Chapter 4

When my siblings saw me like this, disgust was written all over their faces.

I fetched water myself and cleaned my wounds. I'd just finished bandaging them when Adrian, Damian's estranged father, suddenly showed up.

He stormed straight into my room, and the moment he saw my injuries, he whirled around and slapped Damian across the face.

"You treat your own daughter like this and you still think you deserve to be Alpha?"

"You better give me a damn good explanation today, or I'm not letting this go!"

Damian tried to explain, but panic seized me. I grabbed Adrian's hand. "Grandpa, I know you're worried about me, but please, whatever you do, don't go to the Shrine of the Moon."

"Don't worry, I won't." Adrian squeezed my hand. "I don't care about any Shrine of the Moon. All I care about is whether my granddaughter's been hurt."

He sighed, and his eyes turned red. "This is my fault. I raised a monster for a son. Tomorrow I'm taking you away from this pack."

I collapsed into Adrian's arms and cried for a long time.

"Grandpa, please, just promise me you won't go to the Shrine of the Moon..."

"I swear, I won't go."

Adrian never broke his promises, and with his reassurance, I finally fell asleep.

The next morning, something felt wrong the moment I opened my eyes.

The entire house was silent. Dead silent.

I fumbled my way out of my room and found my whole family sitting in the living room, their faces cold and expressionless. At the sound of my footsteps, they all turned to stare at me in unison.

Adrian was gone.

"Where's Grandpa?"

My father let out a cold laugh. "Look at you, learned how to tattle, did you?"

My sister’s mate looked me up and down with pure contempt. "What a performance. Who knew you were actually worthless underneath it all? No wonder your fated mate rejected the bond after finding out the truth. I would've been disgusted too."

The other sister's mate spat at me. "Get out of my sight. If I'd known this pack had trash like you in it, I never would've married in. You're an embarrassment."

My younger sister lunged forward and slammed my head against the wall. "This is all your fault! I almost lost my mate because of you!"

My sister pinned me down.

After the beating, they stood over me, staring at the blood on the floor, and they smiled.

"Dad, what should we do with her?"

I fought to break free and dragged myself toward the door. Their reactions told me everything I needed to know—they were going to kill me.

If I didn't run now, I'd die here.

I was almost at the door when Grandpa walked in. I grabbed onto his leg like a lifeline. "Grandpa, save me! They're trying to kill me!"

The same man who'd been so gentle last night shoved me away and brushed off the spot where I'd touched him, like I was filth.

"You deserve it."

I froze, staring up at him through bloodshot eyes.

"Grandpa... you went to the Shrine of the Moon, didn't you?"

He looked down at me with cold, merciless eyes. "How else would I know what kind of scum you really are?"

"But you promised! You said you loved me most! Why did you lie?"

My last shred of hope was shattered.

I pulled myself up from the floor and screamed like a madwoman. "If you're going to kill me, at least let me know why! I want to go to the Shrine of the Moon! If I'm going to die, I deserve to know the truth!"

They exchanged glances, and finally, Grandpa nodded.

At dusk, my father dragged me into the Shrine of the Moon.

Inside, there were no lights. Everything was pitch black.

When my eyes finally adjusted, and I saw what stood before me, my entire body went rigid.

"No wonder... no wonder no one wanted to bond with me... so this is why..."