“Clara,” he said, already grabbing his jacket, “something came up at the office. I need to handle it. You stay here and finish dinner, okay? I’ll come back for you after.”

He didn’t wait for my answer. The door closed behind him.

And just like that, everything changed.

Mrs. Willoughby’s face turned cold again. “We’ll give you less than a month,” she said bluntly. “If you’re not carrying his heir by then, don’t come back here. Do you understand?”

Her husband added, “You came from nothing. No pack lineage, no status. Both your parents are gone. Without Samuel, you are nothing. Don’t think this pack will keep accepting you forever.”

Each word landed harder than the last.

I sat there quietly, letting them speak. What else can I do…?

Samuel never came back so I returned to the pack house alone.

…

The moment I stepped inside, I stopped.

Ivy was already there, lying on the sofa in a silk night slip, eating chips like she had always belonged in this house.

“You said you were going to the motor race,” I said quietly. “You said you weren’t coming back tonight.”

She looked at me and smiled, soft and careless.

“Oh, Clara… I forgot to tell you,” she said. “I went. I just didn’t stay for the race.”

She tilted her head, fingers tracing the neckline of her slip. Marks. Fresh mate marks.

“I ran into my mate in the garage,” she continued lightly. “He saw me near the bike line. Lost control.”

My chest tightened.

“He claimed me there,” she said, almost laughing. “On his car. I could barely walk after. I love it!”

My fingers curled. I kept my face still.

“When did you even get a mate?” I asked. “You never mentioned him.”

She shrugged. “Around nine months ago,” she said. “Right after I came back from abroad. I studied fashion overseas, remember? When I returned, I didn’t want the main pack house. I missed my step brother Samuel too much, so I stayed here.” She smiled sweetly. “That’s when Samuel introduced me to him.”

My breathing turned uneven. So it started the moment she entered this house…?

Before I could think further, I felt it.

Samuel’s hands on my shoulders.

“Sweetheart,” he said gently, “you look tired. You’ve had a long day. Let me run your bath.”

Like nothing was wrong. Like I didn’t just hear everything.

He guided me toward the bathroom. I didn’t resist. I didn’t have strength for it.

I went inside, closed the door, and started undressing slowly.

Then I realized… I forgot clean clothes.

I hesitated, then opened the door slightly.

And everything stopped.

Not far from me, Samuel had Ivy pressed against wall. His hand gripped her waist, his mouth at her neck.

Her slip was half undone, breathing uneven.

She let out a soft sound. “Slow down…” she whispered. “Clara’s still inside. Didn’t you already mark me enough in the garage? Your cum was still inside me.”

My heart dropped.

Samuel’s voice came low, rough. “Don’t say her name,” he said sharply. “And don’t let any other male wolves near you. If I find out someone else touched you… I won’t forgive it.”

She smiled faintly, pleased. Then her eyes shifted. Straight to me.

“Oh… alright,” she murmured. “I won’t. You’re the only one I belong to. Claim me now, brother. Fuck me.”

I couldn’t breathe.

That was enough.

I grabbed my clothes, shut the door, and locked it. My hands were shaking.

The bath was already running. I stepped in, letting the heat swallow me.

But it didn’t help.

Nothing helped.

Because my mind kept going back.

Five years ago. Our mating ceremony on the island.

I only looked once. Just once. At another male wolf passing by during the gathering.

Samuel lost control.

He kept me inside our room for a week. Didn’t let me leave. Didn’t let me look at any other male. Not even through the window.

When I couldn’t even stand, he held me close and whispered, “Clara… you don’t need anyone else. I’m enough. Just promise me you won’t look at another male wolf again.”

And I did. I promised. Over and over.

After that, I never even dared to look.

But now…

He’s the one who couldn’t stay loyal.

Just not to me.

To her.

I sank deeper into the water and let out a shaky breath. What did I do wrong…?

When I finally stepped out, everything was quiet.

Ivy was gone. Only Samuel was there, sitting calmly like nothing happened.

On the table, there was sliced fruit and a cup of ginger tea, still warm. My chest tightened.

He stood and handed me the cup. “I know your heat cycle is coming,” he said gently. “Drink this. It’ll help.”

I took it.

The warmth spread through my hands.

But inside… I felt nothing but cold.

How can he act like this…?

Just moments ago, he was claiming her.

And now… he’s standing here like my perfect Alpha again.

…

I didn’t sleep much that night. My thoughts kept looping like a broken mate bond, circling the same question without mercy. How many faces does my Alpha even have…?

Sometime before dawn, I finally drifted off.

“Clara!”

I jolted awake.

Samuel shot up beside me, his wolf already stirring under his skin. His hands found me in the dark instantly, gripping me like instinct, like a bond snapping tight. He pulled me against his chest so hard I could hear his heartbeat thundering.

“Don’t leave,” he said, voice rough and shaking. “Please… don’t leave me, Clara. I can’t… I can’t lose you.”

I froze in his arms.

“What’s wrong with you?”

His breath was uneven, eyes red like he hadn’t blinked all night.

“I saw it,” he said. “In my dream, you broke the bond and walked away from me. I called you, I reached for you, but you were gone.” His grip tightened again. “Then I woke up and you were still here. Still in my arms. I thought I lost you.”

My throat tightened. I should’ve said it then, should’ve let the truth slip into the cracks of his fear.

It will happen soon, Samuel.

But I stayed quiet, because the bond between us felt heavier than ever in that moment, like it was already deciding our ending without us.

Maybe that nightmare shook him deeper than I thought, because the next morning, he didn’t let me out of his sight.

“I’m taking you myself,” he said, already dressed, keys in hand. “I don’t trust anyone else around you today.”

I didn’t argue. I didn’t have anything left in me to fight.

When we arrived at his office tower, the guards lowered their heads immediately.

“Alpha Samuel,” they greeted.

I couldn’t even respond properly.

Something felt wrong the moment I stepped inside, like the air itself was watching me breathe.

His scent was everywhere, strong, layered, and beneath it something faintly unfamiliar that made my wolf shift uneasily.

And then I saw it.

His office wall.

My breath stopped.

Photos.

But not me.

Ivy.

Hundreds of them. Some casual, some intimate, some clearly taken in private moments that didn’t look innocent at all. A few were lewd, her pressed against him, his hands on her waist, her lips on his neck.

Why… is she on his wall like this…?

Before I could speak, arms slid around my waist from behind.

Samuel.

His lips brushed my neck, his hold firm, possessive.

“Clara,” he murmured, voice soft like he wasn’t the same man who could snap necks with a command. “You don’t have to worry about her. It’s nothing.”

My eyes stayed on the wall.

Nothing…?

He exhaled, then quickly added, “Those are just Ivy’s suggestions. She wanted to see herself displayed. It’s just today. I’ll take them down tomorrow and replace them with yours.”

His grip tightened slightly, like he was trying to erase what I was seeing.

I didn’t answer.

He turned me away fast, almost too fast, and guided me into the inner room.

“Stay here,” he said. “I’ll fix this.”

A knock came at the door.

Jonas, his Beta.

“Alpha, the council meeting is about to start.”

Samuel exhaled like letting go of me physically hurt him more than anything else.

“Stay here,” he said, brushing his thumb over my cheek. “Don’t go anywhere. This place is safe for you.”

Safe.

I almost laughed.

He finally released me and left. The silence swallowed the room. I stayed still for a moment… then walked back out.

My feet stopped again.

A screen on his desk was still open.

A post.

Ivy.

Smiling at the camera, her lips on a man’s neck from behind. The man’s face wasn’t shown, but I didn’t need to see it.

The mark on his collarbone. That cross-shaped birthmark.

Samuel.

My stomach dropped.

More photos below. Intimate. Soft. Dangerous. Like a secret life he forgot to hide.

Comments flooded the screen.

“OMG Ivy girl is that your mate?”

“You two look so real together.”

“Alpha energy!!”

“Is that Samuel?? Be honest!!”

“Stop, this is too hot…”

My hands went cold. I stepped back slowly. The room suddenly felt too small to breathe in.

I couldn’t stay.

So I left.

I walked through the tower halls, past wolves bowing their heads, past guards who avoided my eyes like I was already half gone from the pack.

By noon, my phone buzzed.

I answered quickly.

“Ms. Clara Cooper,” a woman’s voice said through the line, “your exit from the Willoughby pack territory has been approved. You can now collect your transfer papers at the consulate.”

My grip tightened on the phone.

Approved.

It’s really done.

I opened my mouth—

But a voice cut in behind me.

“Exit papers?”

***

I turned slowly, and there he was. Samuel. His face had gone pale, like the ground under him just disappeared.

“What exit papers?” he asked, voice low but shaky. “Clara… what was that just now?”

My heart jumped, but I forced a small smile. “Not mine,” I said lightly. “A friend’s. She’s planning to leave her pack and move to human territory. She called to ask me about it.”

He didn’t speak for a moment. Just stared at me like he was trying to smell the truth off my skin. Then suddenly he pulled me into his arms.

Tight. Too tight. His body was trembling.

“Clara…” he whispered into my hair, voice rough, almost breaking. “Don’t ever leave me. For a second I thought it was you. I thought the bond was breaking and you were really gone.” His grip tightened. “I can’t live without you. Don’t do that to me.”

I slowly placed my hand on his back, patting him like I was soothing him. On the outside, I smiled a little. Inside, I was already gone.

I’m leaving. You just don’t know it yet.

That afternoon, while he was buried in pack meetings, I slipped out quietly and went straight to the consulate. I signed the last of my exit papers from the pack. My hand shook when I wrote my name, but my mind was clear.

---

That night was the Willoughby Company’s big event. The whole pack was there, Alphas, elders, investors, warriors. The ballroom shimmered with lights and scent of expensive wine and power.

I wore something simple, something that wouldn’t draw attention. I just wanted to blend in.

But Ivy didn’t. She walked in wearing a blood-red dress that clung to her like she wanted every eye on her. And it worked. People turned. Whispered. Watched.

Samuel noticed her too. I saw it in the way his hand paused around his glass, in the way his jaw tightened for half a second before he smiled again like nothing happened.

Guests kept coming to me, praising him.

“You’re so lucky, Luna Clara.”

“Alpha Samuel is completely devoted to you.”

“The mate bond really is strong.”

I just nodded and smiled.

If only they knew…

A man offered Ivy a drink. Before she could take it, Samuel stepped in, took the glass, and drank it himself.

“Can’t risk my friend’s sister getting into trouble,” he said smoothly, like it meant nothing.

Ivy tilted her head and smiled.

“Careful, Samuel,” she said lightly. “If you keep acting like this, Clara might get jealous.”

All eyes flicked to me.

I kept my smile soft. “No,” I said gently. “I won’t. I know Samuel loves me. He can’t live without me.”

For a second, Samuel looked at me like he wasn’t sure if he should believe that or fear it.

Then I saw it.

The necklace on Ivy’s neck. Same design as mine. Different stones.

My chest tightened.

She noticed me looking and for a split second her smile slipped. Then she excused herself and slipped out. Samuel followed not long after, checking his phone once, then standing.

“Excuse me,” he muttered. “Work call.”

And just like that, he was gone.

Of course he was.

When I tried to follow, one of his business partners stopped me, smiling too much, talking too long. A married man, but everyone knew his reputation.

I kept my face polite.

“I’m not feeling well,” I said softly. “I think I’ll head home early. No need to worry about me. I’ll take a cab.”

I slipped past him.

The hall was quieter now.

Then I heard it.

A door slightly open. Voices. Breathing. The kind of sound that makes your stomach drop before your mind even understands it.

I stopped.

Slowly, I moved closer and peeked inside.

Ivy was on top of him.

Moving. Claiming him like she owned him.

Samuel’s hands were on her waist, gripping hard, his head tilted back, breath uneven.

My whole body went still.

She turned her head and saw me. And smiled.

“Samuel…” she said softly, but loud enough for me to hear. “Tell me, do you really love me? Or should I go find someone else tonight?”

His voice broke instantly.

“I love you,” he said. “I love you, Ivy. Don’t even say that.”

My fingers tightened around my phone.

I hit record. Every sound. Every word.

She smiled wider.

“Then prove it,” she whispered. “Give me a pup. Right now. Make me yours completely.”

“Yes,” he groaned.

That was enough.

I didn’t wait. I turned and walked away, silent, steady, like I hadn’t just shattered.

---

Back home, I opened my suitcase. My hands shook as I packed, but my chest felt strangely calm.

Because this time… I wasn’t thinking about leaving anymore.

I was already doing it.

I was sitting in the airport lounge, passport and boarding pass in hand, suitcase beside me when my phone buzzed and his name lit up the screen, of course it was him.

I stared at it for a second before answering.

“Where are you, baby?” Samuel’s voice came through low and easy like nothing was wrong, “Jonas said you weren’t home, you didn’t tell me.”

I took a slow breath. “I wasn’t feeling well. Just a bad headache, I went home to rest.”

“I’ll send Jonas over with medicine,” he said.

“No need,” I cut in, keeping my voice steady even though my chest hurt, “I’m done taking those, I just want to sleep.”

Another pause, then I added quieter, “But before you come home… there’s something waiting for you in our room, please open it.”

I could already see it in my head, the necklace, divorce papers, wedding ring, the USB with him and Ivy.

He gave a low chuckle, then I heard it, a sound in the background, a soft moan.

My blood went cold.

“I’ll check it, sweetheart,” he said calmly, “but I can’t come home tonight, pack business, important meeting.”

Then I heard her.

Ivy’s laugh, close, right there with him.

“I’ll be back tomorrow,” he added like it was nothing, like I wasn’t falling apart on the other side of the phone.

I smiled faintly anyway. “Yeah, sure.”

“I love you, Clara,” he said.

“Mm,” I whispered, “sleep well.”

I ended the call before he could say anything else. Then my phone buzzed again.

A new message.

Ivy.

I opened it and dozens of photos loaded in.

Her and Samuel.

On a bed. Tangled. Skin against skin. His hand on her waist, her lips on his neck, the same cross-shaped birthmark on his collarbone clear in every frame. Intimate. Unhidden. Real.

My throat tightened.

Another message popped up.

“I know you’re Samuel’s Luna,” she wrote. “But Samuel is my mate.”

My fingers went numb.

“Next month, I’ll be carrying his pup... Not like you.”

My vision blurred slightly.

“You who let her pups die because you’re an incompetent mother.”

My grip on the phone tightened so hard it hurt.

Then the last message appeared.

“And oh, Clara… Please do me a favor. Walk away now.”

My knees nearly gave out right there in the airport seat.

For a moment, I couldn’t hear anything. Not people. Not announcements. Just the blood rushing in my ears like a storm breaking inside my skull.

My fingers slowly lowered the phone.

My hand shook but my chest felt strangely lighter.

When the boarding gate opened, I stood, passport tight in hand, suitcase rolling behind me as my phone lit up again with his name.

I looked at it for a second, then turned it off.

No hesitation.

I stopped right before boarding, fingers lifting to my neck, the mate mark.

The bond.

My throat tightened.

How many times did I think I couldn’t survive without this… without him?

I pressed my fingers into it hard.

Pain ripped through me like my body was being torn apart.

My vision blurred but I didn’t stop.

“I’m Clara Ritridge and I reject Alpha Samuel Willoughby, I break this mate bond, I release it all.”

Something inside me snapped.

My knees almost gave out as the bond screamed, pulling, resisting, trying to drag me back to him.

I stayed down a moment, shaking, breathing through it until it faded.

Empty. Quiet. Gone.

I stood on weak legs, clutching my passport tighter, then stepped forward, one step at a time, not looking back.

“Goodbye, Samuel. I’m not yours anymore.”