Before the dizziness even subsided, two guards were dragging me roughly into the Purification Chamber. I could hear the whispers from outside the sanctuary as clearly as if they were standing next to me.

"Is that the Alpha's lunatic mate? I heard her wolf was broken in the attack, and now she spouts all that nonsense about someone trying to kill her."

"Thank the Goddess for Vivian. Otherwise, that basket case would be our Luna."

"She should be on her knees, grateful she finally has a chance to prove she's worth something..."

Every word was a silver needle piercing my nerves, but strangely, my wolf didn't react.

I lay on the cold bloodstone slab, and through the sanctuary's stained-glass window, I saw Zander kneeling at the main altar. His large hand was clasped around Vivian's delicate one, praying devoutly.

And I was just an outsider.

The silver ritual knife slid into my vein. A burning sensation spread through my body, but even the pain felt distant, as if shrouded in mist, just like the emotions that should have been destroying me. They had all been washed away by my amnesia.

It seemed that forgetting was the Moon Goddess's final mercy.

The ritual lasted for a full hour. When the pack healer had finished drawing the precious Alpha-mate blood from my body, I walked out of the chamber, my face ashen, my vision swimming.

I leaned against the cold stone wall, gathering my strength before forcing myself to walk to Zander. He was focused on channeling the life force from my blood into Vivian, his amber eyes filled with a tenderness I had never seen.

"Alpha," my voice was a whisper. "Can you tell me... where I live?"

Zander didn't even look at me. "What game is this? Have you finally gone so mad you've forgotten where you live?"

"No, I've lost my memory..."

He was silent for a few seconds before reciting an address.

"Ember," he said, stopping me. "I'm staying at the sanctuary tonight to watch over Vivian. You... should get some rest."

It was one of the few times he'd ever offered me an explanation. Perhaps he felt a sliver of guilt for draining me to save Vivian.

"I understand. Thank you."

Seeing how calm I was, Zander's eyes flickered with confusion, but he didn't ask any more questions. I had no idea how many times the old me had cried and fought with him over Vivian, but now, none of it mattered to me anymore.

I stared at him. I was going to give Zander one last gift.

My dear Alpha, this is a gift you will never forget.

Settling into the back of the car, I closed my eyes, gathering what little strength I had left. I reached out with my mind, sending a desperate message across the distance—Chloe.

I tried to call the name through a mind-link.

"Chloe?"

A few seconds later, a gentle female voice echoed in my mind.

"Ember? Oh, gods, you finally contacted me! Are you all right?"

"Chloe, I need you to immediately prepare the materials for the ancient rejection ritual. And a full set of identity documents for the neutral territories in Europe. I'll explain everything else later."

There was a long silence on the other end of the link.

"Ember, are you sure? Once you perform the rejection ritual, your mate bond with Zander will be severed completely."

"I'm sure."

"All right, I understand. Give me three days."

I stared out the window at the forest rushing by. Every ancient tree had witnessed my humiliation, every leaf was stained with my tears. Amnesia was the Moon Goddess's gift of rebirth—a chance to sever the past completely and find true freedom.

"Change of plans," I told the driver. "Take me to the pack's records office."

The driver's shocked eyes met mine in the rearview mirror, his knuckles white on the steering wheel. "My Lady, are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

The process at the records office was smoother than I expected. The clerk, trembling, informed me that the formal papers for my departure would be ready in two weeks.

As I got back into the car, I hesitated for a moment. "Don't report today's events to the Alpha."

The driver's hands trembled on the wheel. "My Lady... the Alpha has forbidden us from speaking your name in his presence. He says... your very existence is a disgrace to him."

I managed a faint smile. That wasn't surprising, was it? Zander despised me so much that my name had become a curse to him.

The car stopped in front of a luxurious villa.

This was my home with Zander.

I pushed open the door. The villa was opulent but cold, devoid of any warmth that would make it a home. In the mating ceremony photo on the wall, my gaze toward Zander was full of adoration, while his smile was so convincing it almost made me believe it was real.

I ripped the photo from the wall without a flicker of emotion and tossed it into the fireplace. It didn't deserve to exist.

As I was packing in the bedroom, a blood-red leather-bound journal fell to the floor with a dull thud. My name was written on the cover.

I opened it to the first page.

The very first line was jarring:

They haven't given up on me. My escape meant nothing because I still carry the one thing they want: the dormant blood of a Moon Goddess descendant. They're still hunting me, even though I've already escaped.

First "accident": The night of the mating ceremony, someone drugged my wine. I nearly jumped from the balcony in a hallucinatory state. Zander said I was mentally unstable and unworthy of being his Luna.

48th "accident": The brake line on my car was cut. It plunged toward a cliff. In that life-or-death moment, I smelled a familiar perfume, but Zander said I was being paranoid.

76th "accident": Silver dust was sprinkled in my food. I was in a coma for three days. When I woke up, I heard Vivian telling a nurse, "It would be better if a waste of space like that just died."

99th "accident": The railing on the rooftop was corroded with a silver compound. I nearly fell to my death. They all said I was trying to kill myself for attention. If I can't find any proof, I'm really going to give up...

The last sentence was scrawled in red ink, the handwriting shaky and desperate.

"They all want me dead."

I closed the diary, my heart pounding. The sealed-off memories slammed against my mind like a floodgate breaking—I had never tried to kill myself.

I sank to the floor, wrapping my arms around my trembling body.

For three years, I hadn't been a lunatic. I had been prey.

Hunted relentlessly by my enemies, and utterly abandoned by the very people I trusted most, I was tortured bit by bit until I was broken.

"They all want me dead," I whispered to the moonlit room. "But I'm going to live. I'm going to live a better life than all of them combined."

From now on, Ember, you will love yourself.

The next few days passed in the sterile silence of the empty villa. Zander never returned. The amnesia was a strange sort of shield; I felt no ache of loneliness, no pang of abandonment.

My wolf was dormant, wrapped in a thick fog, and I thought it wouldn't be so bad to just wait peacefully for my departure papers to be processed.

Until my mother's mind-link shattered the silence, piercing my thoughts like a silver needle.

"Vivian's coming-of-age ceremony is tomorrow. Seven o'clock, Moon Goddess Sanctuary."

"I don't care what state you're in," her voice was ice. "You will be there."

"Mother," I said calmly.

"Don't you dare call me that," she snapped. "I'm busy. We're done here."

The mind-link was severed abruptly, her presence leaving a searing pain in my mind.

The ceremony was even grander than I had imagined. The entire hall was decorated with silver laurel wreaths, the pack members were dressed in magnificent gowns, and the air was thick with the scent of vanilla and sandalwood. Vivian was radiant tonight, surrounded by fawning pack members and, by her side, a Zander I hadn't seen in days.

I took a sip of blood-wine, my gaze inevitably drawn to Zander. He wore a tailored black suit that hinted at the powerful muscles beneath.

A potent Alpha aura rolled off him in waves, a silent declaration of absolute dominance that made the air feel heavy.

The mate bond, faint as it was, still tugged at me, making my wolf tremble slightly. Yet this man, a born predator, was currently kneeling before Vivian, his long, powerful hands adjusting the hem of her skirt.

The gesture was so gentle it was reverent—a tenderness he had never once shown me. The thought sent a sharp, unwelcome pang through my chest.

The Elder's horn sounded, signaling the start of the ceremony. My parents led Vivian to the altar, which was bathed in moonlight.

My father stepped forward, his Beta's authority making all the lower-ranking wolves bow their heads. "On this night of the blood moon, I have an important announcement. The guardianship of the Moonspring Oasis... will pass to my daughter, Vivian."

The hall erupted in whispers of shock and disbelief. My hand tightened around my wine glass, my knuckles turning white. The Moonspring Oasis—it was our pack's most sacred place, where the Moon Goddess was said to have bestowed her dew.

Its waters could heal any wound and strengthen a wolf's spirit. Guardianship meant control over the pack's spiritual heart.

Just then, Zander also ascended the altar. He drew an ancient, rune-carved box from his inner pocket. In the moonlight, his fingers were long and strong.

He opened it to reveal a silver necklace with a moonstone pendant shaped like a teardrop.

"That's the Tear of the Moon Goddess!" someone in the crowd gasped. "The sacred heirloom passed down through generations of Lunas!"

"Gods, to give away the Luna's heirloom... is the Alpha publicly setting Ember aside?"

"Ember can't be Luna anyway. I heard her wolf is broken. This time she's even forgotten who she is."

Zander's fingers brushed against Vivian's skin as he slowly fastened the necklace around her neck, the moonstone coming to rest at the hollow of her collarbone.

My wolf let out a silent scream, a violent twitch as if pierced by a silver needle. At the same moment, the Tear of the Moon Goddess lost its original luster.

"Alpha, should you be doing this? My sister is your true Luna, after all." Vivian deliberately glanced in my direction, her voice a study in feigned hesitation. "She's the one with the Beta bloodline. You should ask her opinion."

Zander didn't look at me. He simply took her hand. "What I give you is yours."

My parents also stood by Vivian's side. "Don't you worry, my dearest child. We're here to support you. You don't need to think about anything else."

I stood in the middle of the crowd, a lone prey surrounded by a pack of wolves. The picture of their loving family carved away at what little dignity I had left.

The stares of the surrounding pack members were like spotlights, leaving me with nowhere to hide, each one a silent declaration of my failure. I could even feel the smug satisfaction rolling off Vivian in waves of pheromones, like a victor flaunting her spoils.

I gently set down my glass. As I turned to leave, I heard a pack member mutter:

"Look at her. She's completely lost it..."

"She's probably going to run off and cry again..."

"I wonder what new way she'll find to kill herself this time."

If I were the old Ember, I might have burst into tears. My wolf would have howled in agony. But now, I refused to waste my emotions on anything so worthless.

I didn't stop, walking straight toward the back hall of the sanctuary. The reflection in the mirror showed a pale face with clear eyes. Not a single tear had fallen.

Because I had already forgotten everything.

I had forgotten how desperately I once craved the Alpha's mark, forgotten how I had willingly trembled and submitted under his Alpha's command, forgotten how I had cast aside all my pride for a single glance from him.

The family I once loved, the mate who was once my entire world—now they meant less to me than strangers.

All I had to do now was wait quietly for my transfer papers and get away from this place suffocating with Alpha authority.

I took a deep breath, straightened my robes, and prepared to return to the main hall to grab my cloak and leave. But as soon as I stepped back into the sanctuary, Vivian was walking toward me, her face a mask of false sympathy.

"Sister, are you all right?" Her voice was pure honey laced with poison. "I know a night like this must be so painful for... a broken thing like you." She moved closer, her hand shooting out to grab my wrist, her nails digging into my skin. "But you have to understand, the weak are always culled. That is the law of the wolves."

I took a step back, instinctively recoiling from her touch.

"Don't touch me."

"Sister, you..." A flicker of murderous intent flashed in her wolfish eyes, but it was quickly replaced by a look of wounded fragility. Then, she suddenly stumbled, throwing herself backward.

"Ah!" She let out a piercing scream as she fell onto the bloodstone floor. The Tear of the Moon Goddess shattered, scattering across the ground as silver-tinged beads of blood splattered everywhere.

"Sister... why would you do that?" Vivian's eyes welled with tears as she stared at the shattered pieces. "You... you pushed me. You broke the heirloom... on purpose!"

The hall fell silent. Every wolf's gaze was fixed on me.

"I didn't push her," I said calmly.

CRACK—

A sharp slap echoed through the hall.

"Still lying!" my father roared, his voice shaking the sanctuary. "Ember! Can you not cause trouble for one single day?!"

My cheek burned. Before I could even react, my mother was screeching, "Guards! Seize her!"

I was slammed onto the cold bloodstone floor. The sound of my dress tearing was obscene in the silence. Sharp claws dug into my skin, and I felt warm blood spill across the cold stone of the altar.

The sound of heavy footsteps approached, carrying the weight of death.

Zander stood over me, looking down at me from his great height.

"Who do you think you are? What makes you think you can destroy a sacred relic? What right do you have to harm your sister?" His voice wasn't loud, but it filled me with a sudden, chilling fear. "I never acknowledged you as my Luna. Don't you understand that?"

I looked up, meeting his amber eyes. There was no warmth in them, only the innate cruelty and disdain of an Alpha. Or perhaps, that was only how he looked at me.

"Ember," he breathed my name with a sneer. "Some positions will never belong to you. No matter what you do, you can't change that."

He leaned down, his scent of musk and cedarwood nearly suffocating me. My dormant wolf twitched in agony.

And then I smiled.

The smile made Zander's pupils contract slightly. Perhaps he was so used to my hysterical breakdowns and my pathetic pleas that my calm, liberated, mocking smile threw him off balance. This was not the Ember he could control.

"I didn't push her," I said, my voice low and clear, meant only for him. "Believe it or not."

My voice was unnervingly clear in the silent sanctuary. Moonlight spilled over my bare shoulder, casting flecks of light in my eyes.

"And another thing—"

I took a deep breath, and my voice rang out with chilling clarity. "I, Ember of the Crescent Moon Pack, formally and completely reject you, Alpha Zander. Our bond is hereby broken."

As the words fell, the hall was plunged into a dead silence. Every wolf stared, wide-eyed, their breathing stopped.

A useless Luna, daring to reject an Alpha? The same Ember who had sacrificed every shred of her dignity just to receive his mark was now rejecting him?

The air filled with shock, disbelief, and a suppressed excitement. They all wanted to see how this drama would play out.

A sharp pain, like a needle through my heart, shot through me. The agony of a severing mate bond was instantaneous. Zander, standing before me, his robes glowing coldly in the moonlight, frowned at the exact same moment I did.

For a fleeting second, I wondered if he, too, could feel the pain of our bond breaking.

But he quickly composed himself and leaned down to whisper in my ear. "You've played this little game of push-and-pull one too many times. Do you really think this will work on me?"

"I've told you, your tantrums are useless."

He shot a hand out and grabbed my chin, forcing my head up. His eyes became possessive, dominant, a look that could shatter a lesser wolf's will.

"Stop the act," his hot breath ghosted over the sensitive skin of my neck, his voice a low growl rumbling deep in his chest.

"You know you can't resist me."

As he spoke, the pack members in the sanctuary finally snapped out of their shock.

"See? I knew it. She's just putting on a show. There's no way that lunatic would actually reject the Alpha."

"Of course not. Her wolf is practically useless. She can't survive without the Alpha's mark."

"Look at her. She's about to have another one of her episodes..."

Every word was laced with malice, every wolf waiting for me to make a fool of myself. Countless needles of scorn pricked at me. Just like all the times before, not a single wolf believed me. My dormant wolf struggled in agony, wanting to fight back, but it was powerless.

I clenched my fists. Beneath my torn sleeve, the old scars on my wrist gleamed silver in the moonlight. I opened my mouth, wanting to prove this wasn't a game, that this time, I was determined to reject him for good.

But my father's Beta authority exploded like a thunderclap, forcing every lower-ranking wolf in the sanctuary to their knees.

"Guards, throw her in the silver cells! Let the silver cleanse the rot from her very soul!"

The silver cells—a hell reserved for traitors. He didn't care one bit about his own daughter's dignity, or even her life.

"I didn't push her..." My voice trembled as I repeated the words, but no one was listening.

Two guards rushed forward and grabbed my arms. I instinctively tried to back away, but a rough hand seized the back of my neck.

"No... let go..."

I thrashed, my nails digging bloody gouges into a guard's arm, but my desperate struggle was cut short as a silver-laced baton slammed into the back of my head. Silver poison flooded my nervous system, and the searing pain blurred my vision.

In the last moment before darkness took me, I saw Zander approach.

He waved the guards away. For one insane second, a spark of hope flared—he was going to help me. But then he held out his hand, not to me, but to the guard. "Give me the key," his voice was ice. "I'll lock her in there myself."

That tiny, foolish spark of hope was instantly extinguished. It was laughable that even now, I could still hold on to such a fantasy.

I should have known long ago that to him, my pain was nothing more than an irrelevant, tiresome show.

When I woke up, a hellish agony consumed me. I was lying on a cold stone slab.

The walls around me were covered in ancient silver runes that slowly leeched into my body. Every breath was like swallowing shattered glass.

Silver dust floated in the air, seeping into my lungs. My wolf howled in despair, but I couldn't make a sound. My skin began to blister, and the blood in my veins grew thick and sluggish, as if it were freezing solid.

I can't... die here...

I gritted my teeth, using my last ounce of strength to drag my body toward the heavy silver door. My fingers were charred black, my nails peeling away from the raw flesh beneath. A trail of blood and pus marked my agonizing path.

But I kept knocking.

Once. Then again.

"Help... me..."

My voice was a hoarse rasp, like the death rattle of a wild animal.

But outside the door, there was only silence.

After what felt like an eternity, I heard a familiar voice.

"Sister, are you all right?"

"How pitiful."

It was Vivian's triumphant voice.

"I brought you some tea," she said, crouching down in front of me. "With honey. It used to be your favorite."

"I've lost my memory. I don't remember what I like."

"That's right," she smiled. "You've forgotten everything. Isn't that wonderful?" Her voice was as sweet as ever, but it sent a shiver down my spine. "Sister, do you know what's happening outside? Everyone is celebrating my nomination as the new Luna candidate."

I bit my lip, the taste of blood flooding my mouth.

Her tone suddenly turned vicious.

"Do you know what today is?" she asked, setting the teacup on the floor. "Three years ago today, you were rescued. It's a shame, really. No one else seems to remember that... unfortunate day you were returned to us."

I watched her, still silent.

"Do you know how happy I was when you were kidnapped?" Her eyes shone with a manic light. "I'll let you in on a little secret. It's a pity, really. You missed all the fun I had planned for you with the Blood Fangs."

"But you just had to come back."

She stood up, looking down at me. "But this is better, I suppose. Now, in everyone's eyes, you're just a lunatic."

She hadn't planned on letting me come back... She had arranged the fun...

So even that, all of it, was tied to Vivian.

My mind roared with a sudden, explosive pain. I tried to stand, but my legs were weak. I couldn't make a sound.

"What good is a bloodline? What good is status? Don't you see? The purification rite, the blood you gave me—it's all mine now. Your precious Moon Goddess blood has been transferred to me, and you're nothing but an empty vessel, a husk. In the end, I still get to climb to the throne over your corpse, don't I?"

"Don't worry," she purred. "Soon, my mission here will be complete."

I wanted to grab her arm, to demand an answer for everything, but just then, her communicator chimed. She deliberately put it on speaker so I could hear every word.

"Vivian? How are you feeling?" It was Zander's voice.

"Zander..." Vivian's voice instantly became frail and helpless. "It hurts so much... the silver poison is still in my system..."

"Wait for me. I'm coming back right now."

The connection cut out, and the silver cell was plunged back into silence.

I lay limp on the floor, the light of the silver runes illuminating my paper-white face. Fragments of sealed memories began to flash through my mind.

I saw myself being dragged into the dark dungeons of the Blood Fang Pack, their claws leaving scars on my body that would never heal.

I saw them chain my limbs with silver, forcing me to kneel like the most wretched slave.

I saw them brand my back with a mark of humiliation, a scar that still ached to this day. Years of inhuman torture, forced to crawl before them, to lick their boots, to endure humiliation after humiliation.

And when I finally fought my way back to my pack, the look in Zander's eyes wasn't sympathy. It was disgust. He was repulsed by my defiled body, by my shattered wolf, by the neurotic fear that had become a part of me.

I saw him hold a grand ceremony for Vivian's wolf awakening, personally anointing her with the Moon Goddess's blessing.

I saw him dance with her under the full moon, as if she were his true fated mate.

I saw him gently stroke her cheek, the smile in his eyes as warm as a spring thaw.

And me? I could only hide in the shadows, watching as everything that should have been mine was stolen, one by one, by the very person who had orchestrated my downfall.

The silver poison ate at my bloodline, killing my wolf piece by agonizing piece. But a strange thing happened. As my wolf died, so did the crushing weight of my emotions.

The pain, the love, the despair—it all began to cool. All of it was being purified into ash by the silver poison.

I held up my hand and watched as a faint green flame flickered at my fingertips. It was the sign of a wolf's essence burning away completely.

"Good," I let out a soft laugh, the sound echoing in the empty cell. "Burn. Burn it all away."

"And take this pathetic love with you."