Chapter 2

After what felt like an eternity in the dark, I finally forced my eyes open.

In the dim light, Louis was sitting beside me, gently holding my hand.

His golden eyes shimmered, rimmed with red. His voice was hoarse, and he looked at me with what seemed like genuine sorrow. "I'm… so sorry, Jody. If you hadn't sacrificed yourself to save me, you and our pup wouldn't have had to endure all this."

He looked furious as he brought it up, his body trembling with rage.

"I've already ordered the rogues to be hunted down. I swear, I'll avenge you! But…"

His voice faltered, breaking deliberately. "Your injuries were too severe. Your wolf... didn't survive."

Louis looked up at me, his eyes glassy with emotion. "Rest assured, Jody. Even if you can never shift into your wolf again, I won't leave you. I'll still love you, always."

If I hadn't heard the truth with my ears, I might have been fooled by this display of grief and guilt.

However, now that I stare at the expression he had so carefully arranged into sorrow and devotion, all I could do was let out a bitter, involuntary laugh.

So, this was his love.

A love cold enough to kill my wolf, to sever my bond with the Moon Goddess, and to strip me of all my pride.

Louis took my silence as shock. Gently, he stroked my hair and said, "Get some rest. Don't be afraid. I'm here."

Then, he turned and walked out without lingering for even a moment longer.

The moment he left, I snapped my eyes open.

He hadn't taken his laptop.

I hesitated for just a second, after which I opened it.

To my surprise, there was no password.

Apart from some files on the pack, the rest were all photos and videos of Amanda and her newborn pup.

Every frame was crystal clear, every one driving me closer to the edge.

My hands began to tremble. Rage clawed its way through me, devouring everything else.

In one video, Louis was placing a hand-carved wooden amulet around the neck of Amanda's pup. I recognized it.

Back when I was pregnant, Louis stayed up night after night working on it. He said it was meant for our pup.

It wasn't until today that I finally saw it clearly—the carving looked exactly like Amanda.

I let out a cold, broken laugh.

Compared to me, who was battered and left for dead, Amanda looked every inch the perfect Luna. She stood beside Louis, smiling, cradling their pup in her arms. The three of them looked like a picture-perfect family.

However, they took away my pup's chance of ever being born into this world.

My chest felt like it had been ripped open, shredded by claws.

Tears, tinged with the taste of blood, slid down my cheeks and into my mouth.

Suddenly, the screen shifted, and a video popped up out of nowhere. It was footage of me being raped by the rogues.

I watched, numb, as Louis transferred 350 thousand dollars to them.

"Pleasure doing business with you. Reach out again if you ever need anything."

I gagged, retching hard, as if I were back in that nightmare.

This… was his thank-you gift to them for destroying me.

What I had believed was an act of selfless sacrifice was just a performance he had paid for.

I held it in for a long time before I could finally suppress the urge to break down and scream.

Then, I wiped away my tears, sent the photos and videos to my phone, and deleted all traces from the laptop.

Since Louis loved putting on a show, I'd play along to his tune.

I took out my phone and sent a message to a number. "Three days later. Die on the spot. At the tower in Central Square."