I Left Before He Learned My Worth novel Chapter 1

**TITLE: I Left Before He Learned My Worth**

**Chapter 1**

**ARIA**

“Aria, you must accept the bond with that cursed Alpha Kael in place of my daughter. This is what you owe the Blackwood pack! You—”

“I will.”

The moment those words escaped my lips, I could feel the shock radiating from my foster mother, Luna Margaret. Her expression morphed into one of disbelief, her weathered features draining of color as if she had just received devastating news. She blinked rapidly, as if trying to dispel the absurdity of my response.

“What did you say?” she stammered, her voice laced with confusion.

I understood her astonishment all too well. In our territory, which was known as the largest werewolf settlement in the Northern Territories, everyone was aware of the depths of my infatuation with Alpha Damon Cross. From the very first moment our eyes met, I had been irrevocably drawn to him. For years, I had dedicated myself to being his devoted omega, sacrificing my dreams, my dignity, everything for a bond that was never destined to be.

This alliance with Alpha Kael was not a new concept for me. I had turned down this proposal countless times before, all in the hope that Damon would see my unwavering loyalty and choose to mate with me instead. But Margaret had clearly not anticipated that I would actually agree this time—to bond with a stranger who had been trapped in his wolf form for three long years due to a dark magic curse.

Emotionally drained from the torment I had silently endured at their hands, I felt an urgent need for an escape. I repeated firmly, “I’ll do it.”

Once my determination was evident, Margaret exhaled a sigh of relief, but her voice quickly shifted to one of caution, tinged with suspicion.

“One month from now, the Shadowmere pack will conduct the bonding ceremony with their Alpha. They’ve chosen the date during the blood moon, and it is set in stone. Someone will come to escort you for the ritual. I have already accepted their offerings of silver and protection treaties. This is what you owe the Blackwood pack for taking you in as a rogue pup, and there is no turning back now. If you dare to go back on your word or cause any trouble, I will—”

“I won’t,” I interrupted her coldly, feeling my wolf stir restlessly within me.

“The Shadowmere pack is formidable, even if their Alpha is cursed. I trust that their offerings were generous enough, especially considering my origins. I came to you as a lone pup from the ruins of the Crimson Moon pack, and you raised me for sixteen years. Now, I will take your daughter’s place and bond with their Alpha. That settles my debt to the Blackwood pack. From this moment on, we owe each other nothing.”

With that finality, I ended the call, silencing my phone to deter any further attempts at communication from her or anyone else.

Alone in the small cabin Damon had given me, situated on the outskirts of his territory and far removed from the bustling lives of the other pack members, I felt the weight of my decision settle heavily on my shoulders. I couldn’t resist reopening the pack news I had seen earlier, the headlines still fresh in my mind.

The announcement was everywhere, plastered across every werewolf territory, accompanied by photos and videos of Alpha Damon Cross’s bonding ceremony with Sera Quinn. It was the talk of the town, a trending topic that had everyone buzzing with excitement.

In the images, they stood together beneath the sacred moon oak, surrounded by their pack members, pledging to share one soul for eternity. The bond-mark on Sera’s neck shimmered in the moonlight, a bright beacon of their union. They clearly reveled in the attention, basking in the blessings of the entire werewolf community, who celebrated the completion of the destined bond between two childhood sweethearts.

Everyone, it seemed, except for me.

Damon had been my Alpha—the wolf I had adored with every fiber of my being. I had shown him my love through every action, every sacrifice, ever since the day he walked into my life.

Four years ago, he had been poisoned with wolfsbane during a rogue attack, his wolf nearly extinguished. The proud Cross family had deemed him weak, already searching for a replacement. And then, just as fate would have it, his so-called childhood sweetheart, Sera, had fled to the human city, claiming she couldn’t bear the burden of being mated to a damaged Alpha.

But when I was tormented by other pack members for being an orphaned rogue, treated as less than human, it was Damon who had pulled me from that abyss, saving me from despair. From that fateful day onward, my heart beat solely for him, and he became my reason to endure.

I had loved him in silence for so long. On that frigid winter night when the wolfsbane poisoning had driven him close to the edge, I was the one who ventured into the bitter cold, found him, and brought him to my cabin.

I had done everything in my power to heal him, to coax his wolf back from the brink of madness, step by painstaking step. I had been patient, enduring his outbursts in silence, knowing that he was suffering and felt utterly lost. I had researched ancient remedies, bartered favors with witch healers, and even offered my own life force to strengthen his wolf.

I had heard whispers of a powerful witch in the Eastern Territories who could completely purge wolfsbane. To afford her services, I had sold my blood to vampire contacts, becoming a message runner through treacherous rogue territories, enduring broken ribs and scars that still throbbed in the cold.

My suffering had been endless, but finally, two years ago, I had gathered enough resources for the cleansing ritual.

It had worked. His wolf had emerged stronger than ever. That night, he had kissed me and promised to claim me as his mate, vowing that he would never allow me to suffer alone again, that we would build a pack together.

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