Chapter 2

After I finally fell asleep from sheer exhaustion, I woke to the sound of Leon's voice drifting in from outside.

Hearing him again made my head spin. Memories crashed over me all at once, and my eyes burned. But then I looked through the crack in the door, and my heart dropped.

Leon had Shelly's hand in his, tight and possessive. He was speaking to my mother.

"Mrs. Harris, are you still hung up on what happened five years ago? Is that why you won't let Sophia come to our family dinner?"

His voice was flat. Empty.

"Mrs. Harris, I've moved on. Sophia and I grew up together. Even if we're not mates, we're still friends."

Shelly chimed in right after, all sweet and syrupy.

"Yes, Mrs. Harris. Leon told me everything about him and Sophia. She betrayed him first five years ago, but Leon's been generous enough to forgive her. So really, there's no need to hold onto the past. I'm the one who suggested inviting her to the family dinner, actually."

"After all, this dinner is to celebrate Leon and me becoming mates. I should take this chance to thank Sophia properly. If she hadn't pushed Leon away back then, I never would've met an Alpha as good as him."

She placed a hand on her stomach and smiled. "Besides, I'm already carrying Leon's pup."

Five years ago, when the silver poison first hit, all I wanted was for Leon to forget me. To let me go.

But now, hearing all of this, I felt my heart ache with a dull, spreading pain—though the poison had already left it numb.

My mother, though, heard the mockery in Shelly's invitation loud and clear. Her eyes went bloodshot. Her lips trembled as she stared at the two of them through the door. Finally, a low, furious growl tore out of her.

"You and that vicious old hag—both of you are monsters!"

My chest tightened. I was terrified she'd cross a line and get punished for disrespecting the Alpha. I forced through the pain in my chest and called out.

"Mom, come in here. Help me with my coat and get me in the wheelchair. I'll talk to Leon myself."

She came in with red-rimmed eyes. When she saw me sitting up, her face crumpled, tears welling but not falling. I reached out and pulled her into a hug, patted her back.

"Mom, just think of this as helping me with my last wish. Okay?"

Her tears finally broke free. But she still walked to the closet, pulled out the heaviest coat, wrapped me up until every rotting mark on my neck and arms was hidden. Then she lifted me into the chair.

The moment she wheeled me out, Shelly stepped forward to take over. She looked down at me in the chair, her nose wrinkling with disgust.

"What's wrong with you? It's just a leg injury, and you still need your elderly mother to wait on you hand and foot? Your wolf blood must be pathetic."

I caught the sneer in her voice and looked past her, straight at Leon. He was standing behind her, silent. He barely glanced at me, cold and brief, then looked away. Not a word.

I swallowed the blood rising in my throat and gave a calm smile.

"The doctor said my leg is badly injured. I can't stand for a while."

Shelly turned to Leon with a pout. "Leon, look at her. She's talking back. You'd never let me be this dramatic."

Leon finally stirred. He reached out and ruffled her hair, his voice unusually soft. "Shelly, you're going to be Luna. It's only right that I hold you to a higher standard."

My chest tightened again. I dug my nails into my palm and forced myself not to look at their intimacy. I turned to Shelly, voice even.

"You really want me at your family dinner? If you truly do, I'll come."

She nodded without hesitation. "Of course. It's settled."

We exchanged a few more pleasantries before I signaled my mother to close the door.

That night, Leon called me. He said nine days from now, the day before the bonding ceremony, he'd come pick me up for the dinner.

My fingers gripped the phone so hard they hurt. Partly because I was greedy for his voice. Partly because I was nervous.

Five years. I hadn't heard him like this, alone over the phone, in five years. Five years ago, I used to fall asleep every night with his deep, warm voice in my ear, hiding under the covers like a secret.

But just as I was sinking into the memory, a soft female voice came through on the other end.

"Leon, come brush my hair for me..."

I snapped back to reality. I managed a quick "Mm" into the phone. And the moment Leon heard it, he hung up without a second thought.

The dial tone buzzed in my ear. And then the tears came.

I'd prepared myself for this. I knew it was coming. But seeing it with my own eyes, hearing it with my own ears—knowing Leon belonged to someone else now—my heart still twisted raw with pain.