Chapter 6

When I woke up again, I was lying in the pack's healing grounds.

"You're finally awake." The healer sighed, looking at me with pity. "You had a miscarriage with severe hemorrhaging. The demon-breaking blood nearly shattered your wolf spirit. If Elder Marta hadn't found you, even the Moon Goddess couldn't have saved you."

My hand moved to my empty abdomen.

"Elder Marta found you unconscious in that cage and brought you here. We've been channeling moonlight into your spirit for three days." The healer shook her head. "Your Alpha mate won't answer our calls. When he comes, I'll remind him what it means to abandon an injured packmate."

"Healer." I interrupted her. "Don't tell him about the pup."

He wouldn't believe me anyway.

The healer hesitated. "That pup carried Alpha blood. By law—"

"There is no law that applies to me anymore," I said. "I was never his true mate."

During my recovery, Kieran never appeared. Through pack whispers, I learned he was spending day and night by Isabella's side, using mooncrystals from the family treasury to stabilize her power.

I remembered when I was sick, Kieran used to make soup for me. When I had fever, he would sit by my bedside, holding my hand.

Only now did I understand.

That tenderness was never meant for me.

He was loving Isabella through me.

On discharge day, Kieran finally called.

"Emergency at the borders. I've arranged for Beta Marcus to escort you home."

I didn't question him. I just said "okay."

The moment the call ended, I touched my empty abdomen.

Kieran was nothing more than a name about to be deleted from my life.

I would never have expectations of him again.

When I returned home, I saw Isabella in the living room, paintbrush in hand, covering the walls with wild strokes of color.

Our wedding photos and memories lay scattered on the floor, stained with paint.

Seeing me, Isabella smiled sweetly. "Sera's back? I thought this wall looked too messy, so I'm redecorating. You don't mind, do you?"

I surveyed the destruction. "Do as you please."

This house had been dead to me long ago.

Just then, Kieran emerged from the kitchen carrying a plate of cut fruit. Seeing me heading upstairs, he blocked my path.

"Isabella was trying to improve relations, and this is your attitude?"

"What else?" I looked at him with weary eyes. "Should I kneel and thank her for destroying my photos?"

Isabella quickly intervened: "Kieran, don't blame her. Sera didn't mean it..."

"Didn't mean it? Would someone curse you so viciously by accident?" Kieran's gaze toward me grew increasingly cold. "Seraphina, you disappoint me."

I had no energy to argue. I pushed past his shoulder and went upstairs.

I had just lain down when my door opened. Isabella appeared, her gentle mask completely gone, replaced by unconcealed contempt.

"Does it hurt seeing Kieran protect me like this?" Isabella's lips curved in mockery. "I told you before,he was just playing with you. I can't believe you actually took it seriously."

I turned away.

But Isabella followed, relentless:

"Do you know what people are saying about you? They say you shared your brother-in-law's bed for four years and got nothing for it. You're worth less than those women who charge by the hour."

"Seraphina, face reality. The Morgrave family doesn't need you, Kieran doesn't need you. You and your mother are both unwanted burdens!"

At the mention of my mother, I could no longer restrain myself. I sat up sharply, eyes blazing.

"You're jumping so quickly to attack,are you afraid that in these four years, he actually fell in love with me?"

Isabella froze, then laughed softly.

"In love with you?" Her eyes filled with ridicule. "If he truly loved you, would he give me the chance to stand here humiliating you?"

Soon after, I heard the door slam shut.

I gripped the blanket tightly, feeling colder and colder.

At least I would be leaving soon.

Before leaving the territory, I decided to visit the Moonlight Bazaar at the border to sell an old trinket for travel money. But at the bazaar's grand "Mystical Auction," I witnessed a scene that shattered what remained of my heart.

The final item was an "Eternal Guardian Ring" forged from celestial iron, capable of drawing moon power to nourish its wearer,a powerful charm against Luna's Eclipse, but extremely expensive and requiring blood-bond activation.

Kieran outbid all competitors, paying an astronomical sum. Before the entire crowd, he cut his fingertip and used his blood to bind the ring, personally placing it on Isabella's finger. The ring blazed with brilliant light as it merged with her power.

I remembered when I had once asked for a simple protective charm, and he had mocked me: "Relying on trinkets shows weakness." Yet here he was, spending his life essence to secure the strongest protection for Isabella.

Standing in the crowd, watching his tender, focused expression, my heart finally died completely.