Chapter 1

"Marcus, I want to sever my mate bond with Kaelen Croft and resign from the pack. Please help me draft the official documents!"

Lawyer Marcus Thorne frowned slightly and spoke gravely:

"Miss Vance, mate bonds are sacred and not easily broken. Both parties should think carefully before signing these documents."

Elara Vance had been Kaelen Croft's chief aide for three years, and they had been secretly mated for three years. A month ago, on the night she was kidnapped by rogues, the kidnappers called her secret mate Kaelen countless times demanding a territorial ransom, but no one answered the phone.

The rogues threw her into the icy river. At the moment between life and death, nearby pack fishermen discovered her in time and saved her.

That night, Kaelen was spending the night with her sister at a hotel. Years of love and three years of mating made her wake up at that moment. This time, she decided to leave completely.

Elara nodded firmly: "I've already made up my mind. As for my mate, he will agree too."

Kaelen had never loved her - she knew this three years ago.

It's just that she had admired Kaelen since childhood. Three years ago, when he said he was willing to mark her, she joyfully agreed.

Their third mating anniversary was coming soon, and she had prepared one last gift for Kaelen.

Bond severance. Setting him free.

——

In the evening, Elara returned to the Alpha's villa and saw Kaelen cooking in the kitchen.

Kaelen had severe mysophobia, especially when it came to the mess created while cooking.

She remembered that in the first year of their mating, Kaelen had entered the kitchen once while she was cooking, frowned and said: "Disgusting."

Later, because Seraphina liked Kaelen's cooking, he specifically enrolled in classes to learn.

Kaelen came out carrying the prepared dishes. "The pack didn't have much going on today. Why are you back so late?"

Kaelen had broad shoulders and a narrow waist. Even wearing an apron, that charming Alpha aura about him couldn't be concealed.

Elara suppressed the emotions on her face and said indifferently:

"The pack recently welcomed a batch of new members. I was busy creating training content for them."

In Kaelen's impression, Elara only knew how to busy herself with pack work, so he didn't think much of it.

"Mm, I've prepared dinner. Come eat."

Elara took her seat.

Kaelen actively served Elara some wolfsbane-seasoned vegetables, saying: "I know you like this scent. I made it especially for you."

Elara felt a dull pain in her chest.

The one who liked wolfsbane was Seraphina, while she was severely allergic to it.

After three years, Kaelen still didn't remember.

If he had paid even the slightest attention, he wouldn't have no memory of it at all.

Kaelen's hand hung in mid-air as he frowned: "Elara, take it."

Elara gently pushed it back and took out two agreements from her bag.

"There's no rush to eat. Here are two agreements. Please sign them."

Kaelen didn't like discussing pack business during meals. "What documents? Do they have to be signed now?"

Just as the Alpha was about to take the agreements to examine them, his phone suddenly rang in his pocket.

Although he reacted quickly and covered the caller's name in time, she still saw it.

It was Seraphina.

Kaelen immediately got up and went to the balcony to answer the call.

He got up with such force that he knocked over the dishes on the table, which fell to the ground, scattering glass shards everywhere.

A piece of glass flew and cut Elara's fingertip. Blood dripped onto the floor drop by drop.

But Kaelen didn't notice at all. He talked on the phone for more than ten minutes before returning, grabbed his jacket from the chair, and was about to leave.

"I have something to do tonight, so I won't be eating at home."

Elara grabbed him and insisted: "The agreements haven't been signed yet."

Kaelen was displeased, feeling that Elara was being unreasonable. He quickly picked up a pen, flipped directly to the last page, and signed his name.

"Is that good enough? Can I go now?"

Looking at the names on both agreements, Elara responded numbly: "Yes, you can."

As if staying even one more second would be a waste, Kaelen hurriedly left the villa.

Staring at the Alpha's retreating figure, Elara smiled bitterly.

If Kaelen had cared about her even a little bit, he would have seen that the agreements just now were bond severance and pack resignation documents.

And her hand had been bleeding the whole time.

Kaelen had always loved Seraphina, who was also her sister, the "false daughter" of the Vance family.

Twenty-five years ago, the Vance family's omega servant Martha Grey and Lyra Vance gave birth to daughters in the same pack healing den.

Elara, who should have been the Vance family's true daughter, was mistakenly taken as the omega's daughter.

While Seraphina transformed into Miss Vance.

It wasn't until twenty years ago, when Martha Grey died, that she told everyone the truth.

The Vance family accepted Elara while also keeping Seraphina.

Lyra Vance said at the time: "Elara, people's hearts are made of flesh. We've raised Seraphina for so many years, and now that her birth mother has died, she only has us as family."

The Vance family also said that if they publicly acknowledged Elara's identity, Seraphina would be looked down upon.

So Seraphina remained the Vance family heiress in everyone's eyes, while Elara's identity was only known to the Vance and Croft families.

Kaelen and Seraphina were childhood sweethearts. On the eve of their planned mating ceremony, Seraphina met a foreign Alpha and desperately wanted to go abroad to pursue "true love."

But the Vance family didn't want to offend the Croft family, so they had Elara mate in her place.

Kaelen's heart was dead at the time, so he agreed to this mating.

Until a month ago, Seraphina returned, and Kaelen had an affair.

He even sent images through the pack's mind-link to make Elara leave the Croft pack.

That day, Elara saw their chat records.

Kaelen said: "Elara hasn't done anything wrong these years. A direct bond severance wouldn't be agreed to by either the Croft or Vance families. Only by ruining her reputation can we leave the Vance family with nothing to say."

To verify Kaelen's sincerity, Seraphina even asked:

"You've been mated for three years. Have you never liked her?"

"She was just your substitute. I marked her only to make my family stop nagging."

Elara thought that as long as she put her heart into it, Kaelen would come to like her.

But it was all just her beautiful imagination.

Elara's vision blurred as she took out a notebook from her bag.

She knew Kaelen didn't like her, so three years ago she told herself that if she accumulated 99 disappointments, she would leave completely.

Kaelen sharing her images through the mind-link was exactly the 99th incident.

Elara put three items in a box and locked it in the safe.

This was the mating anniversary gift she left for Kaelen. He should like it very much.

After tidying everything up, Elara took out her phone and called a man she hadn't contacted in three years:

"Damien, my bond severance cooling-off period will end in a month. Come take me away."