After I left, He began to love me.

“Uncle, I’ve failed. I want to dissolve my bond with Alpha Cole. Can you help me contact your law advisor?” There was a brief silence on the other end of the communication stone, followed by his light, amused laugh. “You’ve finally come to your senses? Good. This time, your uncle will definitely help you.” I once thought I was the happiest she-wolf in the entire territory. Alpha Cole adored me beyond measure, giving me an unshakable sense of safety. The golden account was mine to spend freely; the Mooncrest Villa, spirit-bound mounts—he gifted them without hesitation. When my sister needed a heart-transference ritual, he didn’t even blink before donating ten million spirit crystals. Back then, I truly believed I would never lose him. Until that girl, Diana, appeared. A young female from a poor border pack—simple, frugal to the point of absurdity. Yet Alpha Cole found her “genuine and endearing,” even entrusting her with the family’s financial sigil. On the day of my sister’s ritual, Diana secretly altered the spiritual heart pairing— replacing the matched heart with a beast’s core. The ritual failed, and my world collapsed with it. She only blinked those wide, innocent eyes and said, “Sister, a beast’s heart beats too. What’s the difference?” I could barely breathe. And Alpha Cole—he defended her. “Don’t blame Diana. She only wanted to save materials.” That was the first time I truly understood how a man’s heart could turn into something so foreign. I didn’t cry. I didn’t scream. I simply completed my sister’s funeral rites, as if finishing a grotesque dream. Love, trust, the sacred bond—shattered in that instant. On the night of our third moon-anniversary, I put on the white ceremonial robe he once loved, and prepared the scroll to dissolve our bond. Only this time, I was no longer the mate who could be sacrificed at will. I had one final gift prepared for him— Divorce. …… After the funeral, when I returned home, Alpha Cole was still calmly eating his dinner, as if nothing had happened—as if the death of one of our own pack members was utterly insignificant. I stood there for a long moment, watching him. The warmth in my chest drained away little by little. Then, I reached into the cabinet, pulled out two documents, and walked over to him. “Sign them.” My voice was steady. Alpha Cole had always hated being interrupted while eating. He looked up, frowning slightly, his tone edged with impatience. “What is it this time? Another contract? Must it be now?” He reached for the documents, but before he could touch them, the communication stone on the table began to tremble and glow. Instinctively, he covered the runes with his hand—but in that split second, I saw the name pulsing faintly across the surface: “Diana.” The air seemed to freeze. His expression flickered—just for an instant—and then he stood abruptly, striding toward the balcony. The movement was too sudden. His sleeve brushed the silver tray, sending porcelain crashing to the floor. The sharp crack of shattering echoed in the silent dining room. A sliver of white shard skittered across the floor and struck my hand, slicing my fingertip open. Bright red blood dripped onto the marble tiles, seeping into the runes carved beneath his feet, blooming into a dark, crimson flower. But he didn’t notice. He was on the balcony, speaking in a low voice, his brows furrowed, his tone detached and cold. Fifteen minutes later, he ended the call and grabbed his coat. “I have business tonight. I won’t be back.” The words were crisp, almost like an order, spoken without emotion. I called out softly, “You haven’t signed yet.” He turned, annoyance flickering across his face, clearly irritated by the interruption. “Does it have to be now?” “Yes.” My answer was calm. He said nothing more. Picking up the wolf clan’s crest seal, he pressed it hastily onto the papers. “There. Happy now?” I stared at the two sheets in my hands, blood still staining my fingers. “Yes,” I whispered, barely audible. He walked out without another glance, the sound of the door closing echoing through the empty Alpha’s estate. I watched his retreating figure, a faint, bitter smile curling at my lips. If he had paid even a little more attention, he would have realized those weren’t ordinary contracts at all—they were a dissolution of our mate bond and my resignation as deputy leader. And my hand was still bleeding. Alpha Cole had always loved Diana—the Omega with the pure royal bloodline and the soft, angelic smile. She was my half-sister, the true-born heiress of the Winslet family. Twenty-five years ago, on the night of the Moon Goddess Festival, two infants were born almost at the same moment in the same birthing chamber. In the chaos, our identities were accidentally switched. The true royal descendant was me—but I was taken to a poor commoner household, while Diana grew up in the grandeur of the Winslet estate. Five years later, my foster mother fell gravely ill, and the truth came to light. The Winslets brought me back, but they couldn’t bear to abandon the girl they had raised as their own. “Eliza,” Josephine had whispered to me that day, “she may not carry royal blood, but she grew up in our arms. Now that her mother is gone, we’re all she has left.” And so, they made a cruel decision—to keep the truth secret. The world continued to believe that Diana Winslet was the only daughter of the noble house, while my true identity remained locked away between two families. Alpha Cole and Diana had trained together since childhood, the pack’s golden pair. But just before their engagement, Diana met a noble from the French vampire territories and fled to Paris in pursuit of “true love.” To preserve the honor of both houses, the Elders ordered me to take her place and marry in her stead. Alpha Cole agreed without hesitation. He needed a political bondmate, not a lover. Our three years together were calm on the surface, an illusion of peace. Until a month ago, when Diana returned—and Alpha Cole tore off his mask completely. To drive me away, he even leaked his intimate recordings with her, humiliating me before the entire council. In those images, I could still hear his voice—cold as ice: “She did nothing wrong. But I can’t just annul the bond. The Elders would never allow it. Destroying her reputation… is the only way.” And then came Diana’s soft, poisonous whisper: “Did you truly never love her?”