Chapter 4

The crowd's voices grew louder and louder.

Lucas was busy wiping Maria's tears and comforting her gently.

My wolf raised her head and stared at me. "Tell them that we're Lucas' mate who the Moon Goddess personally acknowledged, Leah!"

I comforted my wolf, saying, "It's fine. We'll be leaving this place very soon."

Just as I was about to speak, Lucas finally hurried toward me. He grabbed my shoulder and asked in a low voice, "How did you get in here, darling?"

I swatted his hand away and retorted, "Do you only care about how I got in here? Why didn't you ask me why I'm here?"

Lucas' face twisted. "Stop making a fuss," he said, trying to comfort me. "I'll explain everything to you when I get home later."

My eyes flashed red in fury. "We were together for seven years, Lucas. At the same time, you were with Ms. Anderson for three years. I want you to announce our relationship to the pack right now!"

Lucas became even more upset.

In the past, he hated seeing me angry or in pain. When I fell ill and caught a fever, he dropped everything that he was doing to take care of me. He was terrified of me crying because I was in pain.

However, at that moment, from his perspective, I was nothing but a troublemaker even as I stood before him with bloodshot eyes.

Lucas dragged me to the side and said, "Since you already know everything, I won't keep the truth from you anymore, Leah. Maria and I have indeed been together for three years.

"But you have nothing to worry about. The wolf I love the most has always been you. I will make you my Luna, but I will allow Maria to participate in the Moon Goddess' ritual to compensate her. She's still young. She won't be able to bring herself to leave me. I trust that you'll understand my decisions."

Although Lucas and I were together for seven years, I never would have imagined hearing him say such preposterous words.

When I didn't respond, Lucas continued, "I know that you can't bear to leave me, Leah. Stop throwing a tantrum. We're going to have our mating ritual soon."

He had repeated the same words to me countless times.

In the past, he would tell me to stop making a fuss whenever I wanted to join his parties. It was as if the uneasiness in my heart was just me acting out from his perspective.

"Go home for now," Lucas said. "I have to comfort Maria. She's very upset. I won't be going home tonight."

I barked out an indignant laugh.

I looked at the crowd, but I didn't explain myself. Instead, I chose to retreat without a fuss. Suppressing the turbulent emotions raging within me, I turned around and left the club.

…

I called my best friend, Alya Moreno, after I left Silvermoon Club.

I came to the north alone, and after I shared everything with Alya, we became best friends. I desperately needed to vent about all my shocking discoveries and pour out my sorrow to her.

Tears spilled down my cheeks the moment the call connected.

"I must look like a laughingstock, Alya," I blubbered hoarsely. "Lucas never acknowledged me even though we were together for seven years. Even his closest she-wolf friends didn't know about me."

Alya didn't respond for a long time. She finally broke the silence and sighed just when I thought that the call had disconnected.

"I guess there's no point in keeping you in the dark any longer," she said.

My heart plummeted into my gut. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm the one who personally took Maria to Lucas."

It was as if the blood in my veins had turned to ice. I felt as if I was on the brink of suffocation when Alya continued, "Maria is my friend. I'm the one who introduced her to Lucas."

A scene from many years ago flashed through my mind.

Alya told me that there was a young she-wolf who was shunned by all the packs. None of them was willing to accept her into their fold. She hoped that I wouldn't mind if she asked Lucas to take her in for a while.

I remembered smiling and saying teasingly, "I hope that you're not going to introduce a pretty she-wolf to him and make me jealous."

"Don't worry," Alya said, patting my shoulder. "No one's going to take Lucas away from you."

Only then did I realize that I was the only one who had been kept in the dark.

I gripped my phone and asked in a low voice, "Why didn't you tell me that they were together sooner?"

Alya's voice had taken on a bitter edge when she answered, "From the very beginning, I just didn't want Maria to become a rogue, Leah. But Maria began to rely more and more on Lucas. Lucas also didn't reject her. I didn't know how to face you after the situation progressed the way it did."

I started laughing, but I couldn't stop the tears from streaming down my face. "That's why the three of you chose to hide this from me for three years?"

Alya fell silent for a long time before she finally said, "I thought that… as long as we didn't say anything, you wouldn't get hurt."

I closed my eyes as scenes from the past few years flashed through my mind.

Alya was the one who stayed by my side whenever Lucas didn't come home. She was also the one who convinced me not to give up on Lucas when he failed to challenge the leader of the pack, telling me that fated mates couldn't be replaced. She also told me that she would stand by my side forever.

It turned out that nothing was permanent.

"Don't cause any trouble for Maria," Alya begged. "They've been together for three years, and they've received everyone's blessings. Lucas' friends are very fond of her. Even the elders of the pack have acknowledged her."

My wolf let out a low whine upon hearing her words. Her anguished cries overshadowed everything else.

Meanwhile, I was in so much pain that I couldn't speak.

Lucas used to always say, "The elders aren't getting any younger. We shouldn't bother them. We'll just invite them when we have our mating ritual."

I had been waiting for our mating ritual like a fool.

Lucas was just too good at pulling the wool over my eyes.

On the other hand, Maria didn't even have to lift a single finger for Lucas to give her everything. Even my best friend was speaking up for her.

"Listen to me, Leah," Alya said in a low voice, hoping to change my mind. "Don't ruin their relationship."

I didn't say a single word for a long time. My hand was shaking when I hung up.