Chapter 2

Lack of oxygen made my head buzz. Black spots crept in at the edges of my vision.

The suffocation overlapped with a memory from ten years ago. Amidst a snowstorm, I had desperately forced healing energy into Lucian's dying body.

Just before I collapsed from exhaustion, I felt a bond with Lucian. It came from the depths of my soul and signified the bond between fated mates.

I thought I had finally found my fated mate, but when I woke up, everything had changed.

Sadie had passed by while I was unconscious. She used dark magic to erase my scent and stole my credit.

When Lucian opened his eyes, she was the first wolf he saw. So, from that moment on, he was never mine again.

I started coughing violently and felt the pressure on my throat loosen a little. Gasping for air, I stared at Lucian, the wolf I had loved for ten years.

On our mating ritual night, he had me pinned by my throat and warned me never to touch him. He had claimed that his body and soul belonged to his savior, Sadie.

At the pack assembly, he placed the Luna's crown on Sadie's head and made me the target of every mocking laugh coming from the audience below.

For countless nights, he was at her beck and call and lingered in her apartment. Even when he was performing his duties as my mate, it was Sadie's name he gasped.

That was how my love for him was slowly eroded.

"You're pathetic, Lucian," I croaked in a hoarse voice.

Lucian's hand stiffened a little. "What did you just say?"

I let out a mocking smile and continued, "You're not just blind, but your heart is also rotting. If you cherish your 'savior' so much and trust her clumsy little act so deeply… go back to her!

"Stop pretending to be a righteous Alpha. It's just disgusting!"

"You're courting death!" Lucian growled and flung me toward the door. It seemed that my words had struck a nerve.

The door slammed shut with a bang.

Almost immediately, Sadie's sobs came from inside, followed by the sound of torn fabric and breathless moans.

The winter wind bit into my skin as I stood barefoot, only dressed in a thin nightgown. The obscene sounds drilled into my ears.

…

While I walked back home alone, my phone buzzed. It was a voice message from Conan.

When I numbly tapped on it, his childish yet venomous voice rang through the speaker. "You're a bad she-wolf! Dad said you hurt Ms. Marrock!

"I don't want you to be my mom; I want her! She's the gentlest mom in the world, while you're just an old hag nobody wants!"

My hands shook, and my phone nearly slipped from my fingers.

This was the pup I had nearly died to give birth to. As I laughed, tears streamed down my face.

Just then, a low growl came from the bushes. I froze, only to spot dozens of glowing green eyes igniting in the dark. They were a group of rogues who had been exiled from the pack grounds.

With shaking hands, I dialed Lucian's number and tried to plead for help, but the call was instantly declined with a monotonous beep.

That was when the rogues made their move. Claws shredded my nightgown, and fangs tore through my shoulder.

The intense pain ripped a blood-curdling scream from my throat.

In the last moment, I connected to Lucian's mind link and begged. "Lucian… Save me…"

Heavy breathing and muffled moans came from the other end of the line. My pleas seemed to have interrupted his pleasure.

His irritated curses erupted in my mind. "What trick are you playing now, Ylva? You'll really do anything for attention!

"Just die and stop ruining this for us!"

When he severed the mind link from his end, my world immediately plunged into pitch darkness.

My heart was dead, so the pain in my body no longer seemed that unbearable.