Chapter 1

Three months after my Mate Promise with Caius Langford was made public, he spread rumors all over the Northern Territory that I had shamelessly thrown myself at him, and then he came to my door himself to withdraw the claim.

All because his childhood friend had returned from the borderlands with a five-year-old pup,

and he didn't want her to carry the stigma of an unbonded mother — he wanted to give her a home through a formal Marking Ceremony.

"I need a reasonable excuse to break the claim so I can Mark Rhea. But don't worry, she and I are just pretending. Once the pup is older, I'll sever the bond."

"You've already waited five years for me. Another five won't matter. Five years from now, I'll give you the most talked-about Marking Ceremony the Northern Territory has ever seen."

Caius held the pup in his arms, Rhea tucked against his side, and made me these promises with a straight face.

But he'd forgotten —

I'd already waited for him year after year. I was already the "unclaimed She-Wolf" the whole capital laughed at, and now my name was ruined on top of that. I couldn't afford to wait another five years.

So I agreed to the match my father arranged.

On the day I was to be Marked into Thorne Pack, Caius got to Ashford Manor first.

His face was full of contempt, his eyes full of disdain. "I never thought the Alpha Ashford's own daughter would stoop to forcing a bond. Fine. If you insist on Marking me now, you'll only be a Chosen Mate."

He was certain I had to have him. But this time he was wrong. The one I was going to Mark wasn't him.

Later everyone said the cold, ruthless young Alpha Caius Langford had lost his mind.

He knelt in the middle of the street and clung to the hem of my robe. His voice shook. "Selene, I was wrong."

...

"You met at sixteen. You promised yourselves at eighteen. The first year after, he told you to wait until he earned his Council Seat. The second year, until he became a power in his own right so he could give you a grand Marking Ceremony. Year after year, always another excuse. Now five years have passed, and you're twenty-three."

"He's already the youngest Alpha on the Council. I thought you would finally be happy. And this is what happens?"

My father looked at me with pain in his eyes, and my chest ached.

Three months after we made the Mate Promise, Caius spread rumors all over the Northern Territory that I had shamelessly stripped down and thrown myself at him, and then he publicly came to break the claim, turning me into the joke of the entire capital.

"Shameless. Already promised and still rushing to seduce men. No wonder he withdrew the claim. She deserved it!"

"She's twenty-three already, an unclaimed She-Wolf. Of course she's desperate. After this, no Alpha is ever going to touch her."

"These high-born Ashford types are always spoiled and willful. Of course she can't be Marked. Who'd want that at his side?"

"I'd take her. She's not bad to look at. A little old, sure, but good for warming a bed. A woman who won't listen, you beat her a few times and she learns. A few more times and she's a quiet little toy."

Overnight, I became a joke to the whole Northern Territory.

No matter where I went, there were whispers behind me and strange looks. They judged every part of me out loud. Even the Alpha King himself suggested to my father, "If there's no other option, Marry her off to anyone. Otherwise her name will be beyond repair, and it's bad for the other young She-Wolves of our Packs."

With my last sliver of hope I went to find Caius, and walked in on him holding the pup in one arm and Rhea against his other side, playing with a parrot.

They were close, easy with each other, like a real little family.

He must have sensed me. He let go of her, a little awkward. "I know you came to talk about the withdrawal."

His face was open, without a trace of apology.

"That was rash of me. But Selene, you're the Alpha Ashford's daughter. Even if you have to stay inside Ashford Manor for another five years, your father won't let you suffer."

"Rhea is different. She has no one but me. An unbonded mother with a pup — how is she supposed to survive in the capital? They'd tear her apart."

"I'm only giving her a home for now. I won't touch her. Selene, you've been willful long enough. It's time to fall in line."

He said it like he was some great savior, and with one soft word — "fall in line" — my name was destroyed and another five years of my life were spent.

If he ever walked outside, he'd know I was already being called a whore all over the Northern Territory. Maybe he did know. Maybe he just didn't care.

I looked at the Alpha who had once sworn everything to me under the moon. He felt like a stranger.

So those vows did change with time. In the end, nothing was left.

I stood there watching him shield Rhea and the pup behind his back, and something inside me started to tear.

I stared at Caius. I wanted to laugh, but my eyes filled up first.

"Caius Langford, I'm not waiting another five years. From today, we're done."