•Chapter 2•

Ashley

I repeated without hesitation, "I want us to break up. Please. Reject me."

My voice trembled, raw with pain. Jace’s expression darkened, his jaw tight, fingers twitching as though fighting the urge to do something dangerous.

"No," he growled, his voice laced with finality. "Don’t even think about it."

The Alpha Command slammed into me like invisible chains, locking me in place. I couldn’t even breathe under the weight of his words.

"I’ve already told the elders about our bonding ceremony. The neighboring packs are invited. Soon, you’ll be Luna. No one else can take your place."

His grip tightened on my wrists, his warmth searing. "I know I wasn’t enough before," he murmured, voice thick with emotion. "But I want only you. Blaze is furious, heartbroken. We already lost Amy. We can’t lose you too."

The protest died on my lips as I slowly shook my head. Oh, how I wanted to believe him. How I wanted to believe for just a moment that his words were true.

But then the memory of being kidnapped—the terrifying emptiness of losing Amy—flooded me. I couldn’t forget the pain. I wanted to refuse him, to shut myself off and protect the part of me still broken.

Before I could speak, his voice came again, softer but insistent. "This is what my mom wanted for you. She dreamed of you becoming Luna. She would’ve been proud to see you lead the pack, like she did."

Luna Elena—she had saved me, raised me, treated me like family. She and Jace were all I had. The only ones who had ever respected me.

I felt my resolve falter. Maybe, just maybe, he was right. Elena had always believed in me, even when I couldn’t. Could I do this—for her? For myself?

Maybe, just maybe…

RING!

The shrill sound shattered the fragile moment. Jace tensed reflexively as the phone continued vibrating in his pocket.

I didn’t need to look. I already knew who it was. Carina.

She was the one person Jace would never ignore. Carina wasn’t like us—she couldn’t mind-link, as she was wolf-less. So, Jace carried his phone everywhere so she could reach him at all times.

I braced myself for him to pull away.

But he didn’t.

For the first time, he let the phone ring. Then, without checking the screen, he silenced it, leaned in, and pressed his lips to mine.

I thought I was stronger, but in that moment, I knew I didn’t have the courage to stand firm. Tears burned my eyes as I kissed him back.

For the first time, it felt like he had chosen me.

—

Days passed, but I was still healing. Without Amy, my wolf, my wounds lingered longer than before.

Jace, who had started to pay more attention to me, one day asked me to help Carina with her lab and experiments.

Strangely, I didn’t resist. If being near her meant being close to him, then it was something I was willing to do.

Carina and I weren’t strangers. We had grown up together under Luna Elena’s care. As the former Beta’s daughter, she was seen as delicate and pampered from childhood, while I was the orphan—the stray, the Luna took in.

But we’re not very close, because like most of the wolves in the pack, she ignores me most of the time, even bullies me. She’s Jace’s beloved sister, so I’m willing to put up with her and take care of her.

That afternoon, Carina called me up to the laboratory. She needed help with a procedure.

"Ashley, dear, help me with something, will you?" Carina turned to me, holding up aglass bottle. It contained Silver Salt—a corrosive substance strong enough to melt flesh.

Maybe it was because I had been trained to always be alert, but I immediately noticed the glass bottle wobbling, I sprung into action, already walking quickly towards her.

"Watch out—!" I called out to her, panicking.

She struggled with the cork, shaking the bottle. In her struggle, the bottle of Silver Salt dropped out of her hand and rolled across the table.

I lunged, catching it just in time, ready to sigh in relief when—

White-hot pain exploded through my palm.

A few grains of Silver Salt had spilled onto my scars, causing my old battle wounds to open. Blood pooled from my tanned skin, before dripping onto the wooden floor.

I sucked in a sharp breath, fighting the urge to double over in pain as I watched the salt burn deep into my skin. “You should be more careful,” I said, straightening myself.

Then, I heard it. A laugh.

Carina wasn't looking at me with gratitude. No, not at all. Instead, she was smirking.

"Goddess, you're so nice that it actually sickens me," she sneered, tilting her head. "You're still as clumsy as ever. How did you even become a warrior with those two left feet?"

Something twisted in my stomach.

"What?"

"You really think you’ve won, don’t you?" Her voice turned mocking, her smile venomous. "Crawling into Jace’s bed while I was gone and now you're going to be Luna soon. I bet you're living on the clouds."

My body went rigid. This wasn’t the Carina I knew.

"I just have something to tell you.” She stepped close, looking at my bleeding arm like it was just a normal occurrence. “You're really nothing but a shield, Ashley," she whispered. "A placeholder. Doomed to never get what you truly want. Not even the one you love."

She lifted her hand, showing me something. There was a bracelet dangling between her fingers.

Luna Elena’s heirloom. An Alpha family treasure, passed down to every Luna of the pack.

It was the only thing that had been left behind after the Luna's disappearance.

My blood ran cold. Jace hadn't considered giving me. But obviously he didn't mind giving it to her. My fists clenched. Yet another proof of how little he regarded me.

"Want it?" Carina taunted, letting the delicate chain dangle carelessly. "I could give it to you. As charity."

She let go of the bracelet, watching it fall to the ground.

Without paying thought to it, I reached out, aiming to catch the precious item.

The moment my fingers brushed the bracelet, Carina gasped loudly and dramatically.

Then she stumbled back, clutching her wrist as if I had done something to it. Her eyes welled up with tears.

Just at that very moment, as though it had been perfectly timed and planned, the door to the lab burst open, and Jace entered..

He didn't even spare me a glance, but immediately just turned to her, drawn by her sniffing and pained gasps.

"Carina!" He was at her side in an instant, gripping her arm. "Are you okay?" He checked her bodies for injuries, making sure to ignore myself and my bleeding arm.

"Jace, don’t blame Ashley," she whispered, voice trembling. "She didn’t mean to hurt me. She just… got too excited when I showed her the bracelet. I shouldn’t have teased her. It’s my fault."

My stomach twisted.

It was an act. A perfect, rehearsed act.

And Jace fell for it. Again.

His eyes turned to me, hard. "Ashley, how could you?" Disbelief laced his voice. "Why would you fight over something so petty? You know Carina isn’t in good health."

I stared at him blankly, unable to even fully grasp the situation around us.

Then down at my arm—blood dripping onto the floor, a fresh wound burned open by Silver Salt. The sting of the Silver Salt burned through my hand, but that pain was nothing compared to the ache in my chest as I watched Jace rush past me like I was invisible.

All he cared about was her perfectly fine wrist.

A hollow laugh bubbled in my throat, carving its way out.