Chapter 3

Tears blurred the page, dripping onto the words as I wrote.

The pain chewed through me, slow and merciless.

I thought back to my last life.

After I begged Jack to get tested, he packed up and walked out.

Said he couldn't live with someone "so cruel."

Then he vanished.

No calls. No link. Nothing.

I searched everywhere—Silvermoon Guard base, every place he might hide.

But I never saw him again.

The link stayed dead.

There was no way to persuade him to go to the hospital for a check-up.

Just me, counting the days, crushed by dread.

I couldn't stomach the idea of him catching something so lethal.

Corrosion Sickness didn't just kill—it tortured.

One day, a friend noticed how wrecked I was. She didn't say anything.

Show me the video of Alice and Jack on their date.

The sight of their happiness and joy pierced my heart.

I knew he was with her. Always had.

But deep down, I'd been lying to myself.

Because I loved him.

And part of me wanted to believe this was all just a mistake—that he'd come back.

That if I ignored the betrayal, maybe I could forget the pain.

That day, after I performed a wound-repair surgery on the werewolf Darren, he returned to his room but suddenly started bleeding heavily and died shortly after.

His family lost it.

Accused me of murder. Said I was careless. A danger to the pack.

The outrage spread like wildfire.

How could a basic stitch-up end in death?

The Werewolf Medical Association refused to listen to my explanation and mercilessly stripped me of my healer title.

The Enforcers launched an investigation.

The autopsy?

A dirty rag and a broken silver clamp inside his abdomen.

Looking at the coroner's report.I was floored. I hadn't even been in the room during final stitching.

I demanded the surgical footage.

They told me the cameras had been "down for days."

The whole team I'd worked with turned on me.

Said I forced everyone out and stitched him up alone.

I denied it—every word.

But I didn’t have a single piece of evidence to prove my innocence.

I was sentenced to life in prison.

But because I was carrying pup, they delayed the punishment.

House arrest for a year—until after the nursing period.

That's when Jack came back.

He walked right through the door, arms full of lies.

My favorite flowers. French lamb chops. Even offered to put on my favorite movie.

He pulled me close, voice soft.

"Sophia, don't worry. I'll handle everything with the hospital."

I looked up at him, heart aching with stupid hope.

Maybe he'd seen through Alice. Maybe he still cared. Maybe he was coming home.

I curled against him while the movie played and let myself drift.

Then pain shot through my arm—sharp, blinding.

My body locked up.

My claws tore deep into the floor. My stomach twisted in agony. Blood spread under me like a curse.

I screamed his name.

But the Jack in front of me wasn't gentle anymore.

He shoved me aside like trash. Lit a cigarette. Sat back, calm as ever.

"You think you're worthy of my pup? That was silver I injected."

Smoke curled from his mouth as he savored every second.

"I paid your team to plant the silver clamp and that filthy rag. Blamed it all on you. Thirty grand. That sick wolf agreed to die for the payout—and to frame you."

I stared at him, frozen in horror.

He crushed the cigarette into the back of my hand.

I couldn't fight. The silver had me paralyzed.

My wolf howled in agony, but my consciousness slipped.

This house—once filled with memories—now stank of blood and burnt flesh.

I collapsed.

Jack's voice followed me into the dark, cold and final.

"Now I can be with Alice. Forever."

I screamed inside, calling out to the Moon Goddess, begging for a reason—any reason—for why this was my fate.

And then—

I died.

Drowned in betrayal.

Suffocated by despair.