Chapter 2

“Zephyr…” Chloe suddenly grabbed his arm, her voice trembling. “My foot hurts so much. It’s getting really swollen.”

She deliberately showed him her ankle. The pale skin was indeed a little red and puffy.

“My healing isn’t strong like yours and Elysia’s,” she said, her eyes welling up with tears, her voice even more pathetic. “I’m so sorry to be a bother.”

Zephyr immediately knelt to examine it, his brow tight with concern.

“How did it get this bad?” he said, his tone laced with pain for her. “The pack hospital is still twenty minutes away.”

A cool night wind blew, and Chloe shivered.

Without hesitation, Zephyr stripped off his jacket and carefully draped it over her shoulders.

The jacket, still carrying his unique Alpha scent, wrapped around her like a warm hug.

“Careful,” he said, sweeping her up into his arms and carrying her toward his black sports car. “Sit down slowly. Don’t put pressure on your ankle.”

I stood there, watching this tender scene, the irony twisting in my gut.

They looked like a perfect couple. And I was the one who didn't belong.

After Zephyr settled Chloe in the car, he finally remembered his wife was still standing at the entrance.

He walked over, his expression a little awkward.

“Elysia, don’t overthink this,” he said, avoiding my eyes. “I just see her as a sister. We grew up together. I can’t just watch her get hurt and…”

“You already told me to crush a crystal,” I cut him off, my voice so calm it surprised even me. “I’m fine.”

My compliance seemed to throw him off.

“Elysia…” he started, but trailed off.

“Go,” I said, glancing at Chloe waiting in the car. “She’s waiting for you.”

Zephyr gave me one last, deep look before turning and walking back to his car.

The engine roared to life and faded into the distance, leaving me alone in the empty parking lot.

Back at our villa, the lavish decor felt cold and empty in the moonlight.

I went into the bedroom and took a moonlight crystal from the pouch on the nightstand.

This pouch, the one Zephyr used to lock away in his safe, was now just tossed on the cabinet.

The pure crystal shimmered in my palm like frozen moonlight.

I squeezed my fist.

Crack.

The sound was sharp in the silent room.

Silver dust sifted through my fingers and vanished into the air.

Only two left.

I walked to the safe and entered the combination.

Inside, nestled among our important documents, was a file I’d prepared a long time ago.

Mate Bond Severance Agreement.

I picked up my phone and dialed the Pack Elder’s Council.

“Luna Elysia? Is something urgent? It’s quite late,” Elder Aldric’s voice sounded surprised.

“Elder Aldric, I’d like to inquire about the process for fated mates to sever their bond.”

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end.

“Sever the bond? Elysia, is that you? I remember your bonding was the grandest ceremony our pack has seen in a century. It’s only been a few years. What happened?”

The Elder had witnessed that grand courtship.

How could we have fallen so far?

It started when he began abandoning me for someone else, time and time again.

It started when he and Chloe would talk about their past, and I was left on the outside, unable to get a word in.

It started when he would spend nights alone with her in a room without a second thought.

The one thing a mate bond cannot survive is a third person.

Our bond was covered in cracks. There was no going back.

The Elder sighed.

“If you are certain, you will need the council to witness it after the agreement is prepared. For an Alpha bloodline, severing the bond requires you to seal the agreement with your heart’s blood. You must be prepared…”

I looked at the last two faintly glowing crystals in the pouch and spoke slowly.

“I understand. Thank you, Elder. I’ll be ready.”

Just then, Zephyr walked in.

“Who was that on the phone? An Elder?”

He was carrying a cooler, which he set on the table.

I hung up and turned to face him.

“It was nothing. Just asking about some pack development issues.”

Zephyr’s brow furrowed, his eyes scanning me suspiciously.

“What issues? Why bother the Elders so late?”

I frowned back at him.

“It’s nothing. Just some minor things after the alliance with the Gray Mist Pack.”

Only then did he relax, sitting on the sofa and pushing the box toward me.

“Here. This is for you.”

I opened it. Inside were several rare herbs.

Moonlight Orchid, Silverleaf, and the extremely rare Nightingale Bloom.

In the past, whenever Zephyr made me angry, he would personally go into the deep mountains to pick these herbs to soothe me.

They grew on treacherous cliffs and were incredibly dangerous to harvest.

All because I once said I liked their scent, he would risk his life to find them for me.

I told him he didn’t have to work so hard.

But he would just nibble my earlobe and murmur in his deep voice, “If my Luna likes it, I’d pluck the moon from the sky for you.”

Thinking back, we’d had so many passionate, beautiful memories.

A pang hit me. Maybe he did remember I was injured after all.

“How did you manage to get…”

My words were cut short by his next sentence.

“Chloe’s weak wolf-spirit is acting up again,” Zephyr explained. “The doctor said she needs a special potion made from these herbs. You’re a gifted healer. Your technique is more refined. Can you brew it for her?”

I stared at the herbs. Each one priceless and nearly impossible to find.

“Her weak wolf-spirit?”

“Yeah, she’s had the problem since she was a kid,” Zephyr said, sitting beside me. “After she got treatment in Silvercrest City, the healer recommended this formula.”

I fought the urge to question him.

I was the patient here, still suffering from silver poisoning raging through my body.

He seemed to have completely forgotten.

“Elysia?” he pressed. “She’s in a lot of pain right now. Can you…”

“What if I say no?” I asked calmly.

Zephyr frowned, as if he couldn’t believe I’d refuse such a “small favor.”

“Why would you refuse?” His tone was laced with impatience. “It’s just brewing a potion.”

“I’m injured, too.”

“Isn’t your injury almost healed?” he said dismissively. “Besides, for a Luna, a small wound like that is nothing.”

He stopped himself, realizing what he’d just said.

But it was too late.

Looking at his indifferent face, the last shred of warmth in my heart turned to ice.

“If this bothers you,” he said, waving it off, “just crush another crystal.”

The furious words I wanted to scream got stuck in my throat.

Right. A moonlight crystal could make me forgive him for anything.

But he didn’t know. There was only one left.

I looked at his careless expression and swallowed my words.

There was no point in bringing up everything I’d done for him over the years.

It was almost over.