Chapter 1

"I'm so sorry, Luna Cassandra. We couldn't save your baby," the healer said, her voice sounding soft and regretful.

Her hands were shaking as she pulled the blanket up over my frail body. Her face was filled with guilt as if she shared the weight of loss I felt.

I fell silent. Tears were already falling down my face. I just cried silently and lifted my face, staring at the cold ceiling of the room in the healer center.

Outside, the sound of raindrops could be heard. I knew that the rain would not be enough to wipe away the tears and the huge wound in my heart.

"They... how could they attack our pack? Because of them, I lost my baby," I sobbed, squeezing my now empty stomach. There was no more baby in there.

The Rogues.

They attacked the Nightclaw pack that night brutally and mercilessly. I could only protect myself as much as I could, hoping that Jason would come to my rescue.

However, all my hopes were empty. When one of the Rogues threw a large log at me, I saw Jason who chose to save Grace, his childhood friend.

Although my eyes were almost closed, I could see how Jason was hugging Grace and looked very worried about her.

"I'm glad you're okay, Grace. Thank the Moon Goddess you're safe," Jason said, which I could still hear at the time.

Is he out of his mind?

How could he say everything was fine when I, his Luna, had been lying on the ground, barely clinging to life until the Beta came to save me?

Maybe Grace's existence meant so much to Jason that he forgot everything, including me.

Grace!

The name was always ringing in my ears, and it sounded as painful as a thorn stuck deep. Jason's childhood best friend, the woman who always seemed to matter more than me.

Jason didn't even know that I was pregnant. I never intended to tell him anyway.

What for?

He would never care about me either. Because in his mind there was only Grace, Grace, and only Grace!

---

A few days passed since the incident, but my body still felt very weak. When I was resting in my room, I saw Jason come into the room that night.

His face looked tired, but instead of sitting next to me, he stood by the door with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Are you better, Luna Cassandra?" he asked briefly, just as a meaningless formality.

I nodded slowly, feeling reluctant to look at him. He didn't seem that worried about me either.

"Good," he said, then added, "I'm going out for a bit."

I watched him open the desk drawer and take something from there. What was in his hand at this moment surprised me.

It was the moonstone bracelet that belonged to the Nightclaw pack's ancestor. My heart trembled at the sight of it.

That white and pale blue bracelet was Luna's symbol of honor, something reserved for the Alpha's Luna. But now he took it without asking.

"What's the bracelet for, Alpha?" I asked hoarsely. I had to ask.

Jason looked at me for a moment, then answered in a tone that didn't seem to think it was important.

"This bracelet has the power to connect with the Moon Goddess and can make a woman's heart feel calmer. Right now Grace is feeling depressed because her father was seriously injured by Rogue's attack. So, I think this bracelet can comfort her."

I paused, trying to contain the anger that was now beginning to burn in my chest. I slowly got up and stood facing him, even though we were quite far apart.

"The bracelet is for Luna, Jason. It's for me," I whispered barely audibly.

"And you're too jealous," he said flatly as if I was just a little kid throwing a sulk for no reason.

"That Grace has been my best friend since childhood. She's like family to me, so you should understand that. I've got a lot of work to do, so don't put it on my mind, Cass. I have to go see Grace, and I also have to investigate the pack of Rogues that have attacked our pack."

"But, Jason, you can't ...."

"Shut up!" He cut off my words quickly.

"You're overthinking the little things. You're doing fine, right? Look, Elder Charles is much worse off than you are! Grace is very sad that Elder Charles's condition is critical. Now I don't want to hear your complaints anymore. You'd better prepare some food for tonight. Grace has no appetite these days, so I want to bring her favorite food. Hurry up and prepare Grace's favorite meal!"

His statement was the final whip that struck my heart. Jason didn't know and probably didn't care about my situation, even when I had just lost our child. There was only Grace on his mind.

Jason walked out just like that, and I could only stare at his departure. I sat on the edge of the bed, my hands clenched in anger. My whole body was shaking.

"Jason, you don't have a heart."

He had just told the woman who had lost their child to prepare food for another woman?

Slowly, I reached for the cell phone on the table with trembling hands. Maybe now is the time for me to leave this pack. There was no longer any reason for me to stay here since my husband didn't consider my existence either.

Holding back tears, I began to put my cell phone to my ear and waited for the call to connect on the other side. Before long, the call was finally answered.

"Hello, Cassandra."

"Hello, Alpha Alaric," I said as the call connected.

My voice sounded more stern than I felt at the moment.

"Why are you calling me? Is there anything I can help you with?" asked the man on the other end in a worried voice.

"Alpha Alaric, I've decided to return to pack Silvermoon."

There was a pause on the other end of the line before Alaric's voice came back.

"Cassandra, are you sure?" His voice immediately became serious. "Once you leave Nightclaw, don't expect me to let you return.”

"Yes," I answered without hesitation. "I have no more reasons to stay here.”