Chapter 2

I stared at the all-too-familiar scene before me, fury rising in my chest.

Years ago, Vivian had pulled the same stunt—crying, acting fragile—making Alen believe I had bullied her. Back then, he hadn’t even fully shifted, yet he had dared to snarl at me. Now she was doing it again.

My hand moved faster than I thought. Smack—a sharp slap landed on Alen’s cheek, echoing in the room. His eyes blazed even hotter with disbelief.

Before he could speak, I turned to Vivian. She flinched and tried to hide behind him.

I didn’t touch her. My voice was ice.

“So be it. If you love labeling me a villain, I’ll wear the title well. But next time, Vivian—before you provoke an Alpha whose fated mate you covet—think very carefully about the consequences. My patience is not as infinite as the Moon Goddess’s mercy.”

“Anna, how dare you use Alpha pressure against Vivian!” Alen roared, lunging at me.

Jack and Daniel immediately stepped in, each grabbing an arm to hold him back.

Alen struggled wildly, his eyes locked on me with hatred. “Just wait! Even if you got on your knees, even if you ordered me as an Alpha, I would never mark you! My heart, my wolf—they belong to Vivian!”

“Let’s go, Vivian!” he snarled, shaking off Jack and Daniel before storming off with her in tow.

Daniel stood awkwardly in the tense silence and offered a poor attempt at comfort. “Anna… Alen, he—his wolf’s been unstable lately, maybe it’s because—”

I cut him off with a cold, tight smile. Without replying, I turned and headed back to my room.

The door closed behind me, cutting off the world.

I leaned against it and slid to the floor.

Since Vivian arrived, it was like she had cast some sort of spell on Alen’s wolf. He had turned on me completely.

That boy who once stood in front of me—when my wolf had barely awakened, when I was being excluded by the other pups—had become the same one now slashing me with the sharpest claws.

I let out a bitter laugh. My palm still burned from the slap I’d given him. His scent—once intoxicating to me as a fated mates should be—was now tainted by Vivian’s cheap herbal stench. It made me sick.

Maybe it was for the best. Before he even knew the Moon Goddess’s true verdict, I had already torn apart this pathetic bond with my own hands.

When he finds out the truth, maybe he’ll even feel relieved to be free of his “clingy” destined mate.