Chapter 2

I almost burst out laughing at Kayden's remark. I tapped Ethan's foot with the tip of my shoe.

"Have you forgotten who I am? Do you really think I'd ever need to be your assistant? Does your father-in-law not even know what position his daughter holds in the pack?"

Before I finished speaking, a man sitting nearby spat popcorn kernels right into my face.

The entire crowd burst into laughter.

"You're trying to cling to him, but you don't even know who he is? He's not just anyone. He's the Alpha who rules over vast territories, with wealth beyond anything you can imagine. He commands thousands of pack warriors and owns more mansions and luxury cars than you can count. And this grand shrine? It belongs to Alpha Ethan!

"And Lilith? She's no ordinary administrator. She's managed the pack's daily operations and closed several major deals, strengthening the Moonveil Pack many times over in a short span of time!"

Wait, what? Lilith managed the pack, closed business deals, and helped strengthen the Moonveil Pack?

I was the one who repeatedly invested millions of dollars from my private funds to support Ethan.

I was the one who leveraged my father's connections as the leader of the Werewolf Alliance to pave Ethan's way.

I was the one who set aside my pride and dignity by attending countless banquets and negotiating one deal after another for him.

I stayed up night after night, patiently guiding Ethan through complex pack strategies. With his limited vision and lack of experience, I had no choice but to take on responsibilities that should have been his as the Alpha.

Without my help, Ethan, a weak Alpha from a barren land without even decent weapons, would have needed generations of effort to achieve what he has today with only his modest talent and ambition.

One of the guests, who was clearly annoyed by my attitude, turned to Ethan and said, "Alpha Ethan, you're being way too kind to your subordinate. She's just an assistant. Who gave her the nerve to ruin your wedding? If I were you, I'd kick her out of the pack right now and make sure she learns a lesson she'll never forget!"

The crowd eagerly agreed.

Ethan looked at me. He spoke as though he were reprimanding a subordinate. "After causing this kind of trouble, there's no way I'll let you continue as my assistant.

"But considering you've spent so many years in the pack, and you've at least worked hard, I'll assign you to a border outpost. That way, I'm not completely cutting you off. But if you refuse to accept this offer, don't blame me for banishing you entirely."

His decision drew enthusiastic applause.

"What a great Alpha! He's actually giving a woman like her another chance!"

But I wasn't grateful at all. Instead, I laughed coldly. "Banish me? I'd like to see you try."

Someone immediately sneered, "She's right, you know. Why would someone like her fear banishment? She could easily go to another pack and sell herself there. Being an assistant doesn't earn much anyway."

Everyone around laughed knowingly.

The burly man who previously wanted to hit me stared at me with lustful eyes. He was practically drooling.

"Come on, sweetheart, name your price. I can't pay as much as those big shots, but since I'm friends with your Alpha, maybe you could give me a discount?"

I glared fiercely at Ethan. My face was clouded with anger. "Ethan, are you seriously going to hide our relationship and let them humiliate me like this?"

Ethan hesitated briefly, then turned his face away. "Lilith is my future mate, and I've always been faithful to her. If you leave now, we can pretend none of this ever happened."

Lilith smirked triumphantly. "Elizabeth, I know you're frustrated. You've ruined your reputation and gained nothing. Usually, Ethan is generous enough that he'd let you get away with some petty demands. But you chose the worst possible moment to cause trouble.

"Even after everything you've accused Ethan of, he hasn't banished you. Isn't he already being more than generous? Don't you feel guilty at all?"

Lilith's voice trembled as tears filled her eyes.

Ethan quickly pulled out a handkerchief and gently wiped her tears away.

As I watched their performance, my anger and humiliation almost overwhelmed me.

Without hesitation, I kicked Lilith hard in her lower back. She shrieked and fell right into Ethan's arms.

"Elizabeth, are you insane?"

Seeing Lilith "hurt" made Ethan fly into a rage. He rushed forward and slapped me hard across the face.

His slap landed so hard that it knocked me onto a nearby banquet table. Food and drink spilled all over me.

Wearing only thin summer clothes, my arm hit a silver candlestick, which caused a serious burn.

Silver was toxic to our kind, and the excruciating pain made the wolf inside me howl in agony.

Ethan paid no attention to my suffering. Instead, he tightly held Lilith while yelling fiercely at me, "Apologize to Lilith now, or I swear this isn't over!"

Lilith's eyes gleamed with undisguised satisfaction.

Fighting through the searing burn of the silver, I shakily pushed myself up. The ugly, bloody burns on my exposed arm seemed to mockingly rip apart the love I'd held onto for years.

The burning intensified, but my voice grew even colder. "Ethan, you hid your relationship with Lilith, dated me for three years, and chose to hold your wedding with her in the shrine I built for you on the very day we were supposed to become mates. And now, you're demanding that I apologize to her?

"Maybe it's because I gave you everything you ever wanted all these years that you've become arrogant enough to step all over me. I could ruin you right now and leave you with nothing! Do you really want to test me?"