He Rejected Marking Ceremony, I Upgraded Mate

He Rejected Marking Ceremony, I Upgraded Mate The very first thing I decided to do after being reborn was to reject the marking ceremony with my Alpha mate Ethan. In my previous life, when Ethan tried to postpone our ceremony for the thirty-second time, I threatened him with the sacred laws of the Moon Goddess. Ethan eventually caved. To pacify my rage, he promised that nothing would interrupt us again. But that was the night his Omega mistress Ivy died. From that moment on, Ethan hated me with every fiber of his being. When I told him I was pregnant, he drowned me in the freezing North Sea. "You and that abomination in your belly deserve to die for her," he spat as he held my head under the water. I died in despair. But when I opened my eyes, I was back at the altar. Ethan looked impatient. "Selena, Ivy says her chest hurts.. We need to postpone the mark again." He expected me to beg. Instead, I unclasped the ceremonial collar and threw it in his face. "Go to her. I quit." Ethan sneered, "Stop acting. Without my scent, you’ll be back crawling on your knees in a week." He didn't know that an hour later, I was knocking on the door of his mortal enemy—Damon, the Tyrant of the North. When I posted a photo of the Winterborn Alpha’s ring on my finger with the caption "Upgrade my mate," Ethan went mad… Chapter 1 The very first thing I decided to do after being reborn was to reject the Marking Ceremony—the same ceremony that had already been delayed thirty-two times. In my past life, when Ethan tried to postpone our union for the thirty-second time, I finally snapped. I acted like a raving lunatic. I threatening him with the sacred laws of the Moon Goddess, even threatening to take my own life if he walked away. Ethan eventually caved. To pacify my rage, he promised that nothing would interrupt us again. He severed his mind links, turned off his phone, and under the gaze of the full moon, he completed the ceremony. It wasn't an act of love; it was an act of vented anger and resignation. But that was the night Ivy died. Ivy. The fragile, helpless Omega he had rescued from the battlefield. The kind of girl who looked like she would shatter if you breathed on her too hard. When she found out we were finally sealing our bond, she had a mental breakdown and ran straight into the dangerous Rogue territory. She called Ethan nineteen times, begging for help. Because I had forced him to cut off contact, Ethan missed every single call. By the time our ceremony ended, all we found was Ivy’s cold, lifeless body. From that moment on, Ethan hated me with every fiber of his being. On the surface, he remained my Alpha. We maintained a facade of peace for the pack. That is, until the day I told him I was pregnant. He took me to the freezing waters of the North Sea. "Selena, go down there and keep her company." As the bone-chilling water flooded my nose and mouth, I stared in disbelief at the man I had loved my entire life. He held my head under the water. There was no warmth in his eyes, only the twisted satisfaction of revenge. "If you hadn't forced that damn mark on me, Ivy wouldn't be dead." "You, and that abomination in your belly, deserve to pay for her life." I sank into the dark, suffocating depths, carrying my unborn child and drowning in despair. And now, I was back. "Selena, it’s Ivy. She says her chest hurts. It might be a flare-up from her old injuries." Ethan looked at me, his handsome face marred by a hint of impatience. "I’ll smooth things over with the Elders. The Marking Ceremony... can we push it back one more time?" Staring at him, I didn't scream. I didn't go hysterical like I did in my past life. We were standing at the Silver Moon Pack’s altar. Below us stood the entire pack, waiting to witness the union of their Alpha Heir and his future Luna. Ethan was the future of our pack. I was his childhood sweetheart, the woman the Moon Goddess had explicitly chosen as his Fated Mate. And yet, just because Ivy had a headache or a phantom pain, he was willing to humiliate me in front of everyone. In the past, I would have felt wronged. I would have felt furious. Anyone with eyes could see the injustice. But Ethan didn’t see it. In his mind, I was strong. I was independent. I was born to be a Luna, so I could take the hit. I could handle the humiliation. Ivy, on the other hand, was a bottom-tier Omega who wasn't qualified to lead. She was pitiful, weak, and seemingly incapable of surviving without him holding her hand. Beside us, the officiating Beta couldn't watch anymore. He whispered a warning, "Alpha, the auspicious hour has arrived. If we delay again, we risk the Moon Goddess’s wrath." Ethan’s brows furrowed deeply, a flash of disgust crossing his eyes. You see? He was always like this. Whenever Ivy was involved, all principles, laws, and logic went out the window. In my last life, this was the exact moment I lost my mind. I blocked his path, I cried, I screamed, and I threw away my dignity to secure the mark that eventually led to my murder. But this time? I just wanted to live. I wanted to get as far away as possible from this man who would eventually kill his wife and child. I watched him anxiously checking his phone, and suddenly, I smiled. In that moment, my heart was dead ash, but I felt lighter than I had in years. I nodded. In front of the Elders and the entire gathered pack, I calmly reached up and unclasped the ceremonial collar meant to symbolize our eternal vow. "Sure, Ethan." I shoved the collar into his chest. My voice was soft, casual, as if I were commenting on the weather. "Since she can't live without you, go to her." "And about the ceremony? You don't need to worry about rescheduling it for today." "In fact," I said, meeting his eyes, "you never have to worry about it again." Chapter 2 I ignored the officiating Elder shouting behind me and headed straight back to the suffocating Alpha mansion. The first thing I did upon entering was rip off the elaborate gown—the one meant to symbolize my status as the "Luna-to-be"—and tossed it into the trash. In my past life, I wasn’t just Ethan’s mate; I was his most loyal assistant, the sharpest weapon the Silver Moon Pack possessed. To help him secure his Alpha status, I had rejected recruitment offers from countless top-tier packs. He had told me that running a pack was heavy work and he needed a partner who could stand beside him on the battlefield. So, to match his pace, I clipped my own wings. I forced myself from a free-spirited ranger into a micro-managing administrator. I remembered the breaking point in my previous life. Ethan had promised to take me to the Frozen Tundra to see the Aurora Borealis—a reward for a year of grueling work. But on the day we were set to leave, Ivy sniffled and said she was afraid of the cold. He canceled the trip immediately. Instead, he took her to a warm southern valley for "convalescence," leaving me behind to guard the territory. When a rival pack raided our borders, I was alone. I took three broken ribs and nearly froze to death in the snow defending his land while he played nursemaid to her. I was done being the fool who burned herself to keep others warm. Leaving Ethan was Step One. I dug into the bottom of the safe and pulled out an invitation I’d buried a year ago. It was from the "Winterborn Pack," the most powerful pack in the North. They had offered me the Gamma position—the lead warrior role—with authority second only to the Alpha. I signed the document without hesitation and shoved it into my tactical rucksack. Just as I clicked the final buckle shut, the bedroom door was blasted open by a wave of aggressive energy. Ethan stormed in, his Alpha pheromones rolling off him in suffocating waves of rage. When he saw me dressed in my tactical combat gear, the anger in his eyes looked ready to consume me. He rushed forward, snatched my backpack, and slammed it against the wall. "Selena, is this your new strategy?" "Humiliating me at the altar wasn't enough? Now you're playing the 'runaway mate' card?" He sneered, glancing at the papers spilling out of the bag. "You think waving around some fake invitation from a rogue pack will make me panic? You think I'll beg you to stay?" Ethan tugged at his tie, arrogance written all over his face. "Did you forget? Without my scent to ground you, a dominant female like you won't survive your next Heat." I looked at my scattered gear and asked calmly, "Who told you I was acting?" Him and Ivy. One was a narcissist, the other a parasite. They didn't just suck my blood; in my last life, they took my life. I had fought hard to be reborn. I had my combat strength back. Why the hell would I stay here and play nanny? Ethan let out a cold laugh and opened his mouth to mock me further, but he was interrupted. Ivy stepped out from behind him, carefully balancing a steaming tray. The air instantly filled with the sickly-sweet scent of white tea and the bitterness of medicinal herbs. "Ethan, please don't be angry," she said softly. "Selena is probably just emotional because of the failed ceremony. Her hormones must be imbalanced." She looked at me with wide, teary eyes. "Selena, I asked the Pack Healer to brew this Calming Draught for you. I know I’m weak and I have no right to be Luna, but I just want everyone to be happy..." Her voice trembled, perfect for a victim who was being oh-so-brave. Ethan’s expression softened immediately. When he turned back to me, his face was ice-cold. "Learn from Ivy. She’s frail, yet she’s dragging herself out here to make medicine for you. And you? You’re just being a brat." I looked at the dark, murky liquid and felt a wave of nausea. In my past life, she had brought me this same soup. It was laced with wolfsbane and suppressants to slowly drain my wolf’s strength, leaving me weak enough to be easily drowned in the sea. I looked her in the eye. "I’m not drinking that. Get it out of here." A flash of malice darted through Ivy’s eyes. She stepped forward with the scalding bowl, acting as if she were trying to hand it to me, but she deliberately positioned her body to block Ethan’s line of sight. "Selena, please, just one sip..." Just as I moved to step around her, she flicked her wrist, splashing the boiling liquid all over her own chest. "Ahhh!" The bowl shattered on the floor. Ivy collapsed into the shards, her chest instantly blistering red. She wailed, "Selena! If you didn't want it, fine! But why did you throw it at me... it burns... Ethan, save me!" Ethan whipped around. Seeing the burns on her skin, his eyes bled crimson with killing intent. He shoved me hard against the wall and scooped the screaming Ivy into his arms, roaring at me: "Selena! What the hell is wrong with you?!" Chapter 3 Accompanying the roar was the crushing weight of an Alpha’s Command. Ethan unleashed his spiritual pressure without holding anything back. The force hit my chest like a sledgehammer. I couldn’t even put up a defense before I was blasted backward, my body flung like a kite with a cut string, smashing directly into the solid oak staircase. Bang. My spine collided with the sharp edge of the steps. A sweet, metallic taste surged up my throat, and I spat out a mouthful of blood. Ethan didn't stop. He stood at the top of the stairs, cradling the "unconscious" Ivy, looking down at me with unmasked disgust. "How can you be so venomous? Ivy is a fragile Omega—your power could have killed her!" "It makes me sick just breathing the same air as you." I wiped the blood from the corner of my lips. My insides felt like they had been rearranged, screaming in agony. I didn't try to explain. I just looked at him cold, dead eyes. "If I make you sick, then I have good news." "I’ll file a formal request with the Council for Severance. I’ll clear out and leave this place for good." Ethan paused, clearly surprised that I was the one bringing up leaving the pack. But the shock quickly turned into a sneer. "You better keep your word. Don't be like last time—running to the border only to come crawling back in tears." With that, he didn't spare me another glance. He turned and rushed Ivy to the infirmary, his back turned to me in finality. I slumped against the cold floor, looking at the mess around me. For some reason, my mind drifted back twenty years. We had just gone through our first shift. During our first hunting trial, I had been reckless, chasing glory, and got cornered by a mutated grizzly bear. It was Ethan who had charged in without hesitation. He used his small, juvenile wolf body to take a fatal claw strike meant for me. Back then, covered in blood, he had comforted me: "Don't be scared, Selena. As long as I’m alive, no one will ever hurt you." But now? That boy who swore to protect me was dead. In his place stood a man who used his Alpha Command to crush my internal organs for the sake of another woman. I tried to stand, but the pain made me stumble. Letting out a self-deprecating laugh, I leaned against the wall and inched my way out of the villa. I didn't go to the Pack Hospital. That place was crawling with Ethan’s spies. Dragging my broken body, I went to the underground black market, to an unlicensed clinic run by a Rogue witch doctor. The doctor inspected my injuries and whistled. "Ruthless. He was aiming for your Wolf’s Essence. If you’d come thirty minutes later, your S-rank strength would have been permanently crippled." I lay on a musty cot for two days. On the third day, I returned to the villa. I waited until Ethan was in a Council meeting. I didn't pack any clothes or jewelry. Instead, I took my tactical daggers, the strategic defense maps I had drawn over the years, and the black card containing all my bounty earnings. I moved everything to a safe house I had rented in the black market—a place shielded from tracking signals. Five days. That’s all I needed. Once the emissary from the Winterborn Pack arrived and I signed the Blood Pact, I would cut ties with the Silver Moon Pack forever. Night fell on the third day. I was cleaning the blood grooves of my dagger when my phone rang. It was a number I didn't recognize—the one I had blocked was obviously no longer working for him. I picked up. The background noise was heavy metal music and the howling of drunk wolves. He was at a club. Ethan’s voice was slurred with alcohol and thick with his usual entitlement. "Where are you? Get your ass to the Full Moon Club." I frowned, continuing to polish the blade. "Ethan, we’re done. I have nothing to say to you." There was a second of silence on the line, followed by the clinking of glass. Ethan sounded agitated, clearly provoked by my indifference. "Done? Selena, are you finished playing hard to get?" "Ivy has a scar from the burn. Regular medicine isn't working." "You’re a Healer-Warrior. Your blood and energy can remove scars. Get over here and heal her. Now." Listening to his righteous demands, I stared at my own cold reflection in the steel of the blade. He hadn't called because he noticed I was missing. He called because his precious darling needed my blood as an ointment. "I told you, I moved out," I said calmly. "Besides, my blood is expensive. She can't afford it." Ethan’s breathing grew heavy. I could feel his rage vibrating through the speaker. "Moved out? You're addicted to running away from home, aren't you?" "Fine! If you have so much backbone, then get the hell out of Silver Moon territory! Go become a Rogue! Let everyone hunt you down!" "And don't expect me to collect your corpse when you die out there!" "If you don't get back here and fix Ivy's skin, don't you ever dream of having a Marking Ceremony with me!" I glanced at the packed tactical bag on the table and the Winterborn entry contract beside it. The corner of my mouth hooked into a mocking smile. "Deal, Ethan." "I'll get lost. Far away. I promise I won't be an eyesore for you two anymore." Before he could react, I hung up. I pulled the SIM card out of the phone and dropped it into a glass of high-proof spirits in front of me. Fizz. The chip fried instantly. Just like the last remaining shred of love I had for him. Gone up in smoke. Chapter 4 In the fireplace of the safe house, flames greedily devoured a pile of old memories. There was the amulet I had spent three years carving from the fang of a Dire Wolf to protect Ethan. There was the dried Moonflower he had plucked for me the first time he took me hunting in the forest. And there was the battle journal where I had meticulously recorded every one of his dietary preferences and combat habits. I watched them turn to ash, and my heart remained perfectly still. The phone on the table buzzed. It was an encrypted email. It was from the Alpha of the Winterborn Pack himself: "Welcome to the pack, Commander Selena. The extraction team will arrive at the border at midnight." A new home. Since my rebirth, this was the only thing I had looked forward to. I stared at the firelight, checking my gear one last time, ready to embrace my new life. But my peace was once again interrupted. I suddenly received a message from Ethan’s parents. Alright, they were back from their diplomatic patrol, and that so-called family dinner required my attendance. Fine—let it be my farewell to everyone. It was evening when I arrived at the Pack House. Ethan’s parents—Elders I had grown up respecting—sat at the head of the long table. Ethan sat on the left. But right next to him, in a chair that shouldn't have been there, sat a trembling Ivy. The expression on everyone's face was grim. I could only imagine the pillow talk Ivy had been whispering while I was away. I walked in without changing my expression. Ethan’s gaze swept over me coldly. He seemed annoyed by my indifference. Suddenly, he threw his dining knife onto the table with a loud clatter. "Looking at that funeral face... I’ve lost my appetite." He stood up and headed for the study upstairs. Ivy, acting like a frightened little rabbit, immediately scrambled up to chase after him. "Ethan, please don't be angry... " I ignored them and sat down . The old couple awkwardly tried to make excuses for their son, even putting food on my plate. I looked earnestly at these two elders who had once treated me like their own daughter. In my past life, they had tried to stop Ethan’s tyranny. In return, he had locked them away in the back mountains claiming they were "senile," and they eventually died of grief. In this life, I didn't blame them. I only blamed myself for being blind enough to mistake a rock for a diamond. I set down my wine glass and spoke softly, but my voice was made of steel. "I have been thinking for a long time." "Perhaps the Moon Goddess did not bless Ethan and me. Our bond is incomplete; our wolves do not resonate." "For the future of the Silver Moon Pack, and to end this mutual suffering..." "I, Selena, reject Ethan as my mate. I also resign from my position as Lead Enforcer." The fork dropped from the former Luna’s hand. Her face went pale, and tears welled in her eyes. "Selena, child... has it really come to this? Is that boy bullying you?" I nodded firmly. Addressing the one thing that had weighed on my heart since my rebirth, I felt incredibly light, even as the tension in the room thickened. Before leaving, I didn't go back to the bedroom filled with memories. Instead, I went to the storage room on the third floor. I needed to retrieve my parents' relics—two white jade urns containing their ashes. My parents had died protecting the Silver Moon Pack. These urns were the only connection I had left to them, the only things I couldn't leave behind. But when I pushed open the door to the storage room, I froze. Ivy was standing by the shelf, idly playing with the two urns in her hands. Seeing me enter, her lips curled into a grotesque smile. She lowered her voice to a whisper. "Selena, you're leaving? You want to take these dead people with you?" "Tell me... if these jars shattered, would you die of a broken heart, too?" My pupils constricted violently. "Ivy! Put them down!" Ivy’s smile widened. A flash of pure malice crossed her eyes, and suddenly, she opened her hands. "Oops. Slipped." CRASH! Two crisp, shattering sounds echoed through the silent hallway. The white jade urns smashed into pieces. The gray-white ashes exploded outward, filling the air with a mournful dust before settling into a chaotic mess on the floor. In that instant, my blood froze. My vision turned red. A terrifying wave of S-Rank energy, fueled by pure grief and rage, exploded from my body. "IVY! YOU DESERVE TO DIE!" BOOM! The shockwave hit Ivy squarely in the chest. She shrieked, her frail body thrown backward like a rag doll. "Ahh! Selena, don't! Don't hit me!" "My stomach... it hurts..." Hearing the commotion, Ethan charged in. The first thing he saw was the floor covered in jagged jade shards and gray powder. He recognized whose ashes those were. For a split second, the rage in his eyes stalled, replaced by a look of disbelief and genuine shock. He looked at me, his voice trembling slightly. "Selena... are those... your parents..." He knew how much they meant to me. Instinctively, he took a step toward me to comfort me. "Ethan! Help me..." Ivy’s sobbing voice cut him off. She curled up on the floor, her hands protecting her lower belly. "Selena went crazy... I was just trying to help dust the jars, and she attacked me... my stomach hurts so much..." "Our baby... it's our baby..." Ethan froze. "Baby?" He frowned, a flicker of confusion crossing his panic. "What baby? As an Alpha, I would have sensed his heartbeat the moment he existed. I felt nothing from you." Ivy trembled, clutching his hem, tears streaming down. "Because I'm too weak, Ethan... The doctor said my body is so frail that it masks the pup's aura... I wanted to surprise you once he was stable... But now... I can't feel him anymore... Selena's power... she crushed him..." The flicker of guilt on Ethan's face vanished instantly. It was replaced by a rage and panic ten times stronger than before. He didn't spare another glance at the ashes on the floor. He rushed over, shoved me hard against the wall, and then gingerly scooped Ivy into his arms. "Selena! Are you insane?!" He roared at me over his shoulder, looking at me as if I were a monster. "I know you care about the ashes, but they are just dead objects! Ivy is carrying a living life! She is carrying my Heir!" "How could you attack a pregnant woman? Has your conscience been eaten by dogs? No matter what, you shouldn't have pushed her!" I leaned against the wall, sliding down slightly. I looked at my parents' ashes, now trampled and mixed with dirt. Then I looked at the man who once claimed to love me, now trampling on my parents' dignity for a woman whose mouth was full of lies. My heart finally, truly died. I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth and walked up to him, step by step. Ethan thought I was coming to apologize or explain. He opened his mouth to scold me again. SMACK! I channeled every ounce of my S-rank strength and slapped him across the face. The force was so great it whipped his head to the side, and blood instantly trickled from his lip. "Did that wake you up, Ethan?" I spat a mouthful of bloody saliva onto the floor and stared into his shocked eyes with cold indifference. "Rest assured. As of today, I am no longer your future Luna." Chapter 5 Leaving Ethan with that look of stunned disbelief, I massaged my stinging wrist. I gave a curt nod to the former Alpha and Luna, who stood by the door wearing complicated expressions. "Goodbye." I didn't look back at the chaos erupting inside the Pack House. I walked straight out into the night. The moment I stepped past the pack’s barrier wards, the injuries I had been suppressing came roaring back. When Ethan pushed me away, he used all his Alpha power. Right now, my body was burning with pain. If I had known it would hurt this much, I would have burned the last of my spiritual energy to shove those jade shards right down Ivy’s throat before I left. That was Ethan. Always the same. Whenever something happened, his fangs were always bared at me, while all his gentleness was reserved for that professional victim. Years ago, if Ivy tripped over her own feet on the training grounds, Ethan would scold me in front of the entire pack for being "jealous and aggressive." Eventually, I stopped explaining. And so, I became the "vicious, envy-ridden madwoman" in the eyes of the pack. My vision began to blur. My body swayed, losing its balance. Just as I thought I was going to collapse onto the freezing snow, a convoy of matte-black armored SUVs pulled up silently in front of me. The doors opened. A wave of Alpha pheromones hit me—colder than a polar blizzard and a hundred times more terrifying than anything Ethan could ever muster. "Falling down already? My new First Commander." I squinted, forcing my head up. A man stood before me, tall and broad as a mountain, clad in a black tactical trench coat. Even in the darkness, his pupils glowed with an electric, spectral blue light. It was the gaze of an apex predator. I opened my mouth to say his name, but darkness claimed me. I didn't hit the ground. I fell into a hard, warm embrace. My nose was instantly filled with a scent that was strangely grounding—cedarwood and the metallic tang of blood. When I woke up, I wasn't in a public hospital smelling of disinfectant. I was in the luxurious cabin of a private airship. I was lying in a high-tech healing pod, tubes connected to my arms delivering high-purity Spirit Liquid. And sitting by the bed was him. He wasn't wearing a mask. His profile was sharp and cold, like a statue carved from ice. A shock of dazzling silver hair caught the light, glowing with a chilly brilliance. It was the trademark of the Winterborn Alpha—Damon. The North’s most brutal tyrant. The man known for being fiercely protective of his own. Right now, this tyrant was bowing his head. With hands that were famous for tearing enemies limb from limb, he was carefully, almost delicately, adjusting the flow rate of my IV drip. Looking at that silver hair, which looked surprisingly soft, I reached out as if possessed and touched it. It felt cool and silky. Damon looked up the instant I moved. Those ghostly blue eyes locked onto mine. But he wasn't angry. Instead, a playful, dangerous smirk curled his lips. He caught my hand, brought it to his mouth, and lightly bit down on my fingertips. "What? Making a pass at your new boss the second you wake up?" His voice was deep and magnetic, resonating in his chest like a cello. It made my ears burn. I tried to pull my hand back, but my phone on the bedside table suddenly started vibrating violently. The moment the call connected, Ethan’s hysterical roaring filled the cabin. I had no idea how he got my new number. He clung to me like a ghost that refused to fade. "Selena! You murderer!" "Ivy miscarried! My Alpha Heir is gone! All that blood... that was my child!" "How could you be so venomous? That was my firstborn! You will pay for this with your life!" He was screaming like a rabid dog. I leaned back against the soft pillows, my expression indifferent. I actually felt like laughing. "Ethan, honestly, you should have dissolved the contract with me ages ago." "It wasn't hard. All you had to do was swear to the Moon Goddess and unilaterally reject me as your mate. Then I wouldn't have been stuck with the title of your future Luna." "The only reason you dragged it out is because you’re greedy. You wanted Ivy’s submissive adoration, but you couldn't bear to lose your free bodyguard and pack administrator. Am I right?" "I spoiled you for ten years. I made you think I was a dog you could kick away and call back at will." "Oh, and Ethan? You really are an idiot. Ivy’s pregnancy was fake. That blood she was sitting in? It smelled like chicken blood from the black market." I didn't wait for his reaction. I hung up and added his number to the permanent blacklist. My chest heaved with the emotion of the moment, pulling at my internal injuries. A large hand reached out, gently patting my back to help me catch my breath. Damon watched me. There was no pity in those blue wolf eyes, only unmasked arrogance and a brutal sort of protectiveness. "Selena, there's no need to waste energy getting angry at dead men." He idly rubbed the Wolf King’s bone ring on his thumb, his tone as casual as if he were discussing dinner options. "Say the word, and I’ll have the Winterborn Heavy Guard turn around right now." "Before dawn, I can raze the Silver Moon territory to the ground. I'll twist that idiot Alpha's head off and let you use it as a soccer ball." "Or, we can throw that female wolf—Ivy—into a snake pit? You choose." I looked at him. He was saying the most violent, bloodthirsty things, yet his gaze was focused on me as if I were the only thing in the world that mattered. This was Damon, the Tyrant. Simple. Brutal. But he gave me a sense of safety I had never known. I forced a weak smile, meeting his aggressive gaze head-on. "Flattening the territory is too easy for him." "Damon, I do have a favor to ask of you." Ethan had been so smug about his "Heir," hadn't he? He thought of me—his "barren" ex-mate-to-be—as nothing but dead weight. Fine. If we were going to break up, I was going to make sure it was loud enough to shake the foundations of the pack. I picked up my phone. I angled the camera to capture the large, powerful hand currently adjusting my IV drip. In the photo, the man’s hand was scarred from battle, his fingers long and dominant as they held my pale wrist. But the focal point was undeniable: the black-gold signet ring on his thumb, carved with the roaring head of a wolf. The symbol of the Northern Overlord. I didn't block anyone. I posted it directly to my public feed. The caption was simple, brutal, and provocative: [This Alpha mate is much better. #Upgrade ]