Chapter 4

My voice trembled, nearly breaking. "Alpha King, is what she said true?"

Thorne nodded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Does it matter?" He shrugged. "We can't hold the bonding ceremony this year anyway, and the flowers will just wither. If the Moonlight Flowers can help Willow, why wouldn't I give them to her?

"Sera, I know you've always been understanding. You can see where I'm coming from."

After saying this, he turned to his silent Beta standing nearby.

"What are you standing around for? Hurry up and pick all these flowers. Take them to Willow's room."

Garrett looked helpless, glancing at me as if asking for help. I stood frozen in place, feeling like my soul had turned to ice.

"Alpha King, we don't need to hold the bonding ceremony anymore," I suddenly said.

Thorne froze. His eyes narrowed as if he hadn't heard me correctly. "What did you say?"

I lowered my head, hiding the tears welling up in my eyes. "What I mean is… my abilities are limited. Even after another ten years, I probably won't be able to cultivate enough Moonlight Flowers to pass the trial to become Luna Queen.

"But these Moonlight Flowers must stay here. I cultivated them with my own blood essence. Even if they rot in the ground, I won't let anyone else have them."

The smugness in Willow's eyes nearly broke through, but she still played the victim. "Sera, I know you're jealous that the Alpha King treats me well, but you don't need to say things like this to hurt him.

"As long as you follow the rules and cultivate the flowers, you'll still have a chance to hold the bonding ceremony with him next year.

"Giving up so easily like this… It makes people think you never truly loved him at all."

Thorne's expression darkened, his patience wearing thin. "Sera, have you made enough of a scene? This jealous side of you is not how a future Luna Queen should act. I'm so disappointed in you."

Willow kept stirring things up. "Exactly! Sera, have you ever thought about the Alpha King? When people find out you don't want to bond with him over a few flowers, who knows what they'll say about him behind his back?"

"Just give these flowers to Willow and go think about what you've done," Thorne said.

He was furious now. He took Willow's hand and walked away without sparing me another glance. I watched their retreating figures, and bitterness flooded my mouth.

I wiped away my tears and tore the wolf fang pendant from my neck, the bonding token Thorne had given me, and threw it into the dirt. Then I turned around and walked out of the flower garden with resolve.

When I returned to my Alpha brother, Alec Moonvale, in the Moonshadow pack, he came up to greet me with his eyes gleaming in anticipation.

"How did it go? You've grown enough Moonlight Flowers now. Is the Alpha King finally willing to bond with you?"

I bit my lip and shook my head silently. Alec's gaze fixed on my bare neck, where the wolf fang pendant should have been.

His expression darkened instantly. Understanding what had happened, he flew into a rage.

"This is outrageous! He's postponing the ceremony over and over again! Does he think your life doesn't matter? I'm going to challenge him to a duel!"

"Alec!" I stopped my furious brother and said calmly, "Forget it. I don't want to be the Luna Queen anymore.

"Help me find a suitable werewolf. Let's hold a bonding ceremony right away."

Alec stared at me in shock, then slowly and solemnly nodded his head.

"Finally. I always knew Thorne wasn't right for you," he said, his voice a mix of anger and relief.

"Actually, plenty of werewolves want you. If you hadn't been so set on bonding with Thorne, they would've been showing up at our doorstep ages ago.

"But does it have to be this urgent? Don't you want to take your time choosing?"

I touched the scars on my wrist and smiled bitterly. "Alec, it doesn't matter who. I just want to survive."

…

That evening, I was selecting my dress for tomorrow's bonding ceremony when Thorne sent me a text.

"Sera, hurry up and send over the Moonlight Flowers! As long as you behave, the Luna Queen position is still yours.

"You said you'd do anything as long as you could bond with me. Don't make me wait too long."

As I stared at the entitlement dripping from every word, my gaze gradually turned cold. I had said that once—that I'd overcome any obstacle as long as I could bond with Thorne.

But Thorne, what have you ever done for me? Not only have you never taken a single step toward me, but you've trampled on my efforts time and time again.

What I wanted was a love where we both met each other halfway. Not me alone, constantly bowing my head, compromising, and giving everything unconditionally.

That was why I didn't want him anymore. I blocked him and buried the SIM card along with all those memories of our past together in the ground.

…

Three days later, a luxury car pulled up at the gates of the Moonshadow pack's territory. I got into the car with my wedding dress without looking back.

The moment the car started, Thorne's vehicle screeched to a stop, barely missing our rear bumper. He arrived with Willow and walked up to my brother.

"Where's Sera? Why hasn't she sent the Moonlight Flowers yet? Tell her to come out!"

Alec stood blocking the entrance, his expression cold. "She's already gone to her bonding ceremony."