Chapter 1

My life had been one of misery, redeemed only by my daughter, who now guarded my memory with her own life.

She was certain that once the truth was revealed, they would all be so consumed by regret they would willingly claw out their own inner wolves.

But at this moment, Kaelan's laugh was thick with scorn.

"Justice?"

"What right does a traitor's whelp, the spawn of a whore who broke her mate bond have to speak of justice?"

A wave of his Alpha power crashed over her. He smashed the tombstone with a single punch, sending stone fragments raining down.

"Stubborn, just like her," he sneered. "Don't waste your breath with tales of shattered inner wolves."

He scoffed. "She was a traitor. What does it matter if her inner wolf is destroyed?"

Rhea didn't flinch. She only hugged my photograph tighter.

He lunged forward, roughly grabbing my daughter's hair and slamming her against a large boulder behind her.

His ice-blue eyes scanned her, nostrils flaring as he took in her scent.

"Damn it… You carry the scent of my bloodline." His voice faltered for a second before he roared again.

"No, it can't be! How could she have borne a pure-blooded heir? A monster tainted with her filthy blood has no right to exist!"

The Alpha lifted his foot and stomped down hard on Rhea's chest. A sickening crack of bone echoed in the silence.

Her face twisted in pain, but an unyielding fire still burned in her amber eyes.

"When you see her bones… you will know the truth," she rasped, her voice strained but clear through the agony.

Never before had the revered, untouchable Alpha King been defied by a mere pup.

Kaelan's beast was thoroughly enraged. He kicked my daughter, sending her flying into the pile of rotting corpses.

"If you're going to speak in riddles, you can do it out of my sight."

The Alpha King's raw power swept through the area, scattering the bodies.

The putrid smell of decay instantly filled the air.

Blood poured from Rhea's mouth and nose, the result of a severe head trauma and a shattered sternum. It pooled on the ground beneath her.

My dear parents, Marcus and Elara, rushed forward to shield Lilith, cooing over her like she was a precious pup.

"My Luna, be careful not to get any of this filth on you. Your bloodline is too noble."

"Exactly. Who knows if the jinx's blood is poisonous."

They had branded me a jinx from the day I was born. They never loved me, so naturally, they loathed my child.

My poor Rhea… my little wolf pup…

The remnants of my inner wolf shrieked from within the moonstone shards.

I hated my own weakness, unable to make my presence known, forced to watch her suffer.

I had no power to protect her, no way to tell Kaelan that this was his own heir.

I had been attacked by feral wolves in my first year in the wilderness, my womb torn open. It had stunted our daughter's growth, making her develop much slower than other Alpha children.

The scent of blood drew in the Beta warriors of his retinue. Their feral instincts took over, and they swarmed forward, kicking at her.

"That bitch Selene broke her mate bond! Her curse killed the pups in my pack! Why is her whelp still breathing?"

"I hate her too! When our lands fell, that traitor forced my mother to submit to the enemy Alphas…" one of the warriors roared, his voice laced with pain and humiliation.

"Once we dig up Selene's bones, I'm going to tear this filthy little mongrel apart with my own hands!"

Rhea curled into a ball, clutching the shattered pieces of my photograph.

As the fists and feet rained down on her, a cruel, mocking smile touched her lips.

That smile… it was so familiar.

It was just like mine, back when I was a child, who was bullied, but still defiant.

No one had ever truly loved me in my life. To have a pup like her made all my past suffering worthwhile.

She was the true grace the Moon Goddess had given me.

Suddenly, a terrified howl erupted from the gravesite, cutting through the violence.

The Beta warriors had dug through the earth.

My body wasn't there.

The corpse, a stranger hastily wrapped in rags, was not me.

There was only a moonstone pendant, tied with a silk ribbon, glowing faintly beside the body.

"The moonstone…" Kaelan's voice suddenly choked.

He shakily picked up the pendant, his knuckles white from the force of his grip.

It was the token of our love.