Chapter 4

I sat at my desk and started writing my resignation.

A message popped up from Katie in R&D. “Sylvia, I just came from the CEO’s office and heard something… Brace yourself.”

“What is it?”

“The new Luna asked the Alpha for your ‘Moon-Tear Herb.’ Said the scent helps her sleep.” Katie sent a string of angry emojis. “The Alpha… he told her she could have it.”

The phone nearly slipped from my hand.

The Moon-Tear Herb was a rare spirit herb I’d spent five years cultivating. It was my life's work.

I snatched my resignation letter and stormed into Dylan’s office.

Dylan was reviewing a document. He looked up, frowning. “What are you—”

Slap.

I slammed the letter on his desk.

“I’m taking my Moon-Tear Herb,” I said, my voice trembling. “Now.”

Dylan put down his pen and leaned back, looking exasperated. “You’re really this angry over a single plant?”

He glanced at the letter, dismissing it. “And you’re threatening me with this? Sylvia, you’re just being jealous.”

“Jealous?” I let out a bitter laugh. “I’m upset that you gave away my property!”

“I know you’re mad Lilith took your position, but she’s the descendant of an Alpha and my Luna. Putting her in charge gives the company more credibility.” Dylan stood and came around the desk. “It’s a business decision, not personal. You should understand.”

“So my skills don’t matter? Only bloodline does?”

“Of course skills matter, but Sylvia…” He paused, a condescending pity in his eyes. “Your talent is good, but you’re not irreplaceable. There are plenty of excellent perfumers out there. A few from the Black Forest have more experience than you.”

More experience.

Irreplaceable.

All those times he’d whispered, “Sylvia, your scents are the most special in the world.”

All lies.

I had never seen this man’s cruelty so clearly.

I didn’t want to argue. “That Moon-Tear Herb. I’m taking it. It’s my project, not company property.”

“But Lilith likes it,” Dylan said, his patience wearing thin. “You know her condition. That herb can help her. Can’t you just—”

“No.”

Dylan stared at me, his eyes growing colder.

“Where would you go without me?” he said suddenly, his voice dripping with arrogance. “Who’s going to want a she-wolf another Alpha has already claimed, even temporarily?”

He stepped closer, his Alpha aura pressing down on me.

I bit the inside of my cheek, hard, using the pain to resist his Alpha command. I sneered, “Don’t think you can control me.”

I shoved him away and turned toward the door.

“Sylvia!” Dylan’s roar echoed behind me. “If you walk out that door, don’t even think about coming back!”

My hand rested on the doorknob.

“Dylan, my biggest regret is wasting six years on you.”

The door closed behind me.

I leaned against the wall, taking deep breaths, forcing myself not to tremble.

My tongue was still bleeding, but compared to the freedom, the pain was nothing.

I went back to my desk and quickly packed my things.

When I opened the bottom drawer, a picture frame caught my eye.

In the photo, a younger Dylan and I stood in front of the company building. He had his arm around my shoulder, his smile full of ambition.

I was looking only at him.

On the back, I’d written: “Our beginning.”

He had promised me then that once the company was big enough, once his position was secure, he would give me the grandest Luna ceremony.

I believed him for six years.

Just as I was about to toss the frame in the trash, a scream came from the doorway. “Help! Lilith collapsed!”

I looked up to see Lilith slumped on the floor, pale and gasping for air.

Dylan knelt beside her, his expression frantic. “What happened?!”

“I… I don’t know…” Lilith said weakly, one hand clutching her chest. “I just had a coffee, and then… I couldn’t breathe…”

Dylan whirled on the surrounding crowd. “What the hell happened?!”

A murmur went through the employees. “Was she poisoned?”

“I saw someone in the breakroom earlier…”

A sharp voice cut through the noise—Cindy, from marketing, who had been fawning over Lilith all morning.

She pointed a finger straight at me. “I saw Sylvia go into the breakroom half an hour ago! She was in there for a long time!”