Cynthia pov

As I strode into the jewelry shop, the scent of polished metal and leather filled my nostrils. I had arrived to collect the wedding rings, symbolizing my eternal bond with my mate, Alvin, the soon to be Alpha of the Murphy pack.

But upon getting there, I discovered there were two custom made rings, one had my name in it while the other had Mary Blackwell in it. I frown, why does she have a custom made ring like mine? Mary, a rogue, had been taken in by Alvin's pack after he'd saved her during a patrol. I remembered the day he'd brought her home, explaining her dire situation – no family, no pack, nowhere to go.

Alvin had explained this to me the day I first saw her. He told me not to misunderstand the situation and he would have done the same if she was a man too.

I took both rings home wanting to ask him why Mary has a ring like mine. But on getting home, I overheard Alvin speaking on the phone.

“Could you please buy a house for Mary in your name? I know but I don’t want Cynthia to find out”. I didn’t know what the other person at the end of the call said but Alvin's response totally shattered my heart, my wolf howled in pain.

“I love her, I can’t give up Mary”. Realizing I was the mistress in my own relationship, I decided to quit and let them be together.

****************

Upon discovering two identical wedding rings, my heart sank. I had personally designed the ring, with the inner circle bearing the date we first met and our names. I had spent the whole night working on it, just to make it special and unique.

And yet there was another one exactly like mine, the only difference was the date and names. I had poured my heart into designing that ring, crafting every detail to represent our unique bond.

The inner circle held our special story: the date we met and our entwined names. So, discovering an identical ring with Mary's name alongside his, and the date they met, felt like a devastating blow. What I thought was our exclusive symbol of love turned out to be a duplicate, leaving me feeling foolish and betrayed.

I smiled bitterly and put Mary's ring back, taking mine. As soon as I walked out of the jewelry shop, I tossed the ring into the nearby trash. I kept taking deep breaths to calm my wolf down. She wouldn’t stop howling in pain, I didn’t want to exaggerate things.

Maybe it was just a misunderstanding, maybe there’s someone else who has the same name as my mate and it wasn’t him she was seeing.

Exiting the gold shop, I welcomed the refreshing breeze that swept away my mental fog. As my thoughts clarified, I reached for my phone to confront Alvin about the ring. But then, I saw his message: "Meet me at The Bistro, just around the corner." Sent mere minutes ago.

I made my way to the restaurant, thinking of ways to ask Alvin about the right. I didn’t want to cause any misunderstanding between us. I didn’t want him to think I was being insecure of our relationship.

As soon as I got to the restaurant I was asked if I had a reservation, I gave Alvin’s name and I was directed to where he was, following the waitress' guidance. I spotted Alvin standing by the window, his back to me, engrossed in a hushed phone call.

His words, barely audible, sent a chill down my spine: "Please help me buy a house for Mary in your name... Don't let Cynthia find out."

Hearing those words was like a slap to my soul and our mate's bond. Turns out their relationship was exactly as I had thought, it was more than a friendship or an act of kindness.

What about me then? Where do I stand in his life? I was his ange for goddess’s sake yet I feel like I wasn’t. Staring at his figure, a wave of disappointment washed over me. Everytime I look at Alvin, my wolf would always jump for joy at the sight but surprisingly she was just quiet.

I didn’t need to hear the other person at the end of the call to know it’s something that will completely break my heart. He spoke again in a hoarse voice, "I love her, I can't give up Mary." His words hit me like a sudden shock, sending chills down my spine.

I stood there calmly, listening to his calls. There’s no use crying over spilled milk. Since he loves Mary, he can have her and I sure as hell will help them get together.

I composed myself and knocked on the door. Alvin's conversation abruptly ceased, and he swiveled around. Our gazes locked, his eyes flashing with guilt.

"When did you arrive?" he asked, his voice tinged with apprehension.

I masked my emotions with a bright smile. "Just got here. Who was that?".

Alvin's gaze lingered on mine, searching for a hint of suspicion or anger. When I remained impassive, his tense shoulders relaxed, and he exhaled silently.

He masked his relief well, his expression neutral as he gestured to the chair. "Take a seat." Pulling out the chair closest to me, he continued, "That was the office. They reminded me of an afternoon meeting and asked me to return early." My wolf growled in my head, at the fact he didn’t even hesitate to lie to our face. I just smiled in response, not exposing his lies.

I nodded, my expression neutral, and replied, "Let's eat then. You can leave soon."

Alvin signaled the waiter, and as our food arrived, he asked, "So, what do you think of the ring? Did it meet your expectations?"

My smile faltered. "It's lovely," I said, my tone measured, "but I noticed something peculiar."

Alvin's gaze intensified.

"I have an identical ring," I continued, my voice even. "Apparently, my custom-made piece isn't one-of-a-kind." Our eyes met, tension simmering beneath the surface.

I fell silent. Alvin's eyes darted away, his expression strained. "Maybe something went wrong. I'll check on it this afternoon."

My heart chilled, but I said nothing. Alvin's puzzled gaze searched mine, expecting the usual chatter.

Normally, I dominated our conversations, sharing stories and whispers. I loved talking to him about every single thing that happened to me or how I spent my day.

Most of the time, he would just watch me in silence or make small comments on whatever I was saying. Today, my silence spoke volumes.

When Alvin and I started going out, after we found out we were mated. He loved watching me talk, he was very patient and kind but everything changed when Mary came into the picture.

He became very impatient and He'd cut me off mid-sentence, dismissing my thoughts with a condescending smirk. "Girls are prettier when they talk less," he'd say, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "You should be quiet more often."

I'd seethe, grumbling under my breath, but Alvin remained indifferent. He wouldn't soothe my anger or attempt to resolve our disputes. He'd simply let me stew alone.

It took time for me to recognize the painful truth: his indifference wasn't about avoiding conflict, but about not caring.

Staring at him now, I couldn’t help but wonder how I had been so blind to all this? His attitude was obvious all the time but yet I was stupid and never noticed it.

Alvin and I first met at a pack meeting where his father and mine were invited to. Being the only daughter and heir of the ravenmoon pack, my father always takes me to all of his meetings, wanting me to be familiar with the way pack stuff works.

His father and mine were good friends and wanting the best for their pack, his father decided to propose an arranged marriage for us.

For me, it was love at first sight. Even if we weren’t mates, I would still have loved him and wanted to be with him. Since we are already in an arranged marriage. In order not to cause problems for us in the future, we decided to stay off dating or any other relationship with the opposite gender. So we won’t have any misunderstanding. I guess that didn’t actually work out

Mary was an accident. I would say I was at fault too because I had also encouraged Alvin into caring for her. When I first saw her, she was so pitiful to look at. She was very skinny and thin compared to people of her age.

She was very friendly and had a sweet mouth that made the people around her laugh, which made me like her. Because of that I had agreed to let her stay within Alvin pack and let him take care of her.

At first, Alvin didn’t agree, he had agreed to help her but not let her stay. But then I got into a car accident. After my severe car accident, Alvin sought help from everyone.

Despite being an atheist, he visited various places of worship to pray for my recovery. He also supported Mary, a poverty-stricken individual, believing that good deeds would bring me blessings.

Alvin never believed in mate bond or the moon goddess but he had prayed to her for two days on his knee to wake me up. For the three days I lay on the sick bed, unconscious. U heard Alvin had helped lots of people, after he was told, kindness brings mercy.

And Mary was among them, he had brought her back to the packs and surprisingly, I woke up two hours after he took her in. Alvin teased me, calling Mary my 'guardian angel.' With a smile, he asked me to be kind to her. I took his words to heart, embracing Mary as a sister and sharing whatever I had with her.

I never imagined that the sister I had taken under my wing would become the one to inflict the deadliest blow. I had brought my own enemy into my relationship, when I understood why others never liked anyone interfering in their relationship or even helping someone. My own kindness had turned against me.

The memory left a bitter taste in my mouth, and I lost my appetite. I set my spoon down after just a few bites. Alvin noticed and asked, 'Don't you like the food?”. Staring at me, I glanced at the table and saw that most dishes were loaded with chili peppers, which I couldn't tolerate. I have always hated spicy food, Alvin knows that.

Alvin's apologetic words trailed off as he realized his mistake. "Sorry, I forgot you can't eat spicy food. What do you want? I will order something else for you." He added, getting ready to call for the waitress.

How can he forget I hate spicy food? We have gone on dates many times and each time I will remind him, I can’t tolerate spicy food.

“Cynthia, I know. This is the hundredth time you will be telling me”. He would say while laughing. But now…

I took a deep breath, poised to confront him about our failing relationship. Just as I opened my mouth, a sugary sweet voice interrupted, "Alvin."