Chapter 2

Nancy was pregnant, no doubt about it.

The pregnancy report she sent showed she was eight weeks along.

That meant Zack had been with Nancy two months ago, for their so-called Breeding Ceremony.

Zack's recent behavior? Probably just guilt eating at him.

That explained his earlier excitement.

His beloved childhood Omega had finally done it—she had gotten pregnant.

I bet he was at the hospital, by her side, toasting to their future.

I stood frozen, feeling like my heart had been ripped out.

My breath caught, and I nearly blacked out.

All the love we shared over the years—gone in an instant.

We had just picked our bonding date in front of the elders, and we were supposed to be crowned Alpha and Luna next month.

I had dreamed of that day, walking hand in hand with him to the altar.

At this point, though, it was all a cruel joke. The Alpha I have loved for so long was then father to another Omega's child.

The buzz of my phone snapped me back to the present.

I answered the call. It was my senior, Carol.

"Maggie, won't you reconsider coming to the Northwood research station? You're the professor's star pupil.

"He said he'll give you a half-month off to reunite with your Alpha after two months of experiments."

Her words felt distant.

I knew about the professor's medicinal plant institute in Northwood ages ago. He had invited me once.

However, Northwood was a world away, cut off from contact once I was in the lab, sometimes for months or years.

During research, outside communication would often be banned.

Back then, I could not stand being away from Zack, not even for 15 minutes. That was why I turned down the offer and chose to work in Zack's lab instead.

In the end, Zack claimed all my research as his own.

"What's mine is yours. How is that stealing?" he had said.

Remembering his smug look still made me curse.

However, I was too in love, too blind to see he was using me. I let him take everything I worked for.

He rose to stardom on the back of the herbal remedy research that should have had my name on it, becoming an overnight sensation as a pharmaceutical prodigy.

He was the Alpha everyone talked about in our pack, not just because of his impressive talents and noble bloodline, but also for his groundbreaking work on werewolves' resistance to the lethal effects of Argentosis.

Ever since, he's solidified his spot at the heart of the pack and even got himself on the Central Elder Council's list of top-tier Alphas.

Me? I was just the footnote, the name that got brushed aside in the wake of his triumph.

I stared at the text on my phone.

Zack had become a father to some other Omega's kid. He never gave a thought to our future, never cared to hold onto what we had.

Well, if that was how it was, there was no point in forming a bond.

I murmured, "Carol, I'm heading out. Business as usual, no time off."

She was taken aback at first, but her surprise turned to delight. "Amazing! The professor will be over the moon!

"When are you thinking of coming over? A week after the Bonding Ceremony?"

I shut my eyes, having decided already. "No, I'm leaving the day we make the bond."

15 days until the ceremony. 15 days to let go of all my hang-ups.

'In fifteen days, Zack, you and I will part ways for good,' I promised myself.