第5章

I just stood there, watching them.

Watching the lingering madness and possessiveness in Damien’s bloodshot eyes.

Watching the panic and guilt Lyra couldn't hide on her paper-white face.

I had a million questions I wanted to scream, but when they reached my lips, not a single word came out.

Lyra, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, violently pushed Damien away – who was still lost in the moment – and rushed towards me, forcing a smile uglier than tears.

"Selena! You... why are you up? Are you feeling better? You didn't even call me when you got up... I... Damien and I were just discussing... discussing how badly you were hurt, and what precious herbs and prey we should get to help you recover your strength and feel better... and then... then a nasty bug flew into my hair, and Damien... Damien was helping me get it out..."

She babbled incoherently, desperately winking at Damien behind her, trying to get him to back her up and confirm her "story."

Damien, however, just pursed his lips, his face cold, saying nothing, only watching me with those deep, unreadable eyes.

Seeing Lyra on the verge of tears, Damien finally, as if doing her a huge favor, managed to squeeze out a reply: "Yes."

I knew Lyra wasn't frantically making up this terrible lie because she actually cared about my feelings, and definitely not because she wanted to protect our so-called "sisterly bond."

She was just scared.

Scared I'd expose their dirty affair.

Scared she'd lose her "innocent and kind" perfect image in the Blood Moon Pack.

Scared she'd lose Damien's unconditional love and protection.

After finding out I'd been betrayed by my most trusted bestie and my destined mate, I did hate Lyra.

That hatred, like a venomous snake, gnawed at my heart day and night, making me miserable.

I didn't know how to face Lyra, with whom I once shared everything.

But now that I’d decided to completely sever this mistaken bond, none of it mattered anymore.

I didn't care.

So, even though I knew they were teaming up, putting on a ridiculously flawed show for me, I couldn't be bothered to call them out.

It would only make me look even more pathetic.

I suppressed the complicated mix of sadness, anger, disappointment, and disgust in my heart and managed a stiff smile.

"Oh, I see."

My voice was so calm, it even surprised me.

Lyra didn't know what I was thinking. She just assumed I hadn't clearly seen their passionate kiss earlier, that I actually believed her flimsy excuse.

She let out a sigh of relief, quickly stepped forward, and affectionately linked her arm through mine, cooing at me in that familiar way I once knew so well.

"Selena, what were you going out to do? Are you going to the sacred spring to heal? Want me to come with you? I actually have some things I wanted to talk to you about."

I took out the token the pack healer had given me from my pocket, my voice flat. "The healer told me to go to the depths of the sacred spring for a deep purification and recovery."

Lyra immediately and enthusiastically offered to go with me, then pulled me away from that disgusting place in a hurry.

Damien stood rooted to the spot the whole time, just watching our retreating backs with those dark, unreadable eyes.

The purification ritual in the core area of the sacred spring was longer and more painful than I’d imagined.

But every jolt and cleansing wash of lunar energy felt like it was stripping away the ugly marks deep within my soul.

It hurt, a lot, but it was also... clarifying.

The results came out quickly. The healer said the residual fire energy in my body had been completely cleared, but my lunar energy, due to the previous overexertion, had damaged its foundation and needed long-term rest and nourishment from rare herbs to slowly recover.

He suggested I stay in a healing cave by the sacred spring for at least another month.

I had no choice but to accept.

Lyra, true to her word, came to visit me almost every day.

And whenever Lyra appeared, Damien would also coincidentally show up nearby, due to various "pack affairs" or "territory patrols."

The two of them kept staging these "chance encounters."

But I knew in my heart, Damien never truly wanted to accompany me, his mate in name only.

The freshest prey and sweetest berries he "happened" to bring each time would, after I "accidentally" refused them, be "reluctantly" passed on to Lyra.

The potent healing herbs he traded from other packs, after Lyra "unintentionally" mentioned she needed them too, would be "fairly" divided, with Lyra getting a large share.

When the three of us "accidentally" gathered to chat, Damien's gaze would always uncontrollably linger on Lyra's smiling face.

He'd instinctively smooth Lyra's wind-tousled hair, naturally pass her the sweetest spring water from his own cup, and his lips would curve up when Lyra laughed happily...

I saw everything he did, and I remembered it.

Occasionally, a familiar, subtle ache would still prick my chest.

But that was all.

I never showed these emotions, never foolishly argued or begged like before.

Because I knew I was truly, finally, moving on from this mistaken relationship.

The invisible connection between us, born from the fated bond deep in my soul, was fading.

One day, it would break completely.

And I would completely let go.

The day I was discharged, the day I decided to leave the Blood Moon Pack for good, Damien actually came himself.

He even, uncharacteristically, suggested taking me on a "mate's hunt and patrol" as compensation for the grievances I'd suffered.

This was the first time since he became Alpha that he’d actively invited me like this.

I paused, a little confused about what he was up to.

But he didn't give me a chance to refuse, directly pulling me onto his magnificent black war wolf mount.

First, he took me to the Moon-shadow Forest, the most beautiful of the Blood Moon Pack's territory, also richest in prey.

There, he showcased his incredible hunting skills as an Alpha.

His agile form moved through the trees, every strike precise and deadly.

Then, he piled the most precious prey in front of me and said in a tone that left no room for argument, "These are all yours."

Next, he took me to the pack's treasury, which was filled with glittering gems, rare ores, and weapons and ornaments made from precious materials.

He casually selected a dozen items that, in his eyes, symbolized the Luna's status and glory, laying them out before me one by one, like a generous king displaying his wealth and favor towards me.

"This necklace, strung with South Sea moonlight pearls, has a gentle luster that complements your fair skin."

"These armbands, crafted from thousand-year-old blood jade, are said to have the miraculous effect of concentrating lunar energy, which will help you recover your strength."

"This cloak, sewn from ice silk and fire fox fur, is light and warm, capable of warding off the northern cold."

...

For the past three years, although we were mates in name, Damien had never truly taken me on a date.

The few times we attended pack events together were mostly at the elders' insistence, and even then, he'd reluctantly bring me along.

No matter how much affection and care I showed him, no matter how much I did for him, he ignored it all, let alone patiently picking out gifts for me and giving detailed comments like he was doing now.

So I felt very uncomfortable, almost like the Damien before me was a stranger, making me feel... a chill down my spine.

A young, clueless she-wolf guarding the treasury, seeing Damien so attentively choosing gifts for me, looked at me with envy. She couldn't help but whisper, "Future Luna, the Alpha not only personally accompanies you hunting and chooses the most precious gifts for you, but he also so carefully considers your preferences and needs. To have such a powerful and doting Alpha as your mate, you must feel incredibly happy and proud!"

I watched Damien take out a black obsidian token from his pouch, signaling the she-wolf to pack up all those gifts and send them to my hut.

Throughout the whole process, he didn't even ask me once if I liked any of it.

Happy? Proud?

If I didn't know the person he truly loved was Lyra; if I hadn't experienced the humiliation at that full moon gathering and the desperation of being on the brink of death; if I hadn't witnessed his passionate kiss with Lyra on the sacred spring path...

Maybe, I really would have been like this young she-wolf, moved to tears by his sudden favor.

But now, seeing these exquisite, expensive, yet cold gifts, my heart was just numb.

I knew better than anyone that Damien's sudden, uncharacteristic actions weren't because he'd fallen in love with me.

He just couldn't give me real love and respect, so he was trying to use these things to make up for what he owed me, to silence the gossip from the elders and pack members, to soothe his own conscience.

What he could give me, I didn't need.

And what I once wanted, he couldn't give, and never would.

This fated bond, mistakenly forged by the Moon Goddess, was an absurd mistake from the very beginning.