Chapter 2

I ended the call with trembling fingers. The Pack doctor gave me a quiet, sympathetic look before silently leaving the room, as if he could feel the storm brewing inside me.

I stared down at my bandaged arm. The pain was nothing compared to the ache hollowing out my chest.

How had I let it get this far?

Once upon a time, Alpha Eddy at least pretended to care—feeding me lies with soft words while filling his bed with other women. But now? He didn’t even bother with pretense. He gave every second of his time, his attention, and his loyalty to the three sisters. I had been erased from his world long before he publicly discarded me.

Maybe this was the Moon Goddess’s way of waking me up—forcing my heart to finally accept what my pride had refused to see: a man so generous with his affections could never truly belong to just one woman.

The door creaked open again.

“Miss, I’m terribly sorry!”

A stranger rushed in, his expression full of guilt. “Our Alpha was in a rush. I lost control of the car. Please forgive me for causing you harm.”

He held out a card. “Here’s one million dollars as compensation. I hope you’ll accept it.”

I stared at the prepaid card in his hand and numbly took it. What was the point of arguing? Nothing I said would matter to men like them.

I closed my eyes, and the memories flooded in like poison.

Our first meeting. The coming-of-age ceremony. The smile that charmed every girl in the room. The way I believed—truly believed—he was different with me.

But Alpha Eddy was a gentleman to everyone—a master performer with a rotating cast of lovers.

And now, he was parading the three sisters around the world like prized trophies. Headlines screamed their lavish escapades: diamond-studded collars, rare wolf-vine flowers, moonstone gowns flown in from distant packs. Every photo showed them laughing beside him, his hands always resting somewhere intimate.

The day I was discharged, I returned to the Red Tree castle… only to find the door’s fingerprint scanner blinking red.

Access denied.

My heart lurched.

The lock no longer recognized me.

I stood frozen on the doorstep, shame burning through me, when the door swung open.

Nina stood there, draped in a silk robe, her voice sweet and sharp. “Eddy, didn’t you already throw Carol out? Why’s she back here?”

Alpha Eddy appeared a moment later, glancing around before grabbing my wrist and pulling me aside.

“Carol, just endure this for a bit longer. Once I’ve had enough, I’ll kick them out. I promise.”

Before I could respond, he turned back and announced loudly, “Yeah, but she’s jobless right now. Can’t make it on her own. Let her stay—for old time’s sake. As a servant.”

The world tilted.

A servant?

I looked up at him in disbelief. He squeezed my palm—part warning, part silent command.

Then Mia strutted over, moonstone heels clicking like gunshots on the marble floor. She tossed a pile of clothes at my feet with a smug little smirk. “Great. Then you can start by washing these.”

I didn’t move. Couldn’t breathe.

But I couldn’t be kicked out. Not yet. There were still things in that castle I needed. Things that mattered.

So I swallowed the bile rising in my throat and knelt—hands trembling—as I gathered the perfumed, wrinkled clothes from the floor.

That’s when I saw it.

A glint of white silk beneath the pile.

I froze.

It was a moonlight silk gown—my moonlight silk gown. Hand-sewn by my mother, stitch by loving stitch. It now lay crumpled on the ground, the neckline ripped, soaked in stains that made my skin crawl.

Mia followed my gaze and tossed her hair with cruel pride. “Eddy said I looked so sexy in moonlight silk. I found that one in the closet and just had to try it on.”

My vision blurred as tears welled up and spilled over.

That dress... My mother gave it to me when she was dying, her voice soft, her hands frail.

“Carol, my sweet girl... When I’m gone, this gown will keep you strong. It’ll carry my love when I no longer can.”

And now?

It had been desecrated. Ruined beyond recognition.

Alpha Eddy barely blinked. “It’s just a gown,” he muttered, pulling out a check. “I’ll pay you back.”

I stared at him, voice cracking. “You know what it meant to me.”

He scowled, snatched another check from his wallet, and flung it at my face. “Is that enough?”

I didn’t flinch. I didn’t cry.

I was done.

“Stop making a scene,” he snapped, turning on his heel. “We don’t have time to play house with you.”

And just like that, he walked away—with the three sisters at his side.

The check fluttered to the floor, light as paper… but it felt like the weight of my broken heart.

I climbed the stairs in silence, fingers curled so tightly my nails dug into my palms. When I opened the door to my room, my breath caught.

Everything was destroyed.

My closet had been ransacked. Gowns shredded. Pajamas in tatters. It looked like a crime scene.

I didn’t need to ask who had done it.

I walked straight to a corner of the room and knelt, pressing against a hidden panel in the wall. A small wooden box slid free from its compartment.

My mother’s box.

I opened it—emptiness. The jewelry was gone.

All of it.

I let out a bitter laugh. Of course.

I never cared for jewels or luxury. As the future Luna, I had access to everything. But this box... this was sacred. A piece of my mother. The last piece.

I clutched it to my chest, forcing myself to breathe. But something wasn’t right. It was too quiet.

“Baby?” I called out softly, my voice barely above a whisper.

No response.

Where was my dog?

That night, Alpha Eddy returned with the sisters, loud and drunk with laughter.

Anna sauntered into the foyer, heels clacking, rolling her eyes. “Ugh, that stupid mutt couldn’t even fight back.”

I froze. My heart plummeted.

I shot to my feet. “Where’s Baby?”

Eddy stood in the doorway, gaze cold, lips sealed.

He said nothing.

And in that silence, I heard the sound of something inside me breaking…for the very last time.