Chapter 1

From the day we met, Eric’s mom always called me “that worthless Omega.” Maybe in her eyes, an Alpha and an Omega were from two different worlds.

I clutched the bank card and silently left.

By the time I got back to my small apartment on the outskirts, it was pitch black. The wind was biting.

Back when I lived here alone, I’d often be too scared to sleep.

The only thing that made me feel safe was the little “nest” in the corner of the bedroom. Eric had made it for me with his own hands when he’d lost his memory. The soft bed was full of his Alpha scent.

I suddenly remembered that snowy night three years ago. After my shift, I dragged myself home, exhausted, only to trip right at my apartment door.

That’s when I found Eric, his memory gone.

He was covered in blood, his scent was faint, and his eyes were empty. He didn’t remember a thing.

"Who are you? Are you alive?!" I asked, my voice trembling.

"I... I forgot." He shook his head weakly, snowflakes and blood clinging to him, a complete mess.

Just like that, I dragged him into my small apartment.

The apartment was small, but it mostly kept the wind and rain out. It’s just that the heating was always pretty weak in winter, and cold drafts snuck in through the window cracks.

That whole freezing winter, we clung to each other under a thick blanket, just to keep from freezing to death.

And that’s how we fell in love.

On the edge of the sprawling city, we became each other’s only warmth.

I often got sick in the harsh cold. He’d go to the supermarket, buy some meat, then come back and cook it, carefully feeding me.

He secretly found seven part-time jobs in some sketchy places, just so he could buy me something nice to eat.

There were a few days each month when I felt awful, and he’d hold me like a big dog, keeping me warm.

Other than those days, he was all over me, his hot kisses exploring my body, night after night.

When I’d blush and try to push him away, he’d nibble my ear and whisper in that husky voice, "Sera, I'm here. I love you so much."

He even insisted on marking my neck, without any sign from the Moon Goddess.

Our bodies tangled together, he’d say, “The Moon Goddess led me to you. You’ll be my fated mate, forever.”

The year we were most in love, he even dragged me to a tattoo parlor to get my name inked on his collarbone.

The tattoo artist asked if he was scared of the pain, but he just looked at me and smiled, “It’s better if it hurts. That way, I’ll never forget the person I love the most.”

I thought it would always be like this: sharing warmth, sharing food, finding the courage to live in each other.

Until one day, his pack found him. He instantly remembered everything. His Alpha strength surged back.

That’s when I learned he was the young master of the Dark Moon Pack, the future Alpha King! He’d just been tricked by a vampire lord and had accidentally gotten into a car accident during a fight, which caused his injuries and amnesia.

After he got his identity back, he took me to live in his private villa, right in the heart of the huge, luxurious Dark Moon Manor. I’d never lived in such a fancy house.

Growing up on my own, this was the first time I’d felt like I had a home.

But the man who loved me most had changed. He became a stranger, terrifying.

He wore expensive custom-made suits every day and drove luxury cars. He talked about strengthening the pack, about an alliance through marriage with the southern "Thunder Mountain" Pack. After that, he even moved me to a rundown storage room at the edge of the manor grounds and told me to stay there.

He always had tons of bodyguards with him, and it seemed like he had endless meetings to go to, or he was attending dinner parties with his beautiful Beta fiancée, Gianna.

I lied to myself, saying he was just too busy to see me.

Until the day everyone said he was going to marry Gianna, and she would become the Luna Queen of the Dark Moon Pack.

The manor was buzzing with excitement that day. I hid in the crowd like a thief.

I watched Eric put a moonstone necklace on Gianna, heard everyone cheering about how perfect they were together.

That night, curled up in the cold, dark storage room, I finally understood.

The Eric who used to spend every night wrapped around me, who worked himself to the bone at part-time jobs to buy me gifts, who swore to protect me – he was dead. He died the day he got his memory back.

The Alpha King Eric of today was worlds away from me. He was the moon in the sky, and I was just worthless dust.

He was a big shot in the business world, while I was just a little pebble he’d once stepped on, easily kicked aside.

Just like a firefly can never compare to the moon, he was destined to be with an Alpha who shone just as brightly.

If that was the case, why make myself miserable? Why be a stumbling block in his path?

It was better to let go.

Let him go, and let myself go too.