Chapter 8
Only then did Dante look at the gift box again. His mind was a haze, and he opened it almost
numbly.
Inside, he saw nothing but shreds of cloth–pieces of a matching couple’s hoodie, cut into rags.
Right on top lay a piece of the collar, still bearing the words Evelyn had personally stitched: “fated
mate.”
Dante gingerly picked up the collar fragment with trembling fingers. He nearly lost his footing and
stumbled back.
“This was supposed to be Evelyn’s gift for me today? No way… Who’s playing this sick joke? She’d
never cut up our couple hoodie…”
A year ago, on their fourth mating anniversary, Evelyn had given him the custom–made men’s hoodie from their couple set that night.
“Alpha, in my heart, you’re my husband, and I’m your wife. I cherish every day spent with you.‘
“But if there comes a day when your heart changes, if I lose faith in you and this marriage, I’ll destroy all of this by myself and leave you forever.”
Dante stood frozen, as if his soul had been ripped from his body.
Evelyn had cut up their matching hoodies with her own hands.
What if… she knew everything about him and Natalia?
Suddenly, the collar piece burned in his palm. With a hiss of pain, Dante let it fall. The scrap of cloth
with “fated mate” fluttered to the floor, and he looked down at his hand.
There, scorched into his skin, were the very words “fated mate” etched in angry red.
The red–thread magic had activated the moment he betrayed his mate, branding the truth into his palm as an eternal reminder.
Dante stood there, stunned.
Ophelia, who had been watching in silence, finally spoke.
“Alpha, there’s more inside.”
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Dante snapped out of his daze and began removing the cloth scraps, setting them aside.
Beneath the first layer, a shredded wedding photo came into view.
Even their wedding photo… Evelyn had cut that, too.
With a trembling hand, Dante tried to piece it back together, but then he saw it.
At the very bottom lay a bond–breaking deal.
He froze, then reached for it and flipped through it carefully.
When he recognized Evelyn’s handwriting, he looked up at Ophelia with a hoarse voice.
“She had you take out the bond–breaking deal I signed?”
Ophelia nodded. Her tone was calm, but firm.
“Luna contacted the Pack Elders a while ago. The bond–breaking deal has already been validated.”
That single sentence hit Dante like a thunderclap. His tall frame swayed under the weight of it.
He lowered his head, brushing his fingers over the document as he muttered: “No… that is not true…”
“Evelyn… she can’t be serious. Why would she leave me all of a sudden? She must be joking…”
Ophelia watched the nearly broken man before her, then gestured toward the lake.
“Alpha, Luna prepared a second surprise for you on the other side of the lake. Let me take you there.”
Dante’s face twisted with resistance.
“I’m not going.”
He feared what Evelyn’s next “surprise” might be. Something cruel. Something final.
Ophelia lowered her eyes.
“Luna told me that if you won’t go there, I’m supposed to give you her exact words.”
“She said… this is the last surprise she’ll ever prepare for you. Whether or not you receive it is up to you.”
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Dante’s face darkened. He hesitated for a long moment… then finally nodded.
Ophelia followed behind him and tapped her phone to send out an invitation.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the lake, every guest’s phone buzzed at once.
They glanced down, only to gape in shock.
“What’s going on? I just got a wedding invitation for Dante and Natalia!”
“Natalia? Isn’t this supposed to be Evelyn’s birthday party? Didn’t Dante organize it for her? Wait- did they already break their mate bond?”
One by one,
the guests began crossing the lake, murmuring with confusion.
As Dante approached the other side, he was stunned to find the area set up like a meadow wedding. On both sides of the aisle were large photo boards displaying wedding photos–of him and Natalia.
Above the venue’s gate, a huge banner hung proudly: “Congratulations to Dante and Natalia – Happy Mating!”
Dante’s expression turned thunderous.
Who had the audacity to arrange this wedding without his consent?
Then it hit him. He turned sharply to Ophelia.
“Wait… is this that surprise Evelyn set up for me?”
Ophelia kept her eyes lowered and pointed toward the altar at the far end of the grassy aisle.
“Alpha, the real surprise is inside.”
Chapter 8
