Chapter 3

I attended my last pack banquet in the Southern territory.

When I stepped into the banquet hall, the low sound of a cello, flickering lights, and suppressed sobbing were already echoing inside.

Ruby stood among the women from the high-ranking families. Her eyes were red. Her voice trembled just enough to be pitiful without losing her composure.

She clutched a tissue, like it was the only thing keeping her standing.

"So in two days, Ruby's being sent off to that Northern pack," a woman sighed, loud enough for the whole room to hear.

"Poor thing," another whispered in agreement.

"And that high-and-mighty Alpha's daughter does nothing. She just stands by and watches. All she cares about is getting into Kade's bed."

"At least Ruby knows how to look at the big picture," someone added. "Sacrificing herself like this for the peace of the entire pack."

Ruby's shoulders shook.

Through the gaps in her fingers, her eyes revealed something else entirely. It was a fleeting look of smugness and malice.

Then she saw me, and her expression shifted.

I'd always hated these fake social events and almost never showed up.

She'd counted on that, which was why she dared to put on such a big show here.

I caught her eye from across the hall. I gave a faint smile, said nothing, and went straight to my seat.

The whispers around me grew harsher.

"Look at her expression."

"Heartless. The poor girl is about to be sent away, and she can still smile."

"If she's so great, why doesn't she go to the North herself?"

"Just because her mother died early, she acts like the whole pack owes her."

I turned a deaf ear.

In my previous life, when the rogues breached the packhouse, the screams of these people were just as loud as they were now. Except back then, no one went to save them.

Right now, their empty insults were nothing compared to the bloodbath to come.

I didn't drink a drop of wine. I got up alone and left the main hall, walking to a quiet corner of the banquet room for some air.

"Cora." I stopped in my tracks.

Ruby walked over slowly. Her steps were deliberately light, and her face wore a meek, timid expression. But that meekness didn't reach her eyes.

She took a deep breath. Then she looked past my shoulder toward the other side of the hall and smiled.

Before I could react, her hands were reaching for my neck.

Shattering glass echoed like a gunshot. We crashed into the champagne tower.

"Help!" She started screaming the moment she pushed herself up from the broken glass.

"Cora! Why did you push me?!"

My elbows, back, and arms were covered in glass. The champagne soaked into my wounds, hurting so much I couldn't stop shaking.

To keep my wolf dormant and leave the South smoothly, I'd been secretly taking suppressants for the past few days.

There was a price to pay for forcing it down. My wolf was incredibly weak right now and couldn't lend me any strength.

I wanted to stand up, but I just couldn't.

My vision blurred. I tried to push myself up off the floor, and another shard of glass sliced into my palm.

Then I saw Kade in the crowd.

"Kade!" I tried to call him, but my voice was pitifully weak.

He didn't even glance at me. He just stepped over the mess and rushed straight to Ruby.

I reached out to him, but my fingertips only brushed his pant leg.

By the time my vision cleared, he had already bent down and carefully scooped Ruby up in his arms from the pile of broken glass.

Aside from her dress being a little wet, she didn't have a single scratch on her.

Two guards rushed over and dragged me out of the shards.

I was covered in wine and blood, shaking. Blood loss and my wolf's whimpers made me dizzy.

Ruby curled up entirely in Kade's arms, sobbing. He took off his suit jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders without a word.

Only after doing all this did he remember to turn his head and look at me.

Kade's eyes held no warmth. Only suppressed anger.

"Are you crazy?"

"Do you think ruining her will get you what you want?"

His voice was extremely low, carrying an unbelievable chill.

He glared at me. "If something happened to her today, do you really think you wouldn't be sent North to die in her place?"

He looked disgusted just saying the words, as if he couldn't bear the thought of anything bad happening to Ruby.

And none of this had anything to do with whether I was sent to the North.

I coughed so hard I doubled over. Wine had gone down my windpipe, burning.

"Kade. I didn't."

"Shut up."

He clenched his jaw. The muscles in his cheek twitched.

His voice was as cold as ice. "I thought you were just spoiled."

"Now I see who you really are. You're jealous, vicious, and rotten to the core."

"You don't have an ounce of her sense of duty, and you're acting like a lunatic."

Every word felt like a silver blade to my chest.

"You're an absolute disgrace to the Alpha bloodline," he snapped. "This pack deserves a better heir."

"Thank the Goddess your mother isn't alive to see this."

"Kade." I staggered, shook off the bodyguards, and pulled out the self-defense dagger strapped to my inner thigh.

A cold light flashed. It was the dagger he gave me when he was fifteen. He taught me where to hide it and when to draw it.

Kade reached for his gun out of habit.

I suddenly remembered that we were like this in our previous life too. We clashed countless times. Because of Ruby, in the hallways, in the garage, by the dining table, we had pulled knives on each other.

Neither of us ever brought the knife down. And neither of us ever backed down.

But now, the last bit of strength in my body was gone.

My legs gave out, and I fell forward uncontrollably.

An arm caught me.

In those brief few seconds, a trace of panic flashed through his usually cold eyes.

"Cora?"

I used my last bit of strength to grab his shirt collar and pull him down to me.

"You have no right," I whispered against his ear, "to speak my mother's name."

My vision began to fade. All I felt was him scooping me up into his arms, his chest pressed against mine and his heart pounding.

Before completely falling into darkness, I heard Ruby's panicked crying from behind:

"Kade. It hurts so much."

But his footsteps as he carried me didn't pause. He strode out of the banquet hall, leaving her cries far behind.

Even as I lost consciousness, he still hadn't discovered the truth right in front of him.