Chapter 4

It was my last day in the pack.

After I bid farewell to Elder Mark Smith, he said, "Please drop by the Alpha's residence before you leave. Alpha Cain is looking for you."

At first, I wanted to reject his request. But after considering how I was leaving the pack that night, this might be the last time Cain and I would see each other if he and Vera stayed out for the entire night as they were wont to do.

I thought that it was better for me to tell Cain that I was breaking up with him in person since we had been together for five years.

In the end, I decided to drop by Cain's residence.

I was about to step through the door when I spotted Cain lounging on a chair through the window.

Vera, dressed in a long gown, had her head resting on Cain's lap. The scene looked quite intimate.

I couldn't hear what Cain said, but whatever it was made Vera cover her mouth as she burst into a peal of giggles.

I stopped in my tracks. I was considering just turning around and leaving when Vera noticed me. She gasped in surprise and hastily straightened up.

"What are you doing here, Leah?"

A hint of panic flickered across Cain's face. He hastily straightened his disheveled clothes before turning on me with a scowl.

"Who gave you permission to enter without knocking, Leah? Didn't I tell you in the past that you need to wait for me to give you the okay, even after you knock?"

I ignored him and said, "Elder Mark told me that you were looking for me."

Cain scoffed. He strode over to the table and angrily dialed a number.

Elder Mark arrived at his residence in less than five minutes.

"Did you tell Leah that I was looking for her?" Cain asked coldly.

Elder Mark immediately noticed that something was amiss. His eyes darted between Cain's icy expression and Vera, who looked troubled as she stood to the side. His anxiety spiked, rendering him unable to speak at that moment.

A long time passed before he finally mumbled, "I… I don't remember."

Cain scoffed before he glared at me.

"Did you get what you want, Leah?" he asked. "I thought you had matured, but you only learned how to lie. You're just constantly spouting nonsense now."

I was rendered speechless by his words.

"Don't be angry, Alpha Cain," Vera chimed in. "I'm sure that Leah isn't trying to frame Elder Mark on purpose."

She ran a soothing hand down Cain's back as she looked at me. "I hope that you don't get the wrong idea as well, Leah. I had a headache earlier because I was exhausted. That's the only reason why I was resting on Alpha Cain's lap. Don't overthink what you saw."

Although I wasn't sure what was going on, I had no doubt that Vera was the mastermind pulling the strings behind the scenes.

Knowing that Vera was the Beta that Cain favored the most, Elder Mark didn't dare tell the truth when he noticed that something was amiss with the situation. He was also unsure if Cain would believe him even if he did expose the truth.

I remained silent.

Cain was still furious. "You don't need to explain yourself to her. We didn't do anything wrong, so there's nothing to explain. As for you, Leah, I've decided to relieve you of all your duties in the pack since you were trying to frame an elder."

Elder Mark tried to explain the situation. "Alpha Cain, Leah has already—"

He probably wanted to tell Cain that I was leaving the pack, but Cain silenced him with an icy glare. "I don't want to hear any excuses. Just carry out my orders!"

Elder Mark didn't dare say another word. He turned and left.

I figured that it was about time for me to take my leave. I was just about to do so when Cain suddenly called out to me.

Perhaps it was because he had just expressed his frustrations, but he looked a lot calmer.

"I'm not trying to target you, Leah," he said earnestly. "I'm the Alpha of the pack. I can't show you favoritism just because you're my future mate."

Vera nodded and added, "He's right, Leah. Alpha Cain's doing what's best for you."

Cain nodded in response. "You're truly an excellent Beta, Vera."

He glared at me before continuing, "Meanwhile, you're nothing like her. The only thing you're good at is being jealous. Is there anything else that you can do? Why don't you take a leaf out of Vera's book and learn to be more like her?"

I wondered what exactly Cain wanted me to learn from Vera. Did he want me to learn how to insert myself into someone else 's relationship? Did he want me to learn how to discreetly drive a wedge between them?

Or perhaps he wanted me to learn how to steal the credit of someone else's work and frame them for things that they didn't do.

I scoffed, not even bothering to argue.

Cain mistakenly assumed that I had learned my lesson when I remained silent. He stepped closer and said earnestly, "I know that you love me, and that you're only doing all these things because you're feeling insecure.

"The full moon's tomorrow. I'll fulfill your wish and officially mark you. When you're my Luna—"

"Mark me?" I asked, interrupting him with a laugh. "There's no need for that, Cain. I don't need you to mark me. Let's end this. Oh, I'm also joining the Northcliff pack. We will have nothing to do with each other from now on."