Chapter 1

The blood moon rose, its glow staining the river crimson like molten fire.

When Samuel’s body was pulled ashore, the Pack Doctor only shook his head.

“If we had been a moment earlier, he might have survived. Now it’s too late.”

Sandra’s wails tore through the night before she collapsed in grief.

From that night on, Alpha Leo hated me with every breath.

He cut out my tongue. He severed my hands.

And in the end, he nailed me and my little girl inside a coffin, burying us alive by the dark river—

all to sacrifice my daughter in exchange for his lover.

But she never came back.

Instead, my child and I suffocated in blood and tears.

Yet death was not the end.

As my final breath left my body, my soul fell into the Wolf Realm.

The river of blood burned beneath the moonlight, tearing at my wolf spirit.

Then, out of the shadows, a voice of divine authority thundered:

“Kyla, your pain has been marked by the Moon Goddess.”

“From this day, the chains of your mate bond are severed.”

“Return with blood and vengeance, and rewrite your fate.”

Flames seared me as the mate bond shattered, and for the first time, I felt free.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back in that moment—

Leo forcing me to dive into the river to save Samuel.

As the Dark River’s current roared with endless whirlpools, I turned my gaze to Leo.

To him, asking me to risk my life was natural. He had never cared what it did to me.

“Darling,” Leo said, his tone falsely soft. “You know you’re my mate. I do care for you. But Sandra once saved me, and I owe her. Please—help her this time.”

Sandra clutched at his sleeve, tears streaming down her face. Her voice trembled with fragile innocence, though her eyes flicked toward me in silent provocation.

“Leo, if she doesn’t want to, it’s fine. She doesn’t owe me anything.”

Leo’s expression shifted, as if recalling something. His voice lowered, coaxing.

“Back then, when you convinced my mother to let me marry you, I compromised once. Couldn’t you compromise for me this time?”

I stared at him, my chest tight.

“Your mother only agreed to our bond because I saved her life. The one who tried to drown her that day… is the woman holding your sleeve right now.”

Sandra’s eyes widened, her gaze darting away as if the truth had pierced through her act. Her voice softened, deliberately fragile.

“Leo, do you really believe that? I would never… But maybe, after all these years of marriage, you trust your wife more than me. I’m just an outsider…”

Tears shimmered in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall.

Leo’s guilt ignited instantly. He turned to me, disappointment burning in his stare.

“That can’t be true. I know Sandra. She wouldn’t do something like that. You must have misremembered… my mother never mentioned it…”

The night deepened. Leo kicked at the stones by his feet, sending them plunking into the river one after another. After years of marriage, I knew this was his sign of impatience.

The ripples spread across the water, and memories ripped through me—

my daughter’s cries echoing in my head:

“Mother… why is Father killing me? Mother, save me…”

My chest clenched. The coffin. The silver nails. The blood curse.

Her screams until the very end. My eternal nightmare.

Through the mate bond, my wolf Lily bristled with fury.

I refused to argue with him anymore.

Instead, I pulled several sheets of parchment from my cloak, my hand trembling.

“I can save him,” I said flatly. “But first, you must sign these.”

Leo narrowed his eyes. “What are they for?”

My lips curved bitterly.

“No Dark River ferryman dares act without a contract seeking the Moon Goddess’s forgiveness. Otherwise, the consequences are your own.”

Leo exhaled, slipping free of Sandra’s grip. Without a shred of suspicion, he signed his name.

Sandra’s eyes gleamed with desperate hope.

“Please, hurry! My brother can’t hold on much longer.”

Leo nodded, handing the parchments back to me.

“You go first. We’ll wait on the bank.”

I slid out two sheets from the stack and quietly passed them to a nearby Omega.

“Take these to the Elders. Seal them with the pack crest at once.”

He didn’t know.

Those were not contracts of forgiveness.

They were vows to sever the mate bond—

and the decree to end all ties between us.