I came from the Cedar Pass pack. My family had no money and no prestigious bloodline.
Colton Moretti, on the other hand, was the Alpha heir of the Nightfall pack. So everyone around him assumed the only reason I’d agreed to become his chosen mate was for the title of Luna.
Especially Bianca Vale, the Beta’s daughter who had grown up with him.
She was always saying she’d seen too many women use tricks to get close to Alpha blood, so she knew my type.
To shut them up, I spent three years with Colton and never accepted a single expensive gift from him.
Bianca still said, “She only says no because she’s holding out for something bigger. She’s after the Moretti family’s resources and the Luna position.”
Then came Colton’s birthday. I saved for six months to buy him a mechanical watch.
I was almost at their private dining room in the Nightfall pack’s clubhouse when I heard Bianca’s laugh from inside.
“I knew she’d buy something expensive.”
“Women like her are always calculating. Spend a little now, and once the claim is complete, take a lot more from the pack.”
Colton was sitting right beside her. He didn’t deny it.
Someone laughed. “Colt, your future Luna really knows her math.”
Another person saw me and held up a hand, silencing the table.
“She’s here.”
Bianca let out a cold little laugh. The scent of her smugness was so sharp even my wolf could smell it.
“Some people are such fakes. Alphas prefer someone who’s direct, like me. Isn’t that right?”
Colton was silent for a moment before he looked up at me.
“Have you been pretending this whole time? Just waiting for the claim so you could get more out of me?”
I stood in the doorway, the watch box in my hand suddenly feeling impossibly heavy.
We weren’t fated mates. We had only registered as chosen partners with the pack. The claim hadn’t been completed, so there was no mark, no bond.
But after three years together, he should have known whether my feelings were real.
My wolf knew the scent of cedar that clung to Colton. It used to feel like home. Now, she recoiled from it.
I didn’t say a word. I just turned and walked away.
If he saw my sincerity as a joke, then there was no point in offering it.
After leaving the clubhouse, I went straight back to the mall where I’d bought the watch.
The saleswoman recognized me.
Half an hour earlier, I had been smiling as I took the gift box from her.
Now, with the ribbon still tied, I was asking her to take it back.
“Ma’am, his name is already engraved on the back. We can’t offer a full refund. We can only buy it back at the secondhand price.”
“How much?”
“Seven thousand dollars.”
I had spent six months saving ten thousand dollars for that watch.
I lost three thousand dollars in a single moment.
I nodded.
“That’s fine.”
The saleswoman had just taken the box when Bianca’s laugh echoed behind me.
“See? I knew she’d return it.”
Colton and everyone from the dining room had followed me.
A circle of high-ranking werewolves gathered around the counter, watching me like I was some kind of specimen up for inspection.
Someone took out their phone and snapped a picture of the refund slip.
“Ten grand for a watch. She’s probably angling for a sports car next.”
“That’s a better ROI than our top brokers get. Maybe she should give lessons.”
“Clawing her way from a border pack like Cedar Pass into the Alpha heir’s bed? You’ve got to admit, she’s got skills.”
The words hit me, one after another, until my fingers started to shake.
They all came from powerful Nightfall families. The nearby employees heard every word, but no one was about to offend the future Alpha and the Beta’s daughter.
Bianca walked over and glanced at the buyback receipt.
“You’re all so naive.”
“A normal gold digger just asks for money.”
“She’s smarter than that. Spend a little, then make a show of being hurt and returning the gift. Make the man feel guilty, and the car, the apartment, and the Luna title are sure to follow.”
The people beside her laughed even louder.
“So that’s the trick.”
“No wonder she didn’t take Colt’s gifts for three years. She’s been playing the long game for the title of Mrs. Moretti.”
I took my bank card back and turned to leave.
Colton caught my wrist.
“Are you done?”
He pulled a black card from his wallet and shoved it into my hand.
“I was harsh today. Go buy yourself something you like and cut the attitude.”
I looked down at the card, my chest tight with a pain so sharp it was hard to breathe.
We’d been together for three years, and I had never spent a cent of his money.
But even now, he still thought money and his Alpha-heir privilege could fix anything.
I set the card on the counter.
“Colton, we’re done.”
His expression shifted.
Bianca clapped her hands once.
“I told you.”
“Returning the gift was just step one. The breakup threat—that’s the real power play.”
She turned to Colton, her voice full of smug certainty.
“She waited three years. The claim was right around the corner. There’s no way she’d actually walk away.”
“She’s trying to force your hand, make you move up the ceremony.”
The others chimed in at once.
“Just move up the claim ceremony, Colt.”
“If you don’t claim her soon, the next thing you know she’ll be filing to cancel her registration.”
The crease between Colton’s brows slowly smoothed out.
He looked down at me, his voice suddenly lighter with the infuriating confidence of a man who thought he’d figured me out.
“If you want the claim, you can just say so.”
“Don’t use walking out to manipulate me. It’s childish.”
I pulled my hand free.
“I’m not manipulating you.”
“I’m just done with you.”
Colton stared at me for a few seconds, the last of his patience gone.
“Fine. Let’s see how long you can keep this up.”
I didn’t answer. I just left the mall alone.
The moment I got into a rideshare, my director called.
“We’re suddenly short-handed on a project in the Red Sand territory. It’s a three-year posting, and you’d have to leave the day after tomorrow.”
“The local partner is the Crimson Sand pack. The conditions there are rough. Are you interested?”
I had already turned down two overseas assignments for Colton.
This time, I didn’t hesitate.
“I’ll go.”
I booked a flight for nine o’clock the morning after next.
Forty-eight hours. Then I would leave Gray Harbor—and Colton—behind.
He Scorned My Love Now He Watches My Rise Chapter 10 Colton’s hand pressed against the edge of the table, his knuckles white. “And the second time? Who told me she was applying for an overseas post just to force me to give her an apartment?” “I was just saying.” “Every time, you were just
He Scorned My Love Now He Watches My Rise Chapter 10 Read Post »
He Scorned My Love Now He Watches My Rise Chapter 09 That time, I had already packed my bags. But he had said only one thing. “If you leave, don’t expect me to wait for you. And you can forget the claim ceremony.” The next day, I went to the company and withdrew my application.
He Scorned My Love Now He Watches My Rise Chapter 09 Read Post »
He Scorned My Love Now He Watches My Rise Chapter 08 Bianca’s voice came through from his end of the line. “Colt, put it on speaker. Let her talk. Don’t let her lead you around.” I closed my eyes. Of course she was still there. Colton didn’t turn on the speaker, but he didn’t tell
He Scorned My Love Now He Watches My Rise Chapter 08 Read Post »
He Scorned My Love Now He Watches My Rise Chapter 07 When I landed, it was afternoon in the Red Sand territory. The company car was already waiting. A coworker helped load my luggage into the trunk and smiled at me. “Long flight. You must be exhausted.” “I’m okay.” “The director said you turned down
He Scorned My Love Now He Watches My Rise Chapter 07 Read Post »
He Scorned My Love Now He Watches My Rise Chapter 06 Colton dialed my old number. A mechanical voice informed him that the number had been deactivated. He tried again from his assistant’s phone. Same result. Forty minutes later, the return flight took off. My name was not on the passenger list. The room slowly
He Scorned My Love Now He Watches My Rise Chapter 06 Read Post »
He Scorned My Love Now He Watches My Rise Chapter 05 Colton stared at the signature on the contract, motionless. Bianca reached for it. “Enough. Stop looking at that. She’s just doing this to get to you.” Colton pressed a hand over the contract and looked up at her. “Doing what?” “Flying away. Cross-territory flights
He Scorned My Love Now He Watches My Rise Chapter 05 Read Post »
He Scorned My Love Now He Watches My Rise Chapter 04 “She made the accounting this precise so Colt would remember she spent three years with him. Next, she’ll be negotiating a breakup settlement.” Colton sat on the sofa, his expression turning uglier by the second. He looked at the pile of my things and
He Scorned My Love Now He Watches My Rise Chapter 04 Read Post »
He Scorned My Love Now He Watches My Rise Chapter 03 Before boarding, I arranged for a courier to deliver the boxes I’d packed to the club where Colton was. Half an hour later, someone posted an unboxing video in the group chat. The scarf Colton had given me, the stuffed animal, the keychain, and
He Scorned My Love Now He Watches My Rise Chapter 03 Read Post »
He Scorned My Love Now He Watches My Rise Chapter 02 That night, Bianca dragged me into a group chat. The group name was *How Long Can She Hold Out*. There were more than twenty people in it, all high-ranking werewolf friends of Colton’s. The moment I was added, messages flooded the screen. [I bet
He Scorned My Love Now He Watches My Rise Chapter 02 Read Post »
He Scorned My Love Now He Watches My Rise Chapter 01 I came from the Cedar Pass pack. My family had no money and no prestigious bloodline. Colton Moretti, on the other hand, was the Alpha heir of the Nightfall pack. So everyone around him assumed the only reason I’d agreed to become his chosen
He Scorned My Love Now He Watches My Rise Chapter 01 Read Post »
