Chapter 4

Bella let out another pained whimper. No one had time to answer me. They surrounded her and hurried out.

My father managed to toss one last sentence over his shoulder.

“Wait here. We’ll come back once we’ve dealt with this.”

The glass doors slid shut behind them. Not one of them looked back.

The butler arrived soon afterward with the complete set of documents.

“Everything is ready now.”

I lowered my eyes to the application form.

At last, I had everything I needed. But I no longer wanted it.

“There’s no need.”

I pulled the form from the stack and tore it in half.

Three years ago, the Darkmoon Empire had invited me to become its Saintess. I had turned them down for the sake of my biological family.

I had never wanted an exalted title. I had only wanted to be an ordinary daughter in this family.

But after waiting three years, all I had gotten in return was the same heartbreak of being left behind, over and over again.

I took out my phone.

[I am ready to accept imperial citizenship and formally register with the Darkmoon Empire.]

Their reply came almost immediately.

[Once the registration is complete, you will never be permitted to join another pack. Are you certain?]

[I am.]

The Darkmoon Empire quickly sent confirmation that my registration had been accepted. They also informed me that an imperial convoy was already on its way to escort me to the capital.

When I returned to the estate, the servants were carrying Bella’s belongings back into her room.

The butler gave me an awkward explanation.

“Your mother said Miss Bella’s wolf is still unstable, so the room change has been postponed for now.”

For now.

For three years, every promise they made me became temporary the moment Bella shed a tear.

“Understood.” I turned toward the stairs.

“Aren’t you going to ask when the rooms will be changed?”

“There’s no need.”

I opened the door to the guest room and pulled out the suitcase I had packed yesterday.

Before leaving, I took one last look around the guest room I had lived in for three years.

The dresses in the wardrobe had been bought to Bella’s measurements and passed on to me only after my mother discovered they didn’t fit her.

The crystal music box on the desk had been a gift from Adrian to Bella. When she complained that she hated the tune, he gave it to me instead.

Derek had once given me a tonic meant to soothe my wolf without even knowing that I was allergic to one of its herbs.

I left every castoff behind.

When I carried my suitcase downstairs, my family had just returned with Bella at the center of their little circle.

Her cheeks were rosy, and she held a hot drink my mother had bought for her. There was no sign that her wolf had ever been out of control.

The moment my mother noticed my suitcase, panic crossed her face. She rushed forward and grabbed the handle.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m leaving the Moonshadow Pack.”

“Because we didn’t finish your registration today?”

I no longer had the energy to soften the truth. I let every word I had buried finally pour out.

“To you, it’s always just one little thing.”

“You walked out of my banquet because of her. She wore the necklace that belonged to me. The room you promised me suddenly couldn’t be touched because she was frightened. And today, you left me alone at the Pack Registry.”

My mother looked completely at a loss.

“I didn’t know these things mattered so much to you. Why didn’t you say something sooner?”

“I did. You told me I was keeping score and that I needed to be more understanding of Bella.”

My father spoke in the same commanding tone he used with his subordinates.

“Put the suitcase back upstairs. This ends now.”

“I’ve made my decision.”

“This so-called decision is nothing but an attempt to force us to give in to you!”

Even now, they were convinced I was throwing a tantrum.

My mother softened her voice, using the same soothing tone she always did when she wanted me to back down.

“Go upstairs and rest. We’ll talk once you’ve calmed down. Whatever you want, I’ll make it up to you later.”

“When is later?”

She froze.

She had said the same thing three years ago.

Yet even now, the room, the necklace, and my place in the pack had never truly belonged to me.

Bella suddenly grabbed my hand.

“Vivian, don’t do something reckless because of me. You can have the room. You can have the necklace too.”

I pulled my hand free.

“Why couldn’t you give them back yesterday? Why offer now, only when I’m leaving?”

She had no answer. Tears immediately welled in her eyes.

Almost instinctively, my mother stepped in front of Bella to protect her.

That familiar gesture extinguished the last of my attachment to this family.

I walked around them and continued toward the door.

My father’s furious voice stopped me.

“If you walk out that door today, don’t expect us to come begging you to return!”

“Fine.”

At that moment, the low rumble of multiple engines sounded beyond the estate.

One black vehicle after another swept through the gates, the dark crescent emblems on their doors gleaming coldly beneath the sun.

My father whipped around toward the window, the fury draining from his face.

“The Darkmoon Empire...”

The vehicles came to a stop. Imperial guards in silver-and-black uniforms stepped out and formed two precise lines along the front steps.

A white-haired priest entered the hall. Without sparing my family a glance, he walked straight to me and dropped to one knee.

“Your Holiness, the Darkmoon Empire has come to escort you home.”