Chapter 2

In a werewolf's bloodline, loyalty stands above all else. Since my mate bond had already been defiled, I would rather sever it.

My father didn't ask any questions. He simply replied with a single word: [Alright.]

…

The Fallen Blood Pack's most important annual trial arrived as scheduled.

Legend said that only a werewolf who faced the abyss of Fallen Cliff on the night of the full moon—and completed the trial—could truly earn the Moon Goddess's recognition.

Although the rift between Liam and me had long since deepened, I still didn't want personal grievances to taint the pack's sacred ritual.

As the moon rose, I placed my hand before the stone basin, ready to begin the trial.

Liam interrupted me.

"Wait. Let Lily start the trial with you."

Only then did everyone notice that there was a woman standing beside the Alpha.

Lily wore a pristine white fur robe that clashed sharply with the surrounding leather garments. Silver thread traced the Fallen Blood Pack's totem along the hem.

"Who is that woman beside the Alpha?"

"Where is our Luna? Why isn't the Luna at the Alpha's side?"

"That totem—how can an outsider wear something like that?"

Several elder werewolf councilors strode forward, their faces dark with fury.

"Alpha! This is absolutely unacceptable!"

"The ritual can only be completed by the Luna alone! This is the Moon Goddess's law—an iron rule written into our blood!"

"Allowing an outsider to touch the core of the ritual isn't just overstepping—it's blasphemy against the Moon Goddess!"

Liam raised his hand. A surge of Alpha pressure spread outward, forcefully suppressing the uproar.

He didn't look at the enraged elders. Instead, he looked straight at me, his gaze unfathomable. "Lily is your sister. You share the same blood. Letting her try once doesn't break the rules."

Doesn't break the rules?

I looked at Liam's face and suddenly found it absurd.

In his heart, what exactly were Lily and I to him?

"Fine." I looked away, gazing into the abyss below. My voice was flat, devoid of emotion. "Then we'll do it together. Let's not waste time."

I no longer cared what Liam chose to do. If he wanted to break the rules—if he wanted to hand everything over to someone else—that was his choice.

Just before I cut my fingertip and let my blood drip into the stone basin at the cliff's edge, Lily leaned close to my ear.

"Tania, do you know? Liam's heart has already left you. He promised me that soon, your position as Luna will be mine."

I ignored her whisper.

It didn't matter. I was about to leave anyway. Once I was gone, everything between the two of them would have nothing to do with me.

As I focused on completing the final step of the ritual, Lily, who was standing beside me, suddenly stumbled.

Amid a startled cry, she collided into my waist. A calculated force struck, and the ground vanished beneath my feet.

The world flipped upside down in an instant. A piercing rush of wind roared into my ears.

As my body plunged out of control, my flailing hand caught hold of a withered, skeletal tree branch stubbornly jutting out from a crack in the rock.

My body dangled in midair, suspended above a bottomless abyss by a single hand and a dead branch that could snap at any moment.

"Ah—!"

"Luna!"

The cliff erupted into chaos. Werewolves rushed to the edge in horror.

Liam's face changed instantly. Without the slightest hesitation, he charged forward, half his body leaning out over the precipice as he reached for me. His voice trembled with panic and fury I had never heard before.

"Tania! Give me your hand! Hold on—don't let go!"

At that moment, Lily let out a short, pitiful sob. As if the shock had drained all her strength, she staggered and collapsed softly into Liam's outstretched arm.

"Liam… I… I'm dizzy… I'm scared…"

Liam's arm stiffened for a split second.

Almost instinctively, he steadied the trembling Lily in his arms and stroked her head to comfort her.

"Don't be afraid. I'm here."

I watched their closeness in silence, my heart calmer than it had ever been.

In the deathly stillness, a sharp cracking sound came from the branch beneath my fingers.

As Liam's pupils shrank in shock, I released my grip of my own accord.

I leapt into the endless abyss.

That was fine.

This Luna title… and this hollow, deceitful mate bond… I wanted none of it anymore.