Chapter 5

Three days later, I applied a touch of delicate makeup, threw on a meticulously tailored silk dress the color of moonlight, and arrived at the banquet hall entirely on my own.

A smug, triumphant smirk tugged at the corner of Eric’s mouth the moment he spotted me.

“You claimed you weren’t coming, but your body is certainly honest. You tracked my scent right here anyway.

“Since you want to beg for my heart back, you actually have to put in some effort. For a high-profile occasion like today, you absolutely must dress up properly just to be worthy of standing beside me.”

Completely ignoring his sudden bout of narcissism, I walked right past him.

I had only taken two steps before an infuriated Eric violently grabbed my wrist.

“Selena, I am speaking to you! Did you hear me?

“Our seats are over here. Where do you think you’re going?”

I forcefully wrenched my hand out of his grip, my voice deadly calm as I spoke. “Those are your seats. My seat is over there.”

Following the direction of my gaze, Eric looked toward the grand head table positioned at the dead center of the hall. His face turned incredibly unsightly.

Lily gouged me with a venomously wicked glare, pointing directly at the moonstone necklace resting against my collarbone as she shrieked at the top of her lungs, “Selena, how did you sneak your way in here? You came to cause trouble, didn’t you? You... how dare you wear that necklace!”

Her voice blasted through the hall, instantly capturing the attention of every single werewolf present at the banquet.

“Is that necklace the Tears of the Moon Goddess that the Alpha searched the entire Great North to find? Today is the Luna’s very first official appearance before outsiders—is she trying to humiliate the Luna on purpose?”

“A rogue wolf managed to sneak in? This bitch is going to get us all killed!”

“Eric, is this a friend you brought along?”

Seeing that I still refused to look him in the eye, Eric’s expression darkened. He adjusted his bow tie and spat, “No.”

Hearing Eric’s denial, Lily’s spirits surged. She looked down at me with absolute arrogance. “Take off that fake moonstone necklace and get the hell out of here!”

A playful, mocking smile touched my lips as I looked at her. “Are you entirely certain you dare to force me out?”

Feeling humiliated by my reaction, a vicious glint flared in Lily’s eyes. “Stop putting on these noble airs! Take the necklace off right now!”

Before the words even faded, she bared her sharp claws and lunged forward, clawing aggressively to rip the necklace from my throat.

I sidestepped her reaching hands, stepping backward to avoid the assault.

But caught completely off guard, another werewolf nearby deliberately stuck out a leg and tripped me.

I crashed heavily onto the hard floor, the sheer impact leaving me completely dazed for a second.

Lily strode forward in her high heels and brought her foot down, ruthlessly grinding her sharp heel straight into my shoulder, driving the point deep into my flesh.

“Treating a piece of counterfeit garbage like it’s some priceless treasure.”

An agonizing, piercing pain radiated from my shoulder. My neck was severely lacerated by the sharp pulling of the metal chain, leaving it a bloody mess as crimson warmth flowed down my collarbone.

Yet, I could only stare blankly at the snapped chain and the flawless moonstones scattered all over the floor.

“Pick this bitch up and hurl her out to the borders of our territory!” Lily commanded, twirling the broken necklace between her fingers, her voice dripping with haughty authority.

Several warriors immediately closed in on me. Seeing them reaching out to grab my arms and legs, I instantly began to thrash against them, shouting through the pain, “Stop! I am Jason’s—”

Slap!

Before I could finish, a brutal backhand struck my face, and the metallic taste of blood instantly flooded my mouth.

“Are you about to fabricate another lie claiming you’re the Luna of the Crescent Moon Pack? Who do you think you are?!”

Still unsatisfied, Lily bared her wolf claws and delivered another heavy slap across my face, leaving three deep, bleeding lacerations scoring across my skin.

When I arrived today, I truly had no intention of wasting my energy on her.

Because it was beneath me.

But now, I was absolutely going to make her pay the ultimate price.

Eric knelt down in front of me, reaching out a hand as if to touch the bloody marks on my cheek. I instinctively flinched away from him.

His gaze turned freezing cold, staring down at me from his superior stance. “Selena, haven’t you thrown enough of a tantrum yet!

“You wore this counterfeit necklace and went through all this calculated trouble to chase me here today just because you can’t let me go, isn’t it? You just wanted to make me jealous.

“As long as you get down on your knees right now and beg me, I will agree to take you back into the pack.”

I spat out a mouthful of bloody water, letting out a cold laugh. “Eric, you are completely finished.”

Eric’s brows knitted tightly, just about to unleash his fury, when an overwhelmingly powerful Alpha pressure suddenly suffocated the entire room.

The once boisterous, chaotic venue plunged into a deathly, terrifying silence.

Every single werewolf instantly retracted their claws and fangs in absolute terror, bowing their heads deeply toward the main entrance.

Eric hurriedly dragged me up from the floor, warning me in a harsh whisper, “The Alpha is here! Keep your mouth shut and behave!

“Don’t worry, Lily won’t hold these petty actions against you.”

What a delusional fool.

Clutching my bleeding neck and my aching shoulder that felt as if it were falling apart, a sudden laugh escaped my lips.

She might not hold it against me, but the one who was going to hold every single drop of this against them was me.

Right then, Jason stepped into the grand hall, carrying Lucas in his arms as an elite entourage escorted them forward like stars orbiting the moon.

The meticulously dressed, beautiful young pup—complete with two fluffy little wolf ears twitching on his head—instantly captured the undivided attention of every single person in the room.

Staring straight ahead, Eric turned his head toward me once more, his voice dropping to a low murmur. “Selena, if you stop being so bitterly jealous and promise never to provoke Lily again, I can give you a single chance to bear my pups.”

I didn’t say a word. I simply held my bleeding shoulder, trying to catch Jason and Lucas’s eyes through the dense crowd of bowing wolves.

Finally, holding our son tightly in his arms, Jason walked straight through the crowd and stopped directly in front of me.