Second Chance Mate Regretted

I'm Margot Blake, and Jaxon Calloway? He's my sworn enemy, the kind that makes your blood boil and your heart ache all at once. Everyone in our circle knows it. We've been bound for eight years, and we've been at each other's throats for every single one of them.

Our binding night? He leaked my private photos, so I smashed a glass over his head. He'd parade she-wolves into our home night after night, and I'd shatter his prized trophies to dust. He humiliated me at a fancy business gala, so I doused him with a glass of coffee in front of everyone. It's been a war, plain and simple.

But it's all about to end.

I stared down at the late-stage liver cancer report in my hands, the healer's words still echoing: "Three weeks, tops." Weirdly, I didn't feel crushed. If anything, it felt like. freedom.

My phone buzzed like crazy, messages flooding in.

Margot! Check the group chat NOW!

Jaxon's lost it!!

He's auctioning off a night with you at some fancy event!

My fingers froze, my blood turning to ice. Jaxon, you ruthless bastard.

I grabbed my car keys and tore out the door, speeding to the auction venue.

The place was all glitz and glamour, lights sparkling like a wolf's eyes in the dark. There was Jaxon, looking every bit the smug alpha. Next to him sat a she-wolf in a pink dress.

My heart stopped when I saw her face. Aubrey Cross. The she-wolf Jaxon picked because she's the spitting image of my sister, Lauren Blake.

On the big screen, my private photos were playing like some sick slideshow. Below, wolves were shouting bids, their voices hungry.

"Three million!"

"Five million!"

"eight million!"

A bald wolf leapt to his feet, his jowls quivering. "Fifty million! For one night with Margot!"

The room erupted. I stood there, rooted, my blood frozen solid.

I looked at Jaxon, but he didn't spare me a glance. Just nodded lazily. "Sold."

The bald wolf waddled over, his greasy eyes raking me up and down.

"Jaxon, I can really take her?"

"Of course," Jaxon said, his lips curling, his eyes cold as frost. "Money's in, she's yours."

His words stabbed me like a knife, straight through the heart.

The bald wolf reached for me, probably picturing some sleazy hotel room. I snatched a glass from the table and smashed it over his head with a satisfying crack. Glass flew everywhere, blood trickling down his face.

"Touch me, and you're dead," I snarled, my voice shaking despite myself. "Whoever bid, I'll double your money back. Now get the hell out."

The room went dead silent.

Jaxon chuckled, slow-clapping like I was some kind of performance. "Margot, still fierce as ever."

He sauntered over, leaning in close, his breath warm against my ear. "But I can auction you once, I can do it again. Twice. Three times. How much cash you got to keep buying yourself back, Margot?"

I looked up at him, my eyes burning. "Jaxon, do you hate me that much?"

"Hate?" His gaze turned arctic, like I'd said something hilarious. "You killed the Three wolves I cared about most. What do you think?"

My heart clenched, like an invisible fist was squeezing it. I thought of his brother, Henry Calloway. That gentle wolf, always smiling, always there for me growing up. If I asked, he gave. When my pup heart started to flutter, it was for Henry, no question.

And Jaxon? He was head over heels for my sister, Lauren Blake. Her soft voice, her warm, crescent-moon smile. Back then, the four of us would hang out. Jaxon and I would bicker like feral pups, while Henry and Lauren just watched, laughing at our antics.

Until that day.

Henry took Lauren's hand in front of our families and announced they were forming a sacred bond. I was gutted, like lightning had struck me. I locked myself in my room, crying all night. I couldn't accept it, so I ran away from home in a stupid, impulsive fit.

Henry and Lauren, worried sick, went looking for me. They never made it back. A car crash took them both.

I spent days kneeling in the memorial hall, sobbing until I nearly passed out. Jaxon was the one who picked me up, wiped my tears, and stayed by my side through the darkest nights. When nightmares woke me, he'd flick on the light. When I couldn't eat, he'd cook for me. When I cried myself awake at 3 a.m., he'd hand me a glass of warm water without a word.

I started to lean on him, on that warmth.

Then, one late night, he said, "Margot, I've fallen for you. Will you form a sacred bond with me?"

I was stunned.

"I'll take care of you forever," he said, his eyes so deep I felt my heart shake. "You've felt something for me too, haven't you? These past months?"

He wasn't wrong. He'd pulled me from drowning, lit a lamp in my darkness. Somewhere along the way, I'd fallen for the wolf I used to fight tooth and nail.

So I said yes.

On the day of our binding ceremony, I stood in a dress, clutching my bouquet, nervous but hopeful. I thought it was a new beginning. Until the banquet hall's screen lit up with my private photos.

"Like my mate's figure?" Jaxon stood on the stage, smirking coldly. "Consider these photos my gift to you all."

I froze, my blood turning to ice.

"Jaxon." My voice trembled. "What is this?"

"What is it?" He stepped down, grabbed my chin. "You killed Henry and Lauren. Did you really think I loved you? I bound you to me so you'd pay for their deaths, forever."

I laughed bitterly, my body shaking with cold rage. Amid the whispers and stares, I grabbed a wine glass and smashed it over his head.

That's how our bond began. Eight years of tearing each other apart.

Neither of us has moved on.

"It wasn't my fault." I clutched the cancer report, my voice unsteady. "Jaxon, can we just. get along for Three weeks? No fighting. After that, our grudges will be done."

Because in Three weeks, I'd be gone, and so would our feud.

Jaxon laughed like I'd told a bad joke. "You, lying now? What could possibly end this?"

"Margot," he said, his voice hard, "this only ends when one of us is dead."

My heart turned to ice. So that's how it is.

"Three weeks," I said softly. "You'll see then. I'll give you your closure."

He sneered. "Fine. I'll be waiting to see how you make up for lost lives."