Chapter 4

Before I reached the manor, my communication crystal began glowing.

Ashton’s mother’s voice rang out sharply.

“Elena, ever since you entered Shadow Fang, nothing has gone according to my wishes.”

“Three years as Luna... and still no heir. I tolerated your humble upbringing because I believed you would at least strengthen the bloodline.”

“Tomorrow is Victoria's Blessing Banquet. You will attend beside Ashton and do not embarrass this family.”

“If the Moon Goddess refuses to bless your womb again... then do not blame me for asking Ashton to accept another Luna.”

The crystal went dark.

I laughed bitterly.

For the Lycan Princess of the oldest royal bloodline...she was hardly worthy of calling herself my Mother Alpha.

Back in our chambers, I silently packed my belongings.

Everything I truly owned fit inside one small travel chest.

Years ago, Ashton had once told me: “I don’t like she-wolves who spend gold like water, the more you can save for our pack, the better.”

Slowly...I opened the cedar box beneath my bed, inside rested every memory I had treasured.

The wolf fang Ashton gave me after saving my life.

The silver moon ribbon he tied around my wrist during our first Moon Festival together.

The moonstone from the night he accepted me as his mate.

The wooden wolf carving he clumsily made during my first winter in Shadow Fang.

One by one...I dropped them into the ceremonial fire basin.

The flames swallowed every memory.

Finally...I lifted my Luna ceremonial robe. Just as I was about to cast it into the fire, a powerful hand seized my wrist.

“Elena!”

Ashton's voice was sharp with disbelief.

“What in the Moon Goddess's name are you doing?”

“Termites.” I said calmly, breaking free.

He frowned, opening his mouth to argue.

“They got into the storage chests,” I continued evenly. “Half the robes were ruined.”

Something tightened painfully inside his chest.

For a brief moment, he was taken back years.

He remembered me rushing toward him, excitedly showing him the moon silk I had spent an entire year saving for.

Night after night, I sat beneath the moonlight, carefully stitching every thread by hand until my fingers bled...

Simply because it was the Luna robe I wanted to wear beside him during our Moon Blessing Ceremony.

Before he could stop me...

I let go.

The white robes slipped into the sacred flames.

The moon silk blackened by sizzling red flames before curling and slowly turned to ash.

Ashton could not understand why his heart suddenly ached as I turned and walked back inside the manor.

He followed several moments later.

Slower.

Quieter.

As though expecting me to collapse into tears at any second.

“Elena... what is the meaning of this? The last time your ceremonial robe was stained, you refused food for two days. Now...”

“It was already rotting from within.” I answered softly. “It is better to burn something spoiled... than pretend it is still whole.”

Ashton opened his mouth to argue when I cut him off, changing the subject.

“Forget about this trash. Your mother has invited us to Victoria’s birth ceremony. We will be going this time too, right?”

Ashton looked up at me abruptly, a flicker of surprise crossing his face.

“You... want to go?”

His brows knitted together as he came closer, a tinge of something flickering in his eyes as he saw the ‘trash’ burning in pot before looking up at me.

“In the past, every time Mother invited us over, you would spend the entire night worrying. You always asked me what you should wear, whether your gift was good enough, whether you had done something to make her dislike you again.”

His eyes searched mine, as if trying to find the timid woman he knew.

“This time... you're willing to go?”

I lowered my gaze to the dying flames.

“Madam Kurt has invited me and as her good son, you have never refused her no matter how she treated me..”

A faint smile tugged at my lips. “So... I suppose we should go.”

For some reason, the calmness in my voice made Ashton more uneasy than if I had argued with him.

He stared at me for a long moment before speaking again.

“Elena...what has happened to you? You've been different these past few days. Is there something you're not telling me….”

I looked at him quietly. "There isn't."

Perhaps there had once been.

A thousand words I wanted to tell him, a thousand questions I wanted to ask but now...none of them mattered anymore.

“I am tired, I am going to sleep.”

Ashton held my gaze for several seconds before finally looking away.

"...Get some rest. We leave after noon tomorrow."

The following afternoon, Ashton personally drove us to the Hale Pack Estate.

The grand manor had been transformed into a celebration.

Delicate wolf carvings adorned every corner of the courtyard, while white moon lilies surrounded the ceremonial altar prepared to bless Victoria's unborn pup.

Ashton stepped out of the carriage first before turning to help me down.

The moment my feet touched the ground, Victoria hurried toward us in a flowing white gown, one hand protectively resting over the gentle curve of her stomach.

The instant she saw Ashton, her eyes lit up.

Without the slightest hesitation, she slipped past me and wrapped her arms around him. "You came!”

Ashton's usually indifferent expression softened almost imperceptibly. “Of course”

Victoria smiled sweetly before deliberately glancing at me.

"The little pup has been very well-behaved today."

She lowered her voice, though it was still loud enough for me to hear.

"Ashton, although this baby isn't yours.....you've always been closer to me than anyone else."

She gently placed Ashton's hand over her stomach.

"So you can treat this pup as your own." A triumphant smile curved her lips.

"After all..." She looked directly into my eyes. "...Sister Elena still cannot give you one.."

The surrounding conversations gradually quieted.

Several guests exchanged uneasy glances but no one interrupted.

Ashton did not pull his hand away and acted as if the words had not pierced straight through my heart.

Instead, his palm rested carefully against Victoria's stomach, his movements being infinitely gentle.

"I asked the pack healer to prepare another tonic for you."

"If it tastes bitter, you do not have to force yourself to drink it. I will have him prepare a milder prescription."

Looking at the tenderness in his eyes, I suddenly remembered those contraceptive herbs.

The first sip had been unbearably bitter.

I had frowned instinctively.

Before I could set the bowl down, Ashton had looked at me impatiently.

"It is only medicine. As Shadow Fang's Luna, stop making a fuss over something so trivial."

"You need to learn to endure what should be endured."

So...I drank every last drop.

Bowl after bowl.

Month after month.

Even when the bitterness made me vomit until there was nothing left in my stomach.

Yet today the same man who had once told me to endure without complaint was patiently asking another woman not to force herself if the medicine tasted bitter.

The difference between being cherished and merely tolerated had never been clearer.