Chapter 3

Felicity said, "For years, you couldn't find your Fated Mate at the Full Moon Ceremony. I was honestly worried about you, but you'd already been tied to a Fated Bond?

"Guess Balen was never destined to be your match after all."

Balen was actually her little brother.

From the moment I started living with the pack, Balen Horn was always super warm and welcoming.

He was always so cheerful and laid-back that I couldn't help but like him too.

Felicity was totally rooting for us to become mates.

But when the Full Moon Ceremony came around, I couldn't react to Balen's aura at all, which proved I wasn't Balen's Fated Mate.

Balen was devastated.

Still unwilling to give up, he kept trying to bond with me at every Full Moon Ceremony after that.

But every attempt ended in failure.

It wasn't until two years ago that Balen finally found his true Fated Mate at a new Full Moon Ceremony.

He apologized to me, looking genuinely upset. "I'm sorry, Elin. I didn't expect things to turn out this way."

For the first few Full Moon Ceremonies, Balen hadn't found his Fated Mate either, so we both thought maybe there was hope for us.

But in the end, it was only because his Fated Mate hadn't appeared yet.

"It's fine, Balen." I smiled and comforted him. "Congrats on finding your Fated Mate. That's a blessing from the Moon Goddess. You should be celebrating."

Balen and his Fated Mate had their mating ceremony.

After their soul bond was sealed, they were totally devoted to each other, which was honestly sweet to see.

That made me feel a lot better.

After Balen bonded with his Fated Mate, I kept attending the Full Moon Ceremonies myself.

But I never managed to find my own Fated Mate.

Honestly, I'd stopped worrying about it. It wasn't a big deal to me anymore.

Who could've guessed that now, out of nowhere, a guy would show up claiming he was my Fated Mate?

And apparently, I even had a son with him? Seriously?

Honestly, this was just way too much for me to accept.

"Freya, I heard Lord Donaldson has been looking for you nonstop these past few years. He must really love you deeply," Felicity said.

She and I were pretty close, and right now, she was genuinely thrilled that I'd finally found my Fated Mate.

But I couldn't share her optimism.

I asked her, "Alpha's wife, do you remember when Sylas treated me?

"He said there were a lot of reasons I could've lost my memory, and one possibility was that I might've broken my Fated Bond with my mate—by damaging my own soul to force the bond apart?"

Felicity nodded. She hesitated, her voice uncertain as she said, "But Sylas said that kind of thing would wreck the soul of whoever forced the bond to break..."

She stopped mid-sentence, falling silent.

She was remembering how I'd been barely clinging to life when she found me all those years ago.

If she hadn't discovered me and acted so quickly, I probably would've been dead by now.

I watched Felicity's expression change and then continued, "And back then, during the Full Moon Ceremony, it wasn't that Balen couldn't connect with my aura. It was because I wasn't releasing any Fated Mate signals at all.

"Balen even went to Sylas to ask why, and Sylas said maybe it was because my bloodline was too mixed, so my Fated Mate instinct awakened later than usual.

"But later, Sylas told me there was another possibility—that I'd already bonded with my Fated Mate, but then forcefully broke the soul bond. That would have completely erased my Fated Mate aura, so I couldn't send out any more bonding signals."

When I finished, Felicity's eyes trembled with shock. "You mean..."

I nodded softly. "If Fated Mates can always sense each other, how did it take them five years to find me?

'If everything Lyon said is true, then there's only one explanation. I must have been the one who broke our Fated Mate bond myself. That's what left me so badly wounded, maybe even caused my amnesia. So, Felicity —'

I lowered my eyes, keeping my voice steady as I continued, "What could Lyon and his son possibly have done to push me to make such a desperate choice?"

When I stepped out of Felicity's place, Lyon and Calian were already waiting for me outside.

"Mom," Calian shouted the moment he spotted me, his voice bursting with excitement.

He ran straight over, arms flung wide, hoping I'd finally let him hug me.

"We know you lost your memory now, and we know you never meant to leave me behind," he blurted out.

This time, I didn't pull away. I let him hug me around the waist.

Calian's face lit up with joy, and he snuggled even closer, his expression full of affection.

"Mom, I missed you so much," he said.

"Calian..." I murmured. I slowly raised my hand and reached out to touch his hair.

The moment my fingers brushed his hair, a rush of familiarity swept through me.