Chapter 1

I was the pack's Guardian Wolf. Out of love, I handed the Alpha title to my mate myself. From the time I turned 18, he spent the next ten years devoted to me. I never imagined that within a single year of gaining power, he would betray me three times. The first time was on the anniversary of our bond. He slept with a human woman. Afterward, he knelt in front of me, crying, begging for forgiveness, and swearing it was because our enemies had drugged him. The elders came to me in private. "Nova, he's the Alpha. Men make mistakes sometimes. As a Luna, you need to be understanding." So, I swallowed it. The second time, I was undergoing uterine surgery when he took that human woman to the maternity clinic next door for a prenatal checkup. I caught them there. He panicked. He held me tight and said a human-wolf hybrid was a once-in-a-century miracle, something that could bring the two races closer together. I accepted it. The third time, for that pregnant human, he snatched my mother's relic at an auction, claiming it was needed to stabilize her pregnancy. He frowned at me, irritated. "You're the Luna. You're also the Guardian Wolf. You have to think about the pack's future." This time, I laughed. I laughed at how naive he was, thinking I would keep humiliating myself forever. "Silas…" I opened my mouth and actually laughed out loud. At the same moment, Ivy Turner let out a soft, delicate cry. "Ah… My stomach hurts." Silas Grimoire's face changed instantly. He shoved me aside instinctively and rushed to the human woman. I staggered backward, my waist slamming hard into the edge of the table. Cold sweat soaked through my back in an instant. "Silas!" My voice shook. He didn't turn around or hesitate for even a second. He scooped Ivy into his arms and bolted out at full speed. All he left me was a hurried silhouette disappearing down the corridor. I stood there, suddenly laughing. The harder I laughed, the harder the tears came. "Silas, so you chose her? Then what about us? What were those ten years to you?" Clutching my side, I forced myself upright. As a Guardian Wolf, my bloodline carried the power and responsibility to protect the entire pack. To leave the pack, I would need the approval of both the elders and the Alpha. Ever since Ivy arrived, the elders and even the warriors had all been eager to protect this fragile human woman. Behind my back, the elders said I was too emotional, unfit to be a Luna, and even less fit to be a Guardian Wolf. In council meetings, they discussed how to protect the human-wolf hybrid fetus, how it represented a peaceful future. I suggested reinforcing the defenses. No one listened. Silas proposed expanding the gardens to keep Ivy relaxed during her pregnancy. It passed immediately. No one cared how I felt. They only told me to think of the bigger picture. Were they really willing to give everything for a once-in-a-century child and a fragile human woman? Two hours later, I finished drafting a bloodline bond termination contract and returned to the room with it in hand. Not long after, Silas came back as well, along with Ivy. I knew he stayed glued to her bedside, reacting to every tiny change in her expression. "I'm craving moonberries," Ivy said softly from the next room, her tone sweet and pleading. "The kind only wolves have. I want you to pick them for me." "Right away." I heard Silas leave. He was so eager it was as if being even a second late would be unforgivable. When his scent finally vanished down the corridor, I pushed open the door to the next room. The moment Ivy saw me, her eyes turned teary. "Luna, are you upset with me? I'm sorry. I just heard that when your mother gave birth to you, things went wrong, and that necklace saved your life. That's why I thought…" Her tears hovered on the brink of falling. "Silas only gave it to me so I could deliver the pup safely, and we could all go back to how things used to be. He takes care of me, but his heart is still with you. I know that—" "Stop pretending," I cut her off. "After you two slept together, he gave you money and told you to disappear. You just happened to collapse at our border afterward with a baby in your belly. I know exactly what you want. I'm sick of your game." I placed the bloodline bond termination contract on her bedside table. "If I hand this to him myself, he won't sign it. You'll find a way to get his signature without him realizing what it is." She bit her lower lip. "Luna, I never meant to replace you…" "You get one chance," I said flatly. I had no patience left for her act. She shrank back, then reached out and took the contract. "…Thank you, Luna," she said softly. "For fulfilling the wishes of our family of three." A family of three. Every word was a venomous fang, sinking straight into my heart. I heard my own voice, hollow and distant. "Then I wish you happiness." Back at the castle, I pulled out an old mithril chest and began packing away everything that had ever belonged to Silas. The first thing I placed inside was a photograph from when we were five years old. We were young and carefree, smiling like nothing in the world could ever touch us. The second was a tuft of silver wolf fur, cut from over his heart and given to me at his coming-of-age ceremony, in front of all the elders. He had said, "This belongs only to Nova." The third was the ruby ring he gave me during our mating ceremony, the mark of our bond. He'd said with bright eyes, "Nova, my soul, my fangs, everything I am belongs to you from this moment on." If Ivy had never existed, I truly believed we would have been the happiest mates in the history of the Grimoire pack.