Chapter 1

[Daisy's POV]

"I, Alpha Chase Howler of Redstone Pack, hereby reject Daisy Whiteclaw as my mate."

The moment Chase's words were out of his mouth, my wolf let out a blood-curdling howl, and a soul-rending pain exploded in my chest at once.

We had been entangled with each other for five years, all day and night, and even though we never formally marked each other, Chase and I were already basically inseparable.

The soul-crushing pain caused me to scream and howl aloud before collapsing onto the ground, blood gushing from my mouth.

Meanwhile, Chase only swayed ever so slightly, his face turning pale for a slight moment before he quickly returned to normal.

After all, he was a powerful Alpha, and I was just a mere healer. And so, I was the one who had to bear the vast majority of the pain from this backlash.

"Chase…"

I opened my mouth slightly, feeling how parched my throat was. "You will regret this… It really was me back then—"

"That's enough!" Chase said at once, interrupting me in disgust. He then lifted his foot and stomped heavily on the back of my hands. The pain from all ten of my fingers and my palms was so intense that it made me scream out loud once again.

"Don't you dare try to use moral blackmail on me just because we slept together a few times in the past."

He then lowered his voice and spoke contemptuously. "We're all adults now, and you know that it was all just a matter of physical needs. Did you think that I had to mark you just because I slept with you a couple of times? Since when did you become such a cheap whore, Daisy Whiteclaw?"

He continued looking at me with a mocking smile on his face.

"I only trust my own feelings. Bella understands me more than anyone else. She loves me and would even give up her life for me! But what about you?

"All you do is wear that stern face of yours while you make me handle the pack affairs. I'm the Alpha of the pack, Daisy, not your damn subordinate! I feel like I'm serving a sentence whenever I'm with you!"

I felt my heart sinking completely.

So, all of my sacrifices and contributions to the pack were seen as me being bossy and rigid.

The scars I got from saving his life, while nearly losing mine in the process, were seen as ugly in his eyes.

Even the countless sleepless nights I spent helping him secure his position as Alpha were seen as shackles and constraints to him.

Bella Hooks gently tugged on Chase's sleeve and spoke in a gentle manner.

"Don't be like that, Chase. Daisy just loves you too much. I love you very much too, and my heart breaks for you every time, but I don't want to see Daisy get hurt like this."

While speaking, large tears began sliding down her cheeks.

"I'm willing to leave the pack on my own and die in the hands of the Rogues if need be…"

Chase immediately cupped Bella's face in his palms with a heartbroken expression on his face.

"How could I possibly let you die like that? If anything, she's the one who should die instead!"

Chase then turned to me, the tenderness in his eyes immediately being replaced with a sharp, blade-like gaze.

"Heard that, Daisy? This is what sets Bella apart from you! She's always thinking about you, while all you think about is being the next Luna of the pack!"

I lay on the ground, looking at the two hypocritical wolves and suddenly found it extremely amusing.

Three years ago, Chase had been ambushed by several Rogues and severely poisoned by them. I was the one who carried him on my back in the heavy blizzard for two days and and two nights.

I even dug through the hard layer of ice on the ground with my bare hands just to dig out the wolfweed antidote buried deep beneath the frozen ground to save his life. I clawed at the ice so hard until my nails broke and fingers turned bloody, and yet, I hadn't felt a thing then.

Finally, I even exhausted the last bit of my energy to bring out the lifesaving wolfweed effects and guide it into Chase's body, forcibly yanking him back from the brink of death.

And where had Bella been at that time? She was huddled up in the warmth back in the pack, deathly afraid of being infected as well.

When I finally saved Chase's life and passed out myself, she ended up staying next to his bed for half a day, and thus, the first one he saw when he finally woke up was her.

Naturally, he assumed that Bella was the one who had saved his life.

I tried explaining myself to him after that, but Chase accused me of being jealous of Bella and trying to steal her credit for something like this.

Ever since then, I'd kept my mouth shut about it.

I thought that Chase would eventually understand my sacrifice one day, but as it turned out, the blind could never be cured after all.

It didn't make sense for me to continue explaining myself any further anyway. The Daisy who would have willingly given up her life for him had died on the altar the moment she was rejected.

"Well, since you've already chosen her, then there's nothing more for me to say," I said.

I didn't want to look at them anymore. So, I endured the excruciating pain of having my soul torn apart and turned to leave.

"Stand right there! Who said that you could leave? You made Bella cry. Apologize to her this instant!"

I was so mad that I began to tremble.

"You rejected me for her in public, making me suffer from the pain of the rejection. And now, you're even forcing me to apologize to your mistress?"

"It seems like I've been spoiling you too much lately," Chase said, the last of his patience vanishing from his eyes. "Since you refuse to repent, then let me teach you some ground rules."

He looked down on me while making his cold declaration.

"Let this be known that Daisy Whiteclaw shall be stripped of all her status, title, and honors. Her punishment shall be kneeling before the altar for as long as I say so. Nobody is to give her any food or water in the meantime!"

He then looked at my disheveled appearance, soaked in blood, and sneered at me contemptuously, uttering the words that shattered my heart to pieces.

"You will only be allowed to get up when you apologize to Bella."