Chapter 1

At the center of the pack altar, the statue of the Moon Goddess suddenly began to shed bloody tears.

The news shocked the elders. They all rushed to the altar, disbelief written across their faces.

"A stone statue…bleeding tears? How is that even possible?"

When the Moon Goddess statue reacted like this, it meant a wolf had suffered such heartbreak that even the Goddess herself was moved to tears.

But who in this world could love that deeply?

As the elders whispered among themselves, I dragged my heavy steps into the altar, leaving bloody footprints behind me.

My body was covered in blood. My legs were badly injured and barely holding me up.

The moment my mother saw me, her eyes widened in shock. She froze for several seconds before rushing toward me.

Ignoring the blood soaking my clothes, she pulled me into her arms and choked out, "Rosalind, you're alive! Thank the Goddess you're alive. We missed you while you were gone…"

I was still in a daze until I heard those same words from my past life. Only then did I realize I had truly been reborn.

My gaze shifted to Courtney Ogley, who had been standing silently nearby. Her features resembled mine slightly, but she was younger and looked gentler, softer.

When our eyes met, she looked startled, as if shocked, and quickly looked away.

Memories from my last life came flooding back.

After I was taken, Joey Jensen was devastated.

In the first year, he led every adult wolf in the pack to wipe out every rogue den they could find. He hunted them to extinction.

Blood stained the mountains red.

Driven nearly mad, Joey searched nonstop for three days and three nights, trying to find me through our mate bond.

Yet, he found nothing.

By the second year, the entire pack believed I was dead.

Joey brought another she-wolf into the pack and told everyone, "Russ is still young. He can't grow up without a mother. And the pack can't function without a Luna. Courtney will temporarily serve as Luna in Rosalind's place. Rosalind is my mate. My love for her will never change."

By the third year, Joey threw away everything related to me. He even burned the blue roses we had planted together in the backyard.

Even the grave Joey built for me was left untended, overgrown with weeds. Small animals had made nests there.

Now, Joey only wanted Courtney as his lifelong mate.

Russ Jensen had completely forgotten me, his real mother. Under Joey's influence, he followed Courtney everywhere, calling her "Mom" nonstop.

My mother accepted Courtney as her goddaughter and gave her all the family heirlooms.

Courtney went from being an orphan to acting Luna overnight.

And when I returned from the dead and came back to the pack, I became a Luna with no title or standing.

On my journey back, I had dodged rogue attacks, slept in the open, and survived on wild berries when I was hungry. When I was thirsty, I drank filthy water from roadside puddles.

Countless times, I nearly collapsed. But every time I thought of my family, I forced myself to stand again.

I never imagined my sacrifice would be repaid with betrayal.

Unwilling to accept it, I went to the Werewolf Council and threatened my life, demanding that Joey give me justice.

Under mounting pressure, Joey had no choice but to exile Courtney to the wastelands.

He planned to use some excuse to bring her back after a few days. However, Courtney was tortured to death by rogues after only two days there.

From that moment on, Joey felt nothing but overwhelming hatred toward me.

He refused to speak to me and never ate with me again. Even when important banquets required the Alpha and Luna to attend together, he found ways to avoid them.

He barred me from managing pack affairs and forbade Russ from getting close to me.

Under his influence, Russ began to hate me, too. He would throw toys at my head or scream cruel insults at me.

Once, he even splashed a cup of boiling water onto my arm, leaving a large red burn.

"It's all your fault, you witch! You forced my mom to die! I never want to see you again!"

I scolded him.

Joey said I deserved it, that everything wrong with this family was caused by my cruelty toward Courtney.

After Courtney's death, my mother took Russ away and disowned me.

"Courtney just wanted to care for a child without a mother! She never meant to compete with you. Why couldn't you tolerate her? Why did you push her to her death?

"You destroyed Joey. You killed Courtney. Isn't that enough? Now you won't even spare your own pup?

"I hate you! I wish you had died at the hands of the rogues! Because of you, Joey collapsed after Courtney's death and couldn't manage the pack. That's why it declined and was destroyed. You destroyed this pack!

"Leave! I'll pretend I never gave birth to you."

My mother's cruelty froze my heart.

Every wolf in the pack agreed that I was the reason they lost their home.

Overnight, I became a target everyone despised.

After Joey's death, the Alpha who defeated our pack offered peace on the condition that a sacrifice be made. The pack members didn't hesitate and shoved me forward.

When I was tied to the execution platform, every wolf in the pack came to watch. They threw stones and mud at me, screaming the vilest curses.

They said I deserved it and cursed me to hell.