Chapter 1

I jolted awake.

It wasn’t my mother, Lyanna. I knew that instantly. It was her wolf, Nyx.

Nyx told me that before Lyanna left this world, she left me a choice.

I could join her in the Spirit Realm if I wanted to.

Of course, I wanted to. But I choked the word back before it could escape.

I asked Nyx, "Will it be better than this? If she loved me, why didn't she take me with her?"

Nyx explained.

Lyanna came to this world on a mission from the Moon Goddess.

Her goal was to end a century of bloody wars between the northern packs.

She had spent all her moon magic to forge the peaceful Alliance that existed now.

Her realm was only for souls, not for physical bodies.

To take me with her, I would have had to die here first.

Back then, my four fathers had sworn an oath to the Moon Goddess.

They were so grateful for the peace Lyanna brought.

They promised to raise me as their own, no matter who my birth father was.

Their only request was that Lyanna leave me behind.

They wanted a piece of her to hold onto.

Lyanna loved me too much.

She refused to let me die early.

So, she left me behind.

“Aurora,” Nyx’s voice was as soft as moonlight. “Your mother has been waiting for you all these years. She never took a mate. She never loved another. She built a peaceful garden, hoping one day you would return to her. Do you want to go to her?”

I nodded.

Nyx sighed in relief.

She told me my soul could only reunite with Lyanna when my body stopped breathing.

Hearing that, I fumbled for the heavy, silver-plated chain.

It was used to lock me in the corner of the dungeon.

I knew this was it. All I had to do was wrap it tight around my neck.

Then, I’d finally be free.

But I was too weak from the torture.

I needed to pull just one more time.

I didn't hesitate.

I wrapped the chain twice around my neck. I yanked my hands back with all my might.

The rough silver seared my skin. Suffocating darkness filled my lungs.

My consciousness was fading.

But I felt a rush of pure joy.

Soon, I would see Lyanna again.

I savored the peace. It lasted barely two seconds.

Someone roared my name. The door shattered.

A huge hand clamped down on my convulsing wrist.

An overwhelming Alpha power slammed me to the ground. It brutally ripped the chain from my neck.

I choked. Air flooded my lungs again.

I looked up and met a pair of panicked eyes.

“Dad—” The word slipped out on instinct.

The next second, I wanted to claw my own mouth shut.

The panic in Ronan’s eyes vanished. Pure disgust replaced it.

“Don’t call me that! You lost that right!”

Ronan was my Supreme Alpha father.

Of my four fathers, he had once spoiled me the most.

Many wolves even thought he was my real father.

My eyes were the same rare silver-gray as his.

For years, I lived in his main hall.

It overlooked the entire Alliance territory.

Ronan would give me anything I wanted.

He once said that if I wanted the moon, he would find a way to pluck it from the sky for me.

But all that unconditional love vanished three years ago.

That was the year Ronan brought Bianca back from a distant pack.

That’s when I learned another woman’s daughter held a special place in my fathers’ hearts.

Years ago, that woman had betrayed them for money and disappeared.

Then Lyanna came. She stayed by their side.

Her gentleness pulled them out of the abyss of betrayal.

Later, on her deathbed, the woman contacted Ronan to confess.

Her last wish was for him to take in her daughter, Bianca.

Since Bianca was younger than me, my fathers wanted me to be a big sister to her.

I tried.

But Bianca’s only goal was to take everything that was mine.

Mysterious silver scratches would appear on her body.

She would cry and tell everyone I did it.

She would “accidentally” fall during a full moon ceremony.

Then, she would point a shaking finger at me.

With every accusation, my fathers’ disappointment grew.

It all exploded when rogues kidnapped Bianca during an outing.

She was almost marked.

The captured attackers swore I leaked her location.

My denials were useless.

From then on, I was the traitor in this family.

I was forbidden from ever calling them ‘Dad’ again.

My room changed from the Alpha’s daughter suite to this sunless, silver-plated dungeon.

Everyone in the Alliance branded me a betrayer.

Physical and mental abuse, mixed with endless starvation, became my new reality.

Remembering all this, I lowered my head.

I apologized in a flat voice, “I’m sorry, Alpha Ronan.”

But Ronan wasn’t done with me. “What game are you playing now, Aurora? Trying to get sympathy with this cheap trick?”

“Pulling a stunt like this just to get my attention? You think this pathetic act will still work? This place is filled with the stench of burning flesh from the silver. Even if you really died here, you’d just rot into a pile of ash and bone. No one would ever care.”

Oh. He thought I was acting.

I didn’t argue. I just asked my question. “Why are you here, Alpha Ronan? I thought you hated the rotten smell of the dungeon.”

Ronan frowned. “This is my territory. I go where I please. I just came to warn you. It's Bianca's birthday party today. Don't pull any stunts. At the very least, don't die on my property and stink up the whole manor.”

I nodded obediently.

So, he only saved me to avoid ruining Bianca’s special day.

Fine. I’ll just go die somewhere else.