Chapter 3

"It's Anna! What is she doing here? Isn't she afraid the Alpha will get mad and lock her in the isolation ward again?"

"If she were smart, she'd stay out of sight. At least then the Alpha and Jace might show her some mercy..."

The pack elders whispered, looking at me with pity and mockery.

Before Alaric could speak, Wyatt frowned and said coldly, "Anna, why aren't you going crazy in your hospital room? What are you doing here?"

He glanced at the blood on me, his face turning dark.

"And what's with the fake blood? Who are you trying to scare? You really are insane!"

I narrowed my eyes and recognized him.

Anna's mate.

He looked exactly like his father.

Back then, his dad was a drunk, and he was just a struggling werewolf in the slums without a decent shirt to his name.

When he got hit by a car and broke his legs, Anna was the one who found him and kindly took him to the hospital so he wouldn't end up crippled.

I still remembered a young Wyatt kneeling solemnly in front of me, raising three fingers to swear an oath.

"Don't worry, Luna. If I ever betray Anna, may lightning strike me down! May my soul never find peace!"

I believed him.

So, I gave him the chance to be Anna's mate and made him a Gamma warrior.

But in just ten years, the man who promised to protect Anna forever couldn't even tell the difference between me and the woman who bore his pups.

How pathetic.

Before I could speak, Stella started crying.

She choked out, "I know Anna hates me. Let's just forget it... I'm just an orphan. I'm lucky enough that the Alpha brought me to the estate. I don't deserve to be the eldest daughter."

"It's only natural that sister Anna is upset."

Hearing this, Wyatt's face darkened.

He wrapped an arm around Stella's shoulder, glaring at me with pure annoyance.

"Stella barely escaped those rogues. Can you stop making things hard for her?"

"Think about how you lived in the estate while Stella was suffering out there!"

"She got kidnapped by rogues because of you. It's just a title. You owe her this!"

How did Anna live?

I had just heard the guests whispering.

Four years ago, Stella and Anna were kidnapped together.

The kidnappers said they wanted the Alpha's daughter.

The Magus threatened to kill himself to stop Alaric from trading Anna for Stella.

But because of that, Anna was thrown into the isolation ward.

They said since Stella was suffering, Anna didn't deserve to be happy.

So she was locked in a dark room for twelve hours a day, given only one piece of dry bread. She was so hungry she chewed her nails to the quick.

She lived worse than the lowest Omega in the pack.

She finally made it to the bonding ceremony I arranged for her, and she and Wyatt had a somewhat sweet time.

But right after she got pregnant, Stella came back.

Stella shed a few tears, and Wyatt handed over the pup Anna had risked her life to deliver.

No matter how much she cried and begged, no one cared.

From that day on, Anna's mind started to slip.

Hearing all this, my heart bled.

I couldn't imagine how much pain my daughter had been in.

Seeing me stay quiet, Wyatt thought I felt guilty.

"Apologize to Stella right now and get out. I might forgive you this once for the sake of our bond. Otherwise, I'll ask the elders to force a rejection. Who else would want you but me?"

He leaned in and whispered in my ear, "If that happens, you won't even have the right to visit your mother's grave."

I looked up at him.

He really was her mate—he knew exactly what Anna feared most.

Too bad.

I calmly drove the silver dagger into Wyatt's stomach and said lightly, "Anna doesn't need to visit me anymore. From now on, I'll be the one visiting her grave."

"But before that, I need to send you all to hell to keep her company."