Chapter 1

I was a mermaid and the princess of the deep sea. A hundred years ago, I traded the one thing the merfolk prized most—my ethereal singing voice—with a sea witch in exchange for a pair of legs.

From that moment on, I became the woman Silas Walker loved above all others.

To prove his love for me, he personally cultivated 1,000 moonlight lilies. The flowers could only bloom when nourished by Alpha blood, and it took him three full years before they finally blossomed.

Once, when my back had been badly burned, Silas even ventured into the Forbidden Forest in search of medicinal herbs to heal me. That journey cost him more than half his strength, and his wolf fell into a deep slumber for an entire month before awakening again.

"Annelise, as long as you're safe, I'm willing to give up everything," he had said when he woke, holding me in his arms.

At the time, his voice was so gentle, and it almost unmade me.

But now, all of it had become a cruel joke.

On my birthday, I hid in the shadows and watched Silas entwined with Helena Payne.

Helena twirled the moonstone between her fingers—the same one Silas had taken to a witch to be enchanted. It was meant to protect me.

I wasn't a werewolf. So, even after completing the marking ceremony of the werewolf world, Silas and I never formed a true mate bond.

He couldn't sense my whereabouts or know if I was in danger. But with the enchanted moonstone, nothing escaped him.

Back then, he had smiled and said, "With this, no matter what danger you face or where you are, I'll always be able to find you."

And now, the moonstone lay in Helena's hand, gleaming with a blinding light.

"You gave me something that was meant for Luna Annelise. She won't be angry, will she?" Helena asked in a syrupy voice. "I've just been feeling so restless lately. This is the only thing that calms me."

Silas froze for a moment. Then, he gripped her waist hard, his voice dropping low as he said, "You can use it for one week. After that, give it back.

"You know how important Annelise is to me. If you dare let her find out about this, I won't go easy on you!"

I clamped a hand over my mouth to keep myself from crying out.

So, this was all his love amounted to.

Even so, I didn't confront Silas or make a scene. I simply held my love back and waited for the moment the glacial fissure would fully open.

The glacial fissure, which opened only once in a century, was the sole passage connecting my homeland beneath the sea to the outside world.

In three days, it would open. It was the only way I could return to the deep blue sea and into my mother's arms once more.

…

Afterward, Silas presented me with a set of sapphire jewelry. Guilt was etched across his features as he apologized.

"I'm sorry, Annie. I lost the moonstone. But don't worry. I've already asked someone to recreate it. It'll be ready in a few days. I designed these sapphires myself. Let them serve as your birthday gift for now, okay?"

I stared at him in silence, a storm of emotions churning within me.

A faint scent of body wash clung to Silas. Clearly, it was meant to mask whatever Helena had left behind.

My lips curled into a mocking smile. "Is that so? Then, you'd better keep your word."

Silas didn't seem to notice anything amiss. He pulled me tightly into his arms, as though he wanted to meld me into his very being.

"Of course. Annie, you're more important to me than my own life."

I closed my eyes and said nothing. If I truly mattered that much, how could he betray me and get entangled with another woman?

But it didn't matter anymore. I no longer needed the answer.

I didn't need a love built on lies. From this moment on, there would be no future for us.