Chapter 2

My mate stood before her.

He didn't even glance at me.

In his world, only one person existed: the broken girl on the floor.

He scooped her up in a panic and strode out of the room.

That heart-wrenching tenderness was a poisoned knife, stabbing precisely into my heart.

Half an hour later, timing it for when he would have settled Lily down, I took the elevator to the top floor of the pack headquarters.

The numbers climbed. 68, 69, 70…

The top floor. Julian’s office.

“Luna Elena,” Julian’s assistant, Nathan, bowed respectfully. “The Alpha is handling an urgent matter. If you could please wait a moment.”

I didn’t reply.

My attention was completely captured by the sounds coming from inside the office.

“Don’t be scared. It’ll be better soon.”

It was Julian’s voice.

But I had never heard him speak with such gentleness.

I quietly approached the one-way glass wall of the office.

You could see everything inside, but those inside couldn't see out.

The scene I witnessed made my blood run cold.

Julian was kneeling in front of the sofa, carefully treating a cut on Lily’s arm.

In his hand was a small vial of shimmering liquid.

It was a priceless healing salve, brewed from an Alpha’s blood and rare moonpetal herbs.

“This might sting a little,” Julian said, dabbing the salve onto her wound with his fingertip. “Just bear with me.”

Lily nodded, biting her lower lip to endure the pain.

Julian’s movements were impossibly gentle, as if she were the most delicate porcelain doll in the world. His eyes held a focus and tenderness I had never seen before.

I thought back to my past life.

When I was stabbed by an enemy wolf’s silver blade and lay bleeding on the ground, Julian had only given me a cold glance.

"A Luna should be strong," he'd said, his voice like ice. "It's a scratch. Walk it off."

And now, with the same hands that had watched me bleed, he was applying the most precious medicine to another woman.

“Lady Elena?” Nathan’s voice pulled me back. “You look pale. Do you need to rest?”

I pulled the agreement from my bag. “Give this to the Alpha. Tell him it’s urgent.”

Nathan took the file, looking at the cover in confusion. “This is…”

“A business document,” I lied. “It’s about a joint project with the North.”

Nathan went into the office.

I watched him place my agreement in a stack of other documents on Julian’s desk.

“Alpha, these documents require your signature,” Nathan said.

Julian was still focused on bandaging Lily’s wound. Without looking up, he said, “Just leave them there. I’ll look at them later.”

“One of them is from Lady Elena. She said it’s urgent.”

“Elena?” Julian finally looked up. “She’s here?”

“Yes, she’s waiting for you outside.”

Julian glanced at Lily, then said to Nathan, “Tell her I’m busy. Have her come back another time.”

My heart felt like it had been struck by a sledgehammer.

Come back another time.

His official mate, the Luna of the Moonlight Pack, dismissed like a common business associate.

“But Alpha,” Nathan hesitated, “Lady Elena seems to have something very important to discuss.”

“Nothing,” Julian’s voice was cold steel, “is more important than Lily. Go.”

Nathan walked out, looking helpless. “I’m sorry, Lady Elena. The Alpha said—”

“I heard him,” I cut him off.

I looked into the office, where Julian was now gently brushing Lily’s hair from her face. She smiled like a cherished child.

“Those documents,” I told Nathan, my voice dangerously low. "Make sure he signs every single one today. Especially mine."

“Of course,” Nathan nodded. “I’ll remind the Alpha.”

I turned and left.

Three hours later, my phone rang.

“Elena, what the hell is this?” Julian’s voice was a furious snarl. “A Mate Rejection Agreement? Is this some kind of sick joke?”

I sat in front of my fireplace, watching the dancing flames. “You signed it.”

“I… I thought it was a business contract!”

“You signed it without even reading it,” my voice was terrifyingly calm. “That says everything.”

“Elena, you get over here right now! We need to talk!”

“There’s nothing to talk about, Julian. The agreement is in effect. According to pack law, we have a three-day cooling-off period. After three days, I will initiate the formal severing ceremony.”

“You wouldn’t dare!” he roared. “You are my mate! My Luna!”

“No,” I said, hanging up the phone. “I’m nothing.”

I walked to the closet in my bedroom and pulled out the robe hanging in the very back.

It was made of pure white silk, embroidered with a silver moon and stars.

It was the ceremonial robe I wore when I became Luna, blessed by the Moon Goddess herself.

It was my most treasured possession.

Holding it, I walked back to the fireplace and, without hesitation, tossed it into the flames.

The silk caught fire instantly, the silver embroidery twisting and melting in the blaze.

“Luna!”

I turned to see my housekeeper, Margaret, standing in the doorway, her eyes wide with shock and confusion.

“Luna, that robe is your most precious treasure…” her voice trembled. “Why would you burn it?”

I watched the flames devour the robe that held all my happiest memories.

“This pack will have a new mistress soon,” I said, watching the last of the silk turn to ash. "And this... this will just be in her way."