Chapter 2

When I woke up, I was alone.

Cain wasn't there.

The Beta came in carrying a velvet box.

"The Alpha asked me to relay a message to the Luna." He kept his head down, unable to meet my eyes. "The moonlight herb... has already been given to Miss Vivienne."

My fingertips went cold.

"The Alpha takes your mother's condition very seriously. He's offered fifty million dollars to purchase moonlight herb from neighboring packs. There should be news soon."

Fifty million.

He said it like a number could make up for everything.

The Beta opened the velvet box. Inside was a necklace of healing gemstones, each one glowing with a faint silver-blue light.

"This is the Alpha's compensation." He hesitated. "The Alpha also said... he asks that the Luna stop targeting Miss Vivienne."

I stared at the necklace.

The Beta had the sense to set the box on the nightstand and leave.

I sat holding that necklace for a long time.

Finally, I placed it back in the box and closed the lid.

I picked up my phone and scrolled to a number I hadn't called in years.

Cain's father, the former Alpha—Alaric.

The call connected.

"I'll agree to sever the Mate Bond and give up my position as Luna." My voice was calm. "But you need to help me stage a death."

Three seconds of silence on the other end.

"I want to leave Blackwood Pack—me, my mother, and my brother."

Over the next few days, I prepared a Mate Bond dissolution petition.

Then I went to Cain's office.

He was reviewing documents and looked up, momentarily startled to see me.

I knew I looked terrible. My face was deathly pale.

Something like concern flickered in Cain's eyes.

"Why aren't you resting at home?"

I didn't answer. I placed the document in front of him.

Cain took it and flipped through.

"What is this?"

I smiled and cut him off. "A formal agreement I signed, waiving all claims against Vivienne."

Cain's hand paused.

He looked at me. The confusion in his eyes slowly shifted to surprise, then relief.

"You've finally come around." His tone carried a note of gratitude. "That's what a real Luna does."

My heart wrenched.

But I smiled and urged him on. "Sign it quickly, before I change my mind."

Cain seemed genuinely afraid I'd take it back. He picked up a pen and signed the last page without hesitation.

He didn't read the contents carefully at all.

After signing, he looked at me with what seemed like a trace of guilt.

"Let me walk you home."

I was about to refuse when his phone rang.

Vivienne's name flashed on the screen.

He answered, and Vivienne's voice came through, soft and helpless. "Cain, the aftereffects of my old injury are acting up again. I'm scared..."

"Don't worry, I'll be right there." Cain hung up and turned to me. "Head back on your own. I've got something to take care of."

He grabbed his coat and left.

I stood in the empty office.

I laughed bitterly.

Then I took the signed document and went straight to the Alpha Council.

Mate Bond dissolution agreement—officially filed.

When I returned from the Council, I saw my belongings in the hallway.

Clothes, books, my jewelry box—all thrown on the floor.

Servants were busy carrying Vivienne's luggage into my bedroom.

Vivienne stood at the bedroom door directing them. When she saw me, a flash of satisfaction crossed her eyes.

Cain came down the stairs, his expression slightly uncomfortable.

"Someone contaminated Vivienne's herb storage with silver powder. Until we find out who, she's safer here in the main residence." He wouldn't look me in the eye.

I said nothing.

"And Vivienne's old injuries—the moonlight from the master bedroom helps with her recovery." He paused. "Just stay in the guest room for a few days. I know it's an inconvenience."

I bent down and picked up my suitcase from the floor.

No answer.

No argument.

I dragged the suitcase to the guest room at the end of the hall.

I'd be leaving soon anyway.

That evening, while I was resting in the guest room, a scream pierced the hallway.

I rushed out to find Vivienne collapsed at the kitchen door.

A raw, red burn streaked across her arm. A pot of hot soup lay overturned beside her.

When Vivienne saw me appear, something calculating flickered in her eyes.

The next second, her crying amplified tenfold.

Cain came charging downstairs, taking the steps three at a time to reach Vivienne's side.

"What happened?! Where are you hurt?!"

Vivienne sobbed. "I was just trying to heat up some soup, and when I went into the kitchen I found wolfsbane powder mixed into it... I panicked and knocked over the pot..."

She didn't name anyone.

But her gaze kept drifting toward me.

Cain's expression grew darker and darker.

A servant attending Vivienne added quietly, "The only person who went into the kitchen today was the Luna. No one else."

I whipped around to face the servant.

"I just stepped out of my room. I didn't touch anything," I said coldly.

But Cain was silent for a long time.

His voice was heavy with exhaustion and disappointment. "I thought you'd come around."

I opened my mouth to explain.

"Guards. Take the Luna to the silver prison to cool off."

He turned away to help Vivienne, and didn't look at me again.