Chapter 2

I sat on the couch, numb, replaying every moment of the past three years.

He'd told me his wolf was damaged, that without careful nurturing, he'd die young.

And the treatments were impossibly expensive.

For three years, I'd worked myself raw, taking every filthy, back-breaking job. All for him.

Coworkers spreading disgusting rumors about me. A neighbor accusing me of theft. A gang of rogues cornering me at the border, burning me with a hot iron clamp. I faced all of it alone.

Back then, Ethan would hold me from daylight to dark, stroking my hair, whispering comfort.

I thought it was real. Now I knew it was just another part of the act, all to keep Sera entertained.

A buzz from the couch cushion caught my attention.

Ethan had left in such a rush that he'd forgotten his phone.

My hands trembled as I typed in Sera's birthday. It unlocked.

WhatsApp was flashing. Years ago, Sera had created a group chat.

I read through it from the very beginning. Every message was a knife sinking into my chest.

Three years ago, I'd moved to the edge of pack territory.

Ethan appeared out of nowhere and swept me off my feet.

"She actually ran off to hide there. Disgusting. Ethan, I'm so sick of that little sister of mine. Why don't you pretend to chase her? Use her up and toss her out!"

Ethan's reply was breezy.

"You broke the deal between our families. You refused to be my bride, then pushed me onto some nobody. Sera, have I been spoiling you too much?"

As I lowered my guard around Ethan, the group chat lit up with celebration.

Someone told him to upload the video from the first time he slept with me.

He'd posted the clip of us making the glass house together. They'd torn it apart in the comments.

"She treats a piece of junk glass like treasure. Obviously never seen anything nice."

When they saw me get my head cracked open defending Ethan from rogues, they called me weak, low-blooded filth.

The cruelty of their words made my body shake.

Tears blurred the screen. I forced myself to keep reading.

Maybe guilt caught up with him at some point. Ethan's messages gradually tapered off.

Once, while they were mocking me in full swing, all he said was: "You people really have nothing better to do."

But recently, Sera got bored. They couldn't wait to watch me humiliate myself again.

So they sent Ethan to deliver the final blow.

My bones felt like they'd been filled with lead. I couldn't even lift a finger.

I was an empty shell sinking into the couch, slowly caving in on myself.

So all of it had been Sera's doing from the very start.

The group chat suddenly came alive. Someone dropped a video.

Ethan had his arm around Sera's waist, and the way he looked at her was intense, focused. Nothing like the casual act he put on with me.

"Kiss her! Kiss her!"

"Ethan, Sera's putting herself out there—don't just stand there. Once you take over as Alpha, make sure Sera's our Luna."

I watched, dazed, as Ethan carried Sera into a side room.

The others whistled and cheered, as though those two were the ones who'd always belonged together.

The words on the screen swarmed like moths, fluttering behind my eyes.

I suddenly remembered the taste of mint candy on Ethan's tongue when he kissed me.

Now every spot that tongue had touched felt like it was rotting. Rotting until I wanted to peel my own skin off.

I picked up his phone and typed one message.

"You're a nest of maggots crawled out of a sewer. Why don't you all rot together underground?"

Within two minutes, WhatsApp kicked me out from the group chat.

A sour, metallic taste surged up from my stomach. I doubled over and dry-heaved three times.

Nothing came up. Just stomach acid burning its way through my throat.

The Moon Goddess really had never been watching over me.

It was Ethan's flawless performance that made me believe I was finally loved.

After a stretch of silence, the phone rang.

I answered.

"I'm coming back. I can explain everything. I—"

"Don't bother."

I looked around the little home we'd built together. My voice was strangely flat.

"Alpha, you've got your own path. No need to explain anything to me. My part in this show is over. I'm done acting, and I'm done with you."