His Regret Means Nothing When You're the White Wolf

I spent years poring over ancient medical texts, working tirelessly as an Omega healer just to prove myself worthy of my fated mate, Alpha Jaxon.

But he treated me like dirt, preferring the company of my best friend, Beta Serena.

They even made a cruel bet in the dining hall, using my sacred mate bond as a jealous joke to win a rare dessert.

The ultimate betrayal came during a critical emergency surgery.

Serena's hand trembled, dropping a silver scalpel that sliced an Elder's vein and nearly killed him.

Instead of holding her accountable, Jaxon used his Alpha Command to force me to my knees.

"How could you make such a rookie mistake? You almost killed the Elder, Chloe!"

He wasn't blind. He knew exactly what happened.

But he deliberately blamed me to protect his perfect Beta's reputation, sacrificing my hard-earned career and letting the council publicly humiliate me.

I had dedicated my entire life to soothing the beast inside him, and Serena was the loyal girl who used to defend me from bullies.

I couldn't understand how the two people I trusted most could sacrifice me without a second thought.

But as I looked at their cold, unapologetic faces, the heavy iron chain of our mate bond finally snapped deep within my chest.

I calmly handed in my resignation, rejected the Alpha, and packed my bags.

It was time to leave this toxic pack for good, and awaken the ancient White Wolf bloodline dormant in my veins.

Chapter 1

Chloe POV

I knelt on the cold cobblestones of the border town, my fingers, stiff and trembling, fumbling with the laces of a leather boot.

The damp evening fog clung to my skin like a second, colder hide, carrying the scent of rain and wet pine.

It was a smell that ordinarily brought a quiet settling to my soul, for it was his smell.

A faint dusting of grit came away on my palms as I rose, brushing my simple linen dress.

When I looked down the narrow street, a knot tightened in the base of my throat.

My fated mate, Alpha Jaxon, was walking away.

Beside him walked Serena, my best friend and the highest-ranking Beta healer in our pack.

Their shoulders brushed.

They were a portrait of rank and power, two wolves of stature bathed in the jaundiced light of the streetlamps.

I reached out to him through our mind-link, the telepathic bridge the Moon Goddess gifted to pack members.

Jaxon, wait for me, I called out softly in my mind.

A heavy silence answered me.

He had shuttered the connection, erecting a thick, soundless wall to bar my presence entirely.

A dull ache began to radiate from the center of my chest, heavy and suffocating as a burial shroud.

I stared at their retreating backs. I remembered the sting of freezing mud against my cheek, the laughter of older bullies. Serena had stood before me then, a small, defiant shape baring tiny fangs in my defense. That loyal girl was a ghost, replaced by a woman who reveled in the height of her new station.

I was an Omega, the lowest rank in the Silver Moon Pack.

I had spent every waking hour poring over texts on herbs and healing magics, a desperate campaign to prove myself worthy of an Alpha. He secretly relied on the chamomile I brewed to quiet the storms in his head, on my very scent to function, yet in the light of day, he treated me as if I were dirt beneath his heel.

But looking at them now, a deep exhaustion settled into my bones.

For the first time, the pull of the mate bond felt more like a heavy iron chain than a blessing.

I turned my back to them and walked alone into the dark forest.

*A strange chill rippled down my spine as I walked-not from the cold, but from somewhere deeper, as if something long dormant had stirred in its sleep. *

When I finally reached the dispensary at the Pack Hospital, the air was thick with the smell of dried herbs and medicinal alcohol.

Two Omega nurses were grinding leaves at the wooden counter.

They looked up when I walked in, their eyes full of curiosity.

"Chloe, didn't you trade shifts to go on a date with the Alpha?" one of them asked softly.

I forced the muscles of my face into the shape of a small, polite smile and walked over to my station.

"The Alpha is busy. Serena needed to discuss defense formations with him," I replied, keeping my voice perfectly calm.

I did not tell them how Serena had interrupted us just as we sat down for dinner.

My mind drifted back to the Pack dinner from the night before.

The great hall was loud, filled with the warmth of the fire and the laughter of warriors.

I had begged Jaxon not to talk about wounded wolves at the dinner table, just for one night.

He ignored me completely.

He and Serena spent the entire meal leaning over a map, whispering about advanced werewolf tactics.

My faint Omega scent was utterly consumed by their powerful, dominant auras.

I was sitting right next to my mate, but I had never felt so invisible.

Suddenly, the loud howl of the warning bell echoed through the hospital.

A rogue wolf attack had broken out at the pack border.

I grabbed my medical kit, my heart racing as I prepared to run to the rescue wagons.

Just then, a voice echoed in my head.

Serena took a minor hit during the first wave, so I'm bringing her back to the hospital. The assault is contained, but the cleanup will fall to your medical team, Jaxon said through the mind-link.

His voice was casual, devoid of any concern for my safety.

Understood, I replied, cutting the link before he could hear the tremor in my breath.

Hours later, the chaos in the hospital finally slowed down.

I had bandaged the last wounded warrior, my hands stained with dried blood.

I walked out into the quiet, dimly lit corridor.

Jaxon was standing there, leaning against the stone wall.

When he saw me, he stepped forward and pulled me into his chest.

He buried his face in the crook of my neck, inhaling deeply.

He was addicted to my scent, relying on it to soothe the restless beast within him after every battle, a weakness he would never admit in public.

My neck ached from his rough grip, but I stood perfectly still, letting him take what he needed.

He pulled back, his eyes dark and serious.

He grabbed my arm and pulled me into the empty stairwell.

A sharp ringing began deep in my eardrums; the oxygen in my lungs felt as though it were being drawn out by an invisible hand, forcing my spine to instinctively arch.

It was a fraction of his Alpha's Command, the absolute authority that forced lower-ranking wolves into submission.

"Where did you disappear to this afternoon?" he demanded, his voice cold.

I looked up at him, my eyes wide. "You left me in the town. You blocked our link."

"You are acting immature, Chloe," he scolded, his tone full of disappointment.

"Serena is under a massive amount of stress managing the medical team. You should be more considerate of her, instead of throwing tantrums."

I stared at the man the Moon Goddess had made for me.

His eyes held nothing but annoyance and a deep, lingering disgust for my Omega status.

My inner wolf let out a pathetic, dying whimper inside my mind.

The hope I had been holding onto for years crumbled into dust.

I bit down hard on my lower lip until I tasted rust, but my vision blurred uncontrollably nonetheless, a single warm drop tracing a path down my jawline to land on the back of my hand.

"I understand," I whispered, my voice a hollowed-out rasp. "It won't happen again."

Jaxon sighed, his expression softening just a fraction.

He reached out and patted the top of my head, like I was a lost pup.

I lifted my arms, silently asking for a hug to soothe the freezing cold in my chest.

He stepped back, avoiding my touch.

"I have to go. Serena is waiting to discuss the treatment for the silver wounds," he said, turning around.

Silver was the only metal that could burn and poison a werewolf, and the cases were highly critical.

He walked through the heavy wooden door, leaving me alone in the dark stairwell.

A moment later, a small communication crystal on the wall began to pulse with a soft, warm light.

I picked it up slowly.

It was my father, his voice warm and eager.

"Chloe, honey, is the Alpha coming to our house for dinner tonight? Your mother made his favorite roast."

I covered my mouth with my hand, biting down hard to stop the sob from escaping my lips.

I swallowed the bitter taste of my own tears.

"No, Dad," I said, my voice eerily calm. "The Alpha isn't coming."

*I pressed my forehead against the cold stone wall after the call ended. Somewhere in the depths of my chest, beneath the grief, a faint pulse of heat flickered-so brief I almost missed it. My mother's bloodline, she once told me, was older than the Silver Moon Pack itself. I had never asked what she meant. Now, for the first time, I wondered. *