Chapter 1

• Eero's Perspective
• "I'm gonna meet Cohen once we're done patrolling the border," I said to Soleil, my best friend, barely able to contain the excitement that bubbled within me.
• The anticipation of our meeting had been building all day, and I could feel my heart racing just thinking about it.
• Soleil, who had been walking alongside me, stopped in her tracks and turned to face me, her eyes wide with surprise.
• "Oh yeah, it's your 10th anniversary today!" she exclaimed, her voice filled with a mix of excitement and curiosity.
• "I don't know how things are going on between you, but is Cohen showing some signs, hinting, or dropping clues that he would propose to you? It'd be meaningful if he did it today. A wonderful way to wrap up this decade of romance."
• Soleil pouted her lips as she looked at me, waiting patiently to find out more about our plans for the anniversary.
• What was I supposed to tell her? Cohen hadn't said anything about this day? But who knows? There might be a surprise waiting for me at home. Such a thing happened all the time in soap operas, wasn't it?
• I hadn't thought about the possibility of a proposal, but the idea sent a thrill through me.
• Before I could speak, Soleil piped up, "Wait! Am I picking this up right? Does your silence mean that Cohen, your mate for ten years, didn't get anything special about this significant day?"
• Her question was a gentle prod, but it carried a weight that I couldn't ignore.
• "Here you go again," I said, trying to keep my tone light. "You're always too quick to judge. I'm sure that Cohen has got a surprise for me. Our 10th anniversary will be special. It has to be." I emphasized the last sentence to Soleil, and to myself.
• Soleil only shook her head, her eyes betraying a hint of sadness. She was not exactly a fan of my relationship with Cohen, but she kept her thoughts to herself most of the time, knowing how much Cohen meant to me and how he made me happy.
• "You know what? I used to be jealous of you because you met your mate at a young age," she confessed, her voice barely above a whisper. "But babe, after knowing the guy's Cohen, I don't think you're that lucky after all. It's like that he doesn't really care about you."
• "Soleil! You're crossing the lin..." I started, but my words were cut short by a sudden, sharp pain that stabbed through my chest.
• "Ouch!" I gasped, clutching at my heart as if I could physically grasp the source of the agony.
• "Eero!" Panicked, Soleil rushed over to hold my shoulders.
• I found I could hardly maintain eye contact with Soleil as my heart felt like getting stabbed by an invisible knife. As if bleeding profusely inside, I could barely breathe.
• "You okay, Eero? You are scaring me!"
• I could tell the dread in Soleil's voice, but I couldn't utter a single word to calm her down.
• My wolf was trying to deliver a message, which sounded unclear to me at first but then scared the hell out of me.
• "S-Something happened back...at the p-pack house. I-I...must go back...right now." I turned to Soleil despite the killing pain.
• "You sure? You don't look well at all. Shall I go with you as well?" Soleil asked, her concern for me evident in her voice.
• "N-No...you can't. I-I need...you to patrol...a-along the border...f-fulfilling my d-duty here...t-today," I stammered, my words coming out in gasps as the pain grew stronger.
• My wolf could barely handle it.
• Although reluctant to let me drive back alone, Soleil eventually gave in, her eyes filled with worry as she watched me leave.
• Back at the pack house.
• I couldn't help but clutch my stuffy chest the minute I got out of the car.
• My eyes went straight to the closed window of Serra's room on the second floor.
• I didn't know why, but my wolf was guiding me to that particular part of our house as if it knew something I didn't.
• It didn't take long before I found myself standing in front of my sister's room.
• From the half-opened door came the sound of heavy panting and groaning.
• It was a mix of a man's and a woman's voices, both so familiar to me that my heart was bleeding dry before I could even see what was going on inside.
• My wolf ensured me that the man inside was no other than our mate, whom we'd loved for ten years!
• Yet I chose to disregard what my wolf was trying to communicate to me. There was no way Cohen would do this to me!!
• I'd always known that Serra, the spoiled brat, hated me. But she couldn't possibly hate me so much that she was stealing my mate from me!!!
• "Deeper, baby. I'm cumming. Hit me deeper, ohh! Yeah, that's it! Keep going!"
• "You're so fucking tight, Serra my love!"
• The last string in my heart was cut off when Cohen said those words to my sister.
• I burst open the door, only to find my mate on top of my sister, both naked.
• Serra's legs were spreading wide to my mate.
• "Eero?" Serra exclaimed.