Chapter 2

The fleeting warmth had long since vanished into smoke.

Ethan's voice carried anger now, his Alpha aura leaking out in suffocating waves. His pine-forest scent turned sharp and bitter with rage.

"Daniel is still just a pup!" he snapped.

"You're his... nanny. You failed to teach him properly—that's your screw-up. I'm already being generous by not holding you accountable for that, so what gives you the right to throw a tantrum?" he continued.

Nanny?

I laughed bitterly at the word.

Daniel's mother, Danielle Woods, was my adoptive sister.

Ethan and Danielle had been fated mates, and Ethan had loved Danielle with everything he had.

But their social positions were worlds apart.

Sure, Danielle was an Alpha's daughter, but Eclipse—my adoptive father's pack—was nothing more than a small pack compared to the great Silver Howl Pack.

Even so, Ethan Brooks had defied his pack elders' opposition and took Danielle as his Luna.

From that moment, Eclipse Pack transformed from an ordinary remote pack into a prestigious family overnight.

After becoming mates, they were inseparable, madly in love.

But fate is cruel.

Danielle died in childbirth.

Eclipse Pack, terrified of losing their newfound status, sent me—the foundling they'd picked up from the forest—as a replacement.

Ethan, on the other hand, loved Danielle too deeply to take another Luna, but his heart ached for the young pup, who had no one to care for him.

So the two packs negotiated a ten-year agreement, allowing me to stay at Silver Howl with the title of "Luna."

Though I was called Luna, Ethan and I never held a mating ceremony. We had no mate bond, which meant no recognition from the Moon Goddess.

My entire identity hung on nothing more than a piece of paper—an agreement between two packs.

When you really thought about it, I was still single. Ethan and I had no mate bond, and though I was called Luna, it was an empty title.

Ten years of my life, reduced to a few words on a contract. Ten years spent caring for Daniel, and for what?

I pulled myself from these thoughts and said calmly, "I'm not throwing a tantrum. The agreement has expired."

"If I stay at Silver Howl like this, it'll drag you and Danny down. People will talk."

Hearing my "explanation", Ethan's furrowed brow relaxed slightly, and his oppressive aura eased somewhat. Those sapphire eyes held a mixture of testing and questioning, though his tone had softened.

"Have my baby and I'll make it official. We can do the ceremony, write you into the pack lineage. Make it real this time...."

"No," I answered, my voice flat. "There's no need."

I was done being the unloved substitute.

Done destroying myself for people who couldn’t care less about me.

How could I bear to let my pup walk the same painful path?

I straightened my clothes and retrieved the tokens of Silver Howl's Luna status from my bedroom, along with the pack’s business and political documents.

"I've already organized all the pack's company accounts. The person taking over is one of Luna Danielle's trusted confidants—she'll handle all my duties."

"Danny's grown up now. He needs professional tutors. I don’t know enough—I was never able to teach him right."

With a sweep of his hand, Ethan sent everything flying.

Fury burned in those sapphire eyes as the papers and the ten-year agreement hit the ground with a crash, scattering like garbage.

He stepped on them without mercy.

"Amelia Clark, you're testing my patience," he said, his voice dangerously low, his alpha aura suffocating.

"It's your birthday," he added after a moment, his tone softening just slightly. "I'll overlook this... outburst. Take some time to think things through—you'll see reason soon enough."

With that, he left.

Slam—

The heavy door closed, separating us into two different worlds, leaving behind only the lingering scent of pine.

I looked up at the night sky, watching a tiny light grow more distant until it disappeared completely.

A hollow laugh escaped me.

That was the lantern they'd lit for my birthday—a prayer sent up to the Moon Goddess.

My birthday.

The bitter irony wasn't lost on me.

Today wasn't just the Full Moon Festival. In Ethan's mind, it was also the day I was born.

But the truth was far more calculated—today marked the anniversary of Ethan and Danielle's first meeting.

The night before I was sent to Silver Howl, Danielle's mother—my adoptive mother Beth—had found me. She made me memorize everything about Danielle Woods, to imitate her words and actions.

"Amy, you need to become Danielle for him. Eclipse Pack's survival depends on it. So does yours." Beth's voice cracked, but her eyes remained fierce.

Just as she'd predicted, Alpha Ethan—who paid attention to nothing else—had remembered my "birthday."

This was the one day each year I looked forward to, the only day I could feel a hint of familial warmth, briefly held in his thoughts.

But stolen things must eventually be returned.

As I sighed, sharp pain exploded across my forehead.

I looked up to see Daniel perched on the wall, triumphantly holding his slingshot.

"Keep refusing to leave and next time I won't miss. And it won't be a rock hitting your head—it'll be claws!"

He grinned, proud of his deadly aim.

I stared at his smug little face, and it felt like someone punched me in the gut.

He’d completely forgotten that I was the one who’d taught him everything—how to shoot, how to race, how to fight with his claws. I’d held his hands every step of the way.

All those years I'd poured into him. All those sleepless nights and patient lessons. And this was all I had to show for it.

Ten years later, and now this father and son… one treated me like I was nothing, and the other just wished I’d disappear.