Break up with the cold alpha

Chapter 1

My mother was gravely ill, and the pack healers couldn't do anything about it. Her veins turned dark from the mysterious sickness, and she had suffered for years.

Her biggest wish before she died was to see me claimed by my fated mate, Isaiah Forrester of Oceans Howl Pack, one of the Alpha's sons and a candidate for that title.

When Isaiah finally agreed to mark me and claim me as his mate, promising to marry me and go through the mateship ceremony, he disappeared.

On the very day he promised, the same day my mother died, he was nowhere to be found. She passed away with regret in her heart.

The next day, I overheard the Omega maids talking. Isaiah had gone to Bette's residence in the pack territory to take care of his childhood friend. While we were all prepared for the ceremony, he was with her, worried about another woman.

--

After that day, I didn't cry or make a fuss. I handled my mother's funeral alone, silently. I wasn't surprised that Isaiah had left me for Bette. After being together for years as fated mates, Bette could always take him away with just a call. I didn't even want to know what happened this time. I had no interest in her excuses.

After my mother's funeral, I returned to our shared residence. Isaiah was absent, and I didn't want to see him. As I packed my luggage, preparing to leave him and the pack, Bette walked in with Isaiah.

He looked stunned to see me and then frowned at the suitcase beside me. "Phoebe, what are you doing?" His tone insinuated that I was being unreasonable again.

Bette smiled at me innocently, holding onto Isaiah tightly as if to declare her hold on him. "I'm so sorry, Phoebe. My arm was hurt that day, and Isaiah came to take care of me. I didn't know it was your wedding and mateship ceremony."

I glanced at the small bandages on her left arm. This was why Isaiah left me? The injury didn't even look life-threatening. The thought of it made my wolf howl in pain. She had suffered for years because of Isaiah's neglect and rejection. I suddenly felt ridiculous. In his heart, my mother and I were less important than Bette's arm.

"I want to break up with you, Isaiah!" The moment my mother died in my arms, all the love I had for him vanished. Everything felt wrong.

Isaiah thought I was acting up again out of jealousy. "Can you be more sensible, Phoebe? We can have the wedding anytime. I can claim you anytime, but Bette was injured. I couldn't just ignore it!"

'Could you be more sensible?' Isaiah had said that to me countless times. But what should I do to be considered sensible?

Because Isaiah said Bette was like a sister to him, I allowed a third person to exist in our relationship. I let him carry medicine for Bette, run to her when I needed him most, and let her occupy half his heart. I tolerated it all because he said she had a rare wolf disease, making her unable to heal and sensitive to danger. But my sensibility only gained me more harm. I had enough of this life!

I looked at Isaiah coldly. "You can do whatever you want in the future. I won't care anymore."

I pulled my luggage past him. Isaiah finally noticed something was wrong and grabbed my arm. "Was your mom dissatisfied with what happened that day? I can explain to her."

He didn't even know what had happened. He was so busy with Bette that he didn't notice someone had died. The thought of it was enough to kill me and torment my wolf.

Thankfully, I could control my scent well, or he would know how much pain he inflicted on me. Being ignored like this hurt, and if I could, I would sever our connection instantly.

It had been days, and if he cared about me, he wouldn't say such stupid things. I pried his hand away. "There's no need."

I had always been cautious, gentle, and accommodating to Isaiah. I had never been as indifferent as I was now.

Isaiah looked at my back, stunned. As he came to his senses, he tried to chase after me, but Bette stopped him. "Isaiah, this is not your fault. Remember, if her mother hadn't pretended to be sick, you wouldn't have been forced to marry and claim her!"

Something exploded in my head when I heard those words. Before I realized it, I had already slapped Bette in the face.

Chapter 2

Isaiah, who had looked guilty moments ago, suddenly changed his expression upon seeing me slap his childhood friend across the face. Bette, a delegate from an ally pack and another Alpha's daughter stood there, stunned. But I knew he wasn't just angry because of who she was—he was furious because I had hurt someone dear to him.

He stepped protectively in front of her, his eyes cold. "What are you doing, Phoebe?"

I glared at Bette, my voice icy. "You'd better keep your mouth shut."

Bette's eyes filled with tears, her voice trembling with indignation. "Was I wrong? If your mother hadn't pretended to be sick and threatened Isaiah, he would never have thought of marrying and claiming you! Not when you're a threat to his candidacy to be the next Alpha!"

I smiled bitterly, turning my gaze to Isaiah. "Do you think the same? You think my mom was faking it? That her suffering was something we concocted for fun? Really?"

His silence was deafening. He didn't need to answer; I saw the truth in his eyes. His silence was enough.

Years ago, my mother had suddenly fallen ill. One day she collapsed, and from that moment, her veins began to darken, growing worse each day. She knew her time was limited, and her greatest wish was to see me claimed by my fated mate, bestowed by the Moon Goddess. She wanted me to marry a good man, someone I could depend on when she was no longer there to protect me.

Desperate to grant her dying wish, I begged Isaiah. I even knelt before him, pleading to be claimed. The pain of that memory, of begging while my wolf suffered, was almost unbearable. And now, to hear that he thought my mother was pretending just to force him into marriage was too much. He had always looked down on me.

Isaiah, the privileged heir of the Oceans Howl Pack, had captured my heart the moment we met at his coming-of-age ceremony. When we discovered we were fated mates, I shamelessly pursued him, drawn to him as if by a force beyond my control.

Isaiah liked obedient women, so I did everything to please him, giving him whatever he wanted. But after Bette re-entered his life, I saw a different side of him—a side that was gentle, but only to her. She could act spoiled and playful, holding his hands and hugging him. She did all the things I longed to do but didn’t dare.

Once, I tried to emulate Bette's behavior, acting spoiled to win his affection. But he pushed me away, his face cold. "Phoebe, you really aren't suitable for this."

I felt like I had been slapped in the face and humiliated in front of the pack members. I never acted spoiled again since that day.

He never initiated any physical contact with me. My wolf ached to be near him, but we were always neglected.

When we were together, I was always one step behind. The only one who could stand beside him was Bette. Even in the eyes of the pack, Isaiah and Bette seemed destined for each other, regardless of the Moon Goddess's choice. They didn’t care that I was his fated mate; to them, Isaiah and Bette belonged together.

He paraded her at banquets and gatherings, introducing her to everyone as an ally's daughter. If it weren't for my mother's imminent death and my desperate pleas, there would never have been that ridiculous wedding and mateship ceremony.

I looked at Isaiah with disappointment. This was the man I had loved for years. I began to doubt my feelings, wondering if I was just drawn to him because we were fated mates.

Bette's voice broke through my thoughts. "Isaiah, come see if my face is swollen. How could she be so vicious? My face hurts."

Isaiah's attention shifted back to her immediately. The slap had left visible finger marks on her cheek.

His expression turned ugly. "Phoebe, apologize!"

"And if I don't?" I challenged, my voice steady despite the turmoil inside.

Chapter 3

I raised my head, my eyes filled with stubbornness.

Meanwhile, Isaiah suppressed his anger. "Don't make me angry, Phoebe!"

To be honest, I had always been afraid of Isaiah. He was one of the sons of Alpha Farrell, after all. Who knows? He might become the Alpha of Oceans Howl Pack soon. Whenever he frowned, I would subconsciously give in and admit my mistakes; he wouldn't even need to say a word.

Aside from his authority, I always gave in because I cared about him. But now, I don't care about anything. My wolf was becoming unresponsive, though the pain he inflicted on us because we were mated was still there. I hated how much power he had over me, but at the same time, I was so tired of it all that I would rather walk away right now than feel any of it.

However, Bette was not satisfied. "Isaiah, I don't want her to apologize. She hit me, and I want her to pay."

Hearing this, Isaiah glanced at me, expecting me to give in. But I still looked rebellious.

My attitude provoked him. He deliberately wanted to teach me a lesson. So, with just one glance, his two wolf guards appeared out of nowhere and held me down.

I didn't have the strength to struggle, nor did I want to. The next thing I knew, Bette walked up to me proudly, raised her hand, and slapped me several times.

I felt the sting of her slaps deep inside my face. Blood flowed from the corners of my mouth, and my head rang. She knew it would hurt me more because she used a bit of her wolf power!

Despite the pain, I said nothing and sat down on the floor in disarray.

Isaiah looked down at me. "You owe Bette this. Apologize to her now, and I can pretend that nothing happened."

Upon hearing that, I suddenly laughed like a madwoman.

"You wish!" I mocked them.

Isaiah narrowed his eyes. "Phoebe, as long as you are obedient, I can give you everything you want, including being claimed by me. Have you really thought it through?"

He didn’t want to claim me when I wanted it. Now that I didn’t want it anymore, he was trying to use threats and inducements to make me compromise.

I endured the pain on my face and said coldly, "Isaiah, didn’t I say I wanted to break whatever is between us? I will not marry you anymore! I don’t want to be claimed!"

Maybe it was because I loved him too much before that Isaiah didn’t believe I would leave him. Not when he promised me the marriage I had always dreamed of.

He sneered. "What? Don’t you want to fulfill your mother’s dying wish?"

I detected a hint of contempt in his words. Indeed, he didn't believe that my mother's illness was real. Bette already manipulated him enough to control him with her dainty fingers.

Before I could say anything, Bette interjected. "Isaiah, I told you she was lying to you. If her mother was really dying, how could she have such an attitude? Don’t be fooled by her."

I couldn’t stand it anymore. "Shut up! You have no right to talk about my mother!"

At that moment, my continuous disobedience completely infuriated Isaiah.

"I hope you won’t regret this," he said.

Isaiah sneered and called his right-hand man, whom he intended to make his Beta if he won the succession. To make sure I could hear clearly, he turned on the speaker.

"Tristan, about the preparation for my mateship ceremony, cancel everything!"

The preparation was already done, but even so, I didn’t care anymore. The thought of mating with him scared me to death. How much more sensitive to pain would I be if that happened?

"And cancel Phoebe’s mother, Annalise’s, appointment with our top wolf healer."

It was funny. Isaiah thought he could still threaten me, so he stared at me while he spoke. However, I just looked at him without any reaction.

Meanwhile, Tristan hesitated for a moment before finally speaking. "Isaiah, Annalise passed away three days ago, on the day of your supposed wedding and mateship ceremony!"