Chapter 5

Nyxen’s face contorted with rage, his grip tightening on my arm until it bruised. "You should know your limits!"

Aphra suddenly stepped out from behind the training shed, letting out a soft, mocking sigh as she placed a comforting hand on Nyxen’s tense forearm.

"Lucy just wants your attention, Nyxen. Stop wasting your energy on her," she purred, her eyes gleaming with satisfaction.

Then, she pulled out her phone and held it up for the surrounding pack members to see. "Look, everyone. This is the new training obstacle I built for my tracking pup. Isn't it clever?"

I narrowed my eyes at the screen. The smooth, obsidian stone base and the intricate silver-runed binding leather used to secure the hurdles looked texturally and elementally unique.

"Where did you get the leather and the runed stone for that?" I asked, my voice dropping to a dangerous whisper.

"Oh, I found an old crate of ceremonial binding regalia in Nyxen’s pack-house quarters," Aphra replied smugly, tilting her chin up. "I thought the materials looked sturdy, so I dismantled them to reinforce my pup's agility course."

I tightened my fists until my knuckles turned white. Those weren't just random materials—that was the sacred Moon-Blessed Harness, hand-carved and blessed by my mother and the pack elders to connect a true Alpha pair's life forces during the Blood Moon ritual.

In my previous life, Aphra had "accidentally" dropped the harness into a silver-acid vat on the morning of the ceremony. Left with no choice, I had to use a common, painful iron chain provided by the pack house at the last minute. The physical and emotional scars had lingered for years.

After I was reborn, I changed my destiny as I had intended, but my family's sacred heirloom was still targeted. To make matters worse, they had turned a priceless pack treasure into a playground toy for a pet.

I turned my freezing gaze to Nyxen. "That ritual harness was supposed to be safely stored under a locking ward in the Alpha vault. Why did you take it out and hand it over to Aphra?"

Nyxen looked completely unfazed, his expression dripping with arrogance. "We're finalizing the union arrangements today anyway. Who cares about a few old ceremonial straps? So what if I gave them to Aphra? She needed durable materials for her training, so I let her have them."

I stared at the butchered remains of my family's legacy on the screen. The sheer shamelessness of the future Alpha line was staggering.

"That harness was forged with consecrated midnight silver, and blessed with hundreds of fasting priests," I said coldly. "Since the two of you destroyed it, you will compensate for my pack’s sacred loss by fasting for a whole week."

Nyxen slammed his fist against a wooden training dummy, the wood cracking under his strength as he snarled.

"Are you done, Lucy? If you keep behaving in such an unreasonable, paranoid manner, I'll call off the entire Blood Moon alliance!" he roared.

I finally lost the last shred of my patience.

"I already told you," I said flatly, stepping out of his space. "You're not the person I'm binding my soul to. What alliance are you even canceling?"

Nyxen didn't believe a single word. Instead, a mocking laugh erupted from his chest.

"You were talking big a second ago, but the mere mention of calling off the union scared you into making up wild stories, didn't it?" he sneered. "A hundred fasting priests? Fine. I'll have a thousand slaves to fast for the blessings. Are you happy now?"

He stepped closer to Aphra, adding, "Now, apologize to Aphra. You've been rude toward her since yesterday. Look at how shaken she is. Apologize, and I'll consider forgiving your disrespect."

He was utterly convinced that I would do anything to secure my place by his side, believing I would always bow to his demands just to retain the title of future Luna.

Beside him, Jaxon and the other sycophants couldn't help but mock me too.

"You're such a bitter, controlling mate, Lucy, and the ritual hasn't even happened yet! At this rate, you'll lose your mind when Nyxen grants Aphra high-ranking status in the pack right in front of you!"

Amid the cruel laughter and teasing, Nyxen proudly took Aphra’s hand, staring down at me with absolute authority. "I don't care if she's jealous. As the future Alpha, I won't let anyone bully Aphra!"

He continued, "Lucy, if you still want to hold the Luna title next to me, you will beg Aphra for forgiveness right now and prove you're sorry. You've crossed a line, do you understand?"

Aphra lifted her chin triumphantly, already acting as if she ruled the pack grounds.

I fell silent, stunned not by hurt, but by the sheer, staggering depth of their stupidity.

Everyone stood around eagerly waiting for me to break down and embarrass myself. But right at that moment, heavy, commanding footsteps echoed from the path. Alieus Stormborn appeared, flanked by his Alpha brother and my parents.

"What is going on here?" Alieus’s deep, baritone voice cut through the courtyard like a blade, instantly silencing the crowd.

All eyes turned toward the powerful warrior.

"Oh, it's nothing, Uncle," Nyxen said quickly, his dominant posture instantly deflating as he let go of Aphra's hand. "Greetings, Alpha. Hello, Uncle and Aunt."

Then he added awkwardly, gesturing to the she-wolf beside him, "This is Aphra. She's just a friend of Lucy and me."

My parents gave Aphra a brief, dismissive nod before the elders walked toward the pavilion table to sit.

My mother flashed me a gentle, loving smile. "Did you inspect the ceremonial binding harness I prepared for you, Lucy? I wanted it to be perfect for the Blood Moon alignment."

Before I could even open my mouth to speak, Nyxen cut in smoothly, "Lucy and I aren't really concerned with outdated traditional relics, Luna Stacy. There's no need for you to go through the trouble of worrying about custom artifacts."

Both of my parents froze, shooting Nyxen an incredibly bizarre, questioning look. Standing tall beside me, Alieus's eyes narrowed, his aura flaring slightly as he spoke softly, "Lucy is only binding her soul once. It is entirely right that her family ensures the sacred artifacts for her union are flawless."

Feeling his pride pricked, Nyxen frowned deeply at his uncle. "It's one thing for you to meddle in pack training, Uncle Alieus. I can't believe you're overstepping into my mate's ceremonial decisions, too. Don't you think you're crossing a line?"

"Shut your mouth, Nyxen!"

His father, Alpha Edward, slammed his hand onto the stone table, the shockwave causing the surrounding warriors to flinch. He glared at his adopted son with utter fury.

"Your uncle Alieus is the mate she chose to bind her soul to tomorrow. Why are you inserting yourself into their mating ceremony?”