Chapter 2

I pressed my lips together in a bitter smile. There was no way Nyx hadn't heard when that man asked me to dance earlier.

He hadn't bothered to step in. Wolves had sharp hearing, especially an Alpha as powerful as Nyx.

Lisa smiled at Nyx. "Shouldn't you be Alice Morgan's partner?"

Nyx stared at her, jealousy written all over his face. "If I hadn't come over, you were really going to dance with him?"

Lisa said, "Why not? I don't have a partner. Why can't I accept someone else's invitation?"

"Who says you don't have one?" Nyx wrapped his arm around Lisa's waist and swept her into a dance.

Lisa followed his lead. "What about Alice?"

"She danced with other men. Why can't I dance with you?" Nyx retorted.

Lisa laughed. "You're so childish. Aren't you afraid she'll get jealous?"

"I already asked. She's not jealous." Nyx replied.

Nyx and Lisa stood under the spotlight. Him in a tailored suit, her in a stunning red gown. They looked like they belonged together.

People nearby were taking photos. Someone murmured, "The Alpha and Lisa are such a perfect match. Do you think she'd say no if he pursued her again?"

Another person answered, "No way. Can't you see? The way she looks at him says she's clearly still in love."

They were right. They loved each other. Why was I still holding on?

If Nyx hadn't been ambushed by rogues during a hunt and I hadn't saved his life, he never would have become my boyfriend. At the end of the day, he didn't love me.

I thought of that photo in his safe and smiled to myself. Nyx, I'm setting you free. From now on, you can be with the woman you actually love.

I pulled out my phone and replied to an email. [I'm willing to join the Outlands Medical Corps and commit to the three-year serum research program.]

*****

By the time the party ended, it was deep into the night.

Nyx didn't come back to the Alpha's residence.

I stood on the balcony staring at the moon, remembering how I'd once stood beneath it like this, making a wish.

I had whispered, "Please, Moon Goddess, bless me with an amazing, incredible, extraordinary mate."

A soft laugh had come from behind me. I turned to find Nyx leaning against his car, tilting his head with that effortless charm of his. "Why pray to the Moon Goddess when you could ask me? Alice, am I extraordinary enough for you?"

Back then, I thought he truly loved me.

I learned later that he'd just been rejected by Lisa and happened to be rescued by me. He pursued me out of spite to prove something to her.

He was never the mate the Moon Goddess chose for me.

Maybe my fated mate was out there somewhere. Or maybe I'd never find him.

I'd asked him once, "Why me? I'm only an Omega. You should choose a high-born female Alpha as your mate."

Nyx had smiled that devastating, gorgeous smile. Looking back, I think I was so dazzled by his face that I forgot to ask the one question that mattered: Was there already someone in your heart?

He asked me if I'd ever heard the old saying about repaying a life debt with your heart.

I had. It was romantic.

I thought he'd genuinely fallen for me.

But I was wrong.

I was nothing more than a tool he used to get under Lisa's skin.

Lisa wanted to study abroad, but Nyx's Alpha duties kept him home. She refused a long-distance relationship and said she might meet someone new, her second chance. If Nyx found his second chance, she would bless him.

After she left, Nyx would drink alone, eyes bloodshot, asking the empty room, "Why did you reject me?"

All of this, I heard from others.

I hated myself for finding out so late. If I'd known from the start that he was hung up on his first love, I never would have agreed to be with him.

But the thing was... Nyx really had been good to me.

He showered me with expensive gifts, remembered my cycle, knew every one of my allergies. He even remembered the anniversary of my parents' deaths and always made it back to visit their graves with me.

He was a thoughtful man and a responsible Alpha.

But he wasn't my Alpha.

He was Lisa's.

My friends all said they envied me... that I was lucky to have such an amazing Alpha who adored me.

But was it really luck, or my misfortune?

A month ago, Lisa returned from abroad. The Black Rose Alpha threw a welcome-home gala for her, and every promising young wolf from the surrounding packs attended.