Chapter 2

“What’s there to celebrate?” I cut her off, my voice ice.

Silence.

Then, a choked, pathetic sob from Vivienne.

“Sister, why would you say that…? It’s my first time at the Alliance gala, I’m just scared I’ll embarrass the pack. The gown… if you really can’t part with it, I can wear something old. It’s okay.” She sobbed, painting me as the villain.

Before I could answer, the phone was snatched away.

“Harper! Are you done with this tantrum?” Zane’s voice, laced with anger and confusion, hit me like a physical blow.

My heart clenched, but the feeling was quickly replaced by a bone-deep chill.

“It’s just a dress! Why are you being so cruel today? Why are you picking on your own sister?” he accused, his voice dripping with disappointment.

I clutched the phone and let out a cold laugh.

“Zane, get one thing straight. Do you really think this is about a dress?” My voice trembled despite myself. “This is about you four. You conspired together. You stole the spot I bled for!”

Dead silence on the other end.

All I could hear was Zane’s heavy, panicked breathing.

They never thought I’d find out.

A few seconds later, my father Hector’s deep, authoritative voice came through the speaker.

“Harper, you have always been our pride, the most mature of our children!” he boomed, his Alpha command lashing out. “You missed the Alliance trial because you were exhausted and your body gave out! It is an honor for the pack that Vivienne could take your place. As her sister, and our future Luna, you should be happy for her! Not lashing out and crushing her spirit!”

“My body gave out?” I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I screamed, my voice raw with despair. “Mother was the one who brought me that soup!”

Silence again.

After a moment, my father sighed heavily, his tone now laced with a bizarre, twisted kind of pain. “Harper, it was just a simple herb to make you weak for a day. You will have countless opportunities. Vivienne only had this one. We did it for your own good, too!”

I listened to my own father’s words, and my stomach turned.

“In that case, why don’t you just adopt her as your real daughter,” I spat, grinding out every word. “You’re already a family anyway. I’m just a shield. A trophy to protect the pack and make you look good.”

“How dare you!” My father was enraged. I could feel his fury even through the phone.

“Harper, you’re stabbing your mother in the heart!” My mother, Freda, grabbed the phone, her voice shrill and wounded.

“We raised you, we have always been so proud of you, and now you’re going to turn your back on us over one little position?”

I caught my pale reflection in the mirror. The whole situation was a twisted joke.

This was their love. They loved me, but they would sacrifice me in a heartbeat for someone who “needed” their love more.

“Family is the most important thing. You can’t be so selfish,” my mother said, delivering her final verdict. “I’ve transferred some money to you. Go buy yourself some new clothes and jewelry. Stop obsessing over this.”

Beep—

The call was disconnected. Again.

Two seconds later, my phone screen lit up.

A transfer notification from my bank.

Amount: $50,000.

I stared at the long string of numbers and suddenly burst out laughing.

But tears streamed down my face, splattering onto the screen.

This was my family. My fated mate.

My year of hard work, the betrayal I suffered, the nights I spent in agony.

To them, it was all worth a pathetic fifty thousand dollars. Hush money.

Family?

When had they ever treated me like family? In that secret group chat they hid from me?

The mate bond still ached, a dull throb of pain, but my mind had never been clearer.

A cold sense of finality washed over me. It drowned the heartbreak.

Without a second thought, I pulled up my contacts and called my best friend, Maeve.

Maeve wasn't just any Alpha. She was a self-made She-Alpha. And she owned the top crisis management firm in North America.

The phone barely rang once.

“Harper? What’s up?” Maeve’s confident voice came through.

“Maeve, that partner position you offered me before… is it still open?” I didn’t waste time with pleasantries.

She paused for a beat, then laughed. “For you? Always. Finally decided to wise up?”

“Yeah.” I looked at my reflection, at the fire returning to my eyes. “The sooner, the better. I’m leaving tomorrow.”

“My jet will pick you up at 8 a.m. Get ready to build an empire, partner.”

Maeve was all business. She didn’t even ask why.

“See you tomorrow.”

I hung up, transferred the fifty thousand dollars straight back to my mother, and added a message: "Buy Vivienne a dog treat."

Then, I put my phone on silent and walked toward my closet.

I ripped the family portrait off the wall and threw it in the trash. I started packing.

Tears fell, hot and silent.

But the moment I zipped my suitcase shut, a strange sense of peace settled over me.

Maeve had tried to recruit me for years, offering me a stake in her empire. I had always refused, saying I couldn't leave my pack, my mate.

My life’s goal had been to join the Alliance, to help Zane become the most powerful Alpha, to be a good Luna, to protect my family.

But now, I was finally free.