Chapter 3

Dead silence on the other end of the phone.

Dozens of seconds later, Maya sent a screenshot of a first-class e-ticket to Halo City.

The flight time was tomorrow night, right after my coronation ceremony ended.

Her attached message was just one line: " I already moved your mother to a safe house. Go, Harper. Don't look back."

Cold air rushed in as Sterling slid into the driver's seat.

He caught a glimpse of my lit screen and a calm smile curled his lips.

"What are you looking at? Honeymoon tickets to Stardrop Island or Halo City?"

I quickly locked the screen, forcing down the sting in my eyes, and put on a flawlessly obedient smile.

"Haven't decided yet." I softly changed the subject. "Pull over at the intersection. I want to buy a few boxes of the blood-berry tarts the elders like."

Sterling paused as he started the engine.

He gave me a deep look. There was no love in his eyes, only extreme satisfaction towards a handy tool.

"Harper, you're always so sensible." He sighed, half-joking. "I really found the most perfect mate for the Apex Pack."

Perfect.

What an accurate, cold-blooded word.

By the time we hurried back to the Packhouse, the banquet was in full swing.

The elders were drinking, spit flying as they argued over territory borders and moonstone mining rights.

As the Luna-to-be who was getting crowned tomorrow, I sat beside Sterling like a ghost.

I cut into the bloody marbled steak on my plate, my mouth full of bitterness.

When Chloe got engaged seven years ago, all the nobles in the North put her on a pedestal, showering her with care.

But tonight, at my banquet, no one cared if I was happy.

Suddenly, a burning large hand slipped under the tablecloth and quietly covered my thigh.

Through the silk dress, Sterling's fingers suggestively rubbed the sensitive skin on the side of my leg.

The Alpha's oppressive aura instantly enveloped me.

"Bored?" He turned his head, his warm breath fanning my ear. "Bear with it. When they leave, I'll take you out for a walk alone."

With this mix of truth and lies, he always knew exactly how to play my heart.

But the next second, his phone on the table buzzed.

With just one glance, the tenderness on his face vanished, replaced by poorly concealed anxiety.

He snatched his hand back and stood up abruptly.

"Apologies. We've spotted rogue tracks at the southern forest border. I have to deal with it personally."

He didn't even look down at me. Throwing down a hasty "Harper, entertain the elders for me," he grabbed his coat and rushed out in a panic.

The moment he left, those high-ranking Beta women in the hall showed their true colors.

"If Chloe were here, she would have shifted into her wolf form to fight alongside the Alpha."

"As a mate, she's completely useless. She's miles away from her sister."

"What did you expect? She's just a lowly half-breed."

The harsh, bitter mockery was endless.

In the past, I would have forced a smile and swallowed my pride for Sterling.

But now, I just felt sick.

Clang—

I let go. My knife and fork smashed hard onto the white porcelain plate with a piercing crash.

Under everyone's stunned gaze, I pushed my chair back without a word and left the table.

Back in my top-floor bedroom, I submerged myself completely in the bathtub.

Just as I closed my eyes to rest, my phone buzzed with an anonymous text.

It was a single video.

I clicked play.

The scene was a luxurious hotel suite in human territory.

The man in the center of the frame was tall and broad-shouldered. His back was to the camera, his shirt half-unbuttoned, revealing the Alpha wolf tattoo on his muscular back.

It was Sterling.

The dignified, serious Alpha who claimed he was off dealing with rogues.

Right now, he was pinning a young girl in a black lace slip dress hard against the floor-to-ceiling window.

Like a beast in heat, he greedily sniffed her neck and playfully bit her collarbone.

"You spoiled brat..." Sterling groaned, his voice dark with lust. "Faking a heat just to get me here. I'm going to punish you for this."

The girl giggled, wrapping around him like a water snake as she whined playfully.

"Come on then, my Alpha..."

Sterling let out a low growl, dipping his head to kiss her deeply.

The two of them tangled together intensely, worlds apart from his usual restrained self.

I stared dead at the screen, my entire body freezing over.

Just then, the girl in the video suddenly turned her head, staring straight into the hidden camera.

She smirked provocatively.

The moment I saw her face clearly, my phone smacked onto the floor.

My brain exploded. My heart felt like it was being ground to pieces.

That girl tangling passionately with Sterling in the hotel...

She was a dead ringer for my sister. Chloe.