My Cold-hearted Mate’s Biggest Regret

After that desperate night,i felt my wolf howl in agony,the betrayal slicing through us both.”Scott,i am rejecting you as my mate”,sent the last message,i left this pack decisively!

Chapter 1: Forgotten Mate

"We can get married any day, but Winona can’t live without me."

It was supposed to be the happiest night of my life—the full moon marking my mating ceremony with Scott Stone, my Alpha and destined mate. I stood at the altar with anticipation, but joy gave way to a growing sense of dread as the minutes dragged into hours. I reached out to him through our mind link, but all I got was silence. The whispers around me grew louder, eyes filled with pity and judgment burning into me. I felt utterly humiliated.

My mother, already frail from years of heartache as a mateless wolf, had clung to life just to see this day. But Scott’s absence broke her fragile heart. That same night, she passed away, and I was left with shattered hopes.

Then came the final blow. Scrolling through social media, I saw a post from Winona Lei, Scott’s first love. Her words dripped with smugness, and I couldn’t ignore it. When I confronted Scott, his response was, "We can get married any day, but Winona can’t live without me."

That cut my heart so deep. I felt my wolf howl in agony, the betrayal slicing through us both. There was no coming back from this.

I sent Scott one last message through the mind link: “We're done. I am rejecting you as my mate.”

Then, with trembling resolve, I severed our bond, blocking him and everything he had ever meant to me.

——

The full moon bathed everything in silver light, and I stood there, dressed in shimmering satin that clung to my every curve, feeling like the goddess of the evening. My heart raced with anticipation, waiting for Scott Stone, my Alpha and the man I thought would complete me.

The night of my mating ritual was supposed to be perfect—a moment I had envisioned for years but as the hours ticked by, anticipation turned into humiliation.

The pack members who are invited to witness the mating ritual started murmuring, their pity and judgment suffocating. I reached out to Scott through our mind link again and again, but all I met was silence. My mother, frail and barely clinging to life, was seated at the edge of the crowd, her face pale but hopeful. She had held on for this day, for so long. She won't give up and missed to see my happiest moment.

When it became clear Scott wasn’t coming, I felt the world cave in. By the time the first rays of dawn broke the darkness, my mother was gone. Her fragile heart had given out, unable to bear the shame and heartbreak. The pack whispered about the cursed bond, and I stood there, now an orphan, and gossips about being a rejected Luna.

Later that day, my phone buzzed. A social media post from Winona Lei, Scott’s first love, showed the two of them together. “You’re always there for me,” the caption read, her face nestled against his.

I sent Scott the screenshot, my hands trembling with anger. “Is this why you missed our ceremony?” Hours passed before he replied, long after I’d laid my mother’s ashes to rest.

“We can get married any day, but Winona needs me. She can't live without me.”

The message broke something in me I didn’t even know could break. I felt my wolf howl in anguish, but there was no fight left in me. I severed the bond with one final message through the mind link: “I'm breaking up with you. I, Ariana Gold, reject you as my mate.”

Then, with trembling fingers, I blocked him in all communication tool he can use to reach me.

Seven years of molding myself to fit his desires are now gone. I thought back to all the times I tried to be what he wanted. Cutting my hair when he said he preferred it short. Skipping meals to fit into his ideal of beauty. Enduring painful trials alone, so he wouldn’t see me weak. But no matter how much I gave, Winona was always there between us.

“You’re strong, Ariana. You don’t need me like she does,” he’d say, using my strength as an excuse for his neglect.

The next day, I visited my mother’s grave, the air heavy with grief. I traced her name on the stone, my fingers numb against the cold granite.

As I turned to leave, Scott and Winona appeared, her hands clutching an urn. “This place is near my ,” she murmured. “If I bury my baby here, it’s like he never left.”

My jaw tightened. I wanted to avoid a confrontation, but Scott stepped into my path. “Are you following me?” he asked, his tone accusing.

“No,” I replied, my voice weary. “I’m leaving.”

Winona’s voice cut in. “My puppy died, and Scott stayed with me for the funeral. Don’t misunderstand,” she said, acting like a victim.

“Good for you,” I muttered, brushing past her.

“Ariana!” Scott’s voice followed, laced with reprimand. “Can’t you be sympathetic? Winona is grieving.”

I stopped, turning to face him. “Sympathetic?” I repeated, incredulous. “Do you even hear yourself?”

“She needed me,” he said defensively. “You’re strong. You can handle yourself.”

It was like a slap to the face, the final justification every time he had abandoned me. My wolf growled low in my chest, but I held her back.

“I guess you've never care listening to my call through the mind link. I rejected you as my mate. It’s over, Scott,” I said flatly, turning away.

“Don’t be like this!” he called after me, his voice tinged with desperation. “Your mother would’ve wanted us together. We can reschedule the ceremony. There’s always another mating season.”

I froze, his words twisting the knife deeper. Slowly, I turned to him, meeting his gaze with all the pain and fury I’d been holding back. “You don’t get it, do you?” I said, my voice breaking. “There’s no more us. Not now. Not ever.”

His eyes widened, and for a moment, I thought he might fight for me. But instead, he grabbed his phone, muttering about planning a new ceremony. As if this was something he could fix with a grand gesture.

I walked away, leaving him and his hollow promises behind. The air was cold, but for the first time in years, I felt free. No more waiting. No more sacrificing pieces of myself for someone who didn’t deserve them.

I glanced back one last time, not at Scott, but at my mother’s grave.

No more Scott in my life...

Chapter 2: Digging The Graveyard

I was halfway to the cemetery gates when my phone rang. The cemetery manager’s frantic voice cracked through the line, trembling with panic. “Miss Ariana, someone’s... someone’s digging at your mother’s grave!”

The air seemed to vanish from my lungs. My mother—my gentle, selfless mother—had endured so much heartache and had given me everything without asking for anything in return. Even in death, she deserved peace. I turned on my heel and ran back, my legs pumping harder with every word replaying in my mind.

She had been my rock after my father’s death, her mateless heart never wavering in its devotion to me. Even when she was diagnosed with heart disease, she never let the weight of her illness darken my life. Her last wish had been simple: “Don’t engrave my name. Just write, ‘May my daughter live a safe and happy life.’” And now, that wish was being trampled on.

I reached her grave and froze.

Winona Lei stood there, flanked by her ever-loyal followers. Two wolfguards were already knee-deep in the earth, shoveling dirt from my mother’s resting place. The urn containing her ashes lay discarded like trash on the side, replaced by another. Winona’s dog.

“What are you doing?!” I screamed, my voice strained with rage as I rushed toward them.

Winona stepped back, feigning innocence, her hands resting lightly on Scott’s arm. “This is my baby’s new home,” she said sweetly, her syrupy tone cutting like broken glass. “The inscription fits so well, doesn’t it? I’m sure you don’t mind sharing, Ariana.”

My hands curled into fists, nails biting into my palms. “You dare—” I grabbed a shovel from one of the wolfguards and began to undo their desecration.

“Ariana, stop!” Scott’s voice thundered as he pulled the shovel from my hands. His touch burned, not from heat but from betrayal.

“How could you let this happen?” I demanded, my voice cracking. My hands hit the soil, clawing at the earth with raw desperation. My mother’s urn was still there. I had to save it.

Winona’s mask of sweetness slipped, her lips curling in anger. “Stop her!” she shrieked. “My baby deserves a resting place! I won’t let her disturb him!”

The wolfguards grabbed my arms, yanking me away from the grave as I struggled and screamed. My wolf surged within me, begging for release, but I held her back. Not now. Not here.

Scott stepped forward, his face hard. “Ariana, you’re making a scene,” he said, his voice cold. “Winona’s been through enough with her dog’s death. Yet you’re blowing this out of proportion because I had to pause the mating ritual. This... this is ridiculous. Apologize to her. Now.”

“Apologize?!” I spat, my voice venomous. “She dug up my mother’s grave, Scott! Have you lost your mind?”

He shook his head, disappointment etched in his features. “Winona’s grieving. You’re strong, Ariana. You can handle this.”

His words were a blade, slicing through the last threads of loyalty I had left for him.

Winona tilted her head, her voice dripping with feigned concern. “Scott, I’m starting to see why the mating ritual didn’t happen. Look at her. She’s unhinged. If you marry her, you’ll be the laughingstock of every pack around.”

Scott’s jaw tightened, but his cold gaze turned to me, and I saw the flicker of doubt. Winona’s manipulation was working. She gave him a triumphant, saccharine smile, knowing she was winning.

“Who dares laugh at my woman?” Scott snapped, his voice sharp enough to silence the murmurs of Winona’s followers. But the fire in his tone didn’t reach his eyes.

He turned back to me, disappointment still painted across his face. “Ariana,” he said, quieter now but no less icy, “you’re making this all about you. If you apologize to Winona, maybe—just maybe—I’ll forgive you.”

My chest heaved, anger and heartbreak warring within me. I stared at him, searching his face for any sign of the man I had once loved. There was nothing left.

“And if I refuse?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper, trembling as I held back tears.

His silence was answer enough.

The weight of his betrayal pressed down on me like an avalanche, crushing and relentless. My wolf howled in agony, clawing for release, but I kept her at bay. Scott wasn’t worth losing myself over.

I yanked my arms free from the wolfguards and stood tall, meeting Scott’s cold gaze. “You’ve made your choice, Scott,” I said, my voice steady despite the storm raging inside me. “So have I.”

I knelt by the grave one last time, retrieving my mother’s discarded urn. The warmth of her memory steadied me as I turned my back on them all.

As I walked away, Winona’s laughter rang out behind me, shrill and triumphant. “Poor Ariana,” she cooed mockingly. “Always so dramatic.”

Scott didn’t defend me. He didn’t stop me.

I didn’t look back.

This time, I wouldn’t break.

Chapter 3: Alpha’s Choice

“Don’t forget,” Scott growled, his voice a low and menacing rumble, “your mother still needs the medication from my company. I told you there’s only one cure for her heart disease.”

The words sent a chill down my spine. This wasn’t the Scott I had once loved, the alpha who had promised to protect and cherish me. This was a man consumed by power and manipulated by Winona, the woman who had come between us.

“Are you saying you would abandon my mother for her?” My voice cracked as I stared at him in disbelief.

My mother had treated Scott like her own son, embracing him into our pack when he had no one. She had believed in his potential to become a strong alpha and a loving mate. She had trusted him, saved his life once, and nurtured him when others had turned away. He had promised her, over and over, that he would cure her illness and that she would live to see her grandchildren leading the next generation of our pack.

And now, that promise was crumbling before me.

Scott pulled out his phone, his dark eyes narrowing. “That’s right. So, are you going to apologize or not?”

The threat in his words was sharper than any blade. My wolf, trapped inside me. Tears streamed down my face, but I stood my ground, even as the weight of his betrayal crushed me.

For a fleeting moment, Scott’s expression softened.

Was his wolf sensing my pain? Did some part of him still recognize me as his mate?

Before the moment could stretch, Winona’s voice pierced the silence. “Why are you faking tears again, Ariana? I don’t understand this manipulation.” Her words dripped with disdain. “I didn’t dig up your pack’s grave. Stop being dramatic.”

She turned to the wolfguards with a flick of her wrist. “Continue your work. My baby deserves peace.”

The guards released me and returned to digging. My body trembled with fury as I stepped forward, but Scott’s snarl stopped me in my tracks.

“Are you done?” He roared, grabbing my arm and shoving me aside with such force that I stumbled.

I bumped with the urn containing my mother’s ashes, knocking it over. The ashes spilled across the wet earth, mingling with the rain that had begun to fall.

For a moment, everything went silent. The world seemed to stop as I stared in horror.

“No... no!” I cried, dropping to my knees, my hands desperately clawing at the ground. The ashes turned into muddy paste beneath my fingers. Each handful I tried to scoop back was washed away by the relentless rain.

Winona stepped closer, her heels sinking into the mud. She looked down at me, her lips curling into a cruel smirk. “Ariana, why are you lying in the dirt like a stray? Enough of this act.”

Her words snapped something inside me. Fueled by a surge of rage, I shot to my feet and shoved her back. She stumbled, eyes wide with shock, but Scott caught her before she hit the ground.

“Ariana!” Scott’s roar was like thunder. His eyes burned with fury as he stepped between me and Winona. “You almost pushed her to the ground! I’ll teach you a lesson today!”

He pulled out his phone again, dialing quickly. “Beta,” he barked into the receiver, “don’t send the gift. Stop the medication for Ariana’s mother and cancel the surgery immediately.”

The words hit me like a blow, stealing the breath from my lungs. My vision blurred with tears, but then a voice came through the phone, breaking through the chaos.

“Alpha,” Robert said hesitantly, “Luna’s mother... she passed away.”

Scott froze. “What are you talking about?” he demanded, his voice cracking.

“She died on the day of your supposed to-be ritual night,” Robert continued grimly. “And, Alpha... I’ve just discovered something.”

“What is it?” Scott snapped.

“The grave Ms. Lei buried her dog in... it belongs to Luna’s mother.”