Chapter 2

Our Mate Bond had been silent for three days.

Killian's wolf was pacing restlessly within him.

Before, whenever there was friction between Valerie and me, I would have immediately let him know my displeasure.

I've always had a fiery temperament. If I was miserable, I made sure they were too.

More importantly, the pack's annual Harvest Hunt was approaching.

Every year, I personally fletched and polished the arrows for his hunt.

But now, the ceremonial gown he had prepared for me was hanging in the closet, yet I hadn't sent a single message to ask about his bow's draw weight.

He grew more agitated.

But then he remembered he had left his elites at the border watchtower, each one capable of fighting ten men.

The Beta warrior's claim that Valerie had forged his order to withdraw the main forces was utter nonsense.

Valerie might be a little spoiled by his affection, but at her core, she was a kind-hearted wolf.

She would never gamble with the safety of the entire pack.

Sloane, on the other hand, loved to cause trouble for no reason. To frame Valerie, she would even use a pack war as a pawn in her jealous games!

He swept the ceremony plans off his desk with a crash.

"Sloane, oh, Sloane, when will you learn some damn submission!"

"You're about to come of age. Can't you act more mature?"

My soul drifted in the air.

Hearing his words, my fading wolf spirit still felt a sharp sting of pain.

It wasn't that I didn't know how to behave, much less how to be submissive.

It was just that a warrior's pride told me I could not yield to injustice, or to a malicious outsider.

I vaguely remembered when we first met.

The Moon Goddess had guided me to him, our bond feeling as if it were forged in a past life.

Back then, he had radiated an undisguised possessiveness, declaring his claim on me.

He said that as the most powerful Alpha, he would mark me, and that the title of Luna could only ever be mine.

For over a decade, we fought side by side, our souls forged together in the crucible of blood and fire.

He had once shielded me from a fatal sneak attack, and I had once ripped out an enemy's throat for him. Until, to protect him, I was pierced through the shoulder by a silver spear laced with Wolfsbane.

When I opened my eyes, I found he had rescued a pitiful Rogue from the edge of the battlefield.

She had a delicate face that begged for protection, a stark contrast to my blood-soaked, scar-covered body.

Killian said he could feel it with overwhelming certainty: he had to claim Valerie, or she would die.

That was a duty bestowed upon him by the Moon Goddess.

At first, I thought Killian was just momentarily captivated by the novelty.

But the energy in my bloodline was unique, making me extremely sensitive to black magic.

Then, one day, I caught the faint, sickly-sweet scent of black magic on Valerie.

I told Killian something was wrong with this woman, that her presence was tainting our Mate Bond and could bring disaster to the entire pack.

He, however, believed I was just making up lies out of jealousy.

"To get rid of her, you'd even stoop to using black magic as an excuse?"

He gripped my chin, the fire in his eyes nearly burning me to ashes. "Sloane, I never thought you would become like this."

From that moment on, all warmth between us vanished.

He lost all patience with me, called me stubborn, his words turning to venom, and even threatened to give the Luna title to Valerie.

"I'm not saying I don't want you."

"It's just that Valerie has been through so much. Her pack was slaughtered during their migration, leaving her all alone."

"You are the pack's Lead Warrior. Why can't you show a little more sympathy for a pitiful member of our kind!"

"Besides, you lose yourself to bloodlust on the battlefield, completely lacking the grace and gentleness a Luna should have. Are you really more suited to be the pack's Luna than Valerie is!"

Each time, I would suppress my fury and try to reason with him.

"This has nothing to do with the Luna title. I simply will not share my Mate."

After saying that, I tore his Alpha decree to shreds, the one prepared to name me Luna.

During our last argument at the border watchtower, we even came to blows over it.

When he realized what we were doing, he roughly grabbed my wrists and pinned me against the wall.

"As the Lead Warrior, you have such a narrow mind."

"Valerie doesn't understand the pack's history, which is why she misspoke about your father's defeat."

"Your claws are for our enemies, yet you turn them on a pack mate over a few careless words."

"Sloane, you truly are not worthy of standing by my side."

I was laughing then, but I couldn't stop the tears from falling.

"I'm not worthy?"

"Then is that Rogue, who publicly shamed a hero who died for this pack, worthy?"

He was silent for a moment.

Then he turned, completely shielding the trembling Valerie with his body.

"No wonder our Mate Bond feels like a cold chain. It seems your wolf is just like your father's, full of nothing but foolish stubbornness."

But he had forgotten.

My father's stubbornness was loyalty.

He had defended his Alpha's oath with his life.

That day, I refused Killian's order to bow my head and apologize to Valerie.

It was the first time I had ever told him no.

Even if he tried to crush me with his Alpha command, I would not yield.

He sneered, the mockery in his eyes like an ice pick stabbing into my heart.

"Why would the Moon Goddess curse me with a Mate so narrow-minded and lacking in compassion?"