Chapter 2 My Ex

I froze, my long-numb heart skipping two beats.

That voice—Alpha Cole.

The war-scarred king of wolves.

My former fiancé.

Instinctively, I dropped to one knee. “Cleaner Nina greets Alpha Cole.”

Now my status was filth, light-years from Cole’s world.

He asked, “You’re going to the Grand Hall?”

Eyes lowered, I nodded. “Yes.”

Silence fell. Only the moan of the winter wind remained.

Cole was waiting for me to speak.

Once, I had been a torrent of chatter in front of him.

He liked quiet but never scolded me—not with Alpha Marcus’s face watching.

When I got too noisy, he would press a slice of cake into my mouth to shut me up.

And every time, I’d beam like a child, eat it, then keep on chattering.

Three years had passed. I said only a single word.

Cole’s voice was cool. “I’m going to the Hall. You can take my carriage.”

I opened my mouth to refuse.

He cut me off: “You’re injured. Don’t pretend otherwise. Think of Elder Mya, who pleaded with the Council for you.”

Silence.

Mya—the Elder who loved me most.

If she saw me limping like this, she would surely ache for me.

I did not refuse again. I lowered my head. “Cleaner Nina thanks Alpha Cole.”

I climbed into the carriage. The scent of him—familiar, powerful—hit me and my muscles went rigid.

In three years, Cole had grown broader, harder, steeped in battle field blood.

The wolf who once obsessed over me—

Ice to everyone.

I had thought enough warmth could melt him.

I had been wrong.

I only truly understood until the day I saw him hold Lily with tenderness.

There are things I can’t win with countless effort.

Things Lily could steal without trying.

So, when Cole stood at Lily’s side and coldly told me to “know my place,”

I swallowed every defense.

My parents. My brother. My fiancé.

All stood by Lily.

All wanted me to take her punishment.

As Liam said: a mixed-blood descendant should pay for Lily’s sins.

But was I not wronged?

I had done nothing—yet overnight, the ones who “loved” me showed their claws.

How could I not be?

The carriage was warm. On the side table sat a bouquet of tulips.

I recognized them immediately. Lily’s favorite.

They couldn’t survive Silver Ridge’s winters without careful care.

I remembered the day Lily first returned.

Luna Evelyn came to me, asking me to give up my bond.

It was pure-blood Lily who should be mated to Cole.

I had refused. But Luna Evelyn had forced it anyway.

Three years had passed. Surely, Cole and Lily were mates by now.

A faint ache spread through my chest. Jealousy and bitterness—weightless now.

It didn’t matter anymore.

When we stepped down from the carriage, a voice—gentle, eager—called my name.

“Nina!”

My eyes flicked up.

Luna Evelyn. My “mother.”

Her arms opened, ready to draw me in.

I sidestepped and knelt instead. “Cleaner Nina greets Luna Evelyn.”

Distance. Like strangers.

Evelyn froze. Tears welled.

She had once treated me like a treasure.

Three years later, I was thin, and her hands reached for a stranger.

Once, any small grievance would send me crying into her arms.

But I had changed.

Evelyn lifted me, her touch trembling as it brushed my hollow cheeks.

“Don’t be sad, Mother. Nina is home now.”

The voice was soft, delicate.

Lily.

She looked at me with “guilt” in her eyes.

I looked straight past her.

Liam had stormed back ahead of us, furious.

Luna Evelyn must know what had happened.

In the freezing snow, Liam had kicked me down.

Evelyn caught my hand and pleaded, “Liam went too far. I’ve scolded him. He won’t mistreat you again.”

Her eyes brimmed with tears.

I knew she truly ached for me.

But the bruise on my ankle was real.

I drew my hand back.

Liam’s roar cut through the hall:“Don’t fucking push it!”

“If you don’t want to be here, crawl back to the Blood Wash Grounds! If you want to give me a hard time, it's up to you. But don't lose your temper in front of Mom!"

Temper?

I almost laughed.

Three years of rot and ice had burned my temper out of me.

I said nothing.

Evelyn’s disappointment in my silence showed on her face.

She said softly, “Elder Mya misses you. Go see her. You’re still the Princess of Silver Ridge. Nothing has changed.”

Nothing had changed.

But I would never sleep in Silver Moon Hall again.

The palace reserved for the heir of the Luna—

I wasn’t even fit to cross its threshold as a slave.