Chapter 1

The day before our mating ceremony, Alpha Jake was in a car accident.

Because of it, he regained his eyesight.

I threw myself into his arms, tears streaming uncontrollably down my face.

After years of darkness, my mate could finally see me.

Unexpectedly, he shoved me away so hard that I fell to the ground.

"Get away from me! What makes you think an Omega servant is worthy of throwing herself into an Alpha's arms?"

His words washed over me like icy water.

Jake only glared at me, his dusk-gray eyes sharp and cold.

Then I watched him turn to someone else and ask where Emily was.

My heart sank.

He had lost his memory.

His memories had returned to the time before he went blind—the time when he loved Emily most.

From that day on, he refused to believe in the mate bond between us, nor would he complete the mating ceremony with me.

Instead, he did everything he could to win Emily back.

But on the very day of their mating ceremony, he rushed to the airport and stopped me from leaving.

"Ava… can you stay? I'll cherish you forever…"

I merely let out a cold laugh.

I had no time to watch the man who betrayed me drown in regret, desperately trying every possible way to keep me.

There were still many things waiting for me to handle—as the sole heir of my pack.

Ava's POV

[Luna, Alpha Jake was in a car accident and fractured both legs.]

The moment I received the message from the Beta, my hands began to tremble uncontrollably, and I rushed to the hospital in a panic.

Even on the way there, I did not forget to postpone the mating ceremony scheduled for the next day.

My mind kept racing, trying to figure out how to soothe his temper.

Ever since he lost his sight, the fiercest Alpha of the Southern Pack had chosen to retreat from the spotlight of his own accord.

But an Alpha's inborn ferocity does not disappear just because he steps out of the spotlight. If anything, after going blind, he had become even more moody and unpredictable. The wolf inside him had grown restless and savage as well.

The reason was simple: he could not let go of Emily, his fated mate.

They had once been a deeply loving destined pair.

But fate was cruel. The last time Jake went on a border patrol, one of his subordinates accidentally killed Emily's father, the former Beta of the pack.

Emily had always been fierce by nature, and she rammed her car into Jake's car to avenge her father.

Jake survived, but both his legs were shattered, and he lost his sight. Rumors spread through the pack that this young Alpha might never be able to shift again.

He thought that would settle the score, yet Emily rejected their fated bond and left for another country.

I did not dare think about whether this accident would make Jake relive that agonizing period again, the unbearable backlash of being rejected by his fated mate.

When I pushed open the hospital room door and learned that his sight had returned, I threw my arms around him, laughing and crying at once. Instead, he suddenly shoved me to the floor. "Get out! How dare an Omega servant climb into an Alpha's bed?"

"Where's Emily?" he turned to Beta Sean and asked. "Her car hit me. Was she hurt? Was she scared?"

I rose from the cold hospital floor and asked uncertainly, "This time… Emily hit you after coming home?"

Jake looked at me as if I were insane. "Is this your place to speak?" He grabbed my shirt violently, his face twisted as if he wanted to haul me up. "You know Emily? She's back?"

Despite both his legs being broken, he still tried to climb out of bed, determined to get back the woman who had abandoned him years ago.

Watching him fall to the ground and still crawl toward the ward door, I finally realized one thing: Jake had lost his memory.

His memories had stopped in the year when he had loved Emily most.

Seeing me standing there without moving, Jake barked at me harshly, "Is it fun, watching me crawl like that? How can an Omega maid be this useless? Get out of my sight now!"

He ordered me to leave.

But Beta Sean did not dare move. Hesitantly, he told him, "Alpha Jake, Luna Ava is the mate you chose. You had already completed the marking, and tomorrow was supposed to be the day you completed your mating ceremony with her, but then the accident happened…"

Jake's whole body stiffened, his face full of disbelief.

Only after checking the time on his phone did he realize it was already five years later.

Yet he still refused to give up and pressed on. "So… Emily really rejected me? After going abroad, she never came back? I'm supposed to have my mating ceremony tomorrow, and she still didn't…"

Beta Sean shook his head miserably.

Jake suddenly snatched up the crutch from the floor and hurled it at me. "It was you! It was you, wasn't it? This is all your fault! You seduced me when I was at my weakest!"

"You're wrong, Alpha," Sean protested. "After the accident, Miss Emily never once came to see you. It was Luna Ava who stayed by your side the whole time, taking care of you, helping with your rehabilitation, never leaving you for even a moment…"

"You're lying!" Jake's voice broke with emotion.

"Emily loves me. Unless this Omega has been driving a wedge between us. Yes, that must be it! Emily is too proud. She would never share me with anyone, especially not with someone of such low status."

He looked at me as if I were trash, as though the very thought of touching me disgusted him.

I opened my mouth to speak, then closed it again. What was the point of saying anything?

I decided to go find a doctor.

Behind me, Jake asked the Beta in despair, "Does Emily know about the ceremony tomorrow? Is she really not coming back?"

"No. She hates you because one of your men killed her father. In her eyes, you are her father's murderer, Alpha. She will never forgive you."

Jake stayed silent for a long time before speaking again, his voice frighteningly low.

"Cancel the ceremony. Even if Emily hates me forever, I'll accept it. I can never let another she-wolf become my mate. My Luna can only ever be Emily."

I quickened my pace down the corridor, my eyes stinging with pain.

When I returned to the room with the doctor, it was empty. My phone vibrated. It was a message from Sean: [Luna Ava, Alpha Jake insists on flying abroad to find Emily. I can't stop him.]

Worried about Jake's condition, I hurried to the airport with the pack doctor. When Jake saw me approaching, the corner of his mouth curled up coldly.

"What are you doing here? Did being my nanny for five years make you think you could become my Luna?" He pulled out his checkbook and waved it in front of me. "Name your price. Then disappear forever."

I stared at the blood seeping through his bandages. "I don't want your money. I just want to make sure your condition is stable enough for travel. I've already canceled the ceremony and handled the media coverage."

Jake let out a laugh devoid of humor. "Trying to play pitiful now? Your hypocrisy means nothing to me." He pressed a hand to his chest. "Maybe I pitied you over the past five years, but I never loved you. The Moon Goddess would never pair an Alpha with an Omega."

But I was not a real Omega, and he did not know that.