Chapter 2

Tears fell, tracing a path across my lips as I managed a bitter smile.

I watched helplessly as Fenrir carried the hickey-covered Rita away from my sight.

An hour later, I was tied to a wooden frame for my punishment.

Fenrir didn't attend.

The pack looked at me with contempt and disgust in their eyes, as if I were truly guilty of an unpardonable crime.

The elder forced me to drink the potion that would dissolve the mate bond. Agony instantly spread through every part of my body, and I couldn't help but let out a low howl toward the sky.

"Let the former Luna keep some dignity. Allow me a few private words to bid her farewell," Rita said sadly.

But I knew she was up to no good.

Sure enough, as soon as everyone left, she immediately turned vicious. She grabbed my hair and pressed a red-hot branding iron harshly against my face.

The pain was so intense I wanted to scream, but my ruined voice could only produce a dry, retching sound.

"Cynthia, die in disgrace with the brand of a Rogue!" Rita said triumphantly, then smashed the wolfsbane antidote on the ground.

I watched her retreating figure, having lost all strength to resist.

On the brink of death, I looked up at the moon and whispered, "Moon Goddess, I refused to die like this. Please give me another chance. I want to make them all—"

In that moment, the originally gentle moonlight grew intense. When it shone upon me, I heard a benevolent voice.

"Cynthia, my pup, your soul will not leave your body for another 48 hours."

It was as if a miracle truly had occurred. I felt my weakened body gradually recover. The pain also ceased to exist.

On my way back to the Alpha's estate, the pond reflected my bruised, purple face and the scorched scar.

The pups I passed gave me a wide berth, while fellow pack werewolves threw rotten eggs at me. They used to address me respectfully as Luna, but now the brand of a Rogue made them see me as a plague.

I could only hide like a rat, skulking in the shadows.

I overheard the patrolling warriors talking among themselves.

"Alpha Fenrir is holding a grand marking ceremony for the new Luna tomorrow. They've slaughtered 99 heads of cattle and sheep and prepared 99 barrels of fine wine.

"On top of that, the ceremonial gown is sewn with 999 golden threads and adorned with 999 gemstones."

"I heard that Alpha Fenrir and Rita are actually true fated mates, which is why he couldn't resist being drawn to her."

So, that was how it was! I clenched my teeth tightly, suddenly feeling that the vows we once made meant nothing after all.

I secretly slipped into the estate, only to see the Omegas burning my things.

All those memories of our love—the books Fenrir and I used to read together, the portrait he painted for me, and the harp he loved to hear me play—were being consigned to the flames.

It was clear Fenrir had no attachment to me whatsoever.

I climbed onto the balcony and saw Rita holding my mother, Brigan Nightheart's, necklace.

"Tell me now! Where did Cynthia hide the Luna Ring?" Rita threatened my maid, Willow Briar.

Willow knelt on the ground, begging desperately, "I really don't know, but the necklace is an heirloom left by Luna Cynthia's mother. Please don't destroy it."

Not getting the answer she wanted, Rita hurled the necklace to the ground. Then, she tore through Willow's body with her claws tipped in silver frost.

"I am your Luna now. Anyone who addresses me incorrectly will end up just like her. Now, all of you go search! The Luna Ring must be found before the marking ceremony!"

I stared at the broken necklace and Willow's lifeless body, choking back my sobs.

Rita was a half-wolf who grew up with Fenrir. In other words, she was a mixed-blood offspring of a human and a werewolf.

When I first joined the Frostclaw pack, she was actually quite attentive toward me. It wasn't until much later that I slowly began to notice something was off about her.

At first, she'd just make excuses to interrupt the mind-link between Fenrir and me. During hunts with us, she'd deliberately get injured so Fenrir would have to carry her home.

Later, whenever something unfavorable to me happened, she'd inevitably be on the scene.

When Fenrir's study was burgled, she pointed at the brooch on the floor and said, "This is Luna Cynthia's. It must've been stolen by someone else and dropped here."

When a prisoner from the enemy pack nearly escaped, she pointed at the drunken guard and said, "How could someone promoted by Luna Cynthia be disloyal? Getting drunk was just an accident."

When the nursery I had just visited caught fire, she pointed at the ashes on my clothes and said, "Luna Cynthia, who has no pups of her own, longs to be a mother. I'm sure she didn't mean to knock over the brazier."

Rita always seemed to be making excuses for me, but in reality, she was casting me into the center of everyone's suspicion.

I warned her to stay out of my business, but Fenrir interjected, " Cynthia, you already have everything—why pick a fight with some half-wolf Omega? Besides, Rita was just trying to help."

He allowed my credibility to slowly diminish in his eyes, all while overlooking Rita's suspicious behavior.

I should've seen through his tolerance and favoritism toward her long ago. In fact, maybe I never should've agreed to let him mark me in the first place.

But Fenrir had knelt before the door of my father, Johan Huntley, for seven days and nights, saying he would rather die than not marry me.

My heart was torn apart by the memories of the past and the despair of the present.

"Should we remove Cynthia's name from the chronicles we're compiling for the pack?" The elder's voice came from the other side.

I shifted position and pressed closer to the window of Fenrir's study.

After a long silence, I heard Fenrir say clearly, "Remove the traitor's name. Our pack has no need to record such a stain."

The wife he claimed he would rather die than not marry had now become his stain.

Yet, it was I who had brought him the support of my pack, allowing him to smoothly become Frostclaw pack's Alpha. I had brought him immense wealth, enabling the once-weak Frostclaw pack to grow into the world's largest and most elite pack.

Fenrir had climbed to the position of Alpha on the back of my sacrifices and squandered my wealth to woo his new love. Yet, because of Rita's false accusations, he saw me as a stain and sought to erase every single thing I had done for the pack.

Just then, the midnight bell tolled again, a stark reminder that I had only 24 hours left to live.

My gaze suddenly fell upon the crystal in the corner of the study, the very one the witch had said could record memories.