Synopsis

Eight years into our mate bond, I thought I was the “Halo” in Alpha Leo’s life.

Until the old Alpha passed away and he brought his “cancer-stricken” stepmother Ayla home, I realized I was nothing more than a clumsy substitute.

The “son” I had raised for years for his stepmother stood on the opposite side of me.

The moonlight grass that symbolized memories died on a stormy night.

At last, I signed the mate-bond dissolution agreement and returned to the fashion throne that belonged to me without looking back.

When the truth was exposed, they chased after me with red, tearful eyes to repent.

I merely smoothed the wrinkles of my gown and looked toward the direction of the award stage.

What stray wolf dares to block my Halo?

Chapter 1

On the morning of our eighth mating anniversary, Alpha Leo pushed a medical report in front of me.

“My father passed away from illness. Ayla’s condition is very bad now—she has cancer. I want to bring her home so we can take care of her.”

Ayla. My husband’s stepmother, nominally my mother-in-law as well, though we are the same age.

Eight years ago, Ayla married the old Alpha, and I married Leo.

After Ayla became the old Luna, for some reason she often targeted me, even saying things like “I’m the one who deserves to be Leo’s Luna,” which left a knot in my heart.

To be honest, I didn’t want her to move in.

Seeing my hesitation, Ayla spoke weakly, “Leo, don’t make things difficult for Olivia. I can go back to the old manor.”

“My dad is gone, and I’m not around much. I’m afraid the servants at the old manor will bully you…” Leo looked torn.

Charlie suddenly walked up to Ayla and asked, “Are you my biological mother?”

I wavered…

Charlie is Ayla’s son. Back then, claiming wolf clan affairs were too busy, Ayla had always left Charlie to be raised by Leo and me.

Although Ayla and I disliked each other, I still felt sorry that Charlie had never truly been with his biological mother all these years.

And I wanted to believe Leo…

Leo asked me again.

I nodded helplessly, and Leo immediately hugged me excitedly. “That’s more like it, baby. This is the magnanimity a Luna should have!”

I broke free from his arms.

Thinking about the interpersonal conflicts I might face and the loss of personal space, I felt irritated.

I turned to go back to the bedroom but was stopped by Leo. “Olivia, be good. Ayla is sick. Let her have the master bedroom.”

See? Just as expected, something even more irritating appeared immediately.

I took a deep breath and walked straight into the bedroom.

I thought I needed to find something to do to distract myself.

So I dialed that familiar number.

“Elaine, I’m willing to return to work.”

“Really, Olivia? You’ve finally figured it out!” The voice on the other end was ecstatic. “Your departure back then was a loss to the entire wolf fashion world! I’ll arrange your comeback procedures right away!”

I responded bitterly and immediately booked a plane ticket for next month.

That evening, I saw Leo’s latest update.

When I saw his username, the corners of my lips couldn’t help but curl up.

His username was—

“Alpha With a Halo.”

In the past, he told me the meaning of this name was:

“Meeting you brought light into my life. Olivia, you are my Halo.”

Thinking of that, I suddenly felt I had been too petty today.

But then, my smile froze when I saw what he had posted.

It was a photo of Ayla, Jackson, Charlie, and him at a dessert shop that afternoon.

He and Ayla were kissing on the lips, while Jackson and Charlie each kissed their cheeks.

I had seen him kiss Ayla many times before, but he said he only saw Ayla as his mother, that it was just a social kiss, and even accused me of not being generous enough.

Then I saw his caption: 【A Family With a Halo.】

Halo? But I’m not in this picture…

A mutual friend commented below:

【So intimate. Aren’t you afraid Olivia will dissolve the mate bond?】

Leo only replied with one sentence:

【She wouldn’t dare. She can’t leave me.】

Back then, for Leo, I had resolutely resigned from my job as a top designer in the wolf clan.

I had been a housewife for eight years.

And what I received in return were such words of contempt from him.

Tears streamed down my face in an instant.

Dizzy and lightheaded, I saw Leo walk over and hand me a delicately packaged cake.

“Here. I remember you used to love honey cake the most.”

The cake had been left out too long. The berries on top had already sunk into the collapsed cream, and even the frosting along the edges had begun to crystallize.

I sneered. Had it never occurred to him to take me along?

I raised my hand and threw the cake, box and all, straight into the trash can.

“Olivia! Have you lost your mind?” Leo was furious.

“I don’t like it anymore. Just clearing out the trash,” I said coldly.

After hearing this, his anger intensified. “I even remembered that today is our mating anniversary and specially brought you a gift! You’re utterly ungrateful!”

“Taking another woman out to eat on our anniversary and posting kissing photos—is that how it is?” I shot back.

“Wasn’t it because you were in a bad mood this morning that I didn’t ask you?” Leo retorted self-righteously. “Besides, I’ve told you before—she’s my mom.”

He answered as if it were perfectly natural, never even considering who had caused my bad mood, completely failing to grasp what truly mattered.

“Then go be with your mom,” I said lightly.

The veins on his forehead bulged. With a swing of his hand, his fist slammed into the glass photo frame.

Crash—!

The glass shattered into pieces, fragments flying everywhere.

He didn’t spare it a glance and slammed the door as he left.

I sighed, crouched down, and quietly began to clean up.

Among the shards of glass and scattered photo paper, I found a picture of Ayla and Leo.

The photo had been stuck to the back of our wedding picture. I suppose that was why I had never noticed it.

I separated the two photos, and when I saw the words written behind that one, my whole body trembled:

【I’m sorry, Leo. I love you, but I must become the Luna of the most powerful man in the Pack. Please don’t forget me.】

In a daze, I remembered that the meaning of the name Ayla is Halo, and my heart skipped a beat.

At that moment, every doubt had its answer.

Looking at the eyes in our wedding photo that were once filled with love, I tore the picture into pieces without hesitation.

...

The next day, Leo did something unprecedented—he got up early.

For someone who hadn’t stepped into the kitchen in eight years, he actually tied on an apron and personally prepared a table of exquisitely made breakfast dishes.

Ayla sat in the main seat, eating happily. “Leo, you’re so good to me. You even remember this is my favorite flavor.”

“I made your favorite fresh shrimp and mushroom soup. Your health isn’t good—you need nourishment.”

“Mom, eat this one. It’s delicious!” Charlie served her some food.

While the four of them were enjoying themselves, Jackson suddenly called out in my direction, “Mom, you woke up late. Come eat!”

Seeing me approach, Leo cleared his throat. “Sit down. There’s still soup left. Ayla asked me to save some for you.”

I patted Jackson’s head, then sat down.

Ayla immediately filled a bowl, holding it with both hands as she pushed it toward me, her smile flawless. “Olivia, have a taste. Leo’s cooking is really quite good.”

Expressionless, I told Jackson to take it to the pet dog.

Jackson looked confused but did as he was told.

Ayla’s eyes instantly reddened. “Olivia… even if you dislike me, you shouldn’t waste Leo’s effort like this. He got up before dawn to simmer that soup…”

Charlie chimed in from the side, “Yeah, how is a dog worthy of food this good?”

“Enough!” Leo glared at me angrily. “Olivia, I tolerated your madness last night, and now you’re wearing that dead face first thing in the morning. Do you have to make this family restless?”

“Have you forgotten that I have severe gastric ulcers and can’t eat seafood?” My voice was calm, even carrying a hint of mockery.

Leo’s anger suddenly had nowhere to go, and he began making excuses for himself. “Sorry, I’ve been a bit busy lately. It was indeed my oversight.”

When Jackson was one year old, I was hospitalized for three days with acute gastroenteritis. Leo was the one who took care of me.

Since then, he had been especially attentive about my diet.

Yet now, he was angry because I refused to eat something that would make me sick.

How ironic.

Ayla blinked her innocent, wide eyes. “Gastric ulcers aren’t a big deal. If it were me, even if I had to take stomach medicine beforehand, I’d happily finish all of Leo’s thoughtfulness.”

It wasn’t her illness—of course she could speak lightly.

I chuckled softly. “Ayla, do you know Leo is mildly allergic to mushrooms? If he eats too much, red rashes appear on his hands.”

“Ah, Leo, why didn’t you tell me? Are you actually this attentive to me?” Ayla held Leo’s hand. There was not a trace of concern in her eyes—only triumph.

Leo froze for a moment, glanced at me, shook her hand off, and began ladling soup for himself.

He responded, “I just forgot. It’s only a minor allergy.”

When people feel guilty, they pretend to be busy.

I didn’t want to keep watching their melodramatic performance. After casually eating a little, I returned to my room and began focusing on my old profession.

After all, I had been out of touch with fashion design for eight years; inevitably, I was a bit rusty.

But the laughter outside the door was so loud that it was hard for me to concentrate.

Outside, Ayla laughed and asked Charlie, “Charlie, who do you think treats you better… me or Olivia?”

“Of course it’s you, Mom. When I lived here before, Olivia wouldn’t let me eat candy. If I made even a little mess, I’d get scolded. The toys she bought weren’t fun either. I prefer being by Mom’s side…” Charlie blurted out without hesitation.

I may be somewhat strict in raising children, but not to the extent he described.

I knew Charlie had been physically weak since birth and needed more careful care than normal children.

Only then did I realize that all those nights when he had high fevers and I stayed up without sleep, those moments when he was injured during training and I cried in distress—none of it, in his heart, compared to a few meals of junk food and the newest toys.

Or perhaps it was simply because I wasn’t his biological mother.

Ayla pressed a finger to Charlie’s lips, signaling him not to say more.

Ignoring her, Charlie tossed the question to Jackson. “Isn’t that right, Jackson?”

Before Jackson could answer, Charlie continued pressing him. “Look at your mom—she controls you so strictly. Won’t let you do anything.”

After a long silence, Jackson did not disappoint me. “I don’t like candy, and I don’t like toys. I like being clean. I love my mom.”

Charlie clearly hadn’t expected the usually gentle Jackson to retort and immediately became angry out of embarrassment. “Then I won’t let my mom treat you well anymore!”

Ayla let out a fake giggle from the side. “Oh, Charlie, Jackson is just joking. Don’t be so petty.”

Jackson replied, “I’m not joking. I have my own mom to treat me well. I don’t care whether others treat me well or not. Don’t say things like that again.”

Inside the room, I smiled in relief.

Fortunately, my biological son remembers my kindness.

At some point, dark clouds had gathered in the sky outside. A thunderclap exploded, and torrential rain poured down.

Suddenly, I remembered several pots of extremely precious moonlight grass my mother had left on the balcony before she passed away.

I hurried out to bring them in, but the flowers had already been maliciously ruined beyond recognition.

Before I could even grieve, I heard the click of a lock.

The balcony door had been locked from the outside.

“Charlie, open the door!” I pounded desperately on the glass door.

All I could see was Charlie calling out to Ayla outside, “Mom, come look at the drowned rat!”

Ayla pretended not to see me and tapped his head with a smile.

“You little rascal. Come on, Mom will take you to buy the newly released limited-edition Lego.”

“Yay!”

“Oh right, call Jackson too. If no one’s home, he’ll be scared.”

How thoughtful. That way, no one would be left to open the door for me.

They left laughing and chatting, leaving me alone on the balcony in the raging storm.

The rain blurred my vision; I couldn’t tell whether it was rain or tears.

Only when the last petal of moonlight grass was swallowed by the muddy water, and my whole body had turned icy and stiff, did Leo, returning home late, finally discover me.

He opened the door and saw me in a wretched state. His first reaction was not concern, but a frown and a scolding. “Olivia! You’re a grown woman. How could you lock yourself on the balcony?”

I had no strength to reply.

Jackson asked Charlie, “Didn’t you say Mom went out? How is she here?”

Ignoring Jackson, Ayla covered her mouth and played dumb. “Oh my, Olivia, how did you… I thought you had already gone back to your room to rest, so I let Charlie lock the balcony door. I’m sorry…”

Charlie hid behind Ayla and made faces at me.

Leo looked troubled, but he still comforted Ayla. There was not a shred of pity for me.

My lips had turned purple from the cold. Trembling, I reached out, wanting to grab Charlie and demand an explanation.

But Leo suddenly shoved me away. “Haven’t you made enough of a scene? Now you want to scare the child too?! He didn’t do it on purpose.”

Caught off guard, I fell heavily onto the cold floor.

My palm scraped against the ground, sending a burning pain through me.

And Charlie couldn’t hold back his laughter.

In this trial, I—the complete and utter victim—had become the only defendant.

...

I looked at them and let out a self-mocking laugh.

Then, bracing myself against the icy floor, I slowly stood up and walked toward them expressionlessly.

Perhaps thinking I was finally going to give in, impatience showed on Leo’s face, triumph hid in Ayla’s eyes, and Charlie wore a mischievous look that seemed to say, “Let’s see what you can do.”

“Slap—”

A crisp, resounding slap landed on Leo’s face without warning.

Time seemed to freeze.

Finger marks quickly appeared on Leo’s cheek. He was stunned at first, then flew into a rage. “Olivia! Why did you hit me?”

I hated his deception, hated his indifferent attitude toward me.

Ayla immediately rushed forward and stood in front of Leo in a saintly, self-sacrificing pose, though her tone was full of provocation. “Leo, don’t get upset! Olivia, if you’re dissatisfied, take it out on me—”

“Slap—”

The second slap cut off her performance cleanly.

I shook my numbed wrist and looked at her instantly swollen cheek with cold eyes. “As you wish. Also, you’re very noisy.”

Ayla let out a cry and collapsed backward weakly, landing precisely in Leo’s arms as he hurried forward. “Leo… I’m so dizzy… my chest hurts…”

Her voice was faint, her acting impeccable.

“Olivia!!!” Leo’s roar nearly lifted the roof. “My dad just died. Ayla can’t handle this kind of shock. If anything happens to her, I will never forgive you!”

There it was again—using the old Alpha’s death as the excuse to defend Ayla time and time again.

He shot me a vicious glare, scooped up the “unconscious” Ayla, and rushed out of the house, with Charlie following closely behind.

When I looked up, I saw that Jackson was crying.

Faced with such a scene, he didn’t know what to do.

I wiped away his tears and told him to leave me alone for a while.

The world finally fell silent.

The storm on the balcony that night took away the moonlight grass—and the last trace of warmth in my body.

At midnight, the high fever arrived as expected.

In my haze, I sensed someone approaching.

I forced my eyes open and saw Ayla’s disdainful gaze.

“Olivia, you’re nothing but a cheap substitute who happens to look a bit like me.”

As if recalling something, she gave a shy little laugh.

“Haven’t you noticed? Charlie looks a lot like Leo.”

What did she mean?

Anger surged through me, and I shook my head, instantly clearing my mind a little.

Seeing that she was about to continue, I raised my hand and slapped her again.

Ayla curled her lips and fell straight backward—how coincidental—right into Leo’s arms as he entered through the door.

Crying in his embrace, Ayla wept pitifully. “Leo! I kindly came to check on her… and she hit me again!”

As she spoke, she covered her chest. “My face hurts so much, and my chest hurts even more…”

Leo’s face darkened as he grabbed my throat.

“Olivia! Do you have any semblance of a Luna left? What exactly has Ayla done to wrong you?”

The sensation of suffocation instantly consumed me. My vision began to darken, and my ears rang.

In the past, even a small cut on my finger would make him ache with concern. Now, for the sake of his stepmother, he was pushing me to the brink of death.

Only when I was about to lose consciousness did he finally release me.

I collapsed against the edge of the bed, coughing violently, my throat burning.

“Ayla just got back from the pack hospital, and you’re determined not to let her have a peaceful day!”

After saying that, he moved to take Ayla to the hospital again.

This time, she stopped him, and the two of them left for somewhere unknown.

My temperature rose even higher, my heart and stomach burning with pain.

I crouched down for a long while before forcing myself up to find some fever medicine and swallow it.

Ayla’s words meant to provoke me lingered in my mind, so I decided to secretly arrange a paternity test for Leo and Charlie.

I hoped things were not as I feared.

Fortunately, because of Ayla’s situation, Leo didn’t come home for several days, and I was granted some peace.

However, the calm was quickly shattered.

Jackson’s homeroom teacher called, saying he had gotten into a fight with a classmate at school.

I immediately called Leo back, only to have him hang up on me without hesitation.

Pressing my lips together, I sent another message.

【Jackson got into a fight at school. The situation is serious. Go handle it immediately.】

He replied almost instantly, with only two cold words: 【No time.】

Right after that, he posted a photo on social media: in a luxury hospital ward, Ayla leaned against the headboard while Leo carefully peeled an apple for her.

The caption seemed like mockery of my message: 【No trivial matters. Do not disturb.】

Trivial matters. So our son getting into trouble was nothing more than a trivial matter in his eyes.

Just like every time before, whenever something happened to Jackson, this father would conveniently disappear.