On our wedding night, my Alpha mate, Damon, made one thing clear: he would never mark me. “You might be my legal wife, but Sera is my true mate.” “Don’t ever try to take her place. You’re just a human. You could never be the pack’s Luna.” I stood there, frozen. It took me a long time to whisper, “Okay.” Later, I realized this marriage was nothing more than a transaction anyway. He helped my family survive a financial crisis, and my family helped his pack secure restricted resources through our connections. Once the deal was done, it would be time to part ways. After that night, I never brought it up again. For the next three years, he took Sera to every single event. He took her to pack meetings, hunting festivals, and even my father’s birthday party. She was always the one standing by his side. The entire pack whispered behind my back, gossiping about who the real Luna was. But now, it’s over. Everything has been resolved. It’s time for me to leave. I sat in the study, reading through the divorce papers one last time. Black and white, perfectly clear. Under the division of assets, I had checked the box for nothing. He kept the house we lived in, which he owned before the marriage. He kept the cars. I wanted absolutely nothing to do with his stocks or investments. I only needed to take my own savings. Fortunately, over the past three years, we had barely communicated outside of our legal marriage status. When he had needs, he preferred to go to his mistress rather than me. That was normal. Werewolves barely recognized civil marriages anyway. I signed my name at the bottom of the papers. *Elara Vance.* I slipped the agreement into a manila folder and placed it on the coffee table. Then, I pulled out my phone and opened Snapchat to message him. “Come home early today. I have something to discuss with you.” About two minutes later, a single-word reply popped up next to his avatar. “Okay.” I turned off my phone, tossed it onto the sofa, and went into the kitchen to pour myself a glass of water. Three years ago, I actually thought that even though this marriage started as a transaction, maybe we could make it work. But during the very first pack meeting, nobody informed me. I only found out the next day from Gamma Clara. She told me the meeting had run late and the Alpha had returned in the early morning. I asked Damon why he hadn’t told me. He glanced at me coldly. “You’re just a human. There’s no point in you going.” He did tell me about the second pack meeting in advance. But when I arrived, I stood at the edge of the crowd. No one spoke to me. People passed by, brushing past me as if I were a piece of furniture. I stood there for half an hour. When I tried to politely greet a werewolf I recognized, she froze, gave a curt nod, and walked away. Damon was in the center of the crowd, talking with the elders, never casting a single glance in my direction. By the third pack meeting, I arrived earlier than usual and sat in the seat right next to Damon. That was the Luna’s seat. I knew that. But I thought, *I am his wife, at least legally.* Five minutes before the meeting started, Sera walked in. She walked straight up to me, looked down at me, and then turned to Damon. “Alpha, is this seat taken today?” Damon looked at me, remaining silent for two agonizing seconds. “No.” Sera smiled, gesturing toward me with her chin. “Excuse me, could you move?” I stood up and gave her the seat. That feeling of having even my nominal position stripped away in public still makes my stomach turn today. After that, I never attended another pack meeting. At 7:00 PM, he wasn’t back. At 8:00 PM, still nothing. At 9:00 PM, my phone finally buzzed. It was a text from him. “Something came up with Sera. I’ll be home late. Go to sleep, don’t wait up.” I stared at the message for a long time. “Go to sleep, don’t wait up.” I had heard this exact phrase for three years. It was always like this. It was always Sera. She always had an emergency, and he always had to handle it. He had to be there when she got hurt, when her missions went poorly, when she did border patrols, and when she took her ranking exams. Once, Sera said she wanted to practice night combat in the Moonlight Woods. He drove forty minutes to take her there, waited for two hours by the forest edge, and drove her back when she was done. It was 1:00 AM by the time he got back. I asked him, “Have you eaten dinner?” He said, “Yeah, had some at Sera’s.” Then he took a shower and went straight to the study. I should have figured it out that day. But I didn’t. I always thought that since we were married, we should give each other some time. Maybe over time, he would realize I wasn’t so bad. Maybe if I did well enough, he would be willing to turn around and look at this home. Looking back, if someone doesn’t have a place for you in their heart, nothing you do matters. He won’t fall in love with you just because you’re good; he’ll just think your goodness has nothing to do with him. I didn’t reply to his message. In the past, I would always reply with “Okay” to show I understood. Sometimes I would even add, “Stay safe,” trying to look generous and sensible. But today, I didn’t want to reply. Anyway, in a few days, I wouldn’t be receiving his messages anymore. An unmarked human leaving the pack would lose all connection to the werewolf world.
I put my phone on the coffee table, picked up the remote, and changed the channel. A reality show was playing on TV. The hosts on screen were laughing hysterically. I leaned back on the sofa, suddenly finding the scene absurd. Here I was, sitting in this 2,150-square-foot house, keeping watch over a marriage that existed only on paper, waiting for a man who would never care about me to come home. While he was out with his first love. Openly, rightfully. Because when we first married, he made it clear: “If it weren’t for you, Sera and I wouldn’t have ended up like this.” He meant that I was the one who tore him and Sera apart. A werewolf and an Alpha were supposed to be natural mates. I was the interloper who forced them apart. I was the one who used my family’s influence and that arranged marriage to bind him. But what was the truth? The truth was that my father’s company was facing a severe financial crisis and desperately needed cash flow. And his pack was facing threats from rival packs, needing my family’s business network to secure weapons, supplies, and intel. Our elders sat down for one dinner, and the marriage was decided. Nobody asked me if I wanted to marry him. Nobody asked him if he wanted to marry me. But in everyone’s eyes, it was a fair trade. His family provided the money, mine provided the resources. Everyone got what they wanted. Only Sera became the victim of this transaction. And I, a human, didn’t even qualify as a victim. He probably felt I had stolen her place, turning her from a rightful girlfriend into an outcast mistress. So he gave all his guilt to Sera, and kept all his coldness for me. On our wedding night, the pack held a massive banquet. Everyone was waiting to see if the Alpha would mark his bride on the spot. Damon stood up, raised his glass, and announced to the entire room, “Tonight is just a formality. Human laws govern marriage, but pack rules are different. The two don’t interfere with each other.” The room fell dead silent for a second, then whispered gossip erupted. Sera sat in the corner, holding her glass, wearing a smug smile. I stood beside Damon, looking like a total joke. The humiliation of being publicly declared unworthy of his mark still makes my face burn when I think about it today. Since then, we had slept in separate rooms. He slept in the guest room; I slept in the master bedroom. I suddenly realized that in three years, he had only stepped into this master bedroom twice. Once was on our wedding night, when he made that speech. The other time was last year when I had a fever. It spiked to 103 degrees, and I was completely delirious. Gamma Clara called the pack doctor, asking him to make a house call. The healer asked, “Is she marked?” Clara said no. The healer replied, “Then I won’t go. I only serve pack members. Call an ambulance.” Clara ended up calling an ambulance herself to take me to the hospital. That feeling of being denied basic medical care just because I lacked a mark on my neck still makes my spine go cold. After that, I never asked anyone in the pack for help again. He didn’t come home at all that night. When I woke up at 7:00 AM, I checked my phone. No messages. After washing up, I went downstairs. Clara was already preparing breakfast. Seeing me come down alone, she opened her mouth as if to say something, but ultimately just asked, “Luna Vance, what would you like for breakfast?” She was the only one in this pack who still called me that. “Just some oatmeal is fine, Clara.” I sat at the dining table. My phone screen lit up. It was a text from him. “Sera got hurt during training last night. I stayed over to look after her. There’s a pack tactical meeting this morning, so I won’t be back.” I put down my phone and took a spoonful of oatmeal. “Clara, could you help me buy a few moving boxes over the next few days?” She froze. “Are you moving, Luna Vance?” “Yes. I’m moving out in a few days.” Her mouth opened, seemingly wanting to ask why, but seeing my expression, she swallowed her words. She had lived in this house for three years. She had seen everything. She understood. “Of course, Luna Vance.”
She nodded and turned back to the kitchen. I finished my breakfast, went upstairs, and changed my clothes. I had an appointment with a real estate agent today. I needed to find a new place to stay before moving out of this house. I didn’t ask for any assets in the divorce, but that didn’t mean I was broke. I had savings from before the marriage. And though I hadn’t worked over the past three years, the Blackwood family deposited a twenty-thousand-dollar allowance into my account every month. I barely spent any of it, so I had saved a fortune. It was more than enough to rent a nice apartment and support myself for a year or two. As for the future, I’d figure it out when I got there. The real estate agent was a young guy with glasses who spoke very fast. He took me to see a two-bedroom apartment in the East District. It was close to downtown, and the neighborhood was lovely. “This place has amazing natural light, and the landlord just renovated it. All the furniture and appliances are brand new. The rent is $6,500 a month. What do you think?” I stood on the balcony. The view was wide open, overlooking a distant park. It wasn’t huge, but it was perfect for one person. Most importantly, it held absolutely no memories of Damon. “I’ll take it. Let’s sign the lease.” The agent clearly didn’t expect me to make a decision so quickly. He blinked, then smiled warmly. “Awesome! I’ll contact the landlord right away to get the paperwork ready!” I signed a one-year lease, paying the deposit and the first month’s rent. When I walked out with the keys, the sun was warm and bright. Standing on the sidewalk, looking at the keys in my hand, I suddenly felt incredibly light. By the afternoon, when I returned home, Clara had already bought several cardboard boxes and left them in the living room. Just as I was about to head upstairs to pack my walk-in closet, I heard the front door open. I didn’t turn around, but I had a sudden premonition. Sure enough, a familiar voice rang out behind me. “Oh, you’re home.” I turned around. Sera was standing in the entryway, holding a folder. She saw the boxes in my hands, her eyes lingering on them for a second. “Are you packing?” I didn’t answer her. I just asked calmly, “What are you doing here?” “Damon brought me.” She set the folder on the coffee table, pushing it toward me. “Pack financial regulations. The Alpha’s household expenses account should be managed by the Luna. Since you aren’t marked, this account needs to be transferred to me.” I opened the folder. It was indeed an official notice from the pack’s financial department. “Starting next month, I’ll be paying Clara’s salary, and I’ll be in charge of the household shopping. Oh, and by the way, I’m moving in.” Sera watched my face, a small smirk playing on her lips. “You don’t mind, do you?” She tilted her head. “Honestly, I thought it might be a bit awkward, but Damon insisted I move in. He said…” “If he wants you to move in, then move in,” I interrupted. “There are plenty of rooms here anyway.” She pursed her lips, walking over to sit on the sofa. “You really are incredibly generous.” “First you married him out of ‘generosity,’ and now you’re letting me move in just as easily.” I looked at her, suddenly finding it amusing. I didn’t reply, turning to head upstairs. Sera must have felt ignored because her voice rose. “Elara, I’m talking to you.” I paused and looked back at her. “I hear you.” “But you didn’t come here to chat, so why waste each other’s time?” “I have packing to do.” Sera stood up, the smile completely vanishing from her face. “You’re leaving?” she blurted out, her voice filled with disbelief. “Obviously.” “Why else would I stay? To be a third wheel in your domestic bliss?”
Sera was utterly speechless. I turned and went upstairs, leaving her standing alone in the living room. I opened the closet and began taking down my clothes one by one. Over three years, I hadn’t accumulated that many clothes. Damon had never taken me on a trip, nor had he ever bought me a gift. No anniversary gifts, no birthday presents, and definitely nothing for Valentine’s Day. Looking back, it was laughable. I folded my last coat, packed it into a box, and was about to tape it shut when my phone vibrated. It was a text from Damon. “I’m taking Sera on border patrol tonight, so I won’t be home for dinner. Since Sera just moved in, help her get settled in the guest room.” I put the phone down and continued packing. By dusk, I had finished packing the closet and the study. As I walked downstairs, Sera was sitting on the living room sofa, sipping coffee. Hearing my footsteps, she looked up, her gaze landing on the manila envelope in my hand. “What’s that?” I didn’t answer. I placed the envelope on the coffee table and sat on the single armchair opposite her. Sera stared at the folder for a few seconds, then pulled out her phone, took a photo of it, and sent a message. Fifteen minutes later, the doorbell rang. It was one of the pack elders. He walked into the living room, flipped through the divorce papers, and then looked at me. “We don’t interfere with human legal procedures. But we need to confirm one thing: after you leave, will you disclose any pack information to the outside world?” “No.” “Do you have any written records or media files related to the pack that need to be destroyed?” “No.” He nodded, pulling a sheet of paper from his pocket and placing it on the coffee table. “This is a pack secrecy agreement. Sign it, and you can proceed with your human legal divorce.” I picked up a pen and signed my name. After the elder left, Sera looked at me, her voice dropping. “Elara, do you really not care about him anymore, or are you just pretending?” Her question caught me off guard. Did I care? Three years ago, when we first married, I had hope. Back then, I couldn’t comprehend what his Alpha status meant in the werewolf world. I only knew that the man was breathtakingly handsome, standing out in any crowd. I believed that if I was good enough, considerate enough, and understanding enough, he would eventually see me. But very quickly, that hope died. “It doesn’t matter anymore,” I told Sera. “Whether I cared or not, it’s in the past.” At 9:00 PM, Damon returned. He first looked at Sera sitting on the sofa, his gaze softening. “Sera, are you settling in okay?” Sera smiled at him, her voice sickeningly sweet. “Everything is great.” Only then did Damon turn his gaze to me. His eyes swept over me, landing on the folder on the coffee table, then shifting to the cardboard boxes behind me. His brow furrowed slightly. “What are all those boxes for?” I stood up from the armchair, picked up the folder, and held it out to him. “Damon, we need to talk.” He didn’t take the folder. He just stared at me, a hint of confusion in his eyes. “What is this?” “Divorce papers.”
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