Sold as a Breeder, Crowned as His Fated Mate

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Riley, I formally reject you.

He held another woman in his arms and threw the diamond ring I'd given him onto the coffee table.

After being publicly rejected and slapped by my Alpha Mate, I turned around and sold myself to the rumored impotent tyrant Alpha as a breeder.

But when he publicly declared, "She is my Fated Mate, my future Luna", my ex-Mate went crazy and crashed into my Luna inauguration ceremony, screaming with bloodshot eyes.

"Riley! Have you lost your mind? You married him just to get revenge on me?!"

And that tyrant everyone mocked whispered in my ear with a low laugh:

"Rumors say I'm impotent?... I thought you would have known better by now."

Riley POV

Three hours ago, I received a mind-link from Ryker.

Tomorrow was the Black Shadow Pack's Luna inauguration ceremony, and this was the first time he'd actively contacted me after three months of cold war between us.

His voice was as cold and noble as always, carrying the undeniable authority of an Alpha: "Riley, come to the Pack house. I have something to tell you."

Then he cut off the connection.

He didn't give me any room to question, taking everything for granted as always, like he was ordering some lowly subordinate in his pack.

I'll admit, in that instant, my heartthat pool of stagnant water that had long since fallen silentstirred with ripples I couldn't control.

After all, I'd been chasing him for seven whole years.

I even stood in front of the mirror, carefully covering the faint dark circles under my eyes with the most expensive concealer, sprayed on the woody perfume he liked best, and changed into that white dress he'd once complimented.

Even though I was the most unwelcome illegitimate daughter in the pack, even though my mother was just a lowly Omega, ever since the Mating Ball on my eighteenth birthday when the Moon Goddess designated us as Mates, I'd been full of hope about becoming his Luna.

Even though I knew what lay ahead might be another carefully planned humiliation.

The car smoothly stopped at the Pack house entrance. The guard saw me and a flash of complexity crossed his eyes. He seemed to want to say something but stopped himself.

My heart sank, but I still smiled and nodded at him before walking straight in.

In the entrance hall, the air was thick with the sweet scent of an unfamiliar she-wolf. A pair of strange pink high heels lay askew on the floor, with Ryker's jacket scattered nearby.

I stood still. I didn't cry or make a scene. I didn't even change my expression. I just walked up to the second floor, step by step.

I was intimately familiar with every corner of this main residence. I could find my way to his study with my eyes closed.

The study door was ajar. Suggestive sounds came from inside, along with a girl's cloying complaints.

"Ryker, you're so bad... you wrinkled all my clothes..."

I pushed the door open expressionlessly.

In the study, Ryker was holding a young girl in his arms. The girl's face was buried in his broad chest, revealing only a fair, slender neck.

Three buttons of his shirt were undone. His usually meticulous hair was somewhat disheveled. A smile I'd never seen before played at the corners of his mouthone tinged with desire and indulgence.

Hearing the noise, he looked up. When he saw me, that smile instantly cooled, turning into impatience and disgust.

"Riley, who told you not to knock?"

The girl in his arms looked up like a startled deer, timidly raising her head.

It was a pure, innocent face with big, round eyes that now held pools of moisture as she looked at me pitifully.

I recognized her. Cassandra, the casual fling Omega Ryker had recently brought back to the territory from outside.

"Ryker, she is..." Cassandra's voice was as soft as cotton candy, with just the right touch of fear.

Ryker ignored her. He just methodically straightened his clothes, then cast his gaze toward me. His eyes held their usual contempt for my illegitimate status.

"Since you've already seen it, I won't hide it from you." He took a velvet box from the drawer and tossed it onto the coffee table in front of me.

"ThisI'm returning it to you."

I looked down. Inside the box lay a diamond ring, quietly resting. It was the one I'd prepared with such joy for tomorrow's Luna inauguration ceremony.

Ryker's indifferent voice sounded above my head: "I want Cassandra to be my Luna. Riley, I, Ryker, Alpha of Black Shadow Pack, formally reject you."

No guilt. No hesitation whatsoever.

A piercing pain surged through my chest.

I didn't look at the diamond ring. My gaze fell on my left wrist instead.

There was a silver braceletthe token he'd given me at my eighteenth birthday Mating Ball when he learned I was his Mate.

He'd said this bracelet was to be worn for life, just as he would stay with me for life.

For seven years, I'd never taken it off. It had long since become one with my flesh and blood, even more familiar than my own skin.

I raised my eyes and looked at him calmly.

My composure seemed to surprise him. He frowned slightly, then as if remembering something, his tone took on its habitual arrogance and mockery: "What, not going to make a scene? I thought you'd cling desperately like before. Riley, these tricks get boring when you play them too often."

I didn't speak. I just extended my left hand and began struggling to remove the bracelet.

The bracelet had been worn too long. The clasp was difficult to work with, stuck at the bone joint. My skin quickly turned red from the friction, burning painfully.

The more anxious I got, the harder it was to remove.

Cassandra covered her mouth on the side, pretending to be shocked: "Riley, don't do this. That's not what Ryker meant. You're hurting yourselfhe'll feel bad."

The words sounded like acting, but also like provocation.

Ryker's eyes indeed turned cold. He walked over and grabbed my wrist. His Alpha strength made it impossible for me to move.

"Riley, what game are you playing now? Playing hard to get?"

I gasped from the pain but laughed.

"Ryker," I called his name clearly, "you're the one who said you were rejecting me. This bracelet is yours. Isn't it only right that I return it to you now?"

He stared at me intently, as if trying to find even the slightest trace of pretense on my face.

But he was wrong.

On my face, besides the tears from the pain, there was nothing else.

So this is what it feels like when your heart diesyou can't hear any sound.

He finally let go of my hand, his eyes dark and unreadable.

I used every ounce of strength I had, enduring the excruciating pain, and finally tore that thin silver bracelet from my wrist. An angry red mark branded itself on my skin, shocking to behold.

I gently placed the bracelet on the coffee table, side by side with the diamond ring.

"I, Riley of Black Wood Pack, accept your rejection." I took a deep breath and looked at them. "I wish you and Cassandra a happy marriage and eternal happiness."

With that, I turned and walked out of the study without a trace of reluctance.

Driving away from the Pack, I finally couldn't hold it in anymore. Tears broke through like a dam. Wave after wave of pain made me clutch at my chest uncontrollably.

Riley POV

By the time I returned to the Pack, it was already eleven at night.

The living room of the main residence was brightly lit. My fatherthe Alpha of this packand that Luna who saw me as a thorn in her side were sitting upright on the sofa, clearly waiting for me.

As soon as I entered, the Luna immediately spoke with sarcastic undertones: "Oh, you still know to come back? I thought you'd be clinging to Ryker's bed tonight, forgetting how lowly your bloodline is."

I was too tired to even lift my eyelids. I ignored her and walked straight toward the stairs.

"Stop right there!" My father's stern shout rang out as he violently threw a tablet at my feet. "Look at this yourself!"

On the screen was an official announcement just released by Black Shadow Pack, proclaiming the joyous news that Alpha Ryker and Cassandra would be engaged, and that she would assume the position of Luna.

The accompanying photo showed Ryker and Cassandra in an intimate pose. He had his arm around her waist, smiling happily.

How efficient, Ryker. Less than three hours after rejecting me, you couldn't wait to announce it to the entire werewolf society, as if afraid you couldn't shake me off fast enough and I'd taint you further.

"Riley! What exactly did you do? Why would Ryker suddenly reject you?" My father's face was iron with rage. He never cared about how much I'd been wrongedonly whether his ladder to a more powerful pack had been broken.

I was too exhausted to say even one word. I just wanted to go back to my room and sleep.

Seeing my silence, the Luna mocked from the side: "Alpha, why are you even asking her? What good could come from that lowly Omega mother of hers? She can't even hold onto a man's heart. What a waste of the Mate bond. She's utterly useless!"

Looking at these two people with their hideous faces, I suddenly found it all very laughable.

"I accepted the rejection," I said flatly.

My father looked like he'd heard the biggest joke: "You? What right do you have? Riley, let me tell you, that sickly slave mother of yours is still in the pack's backyard living off my charity! If you can't handle Ryker, tomorrow I'll have someone throw her out of the territory and leave her to fend for herself!"

This trick again.

Threatening me with the mother I cared about most.

For the past seven years, this was why I'd lived like a dog under the Luna's bullying and Ryker's arrogance, compromising again and again.

But now, things were different.

I raised my head and met my father's Alpha gaze with calm eyes: "So what? What do you want to do?"

My reaction stunned them both. They were used to my submissiveness and hadn't expected such a calm response.

The Luna's eyes rolled, and she immediately put on a falsely kind smile: "Riley, don't blame your father. He's just thinking of the Pack. Since the Ryker path won't work, we can't let you waste away like this. Have you heard of Blood Moon Pack? Their Alpha is looking for a breeder..."

Blood Moon Pack, the most powerful pack in North America.

Blood Moon Pack's Alpha, Logan.

That rumored brutal male lead with terrifying power and a cruel, bloodthirsty nature.

Rumor had it he had severe sexual dysfunction. To cure his condition and produce an heir, he went through women constantly. But those women either died from torture or were thrown out before they could even last three months.

So this "great opportunity" had fallen to mea pack illegitimate daughter abandoned by her Mate, with lowly blood.

It sounded like I was getting the better deal, climbing up to the strongest Alpha.

In reality, they wanted to sell me and squeeze out every last bit of value I had.

"If you agree to be Logan's breeder, Blood Moon Pack is willing to invest three hundred million in our pack." The Luna's voice was full of temptation. "And your father guarantees he'll bring your mother to the main residence and give her the best medical care and protection."

Three hundred million.

My Omega mother who'd suffered her whole life.

My life.

In my father's eyes, this was my entire worth.

Looking at his greedy face, my heart turned ice cold.

From one fire pit to another.

But at least Blood Moon Pack was far awayfar enough that I'd never have to see Ryker again, never have to live in the shadow of the past seven years.

At least this time, I was choosing for myself.

Trading my body and dignity for my mother's survival and my own freedom to leave this place.

This deal was worth it.

Looking at my high-and-mighty Alpha father, I clearly spoke three words:

"I agree."

3

Riley POV

Three days after agreeing to go to Blood Moon Pack as a breeder, I arranged to meet my best friend Olivia at a small tavern on the edge of the territory.

It was a goodbye, and also a chance to change my mood.

Olivia was the only friend in the entire Pack who genuinely cared about me.

As soon as she sat down, she grabbed my hands, her eyes red: "Riley, I heard everything. That bastard Rykerhow dare he treat you like this? You're the Mate designated by the Moon Goddess herself! And that bitch Cassandra!"

I smiled and handed her a tissue: "Why are you crying? I'm not the one who should be crying. I asked you out today to tell you I'm leaving the Pack."

Olivia's crying stopped abruptly.

"Leaving? Where to? Did Ryker change his mind? No, waitif he came back, I'd be the first to bite off his throat!"

"It's not him." I stirred the lemon water in my glass, my tone as calm as if I were talking about someone else's business. "I'm going to Blood Moon Pack."

Olivia gasped, her face instantly becoming even paler than mine: "Blood Moon? Alpha Logan! That rumored impotent, violent, cruel tyrant?"

I nodded: "Yes, him."

"Riley, have you lost your mind?!" She jumped up, drawing sideways glances from other werewolves in the tavern. "You just escaped the tiger's mouth and you're jumping into the wolf's den! Did your Alpha threaten you? Don't do anything foolishworst case, we can escape to the rogue territories together!"

I pulled her back down to sit. A warm current flowed through my heart.

I knew she truly cared about me.

"Olivia," I looked into her eyes seriously, "this is my own choice. You know my situation in the pack. If I don't leave, my mother will suffer because of me. Going to Blood Moon Pack, far away from hereat least I'll be free. And... as long as I agree, they'll provide my mother with the best medical care and protection."

Olivia fell silent. After a long while, she sighed: "You're always like this, shouldering everything for your mother. But what about you? Riley, have you ever thought about yourself?"

About myself?

I hadn't asked myself that question in a very long time. For the past seven years, my life seemed to exist only for Ryker. In the end, I'd almost forgotten what Riley herself was really like.

We were chatting when a familiar figure appeared beside our table.

It was Cassandra.

She wore the latest Chanel haute couture suit, carried a limited edition Herms bagcompletely different from her pitiful appearance in front of Ryker.

Ryker wasn't with her.

"Riley, what a coincidence." She spoke with a smile, but her eyes were like poisoned needles stabbing straight at me.

Olivia was about to explode, but I held her back.

I shook my head at Olivia, then raised my head to look at Cassandra, pulling at the corner of my mouth: "Not a coincidence. I specifically picked this remote tavern to avoid people like you."

Cassandra's face stiffened for a moment, then her smile returned: "You're so funny. Oh, by the way, tomorrow night is my Luna inauguration ceremony. You must come. After all, without your blessing as the 'ex-Mate,' it feels like something's missing."

As she spoke, she deliberately swept back her hair, revealing the dazzling diamond necklace around her neck.

I recognized that necklace. Ryker had bought it at an underground auction. It was his twenty-fifth birthday gift to me.

Though my heart was already numb, I could still feel that dull ache.

"Cassandra," I leaned back lazily in my chair and looked at her, "does it feel good to use someone else's discarded old things?"

"You!"

Cassandra's facade finally showed cracks. "What are you talking about! Ryker gave this to me! He said he's never given such an expensive gift to anyone else!"

"Really?"

I laughed lightly. "Then do you know what he said when he gave it to me? He said it represented the eternal bond between Mates. But looking at it now, Ryker's idea of forever has a pretty short shelf life."

Cassandra's face turned completely white.

In her embarrassment and anger, she spoke without choosing her words: "What are you so smug about! Riley, you're nothing but trash Ryker abandoned! You think I don't know? Your mother is just a lowly slave Omega, and you're an illegitimate daughter who can't even show her face in public! What gives you the right to compare yourself to me?"

She lowered her voice but struck at my deepest pain.

All the blood in my body rushed to my head in that instant.

She continued, her voice full of malicious satisfaction: "Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. Ryker also said that with your lowly bloodline, you're not even worthy of bearing his heir!"

"Slap!"

A crisp slap echoed throughout the tavern.

I stood there, my palm burning.

Cassandra covered her face, looking at me in disbelief, her eyes instantly filling with tears.

"You... you dare hit me?"

I could endure her flaunting Ryker's favoritism. I could endure her taking my Luna position. But I absolutely could not tolerate her using my mother to humiliate me!

4

Riley POV

The commotion in the tavern drew onlookers and also brought Ryker.

He arrived so quickly. His powerful Alpha aura instantly blanketed the entire space.

He immediately pulled the tearful Cassandra protectively behind him. The look he gave me held a coldness and disgust I'd never seen before.

"Riley, what's gotten into you?"

Cassandra hid in his arms, pointing at me and complaining pitifully: "Ryker, I just wanted to invite Riley to our ceremony, and she hit me..."

Ryker's face darkened further. He looked at me, his pupils slightly contracting with an irresistible oppressive force.

"Apologize to her." He commanded.

Looking at him, I suddenly felt the man before me was terrifyingly unfamiliar.

Seven years, and he'd never once asked why.

No matter who I had a conflict with, no matter what the cause or process was, he would always make me back down, make me apologize. Because in his world, I, Riley, an illegitimate daughter with humble status, was meant to be someone who would always obey, always be understanding, always never cause him trouble.

"I'll say it again. Apologize to her." Seeing no reaction from me, Ryker's voice took on a warning tone.

Olivia stood beside me, trembling with anger despite the high-ranking werewolf's pressure, unable to help speaking up for me: "Ryker, are you blind? She was the one who used Riley's mother and background to humiliate her first! She's the one who should apologize!"

Ryker's gaze swept over Olivia, coldly saying: "You don't get a say in this."

Then his eyes returned to me, containing only impatience and disappointment.

"Riley, don't make me wear out what little goodwill I have left for you."

What little goodwill remained?

So after seven years of pursuit, this was all that was left on his end?

I laughed, but tears fell traitorously.

I looked at Cassandra protected in his arms, looked at his high-and-mighty expression, and asked him word by word: "What if I say no today?"

His brows furrowed tightly. He seemed not to have expected such resistance from me.

"Riley, don't force my hand."

Force his hand?

What had I forced him to do?

Did I force him to betray his Mate vow? Did I force him to publicly reject me? Did I force him to trample my dignity underfoot?

"Slap!"

Another crisp slap.

Only this time, it landed on my face.

The entire tavern fell instantly silent.

My cheek burned painfully. I even tasted blood at the corner of my mouth. My ears rang, and I couldn't even hear clearly the gasps and murmurs of the werewolves around us.

I only saw Ryker with his hand raised, a flash of shock on his face, as if he too hadn't expected himself to actually strike.

And behind him, Cassandra's lips curved into a triumphant smile.

This slapmore than being coldly rejected in the study, more than seeing the necklace he gave me on someone else's neckmade me truly clear-headed.

I raised my hand to wipe the blood from the corner of my mouth, then looked at him with complete calm:

"Fine. I'll apologize."

Ryker seemed to relax, thinking I'd finally yielded under his pressure.

I turned to Cassandra, looked at her face, and slowly spoke: "I'm sorry."

Then, under everyone's shocked gazes, I looked directly at Ryker and continued:

"Ryker, I apologize for having loved you these past seven years."

"I apologize for giving up myself and losing my dignity for you."

"I apologize for being blind."

Ryker's face instantly turned extremely ugly. His Alpha pride couldn't tolerate this kind of public severance.

"Riley! You..."

"Ryker," I interrupted him, using all my strength to pull out a smile uglier than crying, "you were the one who rejected me first."

"I promise I'll never appear before you again."

"Never again, just as you wished."

After saying this, I picked up my bag and, supported by Olivia's worried hands, walked out of the tavern without looking back.

Behind me came Ryker's roar, suppressed with fury.

But I didn't care anymore.

5

Riley POV

The day after agreeing to go to Blood Moon Pack as a breeder, I started packing my luggage.

Calling it luggage was generous. There wasn't much that truly belonged to me in Black Wood Pack anyway, and I had no desire to take any of it.

As for the things Ryker had given meeven looking at them was painful.

I pulled out the dresses and perfumes I'd bought to cater to his preferences, one by one from the closet, and piled them in the center of the room.

Finally, I took a heavy red velvet treasure box from the safe under my bed.

This was something Ryker had given me after my eighteenth birthday Mating Ball.

Over these seven years, it had filled with jewelry he'd given me for various anniversaries and birthdays.

There were the diamond stud earrings he gave me after his first victory leading the pack in territorial war.

The antique brooch from our first date.

And the sapphire ring he'd promised to his future Luna...

Each piece I'd once treasured, believing it was eternal proof of the bond between Mates.

But now, they were just a pile of cold stones.

I closed the lid and placed it in the cardboard box prepared for returns.

I didn't want to owe him anything anymore, not even a trace of his scent.

I called Ryker's BetaZanegave him the address, and told him to come get the things.

Zane's voice carried the same superiority as Ryker's, along with contempt for my illegitimate status: "Riley, Alpha Ryker is very busy these days preparing for Miss Cassandra's Luna inauguration ceremony. I'm afraid he doesn't have time to deal with your insignificant matters."

"Is that so?"

I controlled my emotions. "The box contains everything he gave me before. I don't need them anymore."

Zane's tone became impatient, even carrying a hint of mockery: "Riley, I know you're upset about being rejected by the Alpha, but Alpha Ryker already has a Luna candidate now. Why continue to pester him by returning things? It's better for everyone's dignity, right?"

He thought I was playing tricks and clinging desperately?

I took a deep breath and said in as calm a voice as possible: "Zane, you come get them before five o'clock this afternoon. Otherwise, I'll throw them all away. The consequences are on you."

Silence on the other end of the phone for a few seconds, then he reluctantly agreed: "Fine."

That afternoon, Zane did come.

He didn't even enter, just stood in the entrance hall directing several low-ranking werewolves to move things.

"Miss Riley," he said while watching people move things, speaking meaningfully, "The Alpha and Miss Cassandra are a match made in heaven. Everyone in Black Wood Pack knows this. You're only making yourself more embarrassed."

I didn't explain or refute.

Arguing with a Beta who would only ever obey an arrogant Alpha was meaningless.

I just looked at him and said flatly: "Check the items carefully and take them back to him. From now on, we're even."

With that, I closed the door without hesitation.

6

Riley POV

Three days later, Blood Moon Pack's car stopped at my door.

I carried a small suitcase and, under the complex gazes of my father and the Luna, got in the car heading for North America's most powerful pack territory.

After several hours' drive, the car entered Blood Moon Pack's core area. Even the air here was filled with the solemnity and authority of a top-tier pack.

A burly man came forward. He was the Beta here, named Elias.

"Miss Riley? I'm Alpha Logan's Beta. Welcome to Blood Moon Pack. The Alpha is at the main residence. Please follow me."

"Hello, thank you." I smiled in response, trying to suppress the unease in my heart.

Following Elias into the castle-like main residence, as soon as I stepped into the hall, a strong smell of blood hit me in the face.

I stopped abruptly.

I saw two guards dragging a disheveled woman outside. The woman was covered in blood, already unconscious, leaving a shocking trail of blood across the gorgeous marble floor.

A chill ran through me instantly.

The rumors said Blood Moon Pack's Alpha Logan was violent and cruel, and none of the endless stream of women around him could last three months... So all those rumors were true!

"Dispose of her."

A low, cold voice carrying absolute Alpha authority came from deep within the hall.

I raised my head, and my gaze collided with a pair of eyes deep as a frozen pool.

That was Logan.

He was taller and more imposing than I'd imagined, his entire body radiating a suffocating, icy aura.He wasn't wearing a jacket. His black shirt hung open, revealing his toned, muscular chest and faintly visible scars.

Thick arms wrapped in bandages, blood seeping through faintlyhe was injured.

"Make sure the next woman the Council of Elders sends isn't a cunning, scheming whore like this one." Logan cast a cold glance at the woman on the floor, his tone devoid of any warmth.

"Yes, Alpha."

Elias muttered something about "those old bastards in the Council getting more and more shameless," while crouching down to pry a small vial from the tightly clenched hand of the woman being dragged out.

Poison?

I stood frozen in place, my brain racing.

This woman hadn't come to serveshe'd come to assassinate or poison him?

Facing this scene, I stood rigidly in the center of the hall, gripping my suitcase handle so tightly my knuckles turned white, unsure what to do.

Elias pocketed the vial, then seemed to remember my existence. He quickly reported to Logan: "Alpha, this is the one sent from Black Wood Pack... Riley."

Logan's gaze finally fell on me.

In that instant, I felt like prey that had been locked onto.

He took long strides toward me, each step carrying intense pressure.

The overwhelming Alpha scent mixed with a faint trace of blood enveloped me completely.

He stopped in front of me, looking down at me from above.

I was so nervous my breathing stopped.

He suddenly raised his uninjured hand. Rough fingers gripped my chin, forcing me to raise my head and look directly into his eyes.

His gaze was extremely aggressive, filled with scrutiny and icy wariness.

I was forced to look up at him like this, my heart pounding like a drum.

A few seconds later, he released his grip, as if he'd lost interest in me, and turned around coldly.

"I'm not in the mood right now." With his back to me, he ordered Elias coldly, "Take her downstairs."

7

Ryker POV

My bachelor party was set at the top club within Black Shadow Pack territory.

Several close high-ranking werewolves and Alphas from neighboring packs gathered together. The atmosphere was lively and extravagant.

But tonight I was distracted.

I leaned back on the leather sofa, holding a cigar. Through the smoke, my gaze slowly went blank.

"Ryker, what are you thinking about? Tomorrow's Cassandra's Luna inauguration ceremonywhy do you still look so unhappy?" My friend Zack came over, handing me a glass of strong whiskey.

I didn't take the drink. I just irritably tugged at my tie: "It's nothing."

Zack glanced at Cassandra in the distance, surrounded by flattery, and curled his lip: "Still thinking about Riley? I'm telling you, Ryker, since you've already rejected her, stop thinking about it. She's just an illegitimate daughter born to a slave Omega, lowly bloodhow could she ever match you? Look at Cassandra, she's so perfect for you."

Riley again.

My expression darkened: "Riley and I have already severed the Mate bond. Don't mention her again."

"Really?" Zack laughed mockingly. "Who believes that? You two grew up together. When hasn't she been the first to back down? I bet within three days, she'll use her old tricks again, crying and running back to beg you. Didn't she slap someone at the tavern in public? That was just her playing hard to get, same old trick."

The wolves around us echoed in agreement:

"Exactly. Riley loves you to her bones. She could even bear to give up the Luna positionhow could she let go just like that?"

"She's just jealous. She-wolves, you know, throw little tantrums. Just release a bit of your Alpha pheromones and she'll be fine."

"Ryker, I bet Riley will definitely crash tomorrow's Luna inauguration!"

I raised my glass and took a drink.

I was irritated not for any other reason, but because Riley had been too quiet these past few days.

Since that unpleasant parting at the tavern, she'd truly disappeared.

No frantic calls through Mind-link, no pitifully waiting for me on paths I had to take. Even a trace of her scent had completely vanished from the territory.

This was completely different from what I'd expected.

According to the usual script, she should be trying everything possible to contact me right now, humbly begging for my forgiveness, even if just to let her stay in the pack as an ordinary servant.

But she hadn't.

This complete loss of control made me extremely irritable.

I took out my phone and instinctively opened Riley's chat, only to find it empty.

"Damn it!" I cursed under my breath and threw my phone on the table.

Seeing me like this, Zack's eyes rolled and he came up with an idea: "Ryker, if you're really worried, just have your Beta make a call to test her, right? Say you're drunk and need her to come take care of you. If she comes, it means she still has feelings for you. If she doesn't come..."

"She wouldn't dare not come." I snorted coldly, completely certain.

I beckoned to my Beta Zane in the distance.

"Go call Riley." I leaned back on the sofa with an Alpha's superiority, ordering lightly, "Tell her I've had too much to drink. She has thirty minutes to get here."

This was my usual tactic.

No matter how late, no matter what she was doing, with just one word from me, Riley would immediately and obediently rush over.

Because I was her Mate. Because she loved me so much.

"Tell her," I paused, adding, "whether I let Cassandra be Luna tomorrow depends on whether she comes tonight."

This was an ultimatum, and also my generous charity.

Zane acknowledged the order and walked aside to make the call.

A few minutes later, Zane returned with a strange, even somewhat terrified expression on his face.

"Alpha..." He bent down and reported in a low voice, "Riley's phone... was answered."

My eyebrow arched slightly, a cold smile of expectation forming at the corner of my mouth.

As expected, Riley still couldn't resist.

"What did she say? Is she crying and begging me? Where is she now?"

Zane stammered, breaking out in cold sweat: "Riley didn't cry. She said... she told you to fuck off."

My smile instantly froze on my face.