Chapter 4

Time flew.

Four days left. Four days until I left this pack for good.

Last night, I was actually thinking about how to say a proper goodbye.

Just to keep up appearances.

Then, this afternoon, I was passing the main hall.

Jasper left his laptop open on the kitchen island. The family group chat was glaring on the screen: "Silver Moon Guardians."

Members: Father, Mother, Jasper, Rhys.

A perfect family of four. Without me—the actual daughter, the future Luna.

The chat logs shattered my last shred of hope.

[Jasper: Once Eliana leaves for the border and we turn the Omega quarters into a memorial, I’ll take Chloe to pick out some new furniture.]

[Mother: Good. Chloe's coming-of-age has to be perfect. We owe her that.]

[Rhys: Leave it to me. Once Eliana is gone, I’ll guide Chloe like a sister, make up for everything she’s lost.]

[Mother: Thank you, Rhys. About Eliana…]

[Rhys: Don’t worry. Eliana will understand. She’s my mate. She’s always been strong.]

Strong.

The word was a poisoned knife, twisting in my heart.

"Are you giving my whole life to Chloe?!" My voice echoed in the hall. Ten years of silence, finally broken.

Silence.

Jasper slammed his laptop shut, looking like a thief caught in the act.

My father frowned. My mother immediately went on the defensive.

“What is wrong with you?” she snapped. “Spying on people’s private conversations? So petty! You have none of the grace of a Luna!”

“Luna’s grace?” My eyes were burning as I stared at her. “Kicking me out to a leaky Omega quarters, is that grace? Pushing my own mate onto another girl, is that grace? Making a private family chat without me—is that what you call Luna’s grace?!”

Rhys rushed downstairs at the noise.

He saw the faint image on the screen, his face stiffened, and he tried to grab my hand.

“Eliana, you misunderstood. This is just about duty. Chloe has no parents, she needs our protection more than you…”

“Is your duty to trample all over my dignity?” I yanked my hand away, tears finally breaking free. “Rhys, I’m asking you, is my strength just an excuse for you to ignore me over and over again?!”

He froze. He opened his mouth, but had no answer.

“Shut up!” Jasper roared, storming over and pointing a finger in my face. “If Chloe’s father hadn’t taken that silver bullet for me, I’d be dead! If you can’t even make this one small sacrifice, then get the hell to the border and think about what you’ve done!”

Get the hell to the border.

I was shaking. I turned to my father, the Alpha, sitting in his chair.

His face was grim. He said nothing.

No defense. No objection.

He was allowing this. This exile.

I stood in the center of the hall, a criminal awaiting banishment.

My crime? I wasn't selfless enough for the title of Luna.

In that moment, all my tears dried up.

I didn’t say another word.

I walked back to the Omega quarters. Locked the door.

Outside, I could hear my mother comforting a frightened Chloe. My brother consoling her. Rhys agreeing with them. The noise died down.

It was like my hysterical outburst was just static, easily erased.

The main house was even livelier in the days that followed.

My mother threw Chloe an early coming-of-age party, with a huge cake.

Jasper decorated her terrace with glowing vines until it looked like a fairy tale.

Rhys came for dinner every night, then helped Chloe practice controlling her powers by the hot spring on her terrace.

Their laughter carried on the wind, all the way to my room.

No one bothered me again.

In their world of celebration, I didn’t exist.

I started clearing out my room in the dead of night.

Anything I couldn't take, I burned.

On the nineteenth day, at 4 a.m.

I stood outside the Omega quarters with a light backpack.

I took out my phone and threw it into the garden's mud pit without a second thought.

No goodbyes. No looking back.

Under the cover of darkness, I caught the first bus to the airport, on my way to the Lycan Research Institute.

At 7:30 a.m.

Sunlight broke through the clouds, lighting up the entire Silver Moon estate.

My mother pushed open the door to the Omega quarters.

“Eliana, have you had enough time to reflect…”

The plate in her hand fell and shattered.

The room was empty. No clothes. No scent.

It was so clean it was like no one had ever lived there at all.

Just as my disappearance sent the family into chaos, the main gates of the estate slowly opened.

The Pack Seer hobbled into the hall. He held an ancient, glowing moonstone.

He looked up at my father, his old eyes clouded with sorrow.

“Alpha,” his voice was frail but heavy. “I unsealed the memories from the battlefield...”

The Pack Seer took a deep breath.

“It’s about the fall of that hero Beta. I think you—and the entire pack—deserve to know the truth.”