Chapter 4

Later in the funeral, unable to squeeze out more tears, I stepped away for air. I accidentally overheard Toric and Evelyn talking. Evelyn said, "Toric, since you've decided to take Silas's place and care for me for life, why do you keep staring at Thalia? Have you forgotten you're not her husband anymore?" Toric hurriedly explained, "No, it's not like that! I just see her crying so bitterly, I'm worried the shock might be too much for her." Evelyn pouted tearfully, "But it's Silas who died! Toric, I'm so scared. Don't leave me alone. Honestly, back then, if it weren't for the Luna Queen designating Silas as my mate, maybe we..." Toric pulled Evelyn into his embrace, his voice dripping with tenderness as he comforted her. The irony was suffocating. Evelyn from my past life, who had righteously accused me of "stealing her man," had known the truth all along. Her wolf soul had recognized the man standing before her as Toric, not Silas. Yet she chose silence. She chose to participate in this absurd charade. Perhaps to her, whether her husband was the elder or younger brother didn't matter, since both were devoted to her. After all, who wanted to be a young widow? Poor Silas. Not only did his tombstone bear the wrong name, but his wife had eagerly thrown herself into his brother's arms. I wonder if he in heaven now feels like a cuckold, his head burning with the shame of her betrayal. I turned away from the nauseating scene and headed straight for the palace of the Alpha King in the Southern Kingdom. To cement his 'death', Toric had placed an obituary in the Southern Kingdom newspapers. That very newspaper became my sharpest weapon. "You wish to dissolve a mate bond... with a dead man?" The Alpha King's sharp gaze lifted from the newspaper. "That is novel." "The death notice is published, isn't it?" I smiled, sliding the paper towards him, my fingertip tapping Toric's 'obituary'. He was a smart man; understanding flickered in his eyes. As the incantation fell, the mate bond between Toric and me snapped. From married, to widowed. Perfect. Next, I went to the pack clinic in the Nocturne Pack, where the palace was located. In my past life, I hadn't discovered my pregnancy until severe morning sickness hit. That child became my final obsession, yet until my death, I had only seen him for a moment at birth. "Let's just say mother and child had no destined bond," I murmured, stroking my abdomen as I signed the surgical consent form. "Thalia?" A familiar voice made me freeze.