Chapter 2

Damon was silent for a moment. He looked at Yuna, his gaze calm but complicated.

"Yuna, you're beautiful. In all these years, I've never seen a female more beautiful than you. You come from the Frostveil Pack, the pack that once ruled the Northlands. Your bloodline is noble. Your wolf's coat is as white as fresh snow. The pack needs a Luna like you.

"Vera is ordinary. She isn't exceptional. She isn't beautiful. But she worries about me. She takes care of me when I'm exhausted. With her, I feel a peace and a sense of belonging I never knew before."

A sense of belonging.

Yuna's chest tightened painfully at those words.

Then what about the home they built together for nine years?

"Don't worry," Damon added calmly. "I won't break our bond. You'll still be my mate. I promised your parents I would take care of you for the rest of your life."

He paused, slicing away the last shred of pretense.

"But from now on, I will never love you even a little. My life with Vera is none of your business. Sorry, I know I broke our vows, but I can't help it. I loved you for many years. If you're going to blame someone, blame me. It has nothing to do with Vera."

After saying that, he didn't even look at Yuna's pale face again. He turned and walked out of the house without hesitation.

Yuna collapsed onto the floor, and the only sound filling the room was her ragged breathing.

Nine years ago, she was just an orphan brought to the Frostfang Pack after her own pack had fallen.

Back then, she had been proud, sharp-edged, and slow to trust.

But Damon had spent four full years slowly working his way into her world.

At the time, she didn't know how to express herself. She refused to show weakness. Whenever she was injured, she gritted her teeth and endured it alone.

Whenever she saw other she-wolves getting close to Damon, she simply turned away with a cold face and walked off.

The moment she truly let her guard down happened when she was eighteen.

That year, she went alone to the Northlands to visit the newly raised memorial for the fallen Frostveil Pack.

But while she was there, a group of Rogues ambushed her.

Damon had just returned from training in the Southern Territory when he heard what happened. He rushed to the Northlands with a group of warriors and found her lying in a pool of blood.

She still remembered that night clearly. Damon had been covered in blood himself. His eyes were bloodshot, wild with fury and fear. When he gathered her into his arms, he held her so tightly it hurt.

"Yuna, when you're with me, you don't have to keep pretending you're strong all the time. You can rely on me. You can throw tantrums. You can give me every grievance, every bit of pain you're carrying.

"Because I will always come to you."

It was from that moment on that Yuna finally learned how to be a she-wolf who was cherished. She started letting herself sulk in front of him, making unreasonable demands, and showing the fragile parts of herself she had always hidden from everyone else.

But now, he said he was tired.

That night, Yuna cried in the darkness until her whole body shook, as if someone had torn half her soul out of her chest.

Even so, she still refused to give up.

The next day, she went to the Neutral Zone and found the small flower shop that Vera owned.

It wasn't a large place.

Bundles of wild roses, camellias, and silverleaf herbs were arranged outside the door. The scent of flowers drifted through the air, mixed with a faint trace of wood.

Yuna looked at that busy, ordinary, almost plain woman as she slid a check, filled with an eye-watering sum, across the table.

"Ms. Vera, stay away from Damon," she said, her voice icy. "This money will be enough for you to live out the rest of your life."

Vera stared at the check and froze. Then her eyes slowly turned red, but she didn't reach out to take it.

"Ms. Yuna," she said softly, shaking her head, her eyes glistening with tears. "I'll leave. Please don't make things difficult for Damon."

After saying that, she didn't even dare look at Yuna again. She hurriedly turned away and began packing her things.

Yuna stood there without moving. But instead of feeling relief, her chest felt heavier than ever.

That night, she received the news.

Vera had been in a car accident while leaving the Neutral Zone.

She survived, but the pup in her womb, Damon's child, didn't.