Chapter 2

When I opened my eyes again, the first thing I saw was the white ceiling of a hospital.

Just as I thought I'd finally made it home, a familiar voice shattered that illusion.

They somehow managed to resuscitate me!

"Sharon, did you really try to kill yourself just because Leia stole the limelight? Or was it because we had an argument and you wanted to get my attention?

Samson's words were full of blame. However, my eyes fell on his hand—the one he was trying to hide and wrapped in a bandage.

The memory hit me hard. Right before I stabbed myself, he grabbed the blade with his bare hand, stopping it from cutting too deep. That was why I was still alive.

My heart trembled as I stared at him in stunned silence.

Just then, the healer came in to change my dressing. Seeing me awake, he smiled kindly. "Luna Sharon, it's such a relief that you're okay. The Alpha moved heaven and earth to save you. He even emptied the pack's blood bank just for you."

Samson shot him a sharp glare. "Don't talk so much."

I lowered my gaze. "Why did you do it? Wouldn't everything be easier for you if I were dead?"

He opened his mouth to answer, but a sob cut through his silence.

Leia walked in, wiping tears from her face. "Sharon, I'm so sorry! Samson only gave me your Luna gown because he wanted to make you jealous. I didn't know it would upset you this much. I'll leave now. You won't have to see me again."

Her eyes glistened as she looked up at Samson, full of reluctant affection.

She turned to go, but he caught her wrist and yanked her back. "It's not your fault. You don't need to apologize."

He then turned to me, his voice sharp with irritation. "As the Luna of the pack, all you ever do is get jealous and throw tantrums. Do you have any idea how much trouble your behavior has caused me and Leia? In a few days, I'll call a press conference. You'll apologize to her publicly."

I was tired and couldn't be bothered to argue with them.

"Fine. Go find your reporters. I'll say whatever you want on camera."

Then, I closed my eyes and added, "Now get out of my sight."

Samson froze for a moment, not moving. His gaze drifted to my wrist—to the old, rusted bracelet still circling it.

His expression shifted. After a long pause, he asked quietly, "With all the jewelry you have, why do you still wear that bracelet?"

I looked down at it. The metal was dull and worn, its edges rough with age.

In that instant, my thoughts were pulled back to that rainy night from two years ago. Samson was kneeling before me, slipping the bracelet onto my wrist as he swore he would love me for life.

Back then, he wasn't the Alpha yet.

When his parents found out about us, they were furious. They even threatened to give the Alpha title to his younger brother if he didn't leave me.

But Samson ignored them all. He took my hand and said he'd give up everything for me.

We ran away together, living hand to mouth, scraping by day after day. Yet on my birthday, he used the last of his savings to buy me that bracelet.

"Thank you for staying with me. I'll make it up to you someday. In the future, I'll buy you as much beautiful jewelry as you want."

Later, his younger brother was killed in a Rogue attack during a patrol.

All of a sudden, there was no one else fit to inherit the Alpha's position except Samson.

After he became the Alpha, Samson kept his promise and showered me with priceless jewelry.

But what he never knew was that none of those glittering things meant half as much to me as this cheap, rusted bracelet on my wrist.

I'd forgotten that metal would rust, and that love would, too.

Everything changed the moment Leia appeared.

Just as he demanded, I stood before the cameras and apologized to her publicly.

The internet exploded with hate.

"Didn't Sharon want to die? Why is she still here, slandering Leia like that?"

"No wonder Samson doesn't want her. How can a petty she-wolf like that be worthy of being his Luna?"

I was unbothered by the ridicule. After so many years, I'd long since gotten used to it.

Deep down, I already knew that my title of Luna was nothing more than a placeholder.