Chapter 3

Luana

“I’m sorry… Laura, I’m so sorry.” My voice came out in a broken whisper, barely holding together. “I failed you.”

A shaky breath slipped past my lips. “You always told me to be strong… to never lose myself. But I did. I let it happen. I was so desperate—so foolish—chasing after love, after acceptance, that I couldn’t see the darkness waiting ahead of me… waiting for us.”

My fingers trembled in my lap as I rocked back and forth, the soft seat beneath me doing nothing to calm the storm inside my chest.

They had locked me in the piano room.

Locked me away like I was somethiung dangerous… something that needed to be contained.

After forcing me to sign those papers.

The memory made my chest tighten painfully. The pressure, the fear, the way they left me with no escape—it wasn’t a choice. It was never a choice. Even if I ran, even if I hid, they would hunt me down.

And if I refused the bond…

I would become a rogue.

The word alone sent a chill crawling down my spine.

I didn’t want that. I couldn’t survive that.

Rogue hunters were everywhere—merciless, relentless. The council made sure of it. And if they caught me, there would be no second chance. No mercy.

They would take me to Hell Coast.

A place whispered about in fear… a place people prayed they would never see.

A place where souls were shattered.

Where rogues were beaten until nothing was left of them… or stripped of their freedom and turned into slaves.

My stomach twisted violently.

The women… they suffered the most.

Sold. Used. Passed around like they were nothing more than objects to satisfy powerful wolves. Their screams, their pain—I didn’t need to see it to feel it clawing at my mind.

I squeezed my eyes shut, my body trembling.

I didn’t want to imagine it.

I couldn’t.

Because deep down… I knew…

It would be worse than anything my mind could ever create.

Worse than fear.

Worse than pain.

Worse than a nightmare you could wake up from.

If I had been stronger, they wouldn’t have been able to force me into this. My life wouldn’t have turned into something so terrible. I had trained for years with Laura, pushed myself beyond my limits—but it still wasn’t enough to protect me from cruel people.

I was about to be bound to a dangerous man… a man who could destroy me without a second thought. If he chose to. His pack surely would. Still, I had to survive this. I needed to survive.

At least… I had to try.

Suddenly, the door burst open.

I flinched, my heart leaping into my throat as I scrambled to my feet. A tall figure stepped inside, his presence filling the room instantly. His sharp eyes swept over the space before locking onto me.

“luana…” he breathed out, relief clear in his voice as he quickly shut the door behind him.

A cold shiver ran down my spine as he moved closer. It was Carter.

Why was he here?

My gaze darted around the room, searching for an escape, but there was none.

“I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” he said, his voice low, almost urgent.

Before I could react, his hand shot out, gripping my wrist.

My body stiffened. My eyes dropped to where he touched me, shock flashing through me.

Then I looked back up at him.

Anger burned fiercely in his eyes.

My jaw tightened, and without thinking, I yanked my hand away from him.

“Don’t touch me.”

The words tore out of me, sharp and raw, as I recoiled from him like his skin burned. My heart pounded violently against my ribs, each beat echoing the chaos inside me.

He froze for a second before dragging a hand through his already scattered hair. His chest rose and fell unevenly, like he was struggling to keep control.

“luana…” his voice came softer this time, almost careful. “Look, I’m sorry for what happened out there. I didn’t have a choice.”

A bitter laugh bubbled up my throat, but it held no humor. Slowly, I lifted my gaze to him, my brows knitting together.

“A choice?” I repeated, my voice laced with disbelief. “So what—someone held a knife to your throat? They threatened you?”

He turned away, exhaling harshly as he began to pace the room, his steps restless, agitated. His fingers curled into his hair again, tugging slightly like he could pull the truth out with it.

“It’s complicated,” he muttered. “I can’t explain—”

“Stop.”

The word cut through the air like glass. He stilled.

“You can’t explain?” My chest tightened, anger and hurt tangled into something suffocating. “You seriously can’t explain why you cheated on me for years?” My voice cracked despite my effort to keep it steady. “Years, Carter. And not just with anyone—luana.”

“I did not!” he snapped, spinning around so fast it startled me. His fist slammed against the wall with a dull thud, the sound echoing in the silence between us. “Are you insane? She tried to seduce me and I—” He hesitated, jaw clenching. “It just happened.”

For a moment, I just stared at him.

Then I scoffed, the sound hollow, empty. “It just happened?” I echoed quietly, shaking my head as if that would make his words make sense. “Do you even hear yourself right now?”

I took a step back, putting space between us, as though distance could dull the ache spreading through my chest.

“People don’t cheat for years and call it a mistake,” I said, my voice dropping, steadier now—but colder. “That’s not an accident, Carter. That’s a choice. Over and over again.”

Silence fell, heavy and suffocating.

A humorless smile tugged at my lips as memories I had tried so hard to ignore came rushing back.

“I used to be so naïve,” I whispered. “Every time you canceled on me, I defended you. I told myself you were busy… that training as the Alpha’s son meant you had responsibilities.”

My fingers curled slightly at my sides.

“I trusted you.”

The words came out softer this time, but they carried far more weight.

I looked up at him again, my vision blurring slightly, though I refused to let the tears fall.

“The truth is… I knew,” I admitted, my voice barely above a whisper. “Maybe not everything, but enough. I felt it. Every lie. Every excuse.”

I let out a shaky breath.

“But I kept making excuses for you,” I continued. “I told myself I was overthinking. That I was the problem.”

A pause.

Then I met his eyes fully, all the hurt I had buried finally surfacing.

“But I wasn’t, was I?”

My voice broke this time, no matter how hard I tried to hold it together.

“You knew what you were doing to me…” I said, the pain finally spilling through. “And you still did it.”

“I kept a good relationship with Michelle because it came with privileges.”

His voice carried a strange pride, and as I looked at him, I saw it—the spark in his eyes. It wasn’t remorse. It wasn’t guilt.

It was excitment.

The kind of excitement a man wears when he finally gets everything he has ever wanted.

“I finally got the power I deserved,” he went on, his lips curving slightly. “You know, Dad said he’d hand over his Alpha title to me… not Layla. All because I managed to secure a powerful alliance.”

For a moment, I couldn’t speak.

The words settled heavily in my chest, sharp and suffocating.

Carter’s father—the ruling Alpha of the West, leader of the red moon—had never truly believed in him. That much I knew. He had always looked at Carter with quiet disappointment, dismissing him as careless, unreliable… a man too consumed by a reckless lifestyle to ever carry the weight of leadership.

That was why he had once named Layla—Carter’s younger sister—as his successor.

I remembered the nights Carter would sit beside me, his voice low, stripped of its usual arrogance. He would talk about it then—about the way his father’s indifference cut deeper than any insult ever could.

Back then, I had listened.

Back then… I had cared.

Because I understood.

My own father had never been any different. The same distance. The same cold expectations. The same silent judgment that made you feel like you were never enough.

That shared pain had been the bridge between us.

It was how we began.

How I learned to trust him.

A bitter realization curled in my chest.

I had mistaken pain for honesty.

Mistaken vulnerability for truth.

“I thought…” My voice faltered, but I forced the words out anyway. “I thought you would fight for your position. That you’d prove them wrong the right way.”

He didn’t respond.

Didn’t deny it either.

And somehow, that silence said everything.

Instead, he had chosen something else.

Something easier.

Something colder.

My gaze hardened as the truth finally settled in.

“You didn’t earn it,” I whispered.

The air between us grew heavier.

“You chose the other path.”

Images flashed through my mind—memories that now felt like lies.

“You chose power over everything.”

My throat tightened, but I didn’t look away.

“You chose to marry my sister.”

The words came out quieter this time, but they cut deeper.

Not for love.

Never for love.

“But for an alliance,” I finished, my voice hollow. “To bind the West and the South together… and secure your place as Alpha.”

Silence followed.

Thick. Suffocating.

And in that silence, something inside me finally broke—not loudly, not dramatically, but quietly… like the last thread of something I had been holding onto for far too long.