“Is that so?” I kept my gaze down, picking up the freshly brewed, scalding hot coffee and throwing it directly in her face.
Alexa screamed, “AHHH!” as the liquid burned. Her trembling finger pointed at me, mascara running down her face from the coffee. She seemed genuinely surprised that I had finally fought back.
“You psychotic BITCH!” she screamed, wiping coffee from her eyes, her flawless makeup now streaking down her cheeks. “Do you really believe Ezra won’t dissolve your mate bond after this?”
“Let me tell you the truth,” she said, her eyes filled with malice. “Ezra only marked you because of something I said that made him angry. A stupid fight we had.”
“Why else would he mark you but never hold a wedding ceremony?” she insisted, realising she’d struck a nerve. “You didn’t actually think he’d let you become the pack’s Luna, did you? Someone like you?”
“Alexa, what the HELL are you saying?!”
Ezra’s tall figure suddenly filled the doorway and squeezed into the break room. His usually flawless hair was dishevelled. His expression was panicked. His eyes cast a reproachful look at her, clearly saying, “Shut up.”
Instead of backing down, Alexa’s entire demeanour shifted. She pouted childishly and put her arm around his, pressing against him.
“Did I say anything wrong, Ezra?” she enquired, her voice sweet and innocent now. “You only agreed to marry Zara because you were fighting with me at the time, right? It was never supposed to be permanent.”
Ezra’s expression became extremely complicated. His gaze darted around the room. His expression was filled with guilt and uncertainty.
And at that moment, I knew.
I stood frozen, Alexa’s words echoing in my mind, slicing through years of self-deception.
In my relationship with Ezra, I was always the one who put in the most effort. The one giving everything while receiving nothing in return.
I’d begun falling for him when I was fifteen, pursuing him for three agonising years while he maintained that infuriating ambiguous attitude–never rejecting me outright to keep me on the hook, but never fully accepting me either.
Until we turned eighteen and our wolves awoke, recognising one another as mates.
I vividly recall that night–the full moon, the rush of power as my wolf appeared, and the overwhelming certainty when our gazes met across the ceremonial circle.
Mates. It was meant to be destiny.
I couldn’t sleep all night after Ezra proposed marking me. I had paced my bedroom until dawn, planning our future together and imagining the life we would create.
I foolishly thought I’d finally won his heart, that he genuinely cared about me. I thanked the Moon Goddess a thousand times for uniting us.
But now, the cruel reality sliced through all of my illusions like a sharp knife, revealing the lie I’d been living.
I was not his chosen one. I was his consolation prize. When things with Alexa did not go as planned, he devised a backup plan.
