My brother Kael is the Alpha of Blackthorn Pack. He treats me like a precious treasure, and specifically asked his best friend, Cain, the Alpha of Hale Pack, to look after me. On the night of my 18th birthday, when I first completed my wolf transformation and lost control, Cain and I had a passionate one-night stand, and from then on, I became his secret lover. For an entire year, I stayed by his side through every vulnerable period, gave up a top European medical program for him. I always thought he loved me. Until I went to the tennis court to get my brother’s racket, and caught him and his fated mate Lila having sex in the locker room. “Zara is just a tool for releasing desire. Now that you’re back, she’s useless.” Through the crack in the door, his casual words to comfort Lila were like a poisoned silver blade, stabbing deep into my heart. At the welcome party the next day, he publicly humiliated me for his true love. I smiled, deleted all his contact information, then called my brother and finalized my trip to Europe. Since you don’t love me, I’ll set you free.
The door to the women’s locker room at the tennis court was slightly ajar, suppressed gasps escaping through the crack. “Cain, not here, someone might come…” “Shh,” the man’s voice was low and amused, his fingertips caressing the back of the woman’s neck, “let me hold you properly.” My feet felt nailed to the cold tile floor. That was Cain’s voice—the man I’d been in a relationship with for an entire year. Half an hour ago, my brother Kael had called, asking me to grab his custom racket that he’d left in the locker room. I never expected to walk in on something like this. Through the crack in the door, Lila was pressed against the lockers, her blouse unbuttoned, Cain standing in front of her, one hand gripping the back of her neck, the other buried between her legs. He bent down to kiss her neck, leaving wet marks on her collarbone. Those eyes that were always cold and distant with me were now curved with a smile, so tender they could melt. “I haven’t seen you in a year. I’ve thought about you every single moment.” Those words were like a poisoned dagger, stabbing straight into my heart. I’d been with Cain for a year. Every night when he lost control during his vulnerable periods, I was by his side. But he only ever gave me a slight nod and a cool “thanks.” Even in bed, he always kept me at arm’s length. Never once had he shown me this kind of unguarded tenderness. “What about that little follower of yours? The Blackthorn girl from the medical school?” Lila’s voice came in broken fragments, mixed with suppressed moans. “I heard after I left, she’s been clinging to you, getting really close?” Cain’s movements paused, his tone instantly becoming indifferent. “Zara? She’s just Kael’s little sister.” “I heard she’s been following you around for quite a while?” Lila laughed softly, her voice dripping with smugness. “So, you don’t feel anything different for her at all?” “She’s just a naive little girl,” his voice carried undisguised contempt. “She thinks sleeping together a few times means we’re dating. She’s just a tool for releasing desire. Now that you’re back, she’s useless.” A woman’s coquettish laughter echoed from the locker room. My ears were ringing. The keys slipped from my hand, clattering loudly against the tile floor. The locker room door was yanked open. Cain stood in the doorway, his shirt unbuttoned at the collar, still carrying the lingering scent of arousal. When he saw it was me, his brow furrowed almost imperceptibly before returning to his usual coldness. “What are you doing here this late?” I bent down to pick up the keys, my fingertips white from gripping them so hard, but my voice was surprisingly steady: “Getting my brother’s racket. Didn’t mean to interrupt your fun.” I walked past him, straight to the locker at the far end, grabbed Kael’s racket, and didn’t look at him once. As I passed by him, he reached out and grabbed my arm. “Come to my cabin in the woods this weekend. Clear out your things,” he said flatly. “Lila’s moving in. You can stay in the empty apartment on the west side. I promised Kael I’d look after you.” I looked at the hand gripping my arm and suddenly laughed. When I was eighteen, I completed my first shift. During my out-of-control heat, we had intense, passionate sex. For the year that followed, I let him mold me in bed into exactly what he wanted, all to make him happy. I always believed that if I was obedient enough, even if we weren’t fated mates, I could eventually warm his cold heart and make him see the love in my eyes. Turns out, from the very beginning, it was all just charity—given out of respect for my brother.
“No need, Cain.” I pulled my arm free. “I’m an adult now. I can take care of myself.” I turned and walked out of the locker room. The late autumn wind hit my face with a bitter chill. The composure I’d been forcing shattered completely the moment I stepped out of the tennis building. My chest ached with a suffocating pain. I walked to a bar near campus, planning to drink myself numb. I downed one glass of hard liquor after another. The burning liquid scorched my throat, and tears streamed down uncontrollably. Before long, I heard familiar male voices from the booth next door. I turned to look—it was a few of Cain’s close friends. I was about to go say hi, but just as I started to stand, I heard their conversation. “Tomorrow’s welcome party at the club is insane. Cain really went all out for Lila.” “She’s his fated mate, of course he cares. As for Zara—she’s completely useless now.” Another one snickered, his tone dripping with mockery. “Remember when Cain bet us he could get Zara within two months?” My hand froze around the glass. “Man, I almost forgot—that guy won a car off me!” “I gotta say though, I didn’t expect Cain to close the deal in just over a month.” The laughter grew louder. “Zara’s pathetically naive. She actually thought Cain was into her, followed him around like a puppy for a whole year—no title, no status, didn’t even dare to be seen with him in public.” “Exactly,” another voice chimed in, even more cutting. “He only kept her around as a time-killer, out of respect for Kael. And I heard she turned down the cardiac surgery program in Europe for him. Hopelessly stupid.” “She probably still thinks Cain actually cares about her!” The mocking laughter was deafening, each word hammering into my heart, crueler than anything Cain had said in that locker room. The feelings I’d treasured—turns out they were nothing but a carefully designed bet from the start. All my sacrifices, all my compromises—in their eyes, just stupidity. I gripped my phone, walked to a quiet corner outside, and dialed Kael’s number with trembling hands. He picked up after two rings, his cheerful voice coming through: “Got the racket? Thanks, sis. I’ll bring you your favorite strawberry milkshake later.” “Kael,” I sniffled, forcing down the lump in my throat. “That cardiac surgery program in Europe you applied for me six months ago—is it too late to sign up?” Silence on the other end for two seconds, then an explosion of excitement: “You changed your mind?! Weren’t you dead set against going before? Said you couldn’t leave your mysterious boyfriend?” “I’m over him now.” “Really? That’s amazing! Listen, the program director is Nikolai Voss—the youngest cardiac surgery authority in the werewolf world. He’s had his eye on your talent for a while! I’ve been holding your spot. You can leave anytime!” I listened to my brother ramble on with instructions, my eyes slowly welling up. For Cain, I’d given up this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in werewolf medicine. Given up my dream of becoming a cardiac surgeon. All just to see him one more time each day. But my love, in his heart, was nothing more than a bed warmer who threw herself at him.
The next day’s welcome party was extravagant—Cain had spared no expense. To celebrate Lila’s return, the entire club had been renovated. Warm golden string lights wrapped around every pillar. White roses—Lila’s favorite—filled the entrance. Even the club’s signature black and gray leather sofas had been replaced with the cream-colored fabric ones she preferred. I stood in the crowd, my fingertips white from clenching. I remembered how I’d begged Cain for three whole months to hang one of my oil paintings on the empty wall of the club. He’d refused, saying it was too much trouble. But for Lila, who’d just returned, he’d practically rebuilt the entire place. The deafening music suddenly stopped. Cain walked onto the stage with his arm around Lila’s waist. As the most prestigious Alpha in the entire academy, the moment he stepped up, the room fell silent. All eyes were on them. “I only have one thing to say tonight.” Cain looked down at Lila beside him, his eyes overflowing with tenderness. “My fated mate, Lila, is back. She is the only love of my life. All the foolish mistakes of the past end here. From now on, she will be the future Lady of Hale Pack.” Cheers and whistles erupted from the crowd. I watched them on stage and felt like a complete joke. “Foolish mistakes? He’s talking about Kael’s sister, right?” “She followed Cain around for almost a year, turns out she was just a plaything?” “Well, she’s not his fated mate. No matter how much she debased herself, she was never getting into Hale Pack.” My blood ran cold. Just then, Lila walked over holding two glasses of champagne. She looked me up and down, a smug smile playing on her lips. “So you’re Kael’s sister?” She paused deliberately. “The bed warmer who’s been clinging to Cain, hoping to climb the ladder?” I ignored her and turned to leave. She suddenly let out a sharp scream, her body falling backward. The champagne glasses crashed to the floor, shattered glass scattering everywhere. “Ah!” She clutched her twisted ankle, tears instantly streaming down her face. She cried out to Cain as he rushed over: “Cain, she pushed me! She’s jealous of me!” Cain’s eyes instantly turned red. The crushing pressure of a top-tier Alpha slammed down on me. He stared at me with a low growl: “Zara! Get the hell out! She’s my only mate—how dare you touch her!” He bent down, scooped Lila into his arms, shielded her head protectively, and strode out of the club without looking back at me once. Every eye in the room was pinned on me like nails—some pitying, some mocking. I straightened my back and slowly walked out of the club. Back in my dorm, I dug out everything connected to Cain. One by one, I threw them into the fireplace. The orange flames licked at the paper, burning all that desperate, humble love into ash. Just like my feelings for Cain—once burned out, nothing remained. I opened my laptop and sent a confirmation email to the European medical program. Kael had already handled all the paperwork. Tomorrow morning’s private jet would take me straight to Europe. I packed my bags—just a few everyday clothes and my textbooks. Everything related to Cain, I left behind. My phone suddenly buzzed. Cain’s name popped up on the screen, message after message: 【What you did at the party was way out of line.】 【Come to the club tomorrow morning. Apologize to Lila in person.】 【I’ve been taking care of you for Kael’s sake. Don’t throw a tantrum with me.】 I looked at these messages and could only laugh. Even now, he still thought I was that girl who would chase after him no matter how cold he was, always smiling and coming back for more. With one tap, I blocked and deleted his number, his social media, every single way to contact him. At dawn, I dragged my suitcase out of the dorm and got into the car heading to the airport. As the car pulled away from campus, I didn’t look back once. Goodbye, my foolish and pathetic year. Goodbye, Cain. Just as I was saying goodbye to my brother, he said something mysterious: “My dear little sister, I’ve prepared a surprise for you in Europe.”
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