Chapter 3

Cecilia Xavier stood behind me, his face a mask of frigid fury. My wolf mate—no, soon-to-be ex-mate—was watching this whole scene unfold. I turned back to face the group, my eyes landing on the short-haired girl sitting in the corner of the sofa. Just moments ago, she'd been crossing her legs confidently, twirling her hair around her finger with a smug expression. Now her face had soured completely, looking at me like she wanted to tear out my throat. So this is where they'd been having their little pack gatherings. From the casual way these men spoke, this wasn't the first time. They were already appearing in public together without any attempt to hide their relationship. Xavier stepped forward, his Alpha presence filling the room. Suddenly, like puppets whose strings had been pulled, everyone sprang into motion. "Luna Cecilia, we're so sorry, we were just talking nonsense," one of them stammered, the title 'Luna' sounding hollow now. "Luna Cecilia, there's nothing between Xavier and Miss White," another added desperately. "Luna Cecilia, please don't take any of this seriously." Xavier grabbed my wrist, his grip firm as he tried to drag me toward the exit. The partial bond between us sparked painfully at his touch, a cruel reminder of what we once had. I whirled around and threw my drink directly into his face. The room fell silent as a graveyard. Everyone watched with wide eyes, their shock palpable. How dare a human challenge an Alpha wolf in public? My wolf instincts would be screaming at me to submit if I had any—but I didn't. I was just a human who had finally reached her breaking point. The next moment, I smiled sweetly and said, "Go ahead and continue having fun with your little sweetheart. I won't ruin your good time anymore." I tried to pry his fingers from my wrist, the bond between us flickering with each touch. Xavier's face darkened dangerously, his wolf clearly raging beneath the surface. Without warning, he hoisted me up and threw me over his shoulder. Everyone in the room: "..." In the hallway, I struggled fiercely against his grip, hanging over his shoulder. The elevator doors opened right on cue. As Xavier carries me into the elevator and turns around, I see a man - his tall frame takes up almost half the elevator space. The tailored black suit outlined broad shoulders and a powerful silhouette, and expensive leather shoes framed his long, slender legs. Even the relaxed, sagging arms showed the power contained within, and his large. The air in the elevator instantly became tense. I couldn't help but look up at him as we prepared to leave. What hit my eyes was a handsome, angular face with deep sockets beneath steel-gray werewolf eyes that glowed with danger. He surveyed me with slight disdain, his thin lips pursed slightly, his jawline as harsh as a knife carving. Such an extremely aggressive face, but with an aristocratic elegance of detachment. I quickly covered my face and looked down again. My human senses might be dull compared to a wolf's, but even I could feel the power radiating from that stranger. An Alpha, definitely—and not just any Alpha. Outside the club, Xavier threw me into the back seat of his car before climbing in himself. I struggled to sit up, dizzy from being carried upside down and then tossed around. My head was spinning, and I felt like I might have a concussion. Xavier took wet wipes from the car's toolbox and started cleaning his face. My sharp eyes caught sight of what looked like a condom package behind the tissue box. The evidence of his betrayal was literally everywhere. His accusatory voice filled the car, "What were you doing there? Trying to catch me cheating?" I opened the car door, intending to get out. This car felt contaminated. "Cecilia!" Xavier growled, yanking me back inside. "Where do you think you're going? Don't you know when to stop?" My breathing quickened as I pressed my fingertips together to calm myself. "I want to go home," I managed to say. Xavier called beta Beta Henry, who had been waiting outside the club, to drive us. The entire ride home, neither of us spoke. I sat as far away from him as possible, my face pale as if I might throw up any moment. The scent of alcohol clung to him—sharp, heady, and laced with a perfume that wasn’t mine. At home, I immediately got out of the car. In the kitchen, I downed an entire glass of ice water before I felt somewhat better. When I came out, Xavier was sitting in the living room. I went over and sat down. Another suffocating silence fell between us until Xavier finally spoke. "I was there for a business meeting. You barging into the club and making a scene like that—you've really embarrassed me. Don't you realize how stupid and ugly you look right now, acting like some shrewish woman?" "Anything else?" I responded calmly, my emotions locked away behind walls of ice. "If you still want us to have a future together, drop these unnecessary suspicions. I don't have time to babysit your emotions." "Understood. Anything else?" My voice remained steady. "..." Xavier frowned deeply. "Cecilia, do you know how annoying you're being right now?" I stood up with a slight smile curving my lips. Soon enough, you won't be annoyed anymore. I went upstairs. After showering, Xavier slid under the covers beside me.In the darkness, I lay on my side facing away from him, shifting further toward the edge of the bed to avoid any physical contact. Among wolves, touch was sacred—it strengthened the bond between mates. But we weren't true mates, were we? Our bond had never been completed, and now it was fracturing beyond repair. Xavier turned and pulled me forcefully into his arms, dragging me from the edge of the bed into his embrace with barely contained anger. His tall, strong body easily overpowered mine. Once he tightened his grip, I couldn't move at all. I spent the entire night rigid in his arms, imagining the same arms wrapped around Cici White. In the morning, I made breakfast only for myself. Xavier came downstairs and saw me sitting alone eating toast. He was about to leave but changed direction and approached the dining area, leaning down to whisper in my ear with a gentler voice, as if trying to coax me: "This weekend, let's go sailing for a couple of days. Just the two of us." I continued drinking my milk and gave a noncommittal "Mmm" through my nose. Not surprisingly, by the day before the weekend, he canceled again, saying he needed to fly to Hong Kong. I felt nothing. Not a ripple of disappointment. Perhaps he hadn't even realized how long it had been since we'd shared a meal together or truly spent time with each other. His words warned me against thinking of divorce, but in reality, he treated me like air. If I disappeared one day, he probably wouldn't even notice. That weekend, I removed my books from our shared bookshelf and packed them in a suitcase to take to my new place. While sorting through them, I received a rare call from Dora. I answered politely, "Hello, Luna Dora." Dora responded with arrogant indifference, "Come over. About what we discussed before—let's put it in writing." "Is that really necessary?" I asked, though I already knew the answer. "I say it is, so it is," she snapped, her authority as Elder Luna evident in her tone. "Fine, I'll come by this afternoon." "Come at noon." "Alright." On the other end of the line, I could almost imagine Dora's ugly face, I guess she'd come up with some little trick to be disgusting, nothing more than a disgusting image of Xavier and that little she-wolf getting intimate. She's probably waiting for me to see the scummy couple get it on, isn't she? After all, in her eyes, only a pureblood werewolf is worthy of her baby boy. But sadly, I won't be saddened by that. I don't care about whatever the trick is. Let it rip, my good mother-in-law-Dora!