Chapter 2

My soul drifted right in front of Antoine.

I opened my mouth, desperate to tell him that I hadn't run off, I hadn't stolen the money, and even Kailyn's investment had actually been stolen from me.

She had murdered me, and the necklace around her neck had been made from my wolf fangs.

But Antoine couldn't hear a thing. He couldn't hear the screams from the depths of my soul, let alone the injustice I had suffered.

Simply hearing my name had ruined his mood for the day. With a cold expression, he brought Kailyn back to the Moonlight pack.

My soul followed Antoine home.

Four years had passed. Every single trace of me had been scrubbed clean from the house.

In their place was everything about Kailyn.

The walls were covered in photos of her, mostly intimate shots of her and Antoine together. The kind of photos he used to claim were beneath his dignity to hang up when I asked were now prominently displayed everywhere.

Even someone as proud and arrogant as Antoine was willing to remodel the bedroom into a princess theme just for Kailyn. He was even wearing matching, childish cartoon pajamas with her.

He willingly kneeled to take off her shoes, wash her feet, massage her lower back, and rub stretch-mark oil onto her belly.

The two of them held each other, dreaming up the decorations for their upcoming marking ceremony, just like I used to dream.

I turned away, unable to watch it any longer.

But the memories of our past still uncontrollably flooded my mind.

When I first met Antoine, he wasn't the Alpha of the Moonlight pack yet. He was just the illegitimate son of the Bloodaxe pack's Alpha. He was wild, reckless, bold, and passionate.

After being exiled from his pack, he even boasted that one day he would become an Alpha more powerful than his father.

That vibrant, fiery version of Antoine made me fall hopelessly in love.

Back then, he used to run wild with me through the forests.

On my birthday, he made a bracelet out of his own wolf fang on a red string and gave it to me.

Whenever I was upset, he would patiently comfort me. His words were like a fire, bringing light to my darkness and warmth to my cold world.

"Irene, even if the whole world gives up on you, I will always be by your side."

His every word was gentle yet unyielding. That was the werewolf who made me reject all other suitors, choosing resolutely to be with him.

Through grueling effort, we gradually expanded our territory, finally building what was now the Moonlight pack. As the she-wolf who had fought by his side through thick and thin, I was naturally the undisputed Luna of the pack.

Antoine had promised me a grand and perfect marking ceremony. I had looked forward to it for so long, visualizing every detail of that day.

But because the pack was so busy, the ceremony kept getting pushed back.

And then, tragedy struck first.

Antoine had somehow offended Logan, the Alpha of a high-ranking pack. Logan began targeting the Moonlight pack, leaving Antoine utterly overwhelmed.

Desperate to ease his burden, I begged everyone I knew for help. My heartbroken parents and Jason did what little they could, scraping together some funds for me. Ultimately, I traded three months of hard labor as a slave just to get Logan to back off.

I went through hell to win Antoine his second chance, never imagining I would die at Kailyn's hands.

That day, she lied and told me Antoine was hurt. I rushed over, only to walk straight into her trap. Even now, the memory made my soul shudder with terror.

Kailyn and a few hired wolves pinned me to the ground. Her eyes burned with a twisted jealousy. Only then did I realize she had wanted Antoine all along. She hated me with a passion, believing I had stolen the title of Luna that belonged to her.

She ordered them to pry my jaw open. Then, she ripped my fangs out, one by one.

Kailyn even propped me against the shoulders of another wolf and took photos from angles that suggested intimacy.

Her voice dripped with excitement as she said, "Don't worry. I'll tell Antoine you took the money and ran away with your lover. As for the investment you secured, I'll tell him I brought it in. And you? You can just die. Antoine is mine now, and everything you have will be mine!"

With that, she raised a hammer and shattered the bones in my hands inch by inch before hacking off my head and burying me deep beneath the cave floor.

With the funds I had secured, Kailyn returned to Antoine's side and helped him pull off a flawless comeback. She became the revered she-wolf who saved the Moonlight pack.

Since then, Antoine's business continued to grow. The two of them grew closer, and soon, they conceived the pup, the product of their love.

Today, Antoine had surpassed his father, becoming an incredibly wealthy and powerful Alpha.

Meanwhile, I, the traitorous former Luna, remained an indelible stain of shame on his life.

If Antoine had only looked closer at those photos, he would have noticed I didn't look normal. My limbs were bent at grotesque, unnatural angles. Kailyn had personally broken my hands and feet to stop me from fighting back.

But he didn't look closer. He chose to believe Kailyn and chose to believe I had betrayed him.

He left me buried deep underground for four long years. Even my wolf fangs were fashioned into an accessory to decorate Kailyn's neck.

Floating there, I couldn't help but marvel at how cruel fate could be. It allowed Kailyn to strip me of my life and everything I owned and then forced my ghost to watch her enjoy it all.

I knew that in this state, there was nothing I could do.

But their next conversation caused my long-dead soul to freeze over with a bone-chilling horror.