Chapter 2

The winter night wind sliced through the air like the merciless blade of a knife.

I remained kneeling before the altar, my knees having gone numb long ago.

I didn't have a single drop of water nor a bite to eat for the past three days and nights, and my consciousness was beginning to fade.

Later, on the third night, Bella came to visit me.

"Still kneeling, Daisy?"

She was wearing the white fox fur coat that I had personally made for Chase myself.

Now that Chase wasn't next to her, her usual frightened and pitiful expression was long gone from her face. Instead, she looked smugly and maliciously at me as she walked up to me, looking down at me at the altar.

"Chase felt sorry for me and was worried that I'd catch a cold, so he gave me this white fur coat. He said that you're hardy enough to tough it out on your own, and kneeling for a few days will teach you a lesson."

I looked up at her with my blurry vision, yet I could still catch the mockery in her eyes.

My voice was hoarse as I said, "We grew up together, Bella. I've never done anything wrong to you."

She used to be an orphan, and I'd begged Dad to take her in in the past, raising her like she was my younger sister. I was also the one who had introduced Chase to her.

Bella crouched over and scoffed.

"You never did anything wrong? You were the proud daughter of a high-ranking Elder, and I was nothing but an orphan living under someone else's roof. You made me wear your old clothes and made me eat your leftovers. And you still dare to say that you've been treating me well?

"I hate how hypocritical you and your kindness are."

She then leaned closer to me and whispered in my ear, "Wanna guess why Chase suddenly hates your guts?"

She then fished out a dark violet-colored glass vial from her coat, waving it in front of me.

As soon as she popped the vial open, a strange, sweet fragrance immediately wafted into my nostrils.

"This is a potion that I bought from a wandering witch. I paid an arm and a leg for it," she said smugly.

"Just one drop is enough to make a wolf infatuated with me. I apply it on my wrists every day, and as Chase gets used to smelling it on me, I'll be the only one left on his mind all the time.

"It doesn't matter whether you're his fated mate or not. This potion is strong enough to override all of his connections to you, making him loathe you and instead seeing me as his only true love."

I froze at once.

How could Bella even dare to use this forbidden potion on anyone?

She laughed hysterically at my shocked expression.

"Also, this stuff doesn't only work on Chase. Haven't you noticed it lately, Daisy? That in the past six months, it wasn't just Chase, but every Beta and Gamma in the tribe, including the usually most impartial Elders in the packs, have all changed their attitude toward me and looked at me quite differently?"

Everything suddenly dawned on me when she brought it up like that.

No wonder…

No wonder the wolves in the pack had all been speaking up for her for no reason lately; no wonder the Elders had been increasingly harsh toward me while turning a blind eye to Bella's mistakes lately…

"Every wolf who has ever smelled this scent will instinctively want to protect me, even if I was wrong. They'll still think that I was right," she said, fondly caressing the vial in her hands while looking at me smugly.

"Right now, I'm the apple of every wolf's eyes in the entire Redstone Pack. As for you, Daisy? Sure, you gave up everything for the pack, but you still lost to a few of my crocodile tears after all.

"You're such a pathetic creature. Your sacrifices don't mean a thing against my tears."

Rage surged in my chest. I wanted to tear her farce apart, but my body had reached its limit, and I didn't even have any strength left in me to lift a finger anymore.

"I bet you really want to kill me right now," Bella gloated in glee, looking at my powerless rage with an even wider smile on her face.

"Unfortunately for you, you're nothing but a piece of trash now.

"I'll be the Luna of Redstone Pack when Chase finally marks me. And when that time comes, I'm going to make you suffer so much you'll wish you were dead."

Then, she swung her hips as she sashayed off, smug and satisfied.

I was so overwhelmed with despair that I just let it consume and bury me just like the falling snowflakes on my body.

My wolf let out a deep howl before falling into a deep slumber. I could not feel her presence any longer.

Snow continued piling on me as a snowstorm built up, quickly burying me beneath a sheet of white. Yet, just before my consciousness completely faded into the darkness, I thought I saw two tall, dark figures approaching me through the snow.

"We've found her," a low, attractive voice said close to my ear.

Another voice said, "We've found our Luna."