Chapter 3

Alpha Lucas thought I was angry and quickly chased after me to soothe me.

Seeing the anxious look on his face, I suddenly found it laughable.

He had willingly given up our hunting grounds to the Silver Moon Pack just to get closer to Sarah.

Now that she had come to see him as he wished, who was he pretending for?

"Don't worry. I'm not an unreasonable Luna. Focus on your pack affairs. I'll stay quietly in the territory and wait for you."

He visibly relaxed and ordered his Beta to personally escort me away.

The moment I stepped out of the council hall, the younger wolves cast me disdainful looks.

They sneered at me in hushed voices, loud enough for me to hear.

I ignored them and walked straight out of the pack’s center.

After marking me, he had said he didn’t want me involved in pack matters, that he only wanted me to be a carefree Luna.

I believed him.

And so, I became nothing more than a caged ornament within the territory.

Meanwhile, Sarah—the same woman who once turned against me—had risen to become an esteemed envoy of the Silver Moon Pack.

Now, we were worlds apart—in status, in strength, in the way the werewolves saw us.

I could no longer stand on equal footing with her.

Alpha Lucas, this is what you wanted, isn't it?

To ensure that I, your so-called true mate, would never be a threat to her again.

Upon returning to my territory, I gathered every token of affection Lucas had given me over the past five years and took them to the Moonlight Pool.

I intended to burn them all.

The moment the flames ignited, Sarah appeared before me.

She kicked the fire apart.

Burning embers scattered across her, but instead of anger, she smirked mockingly.

"Emma, after all these years, you're still this weak."

"You couldn’t save your mother back then, and now you can’t even protect yourself. You’re a joke!"

She knew about the sacrifice?

Rage erupted within me. My wolf howled in fury, and before I could stop myself, I lunged at her.

I hadn’t even used my full strength, yet she staggered backward—

Right into the sacred fire.

I froze, unable to react in time.

A dark shadow flashed past me, slamming into my body and knocking me to the ground.

Sarah was cradled protectively in his arms.

Alpha Lucas.

The fury in his gaze burned hotter than the flames behind us. His Alpha aura crashed down on me like a tidal wave.

"Emma! What the hell are you doing? Are you insane?"

"Sarah came here out of kindness, just to see you and explain the past. And you attack her?!"

There was no warmth in his eyes anymore—only cold, unforgiving rage.

I let out a bitter laugh.

"She spoke of my mother, Alpha Lucas."

"Shouldn’t you—shouldn’t all of you—give me an explanation for that so-called 'misunderstanding'?"

His brow furrowed, and for a split second, I saw hesitation in his eyes.

"What explanation? Your mother’s healing ritual failed. You’ve always known that."

"Whatever happened back then, it doesn’t justify attacking Sarah!"

"Emma, apologize to her. Now."

Before I could respond, Sarah had already nestled into his shoulder, her voice trembling with artificial softness.

"Don’t… don’t make things difficult for Emma. Alexander refused to mark her back then. That alone was already unfair to her."

"Let’s just forget about today. Consider it my way of making up for the past."

"If she hates me so much, then we just won’t see each other anymore. I don’t want to make things hard for you, Lucas."

My claws pierced my palms, blood dripping onto the dying flames.

As I watched the two of them standing together, I knew—

This was the end.

I gathered the discarded tokens once more and resumed burning them.

Five years of lies, reduced to ashes.

An hour later, Lucas finally reached out through the mind link.

"Sarah is an envoy of the Red Mountain Pack. If you injure her, it could harm the alliance. Having you apologize was just for show—you’re overthinking it."

"Once I’ve dealt with this, I’ll come back and make it up to you, alright? I promised you the Moonlight Blessing. Don’t be upset."

But I knew the truth.

This wasn’t an act for Sarah.

It was an act for me.

For five years, he had played this game of deception.

Tonight, I was ending it.