Chapter 3

That night, Lorenzo returned to the manor with dozens of attendants.

They filled the hall to the brim.

Ordinarily, he would never make such a show of force, unless he saw his opponent as a threat.

Yet this was the first time he’d turned a blade against me.

We sat across the table from each other, with a line of silent attendants behind him.

He tapped his knuckles against the marble, his voice clear.

“That’s twice now,” he said in a low voice.

I let out a cold laugh, not bothering to respond.

“Anyone who throws themselves into the lion’s den shouldn’t complain about getting bitten.”

His words were tinged with coldness. “Molly, you should bow your head and apologize to her.”

“Lorenzo, have you forgotten something? I bled side by side with you every step you took to climb up. And now you’re putting a coddled little silver sparrow in front of me? Are you muddled, or is she just too conceited?”

I pushed the divorce papers toward him.

“This is your last chance.”

Moonlight spilled over the marble, yet it failed to illuminate our faces.

We stared at each other in the shadows.

“Since we were young, you’ve always been the one who took down that beast —that beast who was my father. You charged into those fighting rings for me, risking everything you had.”

“And I…I lost a pup for you. I drained myself dry of blood for you. Lorenzo, it’s time to cut this off. There’s no debt left to settle, this is for the best for both of us.”

He let out a cold laugh in the darkness, reaching for the divorce papers.

A lighter flared to life; the pages instantly curled into ash, and the ash flakes were swept away by the wind.

“She won’t bother you again,” he said.

He stood up, and his attendants followed him like a receding tide.

A sudden, searing pain exploded from my lower abdomen.

I doubled over, clutching my stomach.

The servants rushed over.

“Luna!” they cried out.

“I’m fine…” My voice was barely audible.

“It’s just my old trouble acting up again.”

Since losing the pup, every time the wind blows and rain falls, that stabbing pain returns to me.

Even the pack’s doctors can’t completely cure it.

Maybe the injury isn’t just physical, the rift in my heart is even harder to heal.

This time, the pain was so severe that I had no choice but to go to the Healing Chamber.

And what awaited me there was another storm.

Aria lay on the hospital bed, crying and screaming in a shrill voice.

“Can’t you make her disappear? To us, she’s just a mere obstacle in our way, just a shadow, not even worth crushing underfoot!”

“I want her dead! If you won’t do it, I’ll go end this myself!”

She suddenly snatched up the dagger by the bedside, ready to burst out the door.

Lorenzo grabbed her wrist in a firm grip and wrenched the dagger back without hesitation.

The tip of the blade sliced open his palm, and blood oozed out immediately.

Aria collapsed limply in his arms, sobbing and gasping.

Lorenzo lifted her face with his bleeding hand.

She looked up at him through tears, and then their lips crashed together.

The dagger slipped through her fingers, hitting the floor with a sharp, clinking sound.

Once, it was him and I embracing in blood.

Now, it was her kissing him amid the blood.

The door swung open. She saw me, and screamed.

“Molly!”

Aria’s hand flashed, and the dagger was already in her grasp.

In the next instant, the weapon was swatted away, clattering to the floor with a crisp clink.

I grabbed her by the hair and forced her to her knees.

Lorenzo clutched my wrist, muttering.

“That’s enough. No need to stoop to her level.”

I stared at him, sneering.

“Since you refuse to divorce me, I need to make everyone understand — your mate isn’t a weak wolf to be trampled on.”

My palm slapped hard across Aria’s face.

“Molly!” He pulled me away from her.

Aria sobbed softly behind him.

I wrenched my hand free.

“Refuse to divorce? Then don’t blame me for being ruthless…”