My Ex Tore Off My Amulet Now Another Wears It

I was born with a curse. I can't distinguish the scent of werewolves, nor can I sense the connection to a fated mate. I can only rely on the moonstone amulets I craft by hand to identify them.

My Alpha mate, Ethan Sterling, never seemed to mind.

Until the day of our bonding ceremony.

He suddenly received a mind-link from his childhood sweetheart, Jessica Vance.

Jessica was in a difficult labor, her life hanging by a thread. She was crying, demanding he come to her at once.

My voice trembled with desperation. "Ethan! If you leave now, we will sever our mate bond!"

But he left anyway. To gain more speed, he shifted into his wolf, ripping the moonstone amulet I had carved for him from his chest and racing into the distance without a backward glance.

A year later, Ethan returned. By then, I was pregnant and celebrating our pup's blessing ceremony with another Alpha. An Alpha who wore the very moonstone amulet Ethan had discarded.

Ethan lost his mind, claiming I was his mate, but no one in the pack believed him.

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1

"Elysia, Jessica is fading. She's in labor, and it's critical. I have to go."

"Ethan, wait." I pleaded, but he had already snapped the communication crystal shut, turning to leave without a moment's hesitation.

I grabbed his arm, my voice trembling. "But this is our bonding ceremony. All the pack members are watching."

His brow furrowed, his face a mask of agitation. He pried my fingers, one by one, from his ceremonial robes. "Elysia, don't you have any compassion? Jessica needs me right now. We'll postpone the ceremony. I'll make it up to you another day."

Tears streamed down my cheeks, smudging the blessing marks the pack elder had painted on my skin. But I still couldn't let go.

The guests below were stunned, a dead silence falling over the sacred grounds.

Just moments ago, Ethan had been kissing me in front of all of them.

The moment he received Jessica's message, he transformed. The tenderness from a second before vanished without a trace, and he was determined to leave.

He had chosen Jessica again. For years, her name had been like a silver thorn lodged between us, impossible to remove.

Time and time again, I had bitten my tongue, but today was our bonding ceremony.

"Ethan," I said softly, forcing my trembling voice to steady, "I've stayed silent every other time you chose her. But this is a once-in-a-lifetime event. You swore to the Moon Goddess that you would always cherish me. For the sake of our bonding ceremony, please stay. I'm begging you."

He hesitated, his tone softening slightly. "Elysia, I'll never forget what the Thorne Pack has done for me all these years, nor will I forget the vows I made to you. But Jessica and I grew up together. She sacrificed so much for me. I wouldn't be who I am today without her. It's a debt I can never repay."

"She's in danger now. I can't just stand by and do nothing."

A knot of pain twisted in my stomach.

Jessica and Ethan had struggled out of the barren borderlands together, she by his side as he rose to become the pack's strongest Alpha.

Her own mate had even sacrificed himself in battle to help Ethan.

I knew Jessica held a special place in his heart, but I was the mate he was supposed to be bonding with at this very moment.

A sharp pain shot through my chest as I choked out the words, "She has the pack's best healers, the best care. She doesn't need you, but I do."

He gave me one last look, his eyes cold and resolute.

Then, he turned and sprinted toward the edge of the woods.

To gain maximum speed, he tore off the moonstone amulet from his chest that hindered the flow of his power and shifted into his wolf. The amulet traced an arc through the air before landing on the grass, scattered with moonflowers.

I stumbled after him, shouting at the back of his massive wolf form. "Ethan! If you leave now, we will sever our mate bond!"

For a heartbeat, his massive wolf form paused, but in the end, he didn't turn back, vanishing into the edge of the forest.

The cold wind whipped at my ceremonial gown and veil, carrying away the last shred of my hope.

He was gone. Just like every time before, whenever Jessica needed him, he would always abandon me.

I remembered the time we were ambushed while patrolling the territory's border. He nearly died protecting her. But after Jessica was brought back to safety by our packmates, she focused only on her own recovery and never once came to see him.

But I had given up a chance to be promoted to Rune Master just to stay by his side in the healing chamber.

I brewed herbs for him with my own hands, cleaned his wounds, and spent countless sleepless nights fighting back the poison of the wolfsbane.

The scars from the wolfsbane burns are still on my hands.

When he woke up and learned everything I had done for him, he pulled me into his arms, his heart aching for me.

He said his life was mine now, that he could disappoint anyone else in the world, but he would never disappoint me.

And yet, with a single message from Jessica, he had abandoned me at our bonding ceremony.