When I found the rigged envelopes in the cliffside house at Tidewatch Coast, my fiancé was on the lawn, finishing his third event with his former partner.
The so-called Founding Families Decathlon claimed that partners were chosen at random from wax-sealed envelopes.
I was the only one who hadn’t been allowed to draw.
Graham had said that since I hadn’t completed my pack oath and we hadn’t finished our partner registration, I was best suited to handle drinks, watch the pups, keep score, and take photos.
For the first three rounds, he drew Blair every single time.
Blindfolded feeding. Tandem rowing. Then a slow dance, close and intimate, to an old family tune everyone knew.
They moved together with the ease of two people whose deregistration papers might as well have never existed.
I stood there holding the camera while friends of the Whitmore family sang their praises.
“For the pups’ sake, you two are still the most complete family.”
After Blair won the third round, she smiled at me.
“Thanks for organizing everything so thoughtfully. You don’t mind, do you?”
I bit down hard and went to the storage room for spare scorecards.
In the trash, I saw a torn envelope.
Along the dark wax seal was a faint indentation—subtle enough to hide from most, but obvious to anyone who knew what to look for.
I took out the remaining envelopes and held them to the light, one by one.
Every single one had a different mark.
The draw had never been random. It had all been arranged.
It wasn’t just bad luck.
Before I’d even sworn my oath to this pack, they had already crossed me out of the family.
Outside the door, I heard Graham and Blair laughing again.
Someone knocked and told me to get back out there to keep score.
Members of Tidewatch could notify each other through the heart-link. I was the only one who had to wait for someone to remember I existed and deliver the message out loud.
But this time, I wouldn’t be keeping track of their scores alone.
He Put His Ex First So I Found My True Mate Chapter 30 The weather was beautiful on the day of the partnership ceremony. The simple wooden frame Daniel had built by hand was wrapped in greenery. The long table held food brought by our friends. There was no fixed seating. Everyone sat wherever
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He Put His Ex First So I Found My True Mate Chapter 29 Before the protective order expired, my attorney asked if I wanted to petition for an extension. Over the past year, Graham had not violated it. He had paid the full debt and had not tried to contact me through anyone.
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He Put His Ex First So I Found My True Mate Chapter 28 A month before the partnership ceremony, I caught myself slipping back into old habits. Guest replies, the long-table layout, transportation, registrar witnesses, the group dinner after the ceremony—I had built a shared file with dozens of line items. That evening,
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He Put His Ex First So I Found My True Mate Chapter 27 After that, Graham was quiet for a long time. He didn’t come near my house, and he didn’t slip into any more gatherings. The protective order had finally become a boundary he could no longer pretend not to see.
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He Put His Ex First So I Found My True Mate Chapter 26 Only Graham refused to settle. His attorney proposed that he could pay the remaining balance in one lump sum. On one condition: I withdraw the protective order and meet with him alone. I answered at once. “Declined.”
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He Put His Ex First So I Found My True Mate Chapter 25 Three days after the hearing, Graham’s mother asked through her counsel to meet with me. I declined. She then sent a letter. My attorney asked if I wanted to read it. “Is it relevant to the case?”
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He Put His Ex First So I Found My True Mate Chapter 24 On the day of the protective order hearing, Graham wore the same dark suit he had worn when he proposed to me two years earlier. It was as if he believed that if he looked respectable enough, what had happened in
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He Put His Ex First So I Found My True Mate Chapter 23 Blair was the last one to contact my attorney on her own initiative. On the video call, her face was pale, and the first thing she asked about wasn’t money. “I need to confirm something. Does the drive include private
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He Put His Ex First So I Found My True Mate Chapter 22 The six-person group chat sprang back to life after two years of silence. Cynthia demanded to know why Graham had never deleted the files. George immediately started blaming Blair, since the whole game to test my breaking point had been
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He Put His Ex First So I Found My True Mate Chapter 21 The temporary territorial protective order was granted that same day. Graham was barred from approaching my home or workplace and forbidden from contacting me by phone, message, or through a third party. When the papers were served, he was at
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