Chapter 1

I finally decided to leave my cheating Alpha.

The day after I lost my pup, Alpha Ethan cut all ties with that Omega.

He cleared away every single trace she had left in the Packhouse.

Once again, he went back to being that attentive, caring mate.

He came home on time every day, cooked all three meals for me, and pampered me with love, trying to rebuild what we had when we were younger.

Until the day I found out I was pregnant again, and news reached him that the Omega was being sold off to another pack.

He muttered about how annoying it was, but secretly drove over there alone, behind my back.

In front of everyone, he pulled Sienna behind him, whipped out a check, and slapped it right in that werewolf's face.

"Here is 8.8 million dollars. I’m paying you ten times her worth. Now get the hell away from her."

Someone caught this scene on video, and the entire werewolf community was buzzing about it, romanticizing their "forbidden love."

As it turned out, during those years when I thought Ethan had changed for the better...

He had never let go of Sienna for even a single second.

Meanwhile, I collapsed on the floor all alone, a sharp, excruciating pain tearing from my heart down to my lower abdomen. I had lost my pup. Again.

My friend sent me the video while I was in the kitchen, cooking a rich stew for Ethan.

"Is this him?"

"What the hell is going on?"

"Did he seriously get back together with that Omega?"

Countless messages flooded my Snapchat.

Some were just nosey, some were mocking, and some were genuinely worried.

It felt like a rewind to three years ago. The day Ethan publicly defied the Elders at the Pack meeting for Sienna, making him the trending topic on our social media.

An identical storyline.

Sure enough, people in the comments section were already recognizing him.

"Oh my god, this guy's crazy streak had warning signs three years ago!"

"If you won't marry me, I'll just steal you away! Let's torture each other until we die!"

"The comment above is so right. This is literally like a web novel plot. People eat this toxic drama up!"

I slowly scrolled through the comments, completely forgetting about the stove.

The ceramic pot shattered with a loud crack, and the boiling hot soup splashed all over me.

But I couldn't feel the pain.

I just silently dialed Ethan’s number.

It went straight to voicemail.

Listening to the automated message, I laughed out loud. My heart grew colder with every second.

He had promised me just this morning that he would accompany me to the clinic for my pregnancy check-up after work.

He had knelt by my hospital bed and sworn to be a good mate.

Was I sad? Was I hurting?

I couldn't even tell anymore.

After all, I had already experienced the absolute lowest point of despair three years ago.

I calmly cleaned up the mess in the kitchen.

My lower abdomen throbbed with a dull, heavy pain, but I ignored it.

Ethan didn't return to the Packhouse until three in the morning.

I was sitting on the sofa, my eyes bloodshot from exhaustion.

Our eyes met, and a suffocating silence stretched between us.

The tablet on the table was playing the video of him rescuing her on a loop.

"Here is 8.8 million dollars..."

Once, twice, three times.

Ethan strode over, turned off the tablet, and slowly fell to his knees.

He knelt before me, all for the sake of that Omega.

The irony of it made me feel nothing but a deep, hollow sadness.

"I know nothing I say right now can make up for this, but I swear, Sarah, this was the absolute last time I’ll ever help her," the man rasped, his voice cracking.

"Her father is extremely sick and needs a fortune to pay for a high-level Healer."

"She came to me first, but I refused to see her. That’s why she resorted to selling her freedom to that bastard."

"I only did it because I pitied her, please believe me..."

*Just pity.*

Ethan had said those words so many times that even he probably lost count.

But I remembered every single time.

Because every time he felt "pity" for her, I was the one who ended up in agony.

Providing her with food and clothes was out of pity.

Arranging a place for her to stay was out of pity.

Building a private cottage for her was out of pity.

Tearing apart the wolves who dared to disrespect her was out of pity.

And now, even stopping her from being taken away by another man was out of pity?

"You sure have an endless supply of compassion, Ethan."

My sarcastic tone clearly made him uneasy. He reached out to hug me, but I pushed him away with all my strength.

"Sarah, are you giving up on me again?" Ethan knelt on one knee, his eyes rimmed with red.

"Ethan, the one who gave up first doesn't get to make demands."