Chapter 4

The second bonding ceremony was set to take place in Lunar Sanctum, which was located in the heart of the Bloodthorn pack.

Clad in the ballgown-like wedding dress Gilbert had personally picked out for me, I slowly walked toward the sanctum while being flanked by the maids.

To the outsiders, this might seem like a grand and fancy ceremony. But to me, this was just a gilded cage.

I walked toward Gilbert, my expression stony. Deep down, I was plotting how to escape from this place.

Suddenly, an anxious shout shattered the solemn atmosphere of the bonding ceremony.

"Oh no! Alpha Gilbert!"

A guard rushed toward Gilbert anxiously. "Ms. Penning has gone missing after leaving a letter behind!"

Gilbert's expression darkened instantly. He snatched the letter out of the guard's hands. It contained only a short paragraph.

"Alpha Gilbert, I know that Luna Alyssa can never tolerate my presence. In order not to cause you any trouble, I have decided to take my own life in a deserted place. That way, I can keep my parents company in the afterlife."

Gilbert grabbed me by the arm, his furious gaze pinned on me.

"Joanna has gone missing because of you! If anything happens to her, I will never let you off the hook! You're coming with me to look for her! If you can't find her, you can forget about returning to the pack!"

He didn't even give me a chance to explain myself or fight back. Just like that, he dragged me out of Lunar Sanctum, his grip still firm on my arm.

I could only stumble behind Gilbert in my wedding dress the whole time. The soil had completely dirtied my hem, while the thorns tore through my veil.

Yet, Gilbert never looked back at me.

Soon, we arrived at Joanna's residence. By the time we reached the place, it was already surrounded by others. The pack members crowded around the courtyard, their loud chatter filling the air.

After all, Joanna was the surviving daughter of a war hero. She was like a precious treasure to the entire pack.

Gnashing his teeth together, Gilbert issued an order authoritatively.

"Search everywhere for her!"

Soon, the entire pack territory was filled with echoes of Joanna's name being called out. That was when I realized this was a golden opportunity for me to escape.

I quietly sneaked away and hid in the shadows while keeping up the pretense of looking for Joanna. Then, I began heading in the direction of a more secluded spot.

I thought I'd be able to regain my freedom soon enough. To my surprise, I actually bumped into Joanna. She happened to be standing on the edge of a cliff, her hair flowing behind her in the sea breeze.

When she heard my footsteps, she turned around to look at me in surprise. But when she saw me, her expression fell instantly.

"Why are you here? Where's Alpha Gilbert?"

Repulsion quickly took over her face. At the same time, I couldn't help but mentally curse at my rotten luck. All I wanted was to leave quietly, yet I ended up meeting Joanna purely by accident.

"I have no intention of fighting for the Luna's title with you. Just tell me how to leave the Bloodthorn pack. Once I'm gone, the Luna's title is all yours."

Upon hearing my words, Joanna sneered out loud. "You're leaving? Stop messing with me! Who'd abandon the Lunar tiara for the sake of becoming a Gamma warrior? No one would do that, so stop it with your act!"

"I'm not acting. I really don't want to be with the Alpha. Heck, I don't want anything—"

"Liar!" Joanna cut me off, fury evident in her eyes. "You want to sneak away so that you can gain Alpha Gilbert's favor by telling him where I am! You want his pity and his love! You want him to choose you instead of me!"

"That's not what I want!"

A malicious smile was plastered on Joanna's face. "But it's fine. Let's test him, shall we? Say, if both of us are in danger at the same time, will the Alpha save you, the so-called Luna, or will he save me first?"

Before I could react, Joanna lunged toward me and jumped off the cliff with me in her grasp. We ended up falling into the icy sea.

Almost immediately, I saw a huge wolf through the waves and my fear. Rage completely filled his grayish-blue eyes as he rushed toward us through the forest.

"Save me, Alpha Gilbert!"

The icy waters instantly engulfed me whole. I struggled violently in the water, but my dress soaked up as much water as it possibly could.

Due to the weight, I began sinking toward the sea's depths uncontrollably. Still, I did my best to kick my feet in the water so that I could keep myself afloat.

Meanwhile, Gilbert and the other pack members could be heard shouting urgently from the top of the cliff.

"Hurry! Toss the rope over the cliff!"

A rope was quickly tossed down the cliff, soon landing between me and Joanna.

Joanna began shrieking and wailing at the top of her lungs, as though she had seen a lifeline.

"Alpha Gilbert, save me! I don't know how to swim!"

A Beta's anxious voice rang out at that moment. "Alpha Gilbert, this rope can only take on one wolf's weight at a time! Who are we saving first?"

It felt as though time was slowed down indefinitely at that moment. I saw Gilbert, who stood on the cliff. His gaze kept flitting between Joanna's face and mine. I could feel my heart slowly sinking as well.

In the end, his gaze was fixed on Joanna, who was already in tears. It was evident what his choice was even before he said anything.

"Save Joanna first. She's in weak health, so she can't stay submerged in the cold water for too long."

Then, he said to me, "Just hold on a little longer, Alyssa. I'll save you immediately after this."

I chuckled softly as soon as I heard Gilbert's answer. I was laughing at myself for being a complete idiot who still clung to false hope.

Hold on a little longer, he said. He'd save me immediately after saving Joanna, he said.

But the moment Gilbert made his choice, everything was already over.

I no longer looked at him or at the rope. Since no one would save me, I might as well save myself.

I used all of my strength to rip the hem of my dress, which was starting to become a heavy burden for me. The fancy fabric was soon torn from my outfit. The weight that kept dragging me down finally disappeared.

I threw the huge scrap of fabric away without a second thought and readjusted my position. Then, I began swimming in the direction of the shoreline far away from the cliff with as much strength as I could muster.

One stroke, two strokes…

I kept moving my arms autonomously, solely relying on my survival instincts to keep going. The waves kept crashing into my body ruthlessly. I could feel my strength draining away bit by bit.

I had no idea how long I had been swimming. Finally, my fingertips felt the jagged rock by the shore.

I used what was left of my willpower to climb onto the shore. By then, I had already pushed myself to my limit. My vision went dark instantly, and I fainted.

All I knew was that things between Gilbert and me were truly over.