Chapter 4

I knew Owen wouldn't help me again.

But the next night, Leo sent me a video.

In the clip, he was pinned to the ground and beaten by three massive werewolves.

Fists smashed into his face, blood splattering the camera.

"Sienna... save me..." His voice was a faint, desperate rasp.

I immediately tried the mind link to reach Owen, but I was blocked.

Desperate, I dialed his number.

"Sorry, the number you have reached is unavailable..."

Once. Twice. Ten times.

"Owen, please!" I cried into the voicemail. "My brother is going to be beaten to death!"

"I'll do anything! I'll die if you want! Just please save him!"

No response.

I tracked his location—a werewolf club.

When I rushed over, I saw him and Loretta drinking in a VIP booth.

She was sitting on his lap, raising glasses to celebrate something.

I slammed my fists on the glass, a caged animal. "Owen! My brother is dying!"

But the guards grabbed me and dragged me out of the club.

I knelt outside the club all night, until dawn.

Until Leo sent me an address, saying he was at the hospital.

When I got there, he was lying on the bed, covered in wounds, barely breathing.

His left leg was obviously snapped, and his face was swollen beyond recognition from wolfsbane.

"Sienna..." He grabbed my hand. "I... I know now..."

"What?"

"My company..." He coughed up blood. "Eleonora... she set it all up..."

My blood froze.

"What do you mean?"

"The fifty million eight years ago... that was her trap too..." He used his last bit of strength. "She even hinted... that I should make you... use the Blood Moon Ritual..."

My world collapsed.

Eight years of humiliation. Eight years of agony. It was all a setup.

"Why?" I asked, trembling.

"She said... that way you'd be tied down... and never be able to leave Owen..."

I slumped onto the floor.

Those cold stares from Owen at night. The accusations that I "tricked" him. The punishments of "this is your price."

All of it was built on a lie.

"Doctor!" I ran out to find a healer. "Save him!"

The pack healer checked him and shook his head:

"His wolf core is shattered. He's dying. He needs a healer, now."

"Then do the ritual!"

"But we don't have time right now."

What did that mean?

Just then, a familiar voice rang out: "Careful, darling."

Owen walked into the medical center with Loretta in his arms.

She was wearing a gown, a bandage wrapped around one ankle.

"I accidentally twisted it dancing last night," she said sweetly.

Bullsht. With her healing abilities, there was no way a sprain wouldn't have healed by now!

Eight years of hatred exploded instantly. I lost my mind, charged at Owen, grabbed his collar, and screamed hysterically.

"Did you guys set up my brother?"

Owen looked stunned for a second, then stared at me coldly:

"What are you talking about?"

"Eleonora orchestrated everything!" I shook him violently. "Did you know?!"

He shoved me off: "I have no idea what crazy sht you're talking about."

"Healer!" He used his Alpha command. "Treat Loretta first."

"No!" I grabbed the healer's sleeve. "My brother is dying!"

"As for that man..." Owen pointed at the hospital room, his golden eyes devoid of emotion. "Banish him," Owen ordered.

"What?" I couldn't believe it.

"Since he can't pay back what he owes our pack, strip him of his wolf," he said coldly. "Turn him into a complete cripple."

"No!" I dropped to my knees and hugged his leg. "Don't do this!"

But two pack enforcers had already entered the room.

Leo's screams tore through the night. The agony of having a wolf forcibly ripped out is a thousand times worse than death.

I watched helplessly as my brother convulsed in pain, the light fading from his eyes.

In the end, he went from a werewolf to a broken shell, and stopped breathing.

"No——!!!"

The shock of it—the ultimate betrayal—it snapped the mate bond. The agony was absolute. It tore me in two.

I felt the life inside me give way. A warm gush of fluid slicked down my legs.

Blood. Our pup was gone.

With my last ounce of strength, as the darkness closed in, I let a drop of my blood fall onto the mirror.

The mirror flared to life, revealing her face from eight years ago—so innocent, yet so terrified.

"Reject the mark..." I rasped, my voice a dying, desperate plea. "We can... have a second chance..."

Through the mirror, tears streamed down her face as she nodded.

"I promise."

And then, endless darkness.

---

Owen's POV

After getting Loretta's ankle checked, I went back to the empty penthouse.

The pup was gone. Good. We could have another. A pure one, untainted by deals and lies. Her brother got what he deserved. Now he'd never come between us again.

But the moment I stepped inside, something felt off. Why was it so quiet?

"John!" I called out to the butler. "Tell Sienna to make me some coffee."

John looked at me, totally confused:

"Sienna? Who's Sienna?"

"My Luna." I frowned. "My mate."

John's brow furrowed. "Alpha, you've never had a Luna. You don't have a mate."