

William Coffey and Shelly Richards had been together for years, deeply in love. But just before they could get married, tragedy struck—William's sister Lea died in an incident involving Shelly's younger brother. The Coffey family was devastated and blamed Shelly, their grief turning into resentment. While William was in the hospital, his mother forced Shelly to leave. At the time, Shelly was already pregnant, but with nowhere to turn, she had no choice but to leave the country. Five years later, Shelly returned and ran into William again. The feelings he had buried for so long came rushing back. He still resented her for disappearing without a word, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop loving her.

For five years, Gideon—my brother's Beta—and I had a secret.We were supposed to announce our mating at the pack's Winter Solstice festival.Instead, he breathed hot against my ear."Babe, we've been sleeping together for five years. I'm bored with you. Find someone else for the marking ceremony, alright?"I didn't cry. I just gave a calm, simple nod. "Alright."Only because in my last life, I had begged him through tears to complete the bond.After he finally marked me, he grew cold.He never again woke me by rubbing his stubbled chin against my forehead.Even when we made love, he kept his eyes shut, as if he were wit for my life, he left me.He was going to comfort his savior, Aveline. The old wound she suffered saving him had relapsed, sending her into a mental spiral. In that moment, I finally understood.A mark I had to beg for was nothing but a curse, a wound that would never heal.This time, I pulled away with a smile, removing his hand from my waist. "You're right. I'm tired of it, too. We're done."h someone else, just using my body.When I was in agony giving birth to our pup, fighting