Chapter 2

Nancy was already lying in bed by the time I walked into the room, locking eyes with Luca in pure infatuation. "Do you want to get into bed with me? It's a big bed, so there's still plenty of room on this side, Luca."

Luca brushed it off as a joke, offering her a faint, indulgent smile. He wanted to help her fall asleep quickly, so he reached over and gently closed her eyes. "You can rest easy and go to sleep. I won't go anywhere. I'll be right here with you, Nancy."

I never knew Luca could actually utter something so sweet. They were clearly made for each other, making my whole existence feel like a total mistake.

I was terrified of the dark as well, but Maverick and Luca just brushed it off as me acting dramatic.

"Do you really still think you're three years old or something? How pathetic can you be, being afraid of the dark?"

"It's only a little darker than usual. It's not as if you've gone blind, and it certainly won't kill you."

I realized then that the only person I could rely on to protect me was myself. I could only close my eyes tightly and keep telling myself that there was nothing to be afraid of.

I kept every preference and thought completely to myself ever since that day. I knew speaking up wouldn't have mattered anyway, so I had no choice but to go along with whatever they decided.

Maverick got me a purple silk gown before my coming-of-age ceremony, oblivious to the fact that I hated purple. Luca bought me a sapphire necklace, which looked terrible against my warm skin tone and gave me a pale, unhealthy complexion.

I reached out to take them after hesitating for three seconds, only for Maverick and Luca to slap my hand away.

Maverick handed the gown to the butler. "I specifically took the time to choose this for you, and instead of thanking me, you just stand there pulling a face."

Luca placed the necklace back in the box as well. "You don't have to force yourself if you don't like it. I wouldn't want you wearing it around later, telling people that we forced you to wear it."

Nancy chimed in, sounding envious. "How can you be so ungrateful when Maverick and Luca are being so kind, Mira? If it were me, I'd be moved to tears."

Upon hearing that, Maverick and Luca became even more convinced that I didn't appreciate what they did and said in unison, "Nancy is so sensible, unlike you!"

I hadn't even said anything, but they had already decided I was the one in the wrong. They clearly noticed how much I disliked that gown and necklace, but they still forced me to wear them at my coming-of-age ceremony.

In the end, whether I was looking back at the past or facing the present, the agony of it all suffocated me.

I couldn't stand watching Luca and Nancy's intimate interactions anymore, as it only compounded my pain. It felt like needles stabbing my eyes, causing excruciating pain.

I longed to escape and get as far away from them as I could, but just as I took half a step, an invisible wall blocked my path, trapping me completely. I had no choice but to stay pinned to the spot, forced to spectate their happiness.

Nancy opened her eyes once Luca left and muttered to herself, "Oh, poor Mira. I'm really curious whether you died from the lack of oxygen in the sealed chamber or from being surrounded by the wolfsbane fumes. That's what you get for being in my way. I'll be the only she-wolf Maverick and Luca care about from now on, Mira!"

Neither Maverick nor Luca believed my pleas, but Nancy—who hadn't even been standing outside the sealed chamber—knew with absolute certainty that I had died from the wolfsbane fumes.

I knew right then that it wasn't a coincidence. Nancy had definitely pulled something behind the scenes.

I didn't even have a chance to listen to the rest before an unknown force whisked me straight to the rooftop.

Maverick stood at the ledge, gazing into the distance in the direction of the sealed chamber. He then muttered to himself, "You never know when to back down. What will it take for you to grow up and learn to put yourself in someone else's shoes?"

I knew exactly who he was talking about even though he never said my name. I wasn't the one who had done anything wrong, though. It would have been ridiculous for me to submit and apologize to the one who had wronged me.

Maverick and Luca only believed what they wanted to believe, turning a deaf ear to my side of things. They still found a way to make everything my fault even when I wasn't around and didn't say a single thing.

It was said that the pack needed an Alpha King and Alphas who were wise and just. Yet, whenever it came to Nancy, Maverick and Luca always sided with her without even distinguishing right from wrong—even though I was Maverick's biological sister and Luca's betrothed mate.

I screamed at the top of my lungs beside him, but he couldn't hear a single word I said.

Maverick happened to cross paths with Luca while coming downstairs.

Upon spotting both of them, the butler quietly tried to persuade Maverick again, "The guards stationed at the sealed chamber just reported that an unusual scent was coming from within. Why don't we go check it out, Alpha King Maverick?"

It was the hottest time of the year, with temperatures creeping close to 104 degrees Fahrenheit. That sealed chamber was humid, stuffy, and windowless, with the tiny food flap at the bottom of the door as its only source of ventilation. That kind of environment would only speed up the decomposition of my body.

"What is she up to now? She'd be better off just apologizing instead of trying so hard to get our attention. I can't believe she's still making a scene this late at night. I mean, doesn't she ever get tired?"

They then exchanged a knowing look and reached an unspoken agreement. "Let's go see what she's up to this time. If she's still making a scene, locking her up for a few days will be the least of her problems."

Just then, Nancy fell right in front of them with a thud. She was teary-eyed as she said, "I'm so useless. I can't even stand up properly."

Maverick and Luca instantly forgot all about me, dropping everything to treat Nancy's injuries instead.

I was left behind and forgotten by them yet again.

That tiny bit of lingering hope I had was thoroughly destroyed at that moment.