Despite my disappointment in his lack of trust, he was my destined mate.

I didn't want our relationship to crack because of misunderstandings.

More importantly, I didn't want others to know that I, the daughter of the Southern Territories' Alpha King, had bonded with an ordinary wolf from the Northern Territories.

I had fled the royal court precisely to avoid the arranged marriage my father had planned.

I wanted to choose my own mate. I wanted to hunt alongside him as an equal, not become a bargaining chip for alliance between two territories.

I had never told anyone about this, including Kieran.

I feared that once he learned I was the Alpha King's daughter, he would either become fawning and flattering, or distant and insecure like other wolves. Since childhood, every Alpha who circled around me was only interested in my background and family connections.

I hated those calculated advances. I loved the way Kieran looked at me with stars in his eyes.

The memory of those beautiful times made me smile involuntarily.

"What are you smiling about?"

Kieran frowned, disgust evident in his voice:

"At a time like this, you can still smile?"

I lifted my head and looked directly into Kieran's eyes:

"Do you really think I'm the kind of woman who trades her body for resources?"

"What else?"

He sneered:

"Do you think there's anything left about you worth my respect?"

My chest felt like it was being crushed by invisible hands, making it hard to breathe.

I took a deep breath and said slowly:

"The man in that photo is my biological father."

"Father?"

Ivy burst into laughter:

"Do you think we're idiots? Calling your sugar daddy your biological father? You still claim you didn't sleep your way to the top. Do you call every man you sleep with daddy? How kinky of you!"

The surrounding laughter became even more piercing. Someone even whistled.

Kieran's eyes were full of contempt:

"Enough. Stop embarrassing yourself here. Take your expulsion order and get out! From now on, you're no longer a member of Shadowmoon Pack. Fortunately, I haven't marked you yet! After you sign this, I'll submit it to the Alpha Council. We'll have nothing to do with each other ever again!"

I gripped the expulsion order tightly, my heart turning ice cold.

For eight years, I had hidden my identity and managed pack affairs as an ordinary pack member.

Now, I had personally helped him become Alpha, helped him forge alliances, blocked assassinations meant for him, even expanded territory for him, allowing him to absorb more powerful packs. Yet he wanted to break our bond and expel me.

I wouldn't deny the result hurt—that my eight years of dedication had no value. But I would definitely take back what belonged to me.

"Kieran, you'll regret this."

Kieran heard my low murmur and laughed as if he'd heard the world's biggest joke:

"Regret?"

He scoffed:

"My biggest regret is bonding with a slut like you!"

With that, he wrapped his arm around Ivy's waist.

The two smiled at each other and walked hand-in-hand toward the center of the banquet hall.

Only then did I notice that his custom-tailored suit and Ivy's low-cut evening gown were matching couple's outfits.

He raised their intertwined hands, his voice loud and confident:

"Tomorrow, the pack will officially absorb Ghostclaw Pack's territory! All of this is thanks to everyone here! May we continue to work together and create glory!"

Thunderous applause erupted, cheers rising one after another.

Praise for him and Ivy as destined mates, the greatest Alpha and future Luna, reached my ears clearly.

Kieran's gaze swept over me but didn't linger, as if I were just an irrelevant stranger.

Looking at this man I had been bonded to for eight years, I finally understood why my parents always said I had terrible judgment.

It turned out I had been too naive. Thinking back to the woman's moaning I'd heard during my call with Kieran, I realized that Ivy, this Omega secretary, had been involved with Kieran long before tonight.

But as the Alpha King's daughter, poor judgment didn't mean poor ability. I could elevate him to his high position, and I could make him fall hard!

I gripped the expulsion order tightly and turned to leave this suffocating place.

However, just as I took my first step, Shadowmoon Pack's Elder blocked my path, wearing a fake smile on his face.

"Aria, don't be in such a hurry to leave."

He adjusted his glasses, his tone carrying an undeniable authority:

"According to pack rules, leaving requires signing a statement to clear yourself of all responsibilities during your time here. Plus a confidentiality agreement to prevent you from leaking hunting routes and ally lists once you're out. You must also submit to a security check to ensure you're not carrying classified documents or contraband."

Previously, everyone knew I was Kieran's fiancée. Seeing how I could bring back rare prey and negotiate important alliances, they all treated me with respect.

Especially the Elder. Back then, to curry favor with me, he would humbly call me future Luna with downcast eyes.

Now, he looked down at me with his nose in the air, as if trying to reclaim his superiority from me.

I looked at this pathetic display and said coldly:

"Security check? What right do you have to search my body?"

The Elder's smile vanished instantly, his tone turning sharp:

"What right? Based on your filthy relationships with other wolves! The Alpha showing mercy by not torturing you is already generous. Don't push your luck!"

I scoffed and shot back:

"Filthy relationships? Do you have evidence? Just based on a few photos taken out of context?"

"Evidence?"

Ivy clicked over in her high heels, pointing at me:

"The evidence is right there! Who knows what secrets you're hiding on you? What if you leak them to enemy packs after you leave?!"

With her words, she signaled to two Gamma wolves.

Before I could react, the two Gamma grabbed my shoulders and confiscated my phone.

"Let go of me! This is illegal detention!" I struggled and shouted.

Kieran stood to the side, his face dark, showing no intention of stopping them.

The Pack Elder stepped forward and began searching my body.

When his hand touched my lower back, my whole body stiffened—there was a tattoo commemorating the day I first met Kieran, our secret.

He used to love gently tracing that tattoo, saying it was the mark of our love.

But now, he just watched coldly, his eyes showing no emotion whatsoever.

The Elder's fingers paused on the tattoo on my lower back. He looked up at Kieran and deliberately said loudly:

"Alpha, look at this tattoo on her body. Who knows what shameful secrets it might be hiding."

Kieran frowned and stepped forward. He only glanced briefly at my tattoo before looking away.

"A tattoo? Probably got it for that wild man. Disgusting." His tone was indifferent, as if looking at trash.

My heart plummeted.

He had actually forgotten the meaning of this tattoo, forgotten our sweet past together.

"Kieran, do you really not remember this tattoo?" I asked, my voice trembling.

He looked at me coldly, his eyes full of unfamiliarity and distance:

"Aria, you keep saying those photos were a misunderstanding. Then why did you secretly get a tattoo behind my back?"

His accusation made me feel utterly exhausted.

"I got this for you. It's the rose you gave me the day we first met."

He was stunned for a long time, unable to remember that day. His face went through a spectrum of expressions.

I forcefully broke free from the Gammas' restraints and snatched my phone back from him.

Kieran looked at me with complex emotions as I unlocked my phone, his lips moving slightly.

The next second, he grabbed my phone again, trying to search for evidence of my cheating.

When he saw the intimate selfies of me and my father, he flew into a rage:

"Aria, you're really something! The evidence is right here. What else do you have to say?"

"I told you, he's my biological father!"

"Give me back my phone!"

"This is robbery, slander, invasion of my privacy!"

Kieran raised his hand, let his Alpha wolf partially shift, and slapped me hard across the face. Then he forcefully smashed my phone on the ground.

The phone screen shattered instantly, fragments scattering everywhere.

With the silver poison still in my system and his Alpha wolf suppressing me, the pain in my body doubled. I wanted to fight back but was held down again by the Gamma wolves.

Kieran was provoked by my fierce reaction and spoke coldly:

"Aria, don't act so innocent. If you didn't trade your body for resources, how could you achieve those results with so many powerful packs? Don't tell me you sacrificed yourself for me—that fucking disgusts me!"

I looked up at him, my eyes full of disappointment:

"Kieran, do you have to humiliate me like this?"

He smiled carelessly:

"Humiliate? You think you're worthy?"

Faced with his distrust and humiliation, I felt utterly wronged.

"Fine. Since you won't listen to reason, let's call the person in question here for a face-to-face confrontation. Let's see who's spreading lies and who's shameless!"

"Call the person here for confrontation?"

He looked at me coldly:

"You think you still have that chance? You have no shame, but I do! You've already conspired with him. What's the point of a face-to-face confrontation?"

"I'm truly grateful that I only got engaged to you instead of completing the bond. Otherwise, having a mate like you would be the shame of my lifetime!"

I stared at the shattered phone on the ground, and the fury in my heart finally exploded:

"Kieran, if you dare treat me like this, forget about tomorrow's pack expansion plan!"

"Hahaha!"

Laughter erupted around us.

"Aria, have you lost your mind?"

Ivy clutched her stomach, laughing so hard she doubled over:

"Who do you think you are? You think you can influence pack territorial expansion?"

Kieran also looked at me mockingly:

"Do you think you're the Alpha King? That you can make a merger plan between two packs fall through with just one sentence?"

I lifted my head, looked directly into his eyes, and said word by word:

"I'm not the Alpha King, but my father is. The man in those photos is my father, Adrian Sterling."

The laughter grew even louder.

"Aria, have you been driven insane?"

The Elder laughed so hard he slapped the table:

"If you're the Alpha King's daughter, then I'm the Alpha Queen!"

"Exactly, exactly!"

Others joined in the mockery:

"If you're the Alpha King's daughter, we'll kneel down and lick your shoes clean!"

The crowd's laughter pushed the banquet's atmosphere to its climax.

Kieran shook his head, looking at me with pity and disgust, his tone full of contempt:

"Aria, stop embarrassing yourself here. Get out now and don't dirty my territory! And don't claim you have any relationship with me!"

I clenched my fists, nails digging deep into my palms.

The fury in my heart almost consumed me, but I knew now wasn't the time to explode.

"Fine. I'll leave."

"But remember, today's humiliation—I'll repay it tenfold."

Another wave of laughter erupted.

"Repay tenfold?"

Ivy leaned against Kieran's chest, laughing until she trembled:

"Aria, have you told so many lies that you believe them yourself? Repay tenfold? Do you think you're the protagonist with plot armor?"

Kieran waved his hand dismissively, like shooing away a beggar:

"Enough. Stop putting on this melodrama. Get lost and don't delay our celebration."

I took one last look at him and turned to leave.

Mocking laughter and insults followed me, but I no longer cared.

Leaving the banquet hall, I bought a new phone and dialed a number:

"Before Shadowmoon Pack officially merges Ghostclaw Pack's territory tomorrow, I want Kieran to lose everything."

The other end was silent for a moment, then a deep voice came through:

"Understood, Miss."