Chapter 3

Ceres's POV

After a few seconds, the call connected, and that very familiar voice of my best friend, Jasmine, rang out. “Ceres, is that you?” she asked in disbelief.

As soon as I heard her voice, I was choked up with emotions all over again.

I couldn't blame her for asking that question. After all, it had been three years since we last spoke to each other. I had abandoned her, as I did every member of my family and pack, and now, look where that had gotten me. I wiped my free-flowing tears with the back of my hand and sniffled.

“It’s me, Jasmine.” I tried to hide the emotion in my voice. “Please, can you come and get me?” I sobbed, my voice finally betraying me.

“Are you crying, Ceres? Did something happen?” she asked in a panic-stricken voice.

I couldn't bring myself to utter any more words as I was filled with emotions. At my silence, Jasmine said in a fierce and steady voice, “Wait right there for me, Ceres. I’m coming to pick you up right away!”

The line went dead.

Jasmine had been my best friend since our childhood days. She was the only daughter of Alpha Frederick, Alpha of the Crimson Pack. Their pack and ours shared the same border. Our fathers were childhood friends, just like us.

Jasmine was a beauty to behold, with wavy blond hair, aquarium-blue eyes that turned gray whenever her wolf emerged, a perfectly carved face, and a beautiful slender body. She was the definition of perfect.

She had strongly opposed my marriage to Richard, but I had stubbornly ignored her advice and followed my heart, completely cutting her off. I stopped taking her calls, refused to see her whenever she came looking for me, until eventually, she stopped trying to reach out.

Thirty minutes later, headlights cut through the darkness as Jasmine's red luxury car pulled up. As soon as she got out of the car, she rushed toward me, her eyes filled with tears as she pulled me into a tight hug.

“Goddess, I have missed you so much!” she said.

Releasing me from her embrace, her eyes landed on my suitcase, and she looked at me, already understanding what had happened.

“Let's go back to my apartment first, babe.” Her voice was filled with a cocktail of anger and sympathy.

Half an hour later, we arrived at a luxurious downtown apartment in Crimson Pack. It looked even better than I remembered. The paintings on the walls was immaculate and new, indicating it had been done recently. I wasn't surprised; Jasmine never went more than a year without renovating her apartment. She had always lived a life of luxury. She was never in want of anything.

Whatever Jasmine needed, all she had to do was ask, and her father and two older brothers would make sure it was delivered to her. She was what I would call a spoiled brat.

As soon as we stepped into Jasmine's apartment, she cursed angrily, “I wanted to storm over to the Transcorp Hotel and curse him out when I saw the news today. That heartless piece of shit! How dare he try to force his illegitimate child on you?”

Hearing her angry words, I thought I would feel hurt all over again, but I felt nothing. It was as though everything about Richard had become a distant memory.

Shaking my head, I smiled bitterly. “We’re getting a divorce tomorrow.”

“Way to go, girl!” she exclaimed proudly. “You have no business being with someone who treats you like trash. Imagine the only daughter of the Alpha King, ruler of all Alphas, being treated with no value or respect. You deserve better, babe!”

As she spoke, she walked over to help me unpack my things. I heaved a long sigh upon hearing her mention my father, Alpha Triston of the Snowfall Pack.

The truth is, a few years after I was born, my parents sent me abroad for my studies.

As soon as I came home many years later, I decided to go Richard's pack and work in his company. I had always been that wolf who didn’t like the limelight, so I kept my identity as the Alpha King’s daughter hidden from everyone.

Although my parents and brother had their reservations about it, they decided to support my decision. But when I told them that I wanted to become Richard’s Luna, they kicked against it. My father even threatened to disown me if I went through with it, yet i did.

Just the thought of it made my heart grow heavy. I had turned my back on my family, and it had all been for nothing. I bet none of them would want to set eyes on me now.

When we were done unpacking my things, Jasmine pulled me into her arms in a warm hug. “It’s good to finally have you back, babe. You are not allowed to fall in love with that jerk in the future, do you hear me?”

My eyes welled up with tears again as I thought of everything I had been through, all the time I had wasted pursuing the wrong man.

I replied Jasmine with resolution, “I won’t. It’s a promise.”

The promise I made to Jasmine was more for myself than for her. It was a reminder not to allow myself to be vulnerable to Richard ever again.

****

The next morning, the weather was gloomy, as though the clouds were conspiring to block out the sun's light.

I adorned myself in a black off-shoulder, knee-length gown that I hadn’t worn in three years, abandoning my usual dignified style of dressing as the Luna of Silver Moon Pack. I was completely done with that life.

I stood in front of the mirror, my green eyes catching my reflection. I could feel my wolf stir happily within me. The dark color of my gown complemented my very pale skin so well. Instead of tying my red hair in a knot like I would usually do, I let it loose, allowing it to cascade around my face.

Jasmine and I left for the courthouse at 9 a.m., arriving thirty minutes early.

We waited in the car at the entrance of the courthouse until 11 a.m., and still, there was no sign of Richard.

“Maybe he’s just running late. Let's wait a bit more,” I said to Jasmine, sensing her impatience.

An extra hour passed, and there was still no sign of him.

Jasmine glanced outside the window. “What the hell is keeping him? How can an Alpha not know how to keep to time?” she yelled.

“Let me call him,” I said, taking out my cellphone from my handbag. I called Richard several times, but he declined all my calls and ignored my text messages.

I then scrolled through my contacts for the number of a reporter who I knew had a good relationship with the Winston Corporation and dialed it.

As soon as it connected, I went straight to the point in a calm voice. “I have evidence of Alpha Richard's infidelity, and I’d love to give it to you for free. Are you interested?”

He was completely taken aback but quickly agreed and hung up.

Impressed with what I had done, Jasmine gave me a high-five. “I am so proud of you, girl! That’s how you do it!”

I flipped my hair back and smiled. “Let's wait a little longer. He’ll be here soon now that he knows what’s at stake.”

In less than ten minutes, my cellphone rang. I glanced at the screen and chuckled softly. My strategy had worked.

It was Richard.

I answered the call but before i could get any word in, he growled angrily,

“What the hell do you think you are doing, Ceres?”

“You’d better come to work at the Corporation right away, or I’ll fire all these incompetent members of staff in your department!”