Chapter 3

Rosa had just returned to the fortress when she noticed servants hurrying in and out of the room next to their main bedroom.

That room was where she kept her wedding gifts and Henry's keepsake, and besides their main bedroom, it had the best light in the entire fortress.

Kyle was standing on the stone steps, directing the servants as they dragged Rosa's belongings out and haphazardly piled them in a dark corner of the corridor.

"You're back?"

He regarded Rosa from above. His tone was full of entitlement as he said, "Ivy's been having nightmares lately. The full moon is tomorrow. Since she's a captive with no family to protect her, I'm letting her stay here."

Rosa's gaze fell on Henry's portrait, which was dumped on the floor. The anger she felt instantly became more intense than the pain in her hand. "On top of being from another pack, she's a captive!"

Rosa rushed forward to stop the servants. "By Pack Law, captives can only stay in the dungeons or outer barracks. They have no right to stay inside the fortress! Kyle, what you're doing is an insult to my father!"

Kyle's eyes turned cold, and his Alpha aura exploded from him. "The Alpha sets the laws. In this pack, my word is law!"

No longer wanting to hear another word from her, he swung his hand hard. Before Rosa could even react, she was flung back by a powerful, invisible gust of wind.

She slammed into a stone pillar in the corridor. Blood ran down over her eye, turning half the world before her red.

Clutching her forehead, she stared at the man who had once sworn he'd take a knife for her in disbelief. "Kyle, you actually laid a hand on me?"

Even Kyle seemed startled by the strength he'd used on her. He approached her, using his thumb to wipe the blood from her temple.

"I know that you said Ivy is a war captive and doesn't deserve to stay here. But since you're injured and can't get around easily now, she can move in to take care of you. She knows a bit about herbs after all. She'll simply be serving you."

Rosa froze. Wow. What a perfectly justified excuse.

Not only was he letting the other woman move in, but he was also dressing it up as "taking care of her"? What kind of twisted logic was that?

Holding her bleeding forehead, Rosa stared at Kyle through her blurred vision. Somehow, he seemed like a stranger to her.

Back when they first bonded, she had slipped in the bath and scraped her knee.

Back then, Kyle's eyes had gone red with worry. He then replaced all the carpets with the thickest plush ones and even padded the corners of the tables. He had said, "Rosa, I'll never let you get hurt in my territory again."

And yet, now, he had made her bleed with his own hands. How ironic.

Just then, a slender figure appeared at the doorway. Ivy, who was wearing a thin white dress, looked proud and aloof. "Luna Rosa, I think you've misunderstood."

She continued in a cold voice, "I'm not the one who wants to move in… It's your mate. He's just too overbearing. I'm just a captive Omega. I can't refuse the orders of someone more powerful than me."

Though she spoke of being forced, she stepped inside naturally, as if this place had always been hers.

She gave Rosa a look that was totally devoid of respect. "Luna Rosa, I made this herbal decoction just for you. It's very effective on external injuries. You can use this on the wound on your forehead. Consider this my compensation to you."

Ivy approached Rosa, wanting to apply the decoction to her wound.

However, the moment the soaked cloth touched Rosa's wound, a searing pain overwhelmed her.

Rosa broke out in a cold sweat from the pain. That mixture wasn't for pain relief at all. A tiny amount of wolfbane had been added. Though the mixture wouldn't blister her skin, the pain was excruciating. "You…"

Rosa's vision was starting to go dark from the pain, and she instinctively shoved Ivy away.

The decoction spilled everywhere. Ivy fell backward before hitting her head on the floor.

She let out a startled cry, and tears spilled down her face. "Luna Rosa, I know you hate me, but I just wanted to ease your pain. Why did you have to do that to me?"

Kyle helped Ivy up, then turned his glare on Rosa. "Rosa, Ivy was just trying to help you! How could you push her? When did you become this nasty? Have you forgotten that as the Luna, you're supposed to be tolerant of your pack members?"

As wolfsbane had seeped into her wound, the pain rendered Rosa unable to speak. And yet, her mate turned a blind eye to all of it, caring only for the she-wolf who hadn't even gotten a scratch.

Ivy cried as she struggled to leave. "Alpha Kyle, if I'm not welcome here, then I'll leave…"

"Who dares make you leave?"

Kyle stopped her before coldly ordering Rosa, "Apologize to Ivy. If you don't, you'll regret it!"

Rosa lifted her head. Her blood and cold sweat mingled. "You're going to force your Luna to apologize to a captive from a different pack?"

Kyle said coldly, "It's so you'll learn some manners. Don't make me repeat myself!"

Rosa squared her shoulders. Her teeth were clenched, and she was determined not to lower her head. "I see."

Running out of patience, Kyle leaned in close to Rosa. "If you don't apologize, then your father's old guards won't be needed anymore. I'll send them to the deadliest edges of the territory as cannon fodder."

They were the last elite guards Henry had left for the pack, the pack members who had watched her grow up. Rosa shuddered violently.

As she looked at the man who was no longer the one she once knew, the last bit of affection she held for him disappeared entirely.

How dare he treat Henry's guards like tools for that woman?