Chapter 2
In the days that followed, I focused on preparing for my upcoming training with the Blackthorn Pack—
a clan renowned for its strength and pure bloodlines, where weakness was not tolerated.
Since the night I fled from Alpha Morgan’s room, Eira had been unusually quiet.
She no longer hovered around him under flimsy pretexts.
But I knew better than to think she’d truly withdrawn—this was simply the calm before the storm.
Alpha Morgan hadn’t returned home, claiming he was patrolling the outer borders.
Without him and Eira constantly in my space, I finally felt a breath of peace.
But peace never lasted long in a pack like ours.
Three days later, Alpha Morgan returned.
The moment he stepped through the door, the entire house was saturated with Alpha pressure.
Each of his steps was deliberate and powerful, like a wolf king returning from battle at the edge of the wilderness.
He carried a box made of obsidian wood—its surface embedded with faint glyphs of scent-sealing magic.
“Chloe. Open it,” he said, his voice low and deep, like wind through the trees of a dark forest.
I nodded, though unease prickled my skin.
When I lifted the lid and saw what was inside, I froze.
A string of snow-white pearls.
Not just any necklace—this one had once been sold for two hundred million gold at the Shadowfang Auction.
Its buyer had remained anonymous, but rumors whispered it was tied to an Alpha’s mating vow.
“For me?” I asked, barely above a whisper.
In my previous life, I’d seen this very necklace around Eira’s neck.
She flaunted it shamelessly, saying it was a symbol of Alpha Morgan’s love,
proof that his devotion belonged only to her—and never to me, the adopted outsider.
“Of course it’s for you. Who else would I give it to?” Alpha Morgan replied, eyes locked on mine.
I hesitated, unsure if I could accept it. My soul recoiled, haunted by memories.
Alpha Morgan caught the hesitation in my eyes, and his face stiffened.
“Don’t pretend with me, Chloe,” he muttered, tugging at his collar. “It’s yours. Just take it.”
With that, he slammed the box onto the table.
At that moment, Eira walked in.
Her gaze zeroed in on the necklace instantly.
A flicker of jealousy flashed in her eyes—barely perceptible, but there.
She quickly masked it with a soft smile.
“Alpha Morgan, don’t be mad. Chloe’s still young.”
“She’s not young anymore,” Alpha Morgan replied flatly. “Her blood moon awakening is near.”
His words sent a jolt through me.
Every werewolf must undergo a bloodline awakening upon maturity.
Those who succeed gain powers unique to their lineage.
Those who fail are exiled, or worse.
“She’s only sixteen,” Eira protested. “She’s still a child. We’re her elders, aren’t we?”
Alpha Morgan’s expression twitched at the word elders, as if his wolf instinct resisted it.
At lunch, the white pearl necklace was once again hanging around Eira’s neck.
She had claimed she liked it, and Alpha Morgan had simply handed it over.
Seeing me quietly eating, Eira's eyes welled with fake tears.
“Chloe, are you upset? You always get emotional whenever Alpha Morgan gives me gifts.”
She reached up as if to remove the necklace.
“Don’t,” Alpha Morgan stopped her, then turned toward me.
“Chloe, don’t be so petty.”
“Eira will soon be married into the Silver Moon Pack. She’ll be my Luna. You should respect her.”
Luna.
The title alone carried immense weight—
the Alpha’s chosen mate, revered and protected by all wolves in the pack.
And me? I’d always be nothing more than a rescued outsider.
“Eira isn’t like you,” Alpha Morgan added sharply. “She’s innocent.”
Innocent?
My fists clenched under the table as I looked at the pearls around Eira’s neck.
In my past life, on the night before her wedding, she had worn them too,
crying crocodile tears as she told me they were Alpha Morgan’s engagement gift.
That’s when I knew—he loved her, truly and completely.
Alpha Morgan’s patience was wearing thin.
He stood, Alpha dominance flooding the room like a wave.
“From now on, I don’t want to see you disrespecting Eira. You’ll address her as ‘luna’”
I lifted my gaze and met his cold, heavy stare.
In my previous life, I truly had hated seeing other women around him.
Spoiled by his favoritism, I’d refused to share.
I’d driven many of them away with manipulative games and subtle cruelty—
but not Eira.
She had always been the exception.
Alpha Morgan never let me touch her.
He warned me again and again: don’t harm her.
I placed my chopsticks down and forced a thin smile onto my lips.
“Don’t worry, Alpha Morgan” I said smoothly.
“As me—not by blood—I’m truly happy to gain a Luna.”
