was a mistake."

Then she turned and ran out, tears threatening to fall.

I clutched my aching chest, forcing myself to stand tall.

Facing Weston, I said clearly, “I, Amalia Schultz, reject you, Weston Nowell, as my fated mate.”

A flicker of inexplicable shock flashed through Weston's eyes, but determined to win Maya's heart, he refused to accept my rejection and ran out after her without hesitation.

I looked at Logan, who still stood frozen in the lobby.

Taking a deep breath, I continued, “And I, Amalia Schultz, reject you, Logan Moran, as my chosen mate.”

He instinctively clutched his chest, pain flashing across his face—alongside something that looked suspiciously like satisfaction. Still, he reached out, trying to stop me.

“Amalia, I know Auntie’s illness has made you emotional. I won’t accept your rejection. I’ll wait for you to come back and be my bride.”

I shook his hand off and walked away with firm steps.

Everything that needed to be said, I had said. Everything that needed to be done, I had done.

It was over.

All of it.

When I returned home and began packing the last of my things, I didn’t expect to hear Maya’s voice at the door.

My gaze immediately darkened. Did Logan really give her the keys to our house?

My body was still weak from rejecting both of my fated mates. In contrast, she stood tall and radiant, looking down at me as if she had already won.

Her sharp high heels ground into a framed photo of me and my mother.

“She’s already dead, and you still have the energy to chase men?” Maya spat disdainfully.

I shot upright, my wolf howling inside my chest. No one knew the real cause of my mother’s death.

She had received a letter—just one letter—that caused such intense emotional distress it accelerated the spread of the wolfsbane in her system.

I hadn’t told anyone. Not a soul.

But now, my wolf was too weak to transform. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t shift. I could only stand there, trembling with rage, pointing at the lowly Omega who stole my fated mate and drove my mother to death.

"How do you know that? Were you the one who sent the letter?" I growled.

Maya didn’t even flinch. She lazily examined her perfectly manicured nails and tilted her head with a smug smile.

"I only wanted our noble Luna to know the truth. I couldn’t bear to see her deceived by the daughter she once abandoned."

She sighed with a mock pity. “How was I supposed to know she’d be so useless and just drop dead like that? No wonder her Alpha mate didn’t want her. Honestly, her death might’ve been a blessing. When she was alive, she was nothing but a cowardly waste.”

My vision turned blood-red. My wolf was roaring in fury. I couldn’t hold back anymore—I lifted my hand to slap the smug look off her face.

But before I could even touch her, she suddenly staggered backward, a glint flashing in her eyes.

Then, in a shocking move, she pulled out a blade and slashed her own cheek—just as I was lunging forward.

Before I could speak, a powerful force knocked me to the ground.

The frame with my mother’s photo shattered beside me. A shard of glass sliced across my cheek.

Then I heard Logan’s panicked voice.

“Maya! Are you hurt?! Where are you bleeding?!”

She cupped her small face with delicate, blood-streaked hands, tears shimmering in her eyes like a wounded doll.

“Don’t blame Amalia, okay? She was just angry that I took Weston away from her. And I’m just an omega... if she wants to punish me, what can I do?”

Logan pulled her into his arms as if she were some priceless treasure. “Maya, don’t say that. No matter what you are, you’re the gift the Moon Goddess gave me.”

She sobbed—so perfectly it felt rehearsed.

“You’re still willing to protect me even though I’ve been scarred like this... you’re so good to me...”

“Amalia,” Logan snapped, turning to me with Alpha fury radiating off him. “Apologize to Maya. Now.”

I stared at him in disbelief. My voice trembled. “You... do you even know what she did to my mother?”

“She—”

“Logan, don’t fight with your fiancee because of me!” Maya cried again, interrupting me—and pouring gasoline on his rage.

“I don’t care what happened before. Right now, you owe Maya an apology!”

“I can’t believe what you’ve become,” he hissed. “You’re not worthy of being Luna!”

I looked at the man I had grown up with—felt nothing but disgust and betrayal. For the first time, he felt like a stranger.

I straightened my spine and bore the crushing weight of his Alpha dominance. Blood pooled in my mouth, but I didn’t care. I glared at Maya with all the hatred I’d been holding back.

“I will never apologize to her,” I said slowly. “And next time—I won’t go easy on her.”

Slap.

Logan’s hand struck my face so hard I was thrown across the room, crashing into the wall.

“I’ve spoiled you too much and turned into such a vicious person,” he roared. "Now, I’ll discipline you in place of your parents."

The next moment, he hoisted me into the air and slammed a brutal punch into my stomach.

Agony drowned my senses as darkness crept in.

As I lost consciousness, the last thing I saw was Logan's twisted, enraged face.

And in that final moment, I made a vow—one only an Alpha could make.

When I leave this place... I’ll make every last one of them pay.