On the day of their third full moon mating anniversary, which was also Emily Vance's twenty-seventh birthday.
Her mate, Alpha Daniel Blackwood, gave her a special gift.
A signed mate rejection agreement.

Daniel calmly picked up a pen, signed his name in the Alpha's slot at the bottom left, and then pushed the document across the table to Emily.
"Sophia has a wild streak, she's hard to tame. Only a formal rejection agreement will convince her I'm serious."
"I've already signed it. Now you sign."
"Don't worry," he added. "It's just a formality."
His tone was emotionless, as if he were discussing the pack's patrol schedule.
Although Emily no longer paid attention to his private life, the rampant gossip within the pack and all over social media made it impossible for her not to know who Sophia Summers was.

A young she-wolf in Daniel's pack, barely in her twenties, radiating a vibrant and seductive energy.
What made her stand out was that Daniel, an Alpha, had been publicly pursuing her for nearly two months, yet she still hadn't officially accepted him.
Usually, Daniel would lose interest in the women who flocked to him within a month.
But this Sophia was different.

Not only had she broken his record, but she had driven him to demand this "fake rejection", an ultimate humiliation for a fated mate.
Emily took the agreement, a symbol of his betrayal, and forced a bitter smile.
"So this is my gift? How... special."
At her words, a flicker of confusion crossed Daniel's face. When he finally remembered date, a trace of apology appeared in his eyes.
"I've been busy helping Sophia adjust to the pack. I forgot it was our anniversary and your birthday. I'm sorry. I'll have my Beta send a gift over later."
So, he found a new toy and completely forgot his fated mate, Emily thought, her lips twisting into a sarcastic smirk.
"Don't bother. We're about to end our mating, aren't we? Save your gifts for someone else."
Daniel's brow furrowed in annoyance.
"It's just a fake rejection, a piece of paper to appease her. We're not actually going to the Elder Council to perform the final severance."
Is that so?
Because she had already decided to turn this little act into reality.
Emily said nothing more. She picked up the pen and, stroke by stroke, signed her name.
She was putting an end to three years of a sacred bond.
After she finished, Daniel let out a sigh of relief.
He took a photo of the agreement and made a call.
Whatever was said on the other end, Daniel's mood visibly lifted, his voice softening as he cooed into the phone.
"I've rejected her. Now you can be with me openly. Wait for me in your cabin, sweetheart. I'm coming to pick you up to celebrate."
He hung up, grabbed his jacket, and headed for the door.
Just as he was about to close it, he seemed to remember Emily and glanced back.
"Today is the first day Sophia has agreed to be with me. I need to be with her."
"I'll celebrate your birthday and our anniversary with you next year."
With that, he eagerly shut the door, rushing off to his new flame.
He never heard Emily's whispered reply.
"Daniel, there won't be a next year for us."
Once the roar of the engine faded, Emily went upstairs.
She opened the safe and pulled out two mate-certificates with the pack's seal from the very back.
She opened the certificate, and two radiant smiles looked back at her.
It was a photo of her at twenty-four and Daniel at twenty-six.
They were pressed close together, their eyes filled with the joy of finding their fated mate and the hope for their future.
Emily's gaze drifted back to the signed rejection agreement on the table.
How did they end up like this?
She remembered meeting Daniel for the first time at a movie wrap party.
Back then, she was just an rising actress then.
She found him in a corner, clutching his stomach, his face pale.
He wasn't used to human parties and had drunk too much. She handed him a yogurt drink.
That simple act of kindness led them to recognize the unique scent on each other—the scent of fated mates.
That bond, a gift from the Moon Goddess, eventually blossomed into an irresistible love.
But Daniel was the Alpha of the Black Moon Pack, a leader far beyond the reach of an ordinary werewolf like her.
Emily was just from a small family, trying to make it in the human world.
Aware of her place, she had rejected him.
But Daniel didn't give up. Instead, he stayed by her side constantly.
The high and mighty Alpha became her personal assistant, preparing her meals, rushing her to the hospital when she was sick, and handing her a cup of hot milk the moment she finished a difficult underwater scene.
She was moved. Day after day, his warmth chipped away at her defenses until she fell completely.
The final straw was a wirework stunt that went wrong.
As she was about to fall, Daniel used his powerful werewolf body as a cushion to break her fall.
She was unharmed, but Daniel broke two ribs—a severe injury, even for a werewolf.
After they got together, Daniel declared to the Pack Elders that he would marry no one else, his resolve unshaken.
Not wanting to hold him back, Emily threw herself into her work.
She spent four years clawing her way to the top, finally winning the Best Actress award, which made the pack reluctantly accept her as their Luna.
On the day of their mating ceremony, every pack celebrated with them.
Some even remarked that Daniel was a rare, devoted Alpha.
Emily believed it, too.
She thought their love would last a lifetime.
But in the second year of their mating, the scent of another she-wolf appeared on his shirt.
The first time, the wavering of their mate bond sent her into agonizing pain.
The ever-proud Daniel knelt before her, swearing it was a setup by a rival pack and that he would never let it happen again.
Thinking of their deep bond, Emily chose to forgive him.
But soon after, he started staying out all night.
She questioned him, followed him, their nights filled with screaming matches.
Daniel would just watch her rant, then calmly say,
"Emily, in our world, no Alpha has just one woman by his side forever."
"You just need to know that you're the only one I love, and you will always be the Luna of the Black Moon Pack. That's enough."
It wasn't just Daniel. Everyone around her said the same thing.
The other women were just fleeting distractions.
She just had to hold her title and wait for the Alpha to return.
All she had to do was wait.
So she waited and waited. She waited until today, when Daniel proposed a fake rejection for his new lover.
The moment she saw Daniel sign his name, the invisible chains of the "mate bond" that had shackled her heart suddenly shattered.
Did she mate with Daniel for the power and status of an Alpha's mate?
No.
It was purely for the love they shared, a love born from destiny.
But now, that love had turned into a foul, stinking mess.
Even their once-cherished bond was now just a tool for him to please his new conquest.
If that was the case, then this mating had no reason to exist anymore.
Snapping back to the present, Emily took the rejection agreement and their mating certificates to the Pack Elders.
After confirming the documents, an Elder informed her that, according to the rules, there was a mandatory one-month cooling-off period.
She was to return in a month to complete the final bond-severing ceremony and receive the official certificate of dissolution.
As she walked out of the Elders' Hall, sunlight washed over her. For the first time in years, she felt light.
She pulled out her phone and dialed a number she had saved for a long time.
"Michael, about that movie you invited me to shoot in the UK... I'll do it."