chapter 1

"Ms. Frost, your 'fake death service' is now active. Your scheduled death will occur one month from now, right before the mate ceremony. To avoid Shadow Pack's tracking, we'll destroy your human identity records and cast a spell to mask your scent. Even your fated mate will sense that you're dead. It's foolproof. If everything looks good, sign at the bottom." The witch's voice was ice-cold.

So the bond between fated mates could be broken by a simple spell. Fine by her. The bond between her and Ryan should've been severed a long time ago.

Three days ago, the image of Ryan screwing another she-wolf in their bed had burned itself into Bella's mind. And that wolf fang ring on his left hand—the one with her initials carved into the edge—he hadn't even bothered to take it off. Did he think she was too stupid to notice, or did he just not give a damn about the promise it represented?

"No problem." Bella's answer came quick and easy. When she hung up the communicator, she felt like a weight had lifted off her chest.

She was lucky she'd saved that witch's life once, or she never would've gotten access to this ancient forbidden magic. Even luckier that she was human and couldn't be marked before the mate ceremony.

Once a wolf marked you, you were screwed. Ryan could track her to the ends of the earth through that mark. If he found out she'd left, knowing how obsessive he was, he'd probably take it out on her family.

Her clan was counting on the winter supplies from Shadow Pack. Only if she "died" would he finally let go. It was the only way to get out without dragging anyone else down with her.

After sorting through everything in her head, she lingered by the roadside for a long time before finally heading home.

As she passed by, a huge screen was playing the video from three months ago—Ryan's public proposal.

On the screen, Ryan held a wolf fang ring in his palm. He was down on one knee, and his voice carried a tenderness she'd never heard from him before. "Bella, from the first moment I saw you, I sensed you might be my fated mate. But the feeling was so fleeting back then that I didn't dare tell you. Finally, on your 18th birthday, I knew for sure. You're the one I'm meant to protect for the rest of my life."

"I love you, Bella. Not just because you're my fated mate. Your kindness, everything about you—I couldn't help falling for you."

In the video, her past self had tears in her eyes as she nodded yes. She'd thought it was the happiest moment of her life.

After they slipped the rings on each other's fingers, they looked at each other and smiled. Tears of joy streamed down both their faces.

A couple walking by had spotted them and stopped to watch. Their voices drifted over, full of envy and awe.

"It's Alpha Ryan and his human fated mate! I heard when the Alpha was a kid, he got attacked by a Rogue and Ms. Frost saved him. That debt brought him back to find her years later!"

"A human being an Alpha's fated mate? That hasn't happened in 300 years! The Alpha even refused the mate the Elders picked for him because of her. He gave her a third of the Shadow Pack's core resources, and that includes command over the patrol units!"

"And remember when Ms. Frost got ambushed by a Rogue? The Alpha shifted right there and crushed the Rogue with one swipe. When he came back covered in blood, the first thing he did was wipe the tears off her face and tell her 'Don't be scared, you're safe now'..."

Bella listened to those words now, and bitterness rose in her throat. Everyone had believed Ryan's act. Everyone had bought into his devotion.

Even she almost believed it herself.

Bella walked past them and couldn't help but look down with a self-mocking smile.

She first met Ryan when she was eight years old.

Bella's family wasn't like other humans. They lived on the border between human and werewolf territory, and they'd been master silversmiths for generations.

Three hundred years ago, her ancestors had signed a mutual aid pact with the wolf packs. The Frost family could forge silver-tipped crossbow bolts and silver nets that could take down Rogue wolves who'd lost control, and the snow lotus that grew in their frozen homeland could slow the effects of wolfsbane poisoning, a plant that only survived in extreme cold, way beyond where most wolves could reach.

In return, the packs protected them and delivered rare herbs and food supplies every year to help them survive the brutal winters.

One day, little Bella was exploring the forest when she found an injured wolf pup.

His fur was matted with blood, and his left front paw had been bitten. The wound was rimmed with black. He'd clearly been poisoned with wolfsbane.

When he saw Bella, he didn't attack. He just whimpered softly. She remembered what her mother had taught her about treating wounds, so she dug through her backpack and found some bloodclot herb mixed with snow lotus powder. She chewed it up and pressed it against his injury, then broke up the jerky her dad had packed for her and fed him piece by piece.

After the pup finished eating, he just stared at her for the longest time. Then suddenly, he nuzzled his nose against her palm. At that moment, she felt a strange warmth spread through her hand, but she didn't think much of it.

She found out later that he was the future heir of the Shadow Pack. Wolf packs had this legend about fated mates. The first time they touched, both people would feel this pull, this one-time signal that drew them back to each other. But since she was human back then, her side of the connection was barely there. Ryan, though? He remembered exactly what that fated mate bond felt like.

Everything changed on her 18th birthday. That day, her parents took some of the pack members to hunt down a rabid Rogue. The damn thing broke free from the silver net and launched a surprise attack. Her parents threw themselves in front of the Rogue's claws to give everyone else time to escape, and they got torn to shreds—literally. There wasn't even anything left to bury.

When the news reached the family, her uncles' attitudes flipped in an instant. They'd been eyeing her father's position as pack leader for years, and without her parents around to protect her, Bella became dead weight to them.

They started arguing about dumping her in an orphanage. They were literally dragging her toward the door when it suddenly slammed open.

"Don't you dare touch her!" Ryan stormed in wearing a sharp black coat and pushed straight through to her side, putting himself between her and the uncles.

"Years ago, a Rogue bit me and she saved my life! And today, on her 18th birthday, I finally know for sure. She's my fated Mate!"

He turned to Bella, his voice turning soft. "I finally found you."

"Alpha, this is a family matter..." The uncles tried to argue, but one of the pack elders who'd just arrived cut them off.

The elder's eyes swept over Bella with pure contempt. "A human as an Alpha's fated Mate? If word gets out, the other packs will laugh at Shadow Pack for having tainted bloodlines!"

Ryan let his Alpha aura roll out in waves. "I'm the Alpha, and what I say goes. Bella's coming back to Shadow Pack with me, and I'm taking care of her."

The elder opened his mouth to argue again, but Ryan's Beta stepped forward and blocked him. "Ms. Frost is the Alpha's fated Mate. She'll be moving into the Shadow Estate under the Alpha's personal protection. Anyone who tries to stop this will be treated as a traitor to the pack."

Her uncles figured Bella still had some use, so they let her and Ryan go. After that, Ryan became Bella's entire world. She thought that after losing her parents, she'd finally found someone who would protect her forever.

He knew she was human and that her stomach couldn't handle wolf pack food, so every morning, before dawn he'd get up and learn how to make soup in a human pot. When she was scared of thunderstorms, he'd shift into his wolf form and wrap his tail around her, keeping her safe underneath him.

He even skipped the pack's most important ritual just to celebrate human holidays with her, and got punished for it—three days standing guard on the snow mountain without using his wolf powers to stay warm. When Ryan came back, he was shivering so hard he could barely stand, but he still smiled as he handed her a gift.

That was how Ryan spent his time after she lost her parents—showing her with endless patience that she could love him. That she could trust him completely.

The day Ryan realized Bella had fallen for him, he kissed her. He was so happy he couldn't help himself.

It was both of their first kiss.

Bella told him, "My family's gone. You're all I have left now. If you ever cheat on me, I'll never forgive you. Not in this lifetime."

Ryan looked deep into her eyes and said, "I promise you. I'll only ever have one mate in this life. And that's you."

They made a plan right then. Once the timing was right, they'd hold the mating ceremony. They even set a date. But just one month before the ceremony was supposed to happen, he changed his mind.

And now? That same Ryan who promised to protect her forever was sneaking around with Lina Whitmore, some Omega. Lina was his friend's little sister, and Ryan was supposed to be looking out for her. But apparently "looking out for her" meant sleeping with her.

Fine then. Bella would fake her death and disappear from Ryan's world completely.

That seemed fair.

Her eyes started to sting. She turned and walked away.

A car suddenly pulled up next to her, and Ryan jumped out in a rush.

"Bella, didn't I say I'd go with you to try on dresses for the Mate ceremony after my meeting? Why'd you come out here by yourself?"

He hurried over and draped his coat around her shoulders, then grabbed her hands to feel how cold they were. His face was full of concern.

"It's getting cold out now. You should've put on something warmer. Your hands are freezing. What if you get sick..."

Bella didn't say anything. She just studied him quietly.

She could see one of Lina's long hairs still clinging to his shirt. And that ring on his finger—the one with Lina's name engraved on it—was still there.

It was the same face she'd always known, but how the hell did Ryan manage to say he loved her while cheating on her at the same time?

Outside the dress shop, the owner had gotten word they were coming and was already waiting at the entrance.

"Alpha, Ms. Frost, are you ready for your fitting?" Her voice was dripping with envy.

Ryan nodded and was about to answer when his communicator buzzed with a message.

He glanced at the photo on the screen, and his cheeks flushed pink.

Bella knew that look way too well. It was the same expression he got every time Lina contacted him about something "urgent."

Sure enough, Ryan noticed Bella watching him. He put the communicator away and gave her an apologetic look.

"Bella, something urgent just came up with the pack." His tone was full of regret as he leaned down to kiss her forehead.

"Don't forget to eat dinner tonight, okay? I'll have the butler check on you! And if you try to skip it, there's gonna be consequences when I get back..."

The second his lips touched hers, Bella almost turned her head away. His last few words carried that possessive Alpha edge, but all Bella felt was disgust.

She watched him rush to his car, and suddenly remembered the oath he'd sworn to the Moon Goddess. "In this life, I'll only love Bella. If I ever betray her, may I die a terrible death."

Turned out that was just another lie.

The shop manager hurried over, asking carefully, "So... do you still want to try on the wedding dresses?"

Bella let out a soft laugh and shook her head.

"No need. I won't be using them."

After all, corpses didn't need wedding dresses.