Chapter 1 Betrayal

Lyara Moonveil POV

"Ah! Mom, why is there a monster here?" A child's shrill scream was followed by the sound of his body slamming into the ground.

I turned my head, staring at the trembling child. Instinctively, my hand reached up to touch the mask on my face, and sure enough, it had shifted slightly downward. I quickly adjusted its position.

My long exhale caused the child’s mother to tense up. She quickly helped her child to their feet and left with her head bowed. I watched their departure in silence.

“There’s nothing left,” I muttered to myself.

Even though I was in the highest position after Alpha, Luna, it didn’t make me happy. A year and a half ago, all the pack members respected me as the daughter of the pack’s warrior leader. But since the curse appeared around my eyes, they started keeping their distance from me.

“I miss you, Father.”

I gazed sadly at the blue sky. Dragging my heavy feet, trails of blood formed from my arms. Fresh blood clung playfully to my hands and shoes.

“Did you find another rogue infiltrating the pack?”

The deep voice of the person I loved dearly made me lift my face and smile faintly. But the smile didn’t last long on my lips.

“Hurry up and join the ranks. If it’s Seraphyne, she wouldn’t be late just for a rogue,” my couple, Alpha Kaelen, Alpha of the Gravepine pack, continued.

“Tsk! You made us wait a long time,” he muttered again. With his eyebrows furrowed and a cold, piercing gaze, he began to stare at me intently. The same gaze, the same judging gaze that seemed to regard me as an object.

He always compared me to the mate who had come late into his life, Seraphyne. Although he could have removed me from my position as Luna, he kept me and only made Seraphyne his lover. That was enough for me. I must not be greedy.

His attention was naturally focused on the mate destined for him by the Moon Goddess. I must not be jealous or envious. I only have him as a light on my path filled with darkness. I must dedicate myself to him, to the Gravepine pack, as my father did until his last breath.

“Even though we have to get used to it, it’s still terrifying.”

“It can’t compare to the beauty and grace of the Alpha’s lover.”

“Look at her furrowed brows! Is she going mad with pain again, screaming every night before midnight? I always shudder with dread when on night duty and hear those screams.”

“How dare you insult Luna Lyara! Her struggles for the pack are not comparable to your life!” snapped one of the warriors who had fought alongside me.

My fists clenched tightly. I couldn’t get angry, because almost everything they said was true. Seraphyne’s beauty was clearly the opposite of my ugly appearance. My screams every midnight were also true. I could still feel the lingering sensation of burning pain from the curse around my eyes from last midnight.

The sound of footsteps drowned out the conversation between the warriors, who were divided into two camps. Their attention was focused on a girl with flowing blonde hair and calm green eyes. The corners of her lips formed a perfect, sweet smile.

She was very beautiful.

"Kael, how could you not wake me up? Did you want to go to war without saying goodbye to me?" She crossed her arms. Her lips pouted forward as she rolled her eyes in annoyance. The three servants behind her smiled thinly, as if enjoying the romantic scene unfolding before them.

Alpha Kaelen immediately pulled Seraphyne into his embrace and placed a kiss on her forehead. “I couldn’t bear to wake you while you were sleeping so soundly.” His fingers gently moved aside the strands of hair covering his beloved’s face.

He whispered softly, but it was still clearly audible to our sharp hearing. “I know I was excessive last night. So you need to rest a lot.”

A blush coloured Seraphyne’s cheeks. Her tiny fist gently punched Alpha Kaelen’s chest as he laughed softly. “Turns out worrying about you was pointless. Besides, you’ll return with victory as usual.”

“I never bring defeat. Don’t you know your strong lover? I’m also accompanied by Luna Lyara, she’s never been defeated on the battlefield,” Alpha Kaelen said, lifting one corner of his lips. A sly grin appeared on his face, his eyes gazing into the distance.

When my name was mentioned in their conversation, our eyes accidentally met. The sweet smile on Seraphyne’s lips turned into a triumphant one. Her gaze, filled with contempt, was directed at me. Not wanting to get involved, I quickly turned my face away.

I had to hold it in. I couldn’t lose control.

Pain spread through my heart. The small needles that had been lodged in my heart for so long were now digging deeper.

“He’s never even come to see me,” I muttered.

Ironically, I, who held the title of Luna, his official partner, had never spent a night with him. Yet his lover, who had no official relationship with him, was the one who shared his bed every night.

How pitiful you are, Lyara.

***

A tense atmosphere spread throughout every corner. Behind the dense bushes were the attackers of the defence group, who would be deployed once the rogue front lines had been neutralised.

“ATTACK!!!”

The thunderous voice of Alpha Kaelen shattered the previous silence with the screams of the warriors and the howls of the rogues. The ground trembled as fifty warriors charged forward in perfect formation.

I watched Alpha Kaelen, who had transformed into a wolf and was submerged in the rogues’ blood. His soft, jet-black fur was now stained red. His movements were swift, almost like a shadow. Every claw strike never missed, and every growl was a death sentence for the enemy.

Unlike them, who could immediately transform and work in harmony with their wolves, I couldn’t do it. The curse had severed my communication with my wolf, Elune. When I tried to speak to her, her voice was choked and she sounded as though she were in pain.

Fighting in my large, powerful wolf form is impossible since I received this curse. However, that does not hinder me.

My arms transform into hard muscles with dark silver fur and curved claws as sharp as moon blades. This is the only part of my body I can use from my wolf side. The curse had severed my transformation, leaving me with imperfect strength, but enough to shatter my opponents' bones.

I charged forward, breaking through the crowd of rogues growling wildly. Their bodies jostled, pushing each other to attack. But I was unafraid.

My claws struck the chest of the first rogue, slicing through skin and bone in a single stroke. I spun, crouched, then struck two rogues simultaneously with a deadly cross-punch. The sound of tearing flesh and broken fangs was sickening, but I had heard it too often to be disturbed.

One rogue attacked quickly from the right, but it wasn’t enough. I grabbed its jaw, smashing its head into the ground with brutal force. Dust, blood, and howls blended with the rapid beat of my heart.

I clawed at the ground, then leapt onto the back of a rogue about to attack my warrior, tearing its throat without hesitation.

“LUNA, BEHIND YOU!” a warrior in the defensive line shouted, but I had already ducked and swept another rogue’s legs with a low kick, then clawed its back until its body fell motionless.

The battlefield was littered with bodies. My breath was heavy. Blood dripped from my claws, but my spirit hadn’t faded.

“Lyara.”

The hoarse voice I recognised so well made me turn around. In the thickening mist, a tall figure approached. His face was covered in sweat mixed with blood, but his sweet smile remained. And it was directed at me, not his lover.

My heart felt warm. For a moment, the sounds of battle around me seemed to fade, as if only he and I existed on this blood-soaked battlefield.

Alpha Kaelen stopped directly in front of me. “You’re extraordinary as always, Luna.”

I couldn’t help but curve my lips into a smile. But it didn’t last long as a chill crept up my stomach. My lips spat out thick red fluid. Instinctively, both my hands clutched his arm, which had pierced my abdomen.

“Unfortunately, you must die, Luna Lyara,” Alpha Kaelen whispered.