Chapter 1

All because of Kelly Chase's accusation, Jim Luther exiled my father, Frank Jackson, to the wasteland.

When I heard the news, I quickly made my way to the place where he was exiled.

By the time I arrived, out of breath and covered in dust, the cruel scene before me made me instinctively cover my mouth.

Frank was in tattered clothes, and iron chains shackled his feet. He hadn't eaten for days, so he was too weak to even walk. Not long before, he'd fought off rogues. He was now covered in wounds and lying in a pool of blood.

I forcefully pushed aside the guards blocking me and rushed forward to check his injuries.

With tears streaming down his face, he gripped my hand.

"I'm not going to make it. Beg Jim to send me to the healer's den, please."

I tearfully called Jim countless times, but all I got in response was the cold, mechanical tone of a disconnected line.

It wasn't until Frank was down to his last breath that the call finally connected.

"Didn't I tell you I have an important business deal right now and not to bother me? You're about to become Luna. How can you still not know what's urgent and what isn't?"

Jim sounded extremely impatient, but I clearly heard Kelly's giggles in the background.

With Frank's situation so dire, I had no time to think about anything else. Sobbing, I begged him.

"Please, let my father go back. He's badly injured and needs to go to the healer's den right away," I said.

Jim hesitated for a moment, as if weighing whether to believe me.

Finally, he said, "I got it." He hung up right away after that.

We waited from day until night. Frank's breathing grew weaker. I tried every way I could to stop his bleeding, but nothing worked.

Watching me break down, Frank placed his hand on the back of mine. "I'm sorry. I got you in trouble and made Jim misunderstand you. I really didn't leak the pack's secret files. This must be a misunderstanding," he said in a guilty tone.

Just as I was in despair, I overheard the guards nearby complaining.

"Tonight, the Alpha is holding a birthday banquet for his puphood sweetheart at the altar. He even invited all the werewolves in the pack. It's such a big event, and we're stuck here guarding criminals."

"Yeah, he even prepared a ton of performances. I'm jealous."

Hearing their conversation, my father understood everything.

With his last bit of strength, he yanked out his sharpest wolf fang and placed it in my hand.

"Kelly borrowed my phone to make a call back then. That must have been when she planted the files.

"Betraying pack secrets is a huge crime. I'm about to die, and with no proof, he won't believe me. I don't want to drag you down, so I can only prove my innocence with my death.

"This wolf fang is for you, as a keepsake.

"Rachel, I hope you'll find happiness in the future."

Before he could finish, he stopped breathing. His eyes remained open even in death.

I didn't even have time to mourn. The guards dragged his body away.

In the wasteland, werewolves died every day. They were used to it. No matter how desperately I tried to stop them, I couldn't keep Frank's body.