My Alpha Lover’s Sweetheart Is Back

3 years ago, the Southern witch sealed the mate bond between Dylan and me with her spell. She said that if we still truly loved each other after 3 years, the bond would remain. Otherwise, it would be broken. During these years, I helped him become the Alpha of our pack as his Luna. But in his heart, there was someone else, his childhood sweetheart, Eleanor. When Eleanor found out that we had started our mate bond, she chose to leave with another werewolf. Dylan was drunk and cried out her name in my arms. His wolf claws scratched me. At that moment, my arm was bleeding, so was my heart. But I believed that he would gradually fall in love with me as time went on. I thought 3 years would be quite enough for that. When the 3 years are almost up, Eleanor returned. Dylan dropped an important meeting to meet with her. We lost $2 billion because of that. Dylan started being by her side every day, just like before. I used to be so afraid that when the time came, we wouldn’t be in love, and that I might lose Dylan. 7 days later, our mate bond would be gone. This time, I didn’t care anymore. It was just a countdown for me to become the Alpha Queen of my own pack. Chapter 1 The mark represented the mate bond Dylan and I had made was fading away, but he was still lingering around his childhood sweetheart … There were only 7 days left until the 3-year deadline. I was standing in the Southern witch’s house. I showed her the mark on my wrist. “Do you remember? You helped me and my mate to seal the mate bond 3 years ago. I just wanted to confirm again. There was only 1 month left, would this mark disappear by then?” The witch placed her hand on my mark. I could feel my mark burning. “Yes. He doesn’t truly love you, so this mark will vanish when the time comes, so will your mate bond.” I returned home and marked the day our mate bond would expire on my calendar. 7 days later, everything between us would come to an end. Suddenly, Dylan entered through the door. He took off the silk shirt I had bought him and threw it at me, as if I were a laundry basket. Dylan poured himself a glass of Werewolf Whiskey and asked, “Our family will have a dinner banquet in a week. You need to be my plus one.” I threw it into the laundry basket in disgust. “I can’t go. Please invite someone else.” “Why can’t you go? You’re my Luna.” I was about to speak, but before I could, Dylan seemed to figure something out. “Is this still about Eleanor coming back in town? I need to take care of her. I told you the day we started this mate bond, Eleanor would always be a dear friend of mine. You said you wouldn’t mind.” I felt a sharp pain in my heart. 3 years ago, my father-wolf was killed in a battle against another pack. From that moment on, Dylan’s attitude to me changed. He started to be around me and said he was willing to start a mate bond with me. I have had a crush on Dylan since I was a kid. I always hoped he would be my chosen mate. When he proposed under the moonlight, we were both in our wolf forms. I said yes. Since my father was the former Alpha, whoever became my mate would have a chance to become the new Alpha. On our mating ceremony, to my surprise, he invited the Southern witch to seal our bond for 3 years. He said, “I’m willing to be your mate. I’ll spend 3 years becoming the Alpha of our pack, taking over your father’s position. After 3 years, if I fail in becoming the Alpha, I will set you free. You need a werewolf who deserves you.” I naively thought he did this for my own good. So I went along with what he suggested. Word spread quickly through our pack. Eleanor was furious. She confronted Dylan when he moved in my father’s mansion, telling him to his face that she was leaving our pack. Dylan went crazy tracking her scent for days. But he couldn’t find her. He even used my father’s resources to look for her, like he had already forgotten I existed. He drank every day and looked so depressed. Until one night, he came home and kissed me roughly. I knew he was completely drunk, but I didn’t push him away. “Eleanor, why did you leave? Don’t you believe I would come back to you in 3 years?” When I heard her name coming out of Dylan’s mouth, I almost fell apart. That night was my first time. Dylan was barely conscious. He called Eleanor’s name the entire night. He kissed me so hard that my lips were bleeding. My body was covered in scratches from his wolf claws. The next morning, Dylan saw the blood. He looked at me, covered in wounds. He hugged me and kissed gently on my forehead. “From now on, it’s just you and me. You are my one and the only Luna.” After that, I became a housewife. Dylan gradually took over my father’s company and stepped into the role of Alpha. He always suffered from bad headaches. I used my knowledge of herbs to make him werewolf potion, to help him to ease the pain. Gradually, he started treating me like his true chosen mate. Sometimes he held me as we slept. I could feel the warmth of his werewolf body and his unique scent. Other than that, we never mentioned the 3-year seal on our mate bond again. I waited silently, hoping he might truly fall for me. One day, under the moonlight, he held me and said, “Ella, I love you. It’s true.” From then on, the whole pack knew he was deeply in love with me. I believed it. But I was wrong, this mark was about to fade anyway. Until 3 months ago, Eleanor called him again. He dropped an important meeting to run to her. We lost a big order because of that, which made us lose $2 billion. Our pack had been working on this order for half a year. What Dylan did would lead to a severe cash flow shortage. Such a decision could lead to our pack’s downfall. But I pretended nothing was wrong. “Are you going to say anything?” Dylan’s voice woke me up from my thoughts. “Don’t you remember…?” I was about to remind him when his cellphone rang. He answered it and I heard Eleanor’s voice. “Dylan, it’s my mother-wolf, I need you.” Chapter 2 Before I could say anything, Dylan moved to teleport out. He was in such a rush that he crashed straight into my shoulder. I heard a sharp crack in my shoulder. I cried out as I was thrown into the wall, leaving a hole where I hit. When I looked down, my shoulder was bleeding. Dylan was already gone. I took off my shirt and pulled out the healing herbs. I pressed the herbs to my shoulder, then forced myself to set it in place. The pain was almost unbearable. For 3 years, I had waited for this deadline, terrified he might just leave without a second thought. But today, I finally understood he had never truly loved me. It was always Eleanor. Dylan didn’t come home that night. The next day, I got a message from our vault management company. Dylan had taken my Golden Bloodroot Thistle from the vault. My mother-wolf had bought at a secret herb auction years ago. She paid $1 million for it. She told me about the Golden Bloodroot Thistle before she passed, “Keep it safe. If you ever get a wound that won’t heal, it will help. I won’t be able to be here of you anymore. Let it guard you instead.” Dylan knew how important it was to me. And he still took it without a word. I heard he had taken the herb to the healer’s place, so I drove over right away. When I walked in, I saw Eleanor leaning against him. Dylan looked annoyed seeing me, “What are you doing here?” “You took my Golden Bloodroot Thistle. That was my mother-wolf’s herb. Do you even know there’s only one left in the whole world? Give it back to me.” Then I noticed a bag he was holding, the herb inside was already crushed. Dylan frowned. “Eleanor’s mother-wolf is seriously ill. She needs this herb to survive. What’s the big deal? You don’t need it anyway.” I looked down on my shoulder. My blouse was soaked with blood from my shoulder. I suddenly realized that it was the power-enhancing potion I made for Dylan that kept my shoulder from healing. This potion could enhance an Alpha’s attack power and make the injured werewolf more vulnerable. After Dylan got together with me, he took this potion every day. I never thought I would end up being hurt by him. Dylan glanced at my shoulder, he looked a bit shocked, but he said nothing. The healer came out and said, “Now the herb is ready, I will need the Alpha’s blood to help Eleanor’s mother-wolf recover.” I knew this treatment. It needed the power of an Alpha’s blood to help the patient recover. It was risky. “Dylan. This is too dangerous. If Eleanor’s mother-wolf doesn’t make it through, you’ll die too.” “Did I ask for your opinion? This isn’t your call to make. I will do this for Eleanor.” Eleanor looked at me as if she had won. I watched him follow the healer into the room without a second thought. Eleanor sat across from me. She said, “I’m sorry for all the trouble. I didn’t expect he would still love me after all these years.” “You know, on my birthday last year, he crossed the Dark Woods just to bring me a crystal bracelet. It had ‘D&E’ carved into it. How romantic is him?! He even put our initials together.” The crystal bracelet? Dylan had given me a crystal bracelet with those exact letters. I thought it stood for “Dylan and Ella”. But it was actually “Dylan and Eleanor”. “I didn’t even look at it twice back then. I threw it off the balcony.” Eleanor added. I kept that bracelet like a treasure. “Another time, I had a fight with my boyfriend and called him. He came to my place right away, even though it was snowing. He stood outside all night, waiting for me. Can you believe it? I didn’t even let him in.” I even felt she was mocking Dylan for doing these things for her. That snowy night, Dylan came home after midnight, then slept with me for several times. I thought it was because he loved me. Now I knew it was just because he was so angry with her, and he took it out this way on me instead. I checked my calendar. Only 6 days left. It would be over and I would be free from all Dylan’s lies. Eleanor wanted to say more, but I stood up. “Eleanor, I get it. You need him. He is all yours.” Neither Dylan nor Eleanor would have nothing to do with me. It was about time for me to actually live for myself. Chapter 3 When I got home, I started packing right away. I didn’t even care if he would survive from the treatment. If he didn’t make it, it would just be his destiny. The next day, it was from Eleanor’s social media page that I knew he was still alive. I saw a photo of him lying in a healing room, looking extremely weak, but he was still massaging Eleanor’s shoulders. Eleanor wrote, “My Alpha, who truly loves me.” Before, he would always hug me when he got home. He would massage my shoulders and tell me not to overwork myself with the housework. That Dylan was gone. He couldn’t even bother to ask about my bleeding shoulder anymore. I took a deep breath. It was all okay. Only 5 days left, from this point on, I would only love myself. I was planning to wait for Dylan to come home, so I could let him know I was moving out. However, Dylan didn’t come home. Until 3 days later, he suddenly came back. I was even a bit surprised to see him again. He walked straight to our cloakroom and changed into a tuxedo without even glancing at me. He said, “There’s a family gathering at my mother-wolf’s place. Don’t you embarrass me.” I thought it was time to settle things with his family too, so I put on a long silk dress and went with him. Everyone was chatting and drinking at the family dinner. Then someone said, “Ella, you and Dylan have been married for years. Shouldn’t you guys have a pup by now?” “Yeah, Dylan is the Alpha now. You really should have given him an heir.” An heir? Not even in his dreams. I looked at Dylan. He was busy checking his phone. It wasn’t until his mother-wolf asked him again that he decided to reply. “We have no plans for that.” He wasn’t loud, but everyone fell silent right away. Having an heir was crucial for an Alpha to keep his position within the family. His mother-wolf, Joanna, looked angry. I knew she would never be angry with her precious Dylan. She would only take it out on me. After dinner, Joanna walked up to me and gave me an angry look. “You. Come with me. I need to talk to you.” Dylan noticed this too. He pulled me closer. “If you have something to say, you can say it here, mother-wolf.” But Dylan’s cellphone rang again. I heard him say the word “Eleanor” in a soft voice, and at that moment, I knew he wouldn’t speak up for me at all. Joanna’s servants grabbed me to her private cave and force me to my knees. The cold surface was extremely cold in this season. My wound on my shoulder began to tear apart again. She turned her back to me. “It has been too long and you still haven’t given us an heir. Dylan was busy with his duties as the Alpha, but you are not taking your Luna’s responsibilities seriously.” She pulled out a bottle of herbal potion and threw it at my feet. “This is a fertility potion. You will drink it every day from now on.” I knew at a glance that it was a fertility poison. This kind of poison had severe side effects for the mother-wolf. I might die in giving birth to the pup. If it was a month ago, I might have taken it just to please her. But in 2 days, my mate bond with Dylan would expire. I looked at her and said, “I won’t take this. Not now, not ever!” Joanna was a bit shocked and turned around to face me. “What did you say?” I repeated, “I said I won’t take it. Dylan and I won’t have a pup with him.” Joanna was really angry. “I’ve heard you even let Dylan used his own blood to help Eleanor’s mother-wolf! Do you have no sense of your duties as the Luna?” Joanna tried to grab me and force me to take it. She grabbed my injured should and it hurt terribly. Her other hand raised as if to slap me, but suddenly, a hand caught hers. To my surprise, it was Dylan. Chapter 4 Dylan looked at Joanna firmly. “I told you, we wouldn’t rush into having pups! This is Ella’s choice. You can’t force her.” In that moment, I even felt he was protecting me. But it was all too late. My wound split open. Blood soaked through my dress. I had lost too much blood. My vision started to blur, then I fainted. The last thing I saw was Dylan’s burred figure. He held me tightly and called my name. “Ella, I love you. Don’t you leave me…” When I woke up, I found myself in the Wind Ripping pack’s healer’s home. Tanya was an old friend of my mother-wolf’s once. She told Dylan, “You did the right thing taking her here. The wounds on her back are deep.” Dylan signed, “Please the best herbs you have. I will pay you no matter how much it costs.” Dylan turned around and noticed I was awake. To my surprise, he looked worried. “Are you feeling okay?” I tried to move, but I could feel a burning pain on my back. “Why are you even here? I’m sure someone else needs you more.” I thought he would turn around and leave, but he didn’t. I could also tell that he looked at me with complicated emotions. “Why didn’t you tell me you were hurt this badly?” “You were busy with Eleanor. If I had called you, would you have come immediately?” “Of course I would,” he said. His answer wasn’t what I had expected. “Ella, trust me this time. I will stay here and take care of you tonight.” For once, Dylan actually kept his word. He didn’t leave. He carefully changed my bandages, prepared my meals and rushed to find Tanya for more pain-relieving herbs when I had the backache. At night, he lied down gently beside me to keep me company. It almost felt like the best time we had ever shared. But I knew in my heart this wouldn’t last. Tanya’s treatment worked well, and I felt much better the next morning. When Dylan helped change the bandages, I showed him how much better my wounds looked. Dylan’s hands ran over my back, then suddenly froze. When our eyes met, I could see that his eyes were filled with lust. He hadn’t looked at me like that for quite a long time. Dylan leaned down to me. He slowly pressed me back onto the bed. Just as his lips were about to meet mine, I heard a crash. I turned to see Eleanor standing by the door. She looked so disappointed. The bowl of werewolf’s stew she had been holding had fallen to the floor. The bowl shattered into pieces. The werewolf’s stew splashed everywhere. Eleanor stood there, as if she were the Luna and I was the one cheated with Dylan. "I'm sorry. Am I disturbing something? Ella, Dylan had already spent so much time taking care of you! I needed him as well. How could you do this to us?!” Chapter 5 Dylan stopped what he was doing right away. Eleanor’s voice was trembling with sobs. Then, she turned to leave. “Eleanor!” He teleported away. When he teleported, his movement was too fast. He tore my wound open again. I could feel the pain. I wanted to cry, but somehow, I laughed at myself for trusting him again. It was Tanya who found me, the bed had already been soaked with my blood. When I woke up again, an elder from the pack called and asked me how the preparations for the annual Full Moon Ceremony were going. The Full Moon Ceremony was extremely important for an Alpha. All the elders would come to pay their respects, along with members from other packs. Every year, I was the only one handling everything, as his Luna. I usually arranged all the details according to Dylan's preferences. It required a lot of time and energy, because I needed to confirm every guest, every seat and every decoration. The elders asked, “Is everything okay?” I took a deep breath and said, "Yes.” This would be my last Full Moon Ceremony as Dylan’s Luna. After 2 days, I wouldn’t be Dylan’s Luna or even stay in this pack anymore. On that day, I was among the guests, busy arranging seats for everyone. When I turned around, I saw Dylan and Eleanor walking in. Dylan was wearing the blue tuxedo I had bought him and Eleanor was wearing a blue dress that matched his, as if they were the Alpha and the Luna. He and Eleanor kept chatting with other werewolves, as if I was just one of the servants. Then it came to the part where everyone presented gifts to pay tribute to the Alpha. Dylan received many valuable gifts. What I had prepared was a battle bracelet made of pigeon blood red crystals. Such a battle bracelet would enhance the owner's defensive abilities during battles, and I had started searching for it half a year ago. A guest said, “There were very few pigeon blood red crystals like this in the world. It would cost more than a million!” “It must have been bought at an auction, only something this worthy can be used as a gift for our Alpha.” I saw Dylan’s eyes light up when he looked at the gift. I had been with him for 3 years. I knew this bracelet was just to his taste. Clearly, he liked it. But he only nodded at me, as if I were a stranger. Eleanor stepped forward and picked out her own gift from the pile. Hers was a pair of werewolf gloves. It was too roughly made. The crowd fell silent instantly. Someone laughed and others began clapping in a provocative way. “These gloves don’t even have high-quality fur. They’re made from mixed fur of different animals.” “Look at those! The two gloves aren’t even the same size. How could anyone give such a gift to the Alpha at a gathering this important?” Before Eleanor could say a word, Dylan pulled her behind. A low growl rumbled in his throat. The crowd went deathly quiet. All the werewolves cautiously lowered their heads. Because this meant the Alpha was angry. Dylan picked up the gloves. Obviously, they didn’t fit him. He forced them on, held his hands up and declared, “This is the best gift I’ve received. Compared to all these expensive things, I prefer Eleanor’s.” Eleanor looked up into Dylan’s eyes and said, “I made this specifically for you. But it seems to pale next to others’ gifts, like that bracelet. It makes me sad.” When Dylan heard this, he stepped forward and picked up the bracelet. He held it up, and said, “Eleanor’s handmade gift touched my heart more. As for this…” He dropped the bracelet to the ground and crushed it under his shoe. I heard the sound of it shattering. That bracelet could keep him stay unharmed in battles. But now, none of that mattered. He would choose to humiliate me in front of the whole pack just to make Eleanor feel better, letting everyone laugh at me. That was enough. I felt our mate bond weaken more. The werewolf I had once loved so deeply was gone. The day after tomorrow, I wouldn’t be his mate anymore. Dylan would be free. So would I. Chapter 6 Every time, Dylan would choose Eleanor over me. Just like today, when he didn’t hesitate to crush my gift to protect her pride. During the second half of the Full Moon Ceremony, everyone gossiped about what had just happened. Some she-wolves pointed at me behind my back, while others gathered around Eleanor, as if she were new already the new Luna. I stood at the door and saw off the werewolves until the last one left. I let out a breath of relief. But I spot Dylan and Eleanor still standing by the gate. Snow had started falling. Winter had come unusually early this year. I decided to ignore them and walked inside, but Dylan called out to me. He said impatiently, “Eleanor’s feeling cold. Give her your fur shawl.” I looked at the shawl on my shoulders. It was a gift from my mother-wolf, her most beloved one. The fur on it was made from rare animals my father had hunted. I looked at Eleanor, she was already wearing Dylan’s blue tuxedo coat. “You have already given her your coat. Isn’t that enough?” I asked. Eleanor sneezed intentionally. “Dylan, I feel so cold.” Dylan pulled the fur shawl off me and put it over Eleanor’s shoulders. “Dylan, are you crazy? This was my mother-wolf’s…” I started. He didn’t even let me finish my words, “I know it was your late mother-wolf’s. So what? Eleanor just needs it for a while.” I reached out and grabbed a corner of the shawl, but Dylan dragged my hand away. Eleanor said, “I’ll wash it and return it to you when I’m done.” I said, “No. This was handmade by my mother-wolf. It can only be dry cleaned. I’ll have someone pick it up at your apartment door tomorrow morning to get it back.” Eleanor rolled her eyes at me. She got into the limo and called out to Dylan, “Are you coming?” Dylan seemed about to say something to me, but he glanced at me and got into the limo. The limo disappeared into the snow. At that moment, I felt so cold. I was left all alone. My phone was almost dead when I finally got a ride. By the time I got home to our mansion, I felt my head burning up. I got a fever. I made myself some herbal tea and quickly fell asleep. In the middle of the night, I felt my heart racing and my whole body ached. I touched the other side of the bed with my hand. No surprise. He didn’t come back. The next day, I felt much better but was still weak. I checked my cellphone and was shocked to see a photo from Eleanor. She had soaked my shawl in her bathtub. I could see that the fur had fallen off and been ruined. Then Eleanor sent a message: “Oops, I forgot. But this shawl of yours can’t be that expensive, right? I heard it was made by your mother-wolf herself. I’ll pay you $10 for it. That’s quite enough for a second-hand trash.” I even noticed traces of the fur on the shawl was neatly cut. She did it on purpose. I teleported out and got in the car. She could mess with me, but she shouldn’t do this to my mother-wolf’s shawl. I drove fast all the way to Eleanor’s apartment and knocked hard on the door. Eleanor opened the door wearing a lace silk nightgown, looking like she hadn’t woken up yet. She looked at me in shock and asked, "What are you doing here? How did you know where I live?" I asked her, "Where’s the shawl? Give it to me or I will kill you." She shrugged and said, “It’s still in the bathtub. What do you want it for? Didn’t I say I would give you $10? You didn’t have to come all the way to my place over such a cheap thing.” I could barely control myself. My hands shifted into wolf claws, and I scratched hard at Eleanor’s face. Blood flowed down her face. “Why did you do this to me? That thing is worthless!” I didn’t back down. I grabbed her by the chin and asked, “Did you do it on purpose? You did all of these on purpose, didn’t you?” “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” “Don’t act like you are the innocent one! You deliberately came back at this time, got close to Dylan, made him help your mother-wolf, told me about you two’s sweet past, interrupted our kiss in the hospital, and destroyed my mother-wolf’s shawl. Let me tell you, don’t play tricks on me. The reason I didn’t confront you before isn’t because I’m weak.” Suddenly, Eleanor put on a weak look and sat down on the floor. She said, “I really don’t understand why you’re treating me like this.” Just then, I heard a familiar voice. “Ella, have you had enough of this nonsense?” I saw the bedroom door open. Dylan walked out shirtless. He looked at me as if I were his enemy. Chapter 7 “Eleanor, are you okay? Did she hurt you?” Dylan teleported to her side in a flash. He helped her stand up and gently touched her face, as if those small wounds might leave a scar on a werewolf. The way he looked at me was completely different. “How dare you hit her? Have you lost your mind?” Dylan was angry. “Because she destroyed my shawl. On purpose.” Dylan frowned. “It’s just a shawl. Why do you have to do this?” “Just a shawl? Don’t you remember? It was my mother-wolf’s most cherished possession. You have lost your mind after Eleanor came back, Dylan.” Dylan froze. Maybe he had finally remembered what that shawl meant to me. We had been mates for 3 years, and I had never spoken to him like this. He cleared his throat and said, “But Eleanor didn’t mean it. She already offered to buy that shawl. The shawl is ruined now. Stop being unreasonable.” He pulled out a checkbook, scribbled a number and tossed the check at me. “Is this enough?” The check landed at my feet. I didn’t pick it up. Dylan glanced at me, then wrote another check and threw it down too. “Enough now? How much do you want?” He looked at me like we were negotiating a business deal. When I still didn’t move, he wrote a third check. This one was for $1 million. Before he could drop it, I took it from his hand. “Fine, you two enjoy yourselves.” I turned to leave. Tomorrow, our mate bond would disappear. There was no point in wasting my time here. But before I could step out, Dylan grabbed my wrist. “The money is for the shawl. But you hit Eleanor. You need to apologize to her.” “What did you say?” “Apologize to Eleanor. Now.” “And if I don’t?” I could feel my tears in my eyes. “Then I’ll destroy every business your father-wolf left behind.” I looked at him. He really felt like a stranger, or even an enemy. My father-wolf had trusted him with his entire business when he died. And now? He had taken it all and was threatening to burn it down for Eleanor. I didn’t say a word. Eleanor stepped forward. “A Luna who can’t apologize for her own mistake? What would the pack think if they knew?” She pushed hard against my back. My wound split open again. I crumpled to my knees. Eleanor pressed her hand to my head, forcing it down. “This is how you should beg for forgiveness. Understand?” He said, “Let it go, Eleanor.” For a second, Dylan looked nervous. He reached out to help me up, but I stood on my own. I said nothing. I just walked out. As I left the apartment, I heard Eleanor talk to Dylan. “She scratched my face! What if it scars? It hurts so bad…” His voice was soft when he replied, “It won’t. I’ll find the best healer in the whole world for you.” I got in my car and hit the gas. A tear slipped out, but I wiped it away fast, as if I was erasing every sweet memory I had ever shared with Dylan. Dylan didn’t call me or come home. I waited for him until the morning of our 3-year mate bond. I went to see the Southern witch alone. I watched as she cast the spell. I could almost feel that our mate bond was being destroyed. The mark on my wrist vanished. I touched the skin where the mark was, it was completely gone, as if that mark had never existed at all. Just like our mate bond. It was over. From now on, Dylan means nothing to me.