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I gave up that marriage. Later, he asked me to come back
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“Yara, I want to dissolve the mate bond. Prepare a purification-and-departure scroll according to werewolf tradition.” When those words left my lips, I didn’t even tremble. After five years of a...
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第1章
“Yara, I want to dissolve the mate bond. Prepare a purification-and-departure scroll according to werewolf tradition.”
When those words left my lips, I didn’t even tremble. After five years of a hidden marriage with Henry, I finally understood that he had never loved me.
I decided to keep it from him. On the night of our fifth-year moon ceremony, I would give him this dissolution scroll as a “gift.”
Since phones were replaced by clan messenger wolves inside the territory, Yara answered through the mind-link.
She was startled. “Aurora, have you really thought this through? A five-year mate imprint isn’t something you can just tear apart.”
I lifted my head, my voice far calmer than I expected. “I’ve thought it through. This bond was a mistake from the beginning. I don’t want to continue.”
And the reason I reached this point… was what happened two months ago.
That day, while patrolling the forest outside the territory, I was attacked by a feral rogue wolf. Three deep slashes. I collapsed at the entrance of the Moonstone Healing Hall, waiting for Henry’s signature imprint to authorize treatment.
For a moment, I truly believed he would come rushing to me like he used to.
But I waited… and waited. Neither Henry nor his first love, Demi, appeared.
I activated the mind-link and called for him ninety-nine times.
When he finally answered, all I heard was his impatient voice:
“Demi’s pup is sick. I’m taking care of her. Don’t call me unless it’s important.”
My chest turned to ice.
Before I lost consciousness, I pressed my own blood-stained fingerprint on the scroll to approve my treatment.
Just before the Moonstone Hall lit its healing array, I saw Henry finally running over—holding Demi’s pup in his arms, the little thing’s paw lightly bitten, a faint redness on its knuckles.
I later learned that because Henry had pulled my healer away to tend to Demi’s pup, I lost too much blood during treatment and had to be kept in a deep-recovery chamber for seven full days.
The cruelest part was realizing he had loved Demi all along.
He married me not out of love, but because of that drunken, accidental imprinting five years ago.
While I hovered between life and death, he was comforting another she-wolf—younger, pampered, raised in affection.
The mate I once fought desperately to protect… had changed beyond recognition.
Ending the bond is the last gift I will ever give him.
……
Just as I received the dissolution scroll, my mind-link was suddenly forced open.
The initiator was Henry.
I drew in a slow breath and accepted the connection. His voice carried the same commanding tone as always.
“Aurora, I’m hosting a few warriors at the camp banquet tonight. Prepare some food and count it as celebrating for me. And go down to the river to catch a moon-scale fish for steaming.”
He didn’t ask where I was. He didn’t ask if I was available.
I stayed silent. He seemed instantly irritated, his voice tightening with impatience.
“You’re not still upset, are you? Aurora, I already apologized for the last incident. Demi isn’t like you—she’s delicate and can’t withstand pain. And that night, you were the only ‘healer’ around.”
My knuckles curled sharply.
“The last incident” was him referring to the night I was slashed by a rogue wolf, bleeding out at the healing hall’s entrance while waiting for him—only for him to run in later hugging Demi’s pup and searching for a healer for them instead.
Henry kept talking, every word cutting deeper.
“I knew you’d be fine. You grew up tough. A little injury is nothing to you.”
I froze.
In his eyes, the wounds that kept me in the recovery chamber for seven days were “a little injury.”
I pressed my lips together, forcing myself to stay clear. I couldn’t keep wasting emotions on someone who would never feel pain for me.
Henry was used to my silence and obedience. When I didn’t argue back, he simply assumed I wouldn’t hold anything against him, and casually cut off the mind-link.
Standing on the high slope overlooking the river, I saw him immediately bend down after severing the connection, gently lifting Demi’s hand and blowing on her slightly reddened knuckles, as though she were treasure.
I lowered my gaze to my own hands—covered in scars.
Years of channeling healing energy had left my skin cracked and rough.
And in that instant, I understood: in his heart, I didn’t even qualify to be cherished.
Yet back then, I still naïvely believed we could talk things through.
So I turned and headed to the river to catch the moon-scale fish Henry wanted.
That night, my legs nearly gave out as I worked at the stone stove outside the tent.
Then Henry appeared behind me, holding a massive bouquet of moonlit lilies.
As the flowers drew near, I couldn’t stop myself from coughing softly.
The next second, he shoved me hard.
My back slammed into the stone table. The wound that had just begun to heal tore open again, blood soaking through my clothes.
I could barely stay upright, yet Henry’s attention was entirely on the flowers in his arms.
He frowned at me, scolding, “These flowers are from Demi. She cultivated them specially for you! You almost ruined them!”
I stared at the way he cherished the flowers far more than he had ever cared for me.
And just like that—clarity struck me.
Three years together, and he had never once remembered my pollen allergy.
He remembered only what Demi liked.
As I braced myself on the table and pushed up to stand, a sudden weight dropped onto my shoulder.
Demi had arrived, conveniently “helping” me.
But her fingers dug viciously into the inside of my arm, the force nearly driving me to my knees.
Her face, however, was soft, gentle, harmless. “Aurora, be careful. Your body hasn’t recovered yet.”
Her grip tightened like a creeping vine, digging deeper and deeper until pain clawed up my spine.
Henry saw me swaying and only frowned. “Aurora, why are you so weak? Stop pretending.”
Hearing that, Demi smiled even sweeter. Her fingers needled in a little harder, leaving fire streaking under my skin.
I finally wrenched myself free, clutching the rough wooden table as I staggered toward the fur-covered bench, fumbling for a pouch of moon-leaf pain powder.
My fingers trembled uncontrollably.
Henry watched my humiliation with a cold voice.
“Did you just come back from the healing tent, or were you fighting outside wolves?”
Demi chimed in gently, sugary sweet. “Henry, don’t be harsh on her. And… weren’t you going to cook dinner for me? I’ve been waiting forever.”
Then she naturally slipped her arm around his.
第2章
Henry immediately followed her lead. “Alright, I am coming.”
He did not ask if I was in pain.
From the kitchen came the sound of iron pots striking fire stones. Demi sat at the long table, sipping berry juice while watching me, as if enjoying the sight of prey struggling.
She tapped her cup. “Aurora, are you jealous or something?”
Their laughter filled the air.
And I, the so-called mate, could only sit beneath the flickering firelight like some forgotten object buried in the clan house.
My hand paused on the medicine bottle.
Seeing my silence, Demi added with syrupy sweetness, “Do not worry. With me taking care of Henry, you actually get to relax. You are so weak that even I feel sorry for you.”
When she said “sorry,” there was open mockery in her eyes.
I slowly lifted my head and met her overly gentle smile.
For the first time, I did not endure it. I did not stay silent.
I simply said, softly, “Demi, you used too much force.”
She froze for half a second, then smiled even more sweetly. “Aurora, did you misunderstand me? I have only ever helped you.”
My forearm still throbbed, the tips of my fingers pale from pain. I did not continue the argument. I lowered my gaze and swallowed the moon-leaf powder little by little.
The firepit was filled with the scent of spice. It was the smell of Henry cooking for her.
What used to belong to him and me now belonged to the two of them.
I sat on the long bench, listening to their laughter drifting from the kitchen. The sound of ladles against iron, Demi’s soft giggles, Henry’s gentle replies.
At that moment, I felt like a forgotten shadow.
Once they had eaten, played drinking dice games, and flirted with each other, I sat in the corner of the kitchen and ate the cold leftovers.
I had barely sat down when Demi’s honeyed voice sounded behind me.
“Aurora, why are you not joining us?”
She laughed at her own words, and the nearby patrol wolves echoed her amusement.
My recovered eyesight was clear enough to see the contempt on every one of their faces.
My pride tore apart. My chest tightened. I pressed down the trembling in my voice.
“Demi, apologize to me.”
Henry spoke first, impatient and irritated. He slapped away the hand I had pointed toward Demi, the movement rough, as if swatting aside a bothersome stray.
The wooden cup on the table fell to the ground and shattered into pieces.
“Aurora, can you stop taking everything so seriously? If you do not want to be here, then leave.”
It felt like a heavy blow to my chest.
I tore off my apron and threw it to the ground, then pushed the door open and walked out.
The wooden door slammed behind me, as if cutting the last thread of dignity I had left.
Outside, the night wind was cold. Cold enough to clear every illusion I had left.
But only a few seconds passed before the door was pushed open again.
Henry walked out with Demi in his arms, looking smug and satisfied, as if he had always known I would wait for him.
He raised his brows at his companions, almost boasting. “See? I told you she would be standing here waiting.”
My throat tightened painfully. Tears threatened despite everything.
I spoke quietly. “When you come back, I have something to tell you.”
He brushed past me with a wave of his hand, cold and casual, like speaking to a wooden carving that always stayed where it was placed.
“Aurora, I heard you.”
I waited on the wooden steps of the clan house until he returned.
The moment he stepped inside, I placed the dissolution scroll on the table.
“Henry, this is an agreement. Please place your imprint on it.”
He paused. For the first time, he truly looked at me.
A faint crease formed between his brows, as if he finally sensed that something was wrong.
He was not used to me speaking to him like this.
When it was just the two of us, I never spoke so formally.
I never called him “Henry.”
But tonight, I created distance on purpose.
He frowned, his tone holding an unusual restraint. “You just came back from the Moonstone Healing Hall. You should be resting.”
He sounded as if he was being considerate, but that casual, automatic tone made every word feel sharp.
Even so, he reached for the scroll. Just as his fingers were about to touch the cover, the communication stone at his waist lit up.
His movement stopped.
I glimpsed the note on the glowing sigil.
“Demi sweetheart”.
第3章
In his communication stone, my name was always a cold, distant Aurora.
So this was the difference between love and indifference. It really was that clear.
Henry clearly thought that the call was more important than I was. He accepted it immediately, lowering his voice, though I heard everything with perfect clarity.
“Demi, I will come right now.”
I watched him pick up the bouquet of moonlit lilies, the flowers that made me allergic yet were so precious to him.
He never asked if I was well enough to be left alone.
“I am not coming back for dinner.”
Then he tossed out a careless command. “Handle it yourself.”
He finished speaking and moved to leave.
I inhaled deeply, stepped forward, blocked his path, flipped the scroll to the last page, and placed the sharpened pen in his hand.
“Sign this first.”
Henry paused, as if he had not expected me to interrupt him.
His brows drew together as he prepared to open the scroll from the beginning and read it thoroughly. He had always been cautious. Even a leave request for a hunt had to be examined in full.
But at that moment, the communication stone vibrated again.
The glowing sigil displayed the name he could never let go of.
From the other side came a voice soft as honey. “Henry, why are you not here yet? I have been waiting so long.”
A chill spread through my entire body.
Henry hesitated for three seconds.
Three seconds later, he abandoned the idea of reading anything.
All that carefulness he always carried vanished completely.
He signed his name on the last page.
It was like he was signing a clan duty slip.
Once done, he flicked his wrist and set the pen down without care.
“Is this enough? Can I go?”
He did not even ask why I wanted to dissolve the mate bond.
I stared at that cold signature and nodded slowly. “It is enough.”
I gave him the freedom he wanted.
Before turning away, he still reminded me, “Since you will not be around, no one will be cleaning the camp house. Remember to tidy up.”
The sound of the door closing fell heavily, locking away both me and the marriage of the past five years.
I had always known that the one living in Henry’s heart was not me, but his first love, Demi.
All those years in the training camp, I had loved him quietly through an entire youth.
His gaze had always followed her. I could only watch his back.
That year, Demi was suddenly chosen by an allied clan to study abroad. It left Henry completely unprepared.
That night, he drank himself senseless and called me through the mind-link on the stormy ridge.
“Aurora... can you come here? I feel terrible.”
His voice was wet and trembling like rain.
When I arrived, he looked like he had been abandoned by the world, crouching in the cold wind with his head buried in his arms.
A moment later, he reached out and pulled me into his arms, pressing all his exhaustion and loneliness onto my shoulders.
I knew he was too drunk to recognize who I was. I knew the person he wanted to hold was never me.
But I still held him tightly.
That night was the only time I ever approached him as someone he needed.
The moments I mistook for affection now felt like illusions I created to deceive myself.
I came back to my senses, went upstairs, and walked into the wardrobe room to pack my things.
When I opened the wooden closet, I froze.
It was almost empty.
Hanging inside were only a few ceremonial outfits his mother had gifted me when I first married into Henry’s clan house.
Five years of being mates, and Henry had never bought me anything.
No nightwear. No scarves. No fur slippers.
I had prepared countless festival gifts for him over the years, chosen with care, yet he never truly looked at any of them. They were tossed into corners and left to gather dust.
As I gathered those gifts into a hide bag, intending to discard them, I saw the steward hauling away all the things I had written, sewn, and crafted with my own hands. He treated them as waste.
I watched the wagon carrying them away until it disappeared. A strange kind of desolation washed over me.
So my five years of love were not even worth scraps in another person’s eyes.
I drew a long breath, picked up my communication stone, and opened the mind-link to my father.
“Dad. You were right. I was the one who was wrong. I am willing to attend the arranged union one week from now.”
第4章
My father was silent for three seconds.
Then came his reaction, trembling with emotion, nearly losing his voice.
“Aurora, you are finally willing to come home.”
I gripped the communication stone, my chest tightening until it hurt.
He continued, his tone gentle, as if afraid I might break.
“All these years we sought so many outstanding werewolf families for you, but you refused to meet any of them. I thought you would never come back.”
“Child, we saw every hardship you endured.”
“You coming home is the greatest comfort to us.”
I closed my eyes, my voice rough. “Dad, I was wrong.”
My father drew a soft breath, his tone firm and reassuring.
“It is alright. It is never too late to turn back. I will come for you in one week.”
When the link disconnected, I finally realized something.
I was not unwanted.
I had simply trapped myself in the wrong place.
I was about to continue packing when Henry pushed the door open.
He did not expect me to have wiped my tears so quickly. Seeing the communication stone in my hand, he frowned.
“Who were you talking to?”
My heart tightened. I slipped the stone into my pocket and answered with a flat, steady tone.
“No one. I connected the wrong link.”
Henry clearly did not believe me. His frown deepened. As always, he stepped forward, intending to take my communication stone to check it himself.
I was about to step back when a fragile, trembling voice sounded from the doorway.
“Henry. I am scared. Why are you not coming?”
The voice was soft and shaky, yet sweetened on purpose.
Henry froze for a heartbeat, then moved toward the door as if pulled by a string.
I followed him out and saw the scene at the entrance. My chest tightened painfully.
Demi stood there with one finger pressed lightly to her lips, a faint red mark at the corner of her mouth. The kind of mark that looked more like something she bit herself.
Henry immediately took her hand, his brows knitting with concern. “What happened?”
Demi lowered her head like a frightened young creature. “Your clan house placed the marriage painting too low. I did not notice and bumped into it.”
I let out a soft, cold laugh.
The marriage painting had hung there for five years without hurting anyone.
What scratched her was not the frame.
It was me.
It was the image of me in that painting.
Henry looked toward the marriage painting on the wall with a flicker of irritation in his eyes.
“It is indeed placed unreasonably. Aurora, have someone take it down and put it in storage.”
Demi stood beside him, eyes lowered, unable to hide the faint upward curve at the corner of her lips.
As if telling me
He only cares about her.
I did not step away.
I looked up calmly. “The storage room is full. There is no space.”
Henry’s expression darkened instantly.
Demi pressed her fingers lightly, inhaling through her teeth. “Henry, it hurts.”
That barely visible scratch was treated by him as if she had been bitten by a wild beast.
The next moment, he spoke coldly.
“Then burn it.”
The air fell silent.
I froze for a moment, though I was not surprised.
The old me would have felt my heart tearing apart, unwilling to let go of that marriage painting.
But now, all I felt was relief.
I nodded. “Alright.”
Henry blinked, as if surprised that I agreed without hesitation.
He likely could not understand
that I no longer cared about the marriage painting or him.
I called for the servants and had the painting taken down. Then I carried it myself to the clan fire in the courtyard.
When the flames rose and swallowed it, I felt as if I had burned away all the humility and illusions of the past five years.
第5章
Because Demi had just returned to North Ridge from a foreign clan and was not used to staying alone in an outside camp, Henry naturally and smoothly invited her to live in our clan house.
And I, the supposed mistress of the home, was never asked for my opinion.
I stood at the top of the stairs, hearing his calm voice. “Demi, stay here for now. After a while, you will get used to it.”
She looked up at him, eyes slightly red, her voice so soft and fragile it could melt an entire tribe.
“But this is your and Aurora’s home. If I move in, will it not be too disturbing?”
Henry immediately wrapped an arm around her, his expression gentle enough to soften stone.
“It will not. Aurora has always been generous. She will not be upset over something so small.”
I stood on the staircase and did not step aside.
When I heard those words, I almost laughed.
Not upset.
Yes, the old me was indeed like that.
Humble, yielding, silent, retreating until there was nothing left of me but a shadow.
But that was already the past.
I walked down the stairs slowly, my voice steady as if speaking about someone else’s life.
“I will not be upset. Demi, you can stay here.”
Demi paused, surprised that I agreed so calmly.
A trace of unease flickered in her eyes, as if she could not guess what I was thinking.
Henry, however, assumed it was my usual obedience.
He instructed the servants to carry Demi’s luggage into the most spacious, brightest, newly furnished room in the house.
That room was the one he once said
“When we have a child, this will be their room.”
How ironic.
Now it had become the place where his favored she-wolf would stay.
I watched the luggage being moved in without saying a word.
Although there were servants in this house, it had always been me handling the cleaning and cooking.
Because Henry was demanding and picky, even the elders most skilled in the kitchen could not satisfy him.
Only the food I cooked, he would eat a few bites.
Yet no matter how much effort I put into it, he never once praised me, never once asked about it, never once remembered it.
It was as if my labor had always been meant to be taken for granted.
Demi stood at the doorway, her gaze lifted slightly toward me, carrying a faint and almost invisible triumph.
At that moment, I shook my head lightly and spoke the four words that stunned everyone.
“I cannot do it.”
Henry turned toward me immediately, instinctively drawn by the unfamiliar tone.
In his memory, I had never disobeyed anyone in his family.
This was the first time I had refused.
He was just about to speak when Demi’s eyes reddened, her lips trembling as she lowered her head.
“It is my fault. I should not have moved in. I am just an outsider. It is not right for Aurora to cook for me.”
She turned as if to go upstairs to pack her bags, but Henry grabbed her arm.
“This has nothing to do with you.”
I ignored him and brushed past.
I had only taken two steps when my vision went black. It felt as if all strength had been drained from my body, and I collapsed without warning.
When I woke again, I was lying on a wooden bed in the Moonstone Healing Hall.
The clan shaman pulled aside the curtain and entered, saying,
“Miss Aurora, you are three months pregnant.”
“What. Pregnant.”
The words escaped me without thought.
Seeing my disbelief, the shaman handed me the rune-carved bone diagnostic.
Pregnant for eight weeks. The carved text pierced me so sharply my breath stopped for a moment.
I braced against the bed and forced myself up, dragging my weakened body back to the clan house.
The diagnostic bone was clenched tightly in my hand, its edges pressing my fingertips until they turned pale.
The moment I pushed the door open, a strong mix of smoke and heavy perfume hit my chest, making it tighten.
In the living room, Henry lounged lazily on the fur sofa, his chest marked with unmistakable traces of intimacy.
Demi wore his clothes, the hem barely covering her thighs as she leaned against him with a soft laugh.
Her hair was messy, and the flush on her face had not faded.
One glance was enough to know what had just happened.
第6章
I stood at the doorway before speaking, yet Henry was already frowning at me.
“Why are you wandering around again. I told you to stay home.”
My throat felt blocked. I could not say a single word.
The bone diagnostic in my hand was crushed out of shape by my grip.
Demi glanced at me, let out a cold little laugh, and leaned even closer into him. Her voice softened into something syrupy.
“Her face looks terrible. Is she sick?”
Henry let out a sharp, impatient scoff. He picked up a heavy stone ash basin from the table and hurled it at me.
It hit my forehead. A burst of white exploded before my eyes.
Before I could react, my body fell backward and the back of my skull struck the corner of a table with a dull, brutal thud.
A ringing filled my ears. I collapsed on the floor, blood sliding down my forehead and dripping onto the wooden board beneath me.
I tried to push myself up, but I could not even lift my hand.
Henry stood, looked down at me lying motionless on the ground, and spoke with a coldness suited for speaking to empty air.
“I told you not to run around. Do you not understand simple words.”
As they walked past me, they even kicked me aside.
Demi wrapped her arm around Henry's, her voice tender enough to melt into his bones.
“Forget about her. Let us go.”
Henry held her by the waist. Neither of them looked back as they left.
The thud of the wooden door closing swallowed the last bit of my consciousness.
Blood kept flowing down my forehead, soaking my hair and collar. I struggled to keep my eyes open, but there was only darkness.
In the final flicker of awareness, I still felt the dull throb of the wound from the stone basin. Henry’s and Demi’s laughter drifted farther and farther away, like echoes from another world.
I closed my eyes and allowed the darkness to take me.
If I survived, I would cut this child from my bloodline, leave all of them behind, and begin a new life.
When I woke, dawn was only barely rising.
I changed my clothes and prepared to go to the Moonstone Healing Hall to schedule a fetal removal ritual.
When Henry returned to the clan house, the home was silent.
He tossed his bone key onto the table. His gaze swept across the surface and suddenly froze.
His eyes landed on the crumpled bone diagnostic, the edges warped from my grip, with dried blood staining its surface.
He picked it up and unfolded it. His entire body stiffened as if struck by lightning.
It was the Moonstone Healing Hall’s diagnostic bone.
The engraved words were unmistakable.
Pregnant for eight weeks.
The patient’s name carved clearly.
Aurora.
His hand visibly trembled.
Shock, panic, disbelief. They swept across his face one layer at a time.
All the secrets he hid, all the shame he feared facing, were exposed in that instant.
He knew about his weakened essence veins.
He knew he was barely capable of impregnating a she-wolf.
He knew Demi had never been able to conceive.
And now, I was pregnant.
A nearly impossible chance had somehow happened.
But then he realized the truth.
I had gone to the Moonstone Healing Hall to remove the child.
He grabbed the communication stone in a panic and called for me again and again.
I watched the stone vibrate endlessly yet did not answer.
Only when the missed calls reached double digits did I finally connect.
The moment the link opened, his voice tore in frantic desperation.
“Aurora, where are you?”
I stood outside the shaman’s treatment chamber, expression calm, my tone quiet and plain, as if discussing the weather.
“At the Healing Hall. I am about to enter the removal room.”
The other side went silent.
Then he suddenly roared.
“What procedure?”
I touched the wound on my forehead and let out a soft laugh.
“Fetal removal, of course. I will not keep this child.”
“No. Aurora, you cannot do this.”
His voice shook.
“That is my child. That is our creation. You cannot get rid of him.”
I let out a low, cold laugh.
“Henry, do you deserve to say the word creation.”
“When you and Demi were rolling on my bed, did you think of the child.”
“When you threw a stone basin at my head, did you think of the child.”
There were a few seconds of silence on the other end. Then his voice changed into something I had never heard.
It sounded like a man begging to survive.
“Aurora, I know I was wrong. I truly know I was wrong. Give me another chance. Please. We can start over. I will treat you well. I will treat the child well.”
I did not listen anymore.
I hung up the communication stone, turned it to silent mode, and handed it to the shaman.
I lay down on the Moonstone surgery platform and closed my eyes.
In that moment, I had no hesitation at all.
After the procedure, my body remained weak.
As soon as I stepped out from behind the treatment curtain, I saw my father pacing anxiously outside.
At the sound of movement, he stopped at once and turned toward me.
The next second, he opened his arms, his eyes reddened.
“Child, I came to take you home.”