He's Not My True Mate

When I went to reissue my mate certificate, the Werewolf Affairs Division told me, "Your mate certificate is a forgery. We have no record of your registration."

I stared at the clerk, unable to believe what I was hearing.

"But Sam and I registered five years ago. That's impossible. Could you please check again?"

The clerk gave me a look before double-checking the files.

"We found Alpha Sam's record. But the registered mate… isn't you."

My voice trembled.

"Then who is Sam's legal mate?"

The clerk didn't hesitate. "Lily."

I gripped the back of the chair, white-knuckled, just to keep myself upright.

Until the clerk had spoken that name, I'd still held on to hope. Maybe it was a clerical error. A mix-up.

But of all people, it had to be Lily, Sam's childhood friend.

And suddenly, everything started to make sense.

In five years of being Sam's mate, he had never marked me.

We'd only held a mating ceremony—no certificate, no legal bond.

I had given up everything for that ceremony, poured all my hope and love into it, believing I was his, only to find the certificate was fake. The five years I'd thought were mine—our happiness—had all been a lie, crafted and upheld by appearances.

If none of it was truly mine, then there's only one thing left for me to do.

Leave.

I returned home with the fake mate certificate in hand, feeling hollow.

A mate certificate was something every mated werewolf couple possessed—a symbol of legitimacy issued by the Werewolf Pack Council. It was the equivalent of a marriage certificate in human terms.

But mine was a lie.

I forced myself to hold it together as I approached the door to our house.

Just as I was about to push it open, I heard Sam's voice inside, speaking with his Beta.

"Alpha, it's been five years. Are you still not going to mark Echo?"

I froze where I stood, even my breath stilled.

A long silence stretched out before Sam's voice responded, low and steady.

"Not yet. Lily's alone in the White Moon Pack. She needs me as her support—only then can she gain a foothold."

The Beta didn't hesitate to remind him, "But Echo doesn't even have a proper mate certificate with you. If she ever finds out about the deception, she could leave anytime."

Sam lowered his gaze. After a moment of contemplation, he replied, "Lily gave birth to my daughter. I must do everything I can to protect her. As for Echo…she loves me too much to ever walk away. Besides, she broke with her birth pack just to marry me. She has nowhere else to go now. She can only stay by my side."

The truth, stripped bare and bleeding, crashed down on me like a winter gale. I felt myself plunging into an icy abyss.

My father had strongly opposed my relationship with Sam. Back then, Sam hadn't yet become an Alpha, and in his eyes, that made him unworthy