Narissa tugged at her stiff lips and slowly said, "I understand."

Evan's expression briefly turned cold, but he quickly regained his composure.

That moment was so brief that Narissa thought she had imagined it, but then, with a slight parting of his lips, Evan said, "Since you understand, don't do it again next time."

Narissa clenched her teeth, her expression tense. "What do you mean?"

Evan's expression turned cold as he retorted, "Do you really want me to be so blunt? You know that Bella is Liora's close friend, yet you still call Wilde a moon-stealer and say you're not targeting Liora?"

Hearing this, Narissa struggled to suppress her anger and finally understood what he meant. "But, she was the one who spoke ill of Mom first."

Thinking he would understand, she was instead met with disappointment in his eyes. "Drake was right, you’ve really been spoiled."

The words struck Narissa like a blow, leaving her stunned. Even though she knew Drake would side with Liora, she hadn’t expected her brother to do the same.

In disbelief, her heart sinking, she asked, "Bella said Father strayed because Mom wasn’t good enough. Don’t you feel angry when you hear that?"

Evan stared at his proud, headstrong younger sister and replied, each word deliberate, “At that time, Liora was just a newborn cub. How could she understand anything? Liora is right, though. Her birth wasn’t something she could choose. You don’t need to blame her for it."

Narissa didn't even know how she had been targeting Liora. At this moment, it felt like she was momentarily transported back to the time before she entered the moon-cells of the private dungeon.

When Liora was attacked, her father dragged her out of bed, accusing her of deliberately hiring rogue wolves to kill her, calling her malicious.

Although she hadn't done it at all, they said someone had identified her, making her meet with countless disdainful stares. At that time, all she wanted was to explain and uncover the truth.

Her brother had stepped in, looking at her with a cold, emotionless gaze and said, "Narissa, no matter what you’ve done, I will always stand by you. But you still need to face the consequences.”

He stood by her side because she was his blood-sister, not because he believed in her.

In order to punish her, they had been eager to send her to a private pack-prison, unwilling to even listen to her explanation.

Now, Evan looked at her with a calm gaze, but a trace of disgust flashed in his eyes as he said, "Narissa, you are my sister, so no matter what, I will stand by your side without question. But I don't want to see this kind of thing happen again."

Instantly, Narissa felt unfamiliar with the tall, familiar man in front of her.

That year, she broke down in tears at her mother's moon-funeral and her brother was only seventeen at the time. He tightly held her hand, his voice hoarse and restrained, "Narissa, stop crying. Even without Mom, there's still me, your brother. I'll protect you for the rest of your life and never let anyone hurt you."

Back then, he kept his promise. No matter what happened, he would always stand by her, protect her and believe in her.

But now, though he still stood by her side, his heart had already shifted. She understood that the brother who once promised to protect her for life no longer loved her.

The atmosphere at the banquet became tense and awkward. During the event, Elowen learned everything and he was so furious that his face trembled. "Wicked daughter, as soon as you come back, there’s nothing but trouble."

Upon hearing this, Narissa looked at him, feeling utterly disheartened.

Liora’s mother patted Elowen’s back and shot Narissa a disapproving look. "Narissa, today is your father’s moon-day. Not only did you forget to bring an offering, but now you’ve also upset him. Please, don't make him even angrier."

The words made Elowen even more furious. "Even Liora knows to bring a moon-gift. After all these seasons of raising you, I’ve only raised an ungrateful child."

Narissa had endured seven months of suffering, being bullied, insulted and subjected to inhumane treatment within the Moon-Call prison. And now, after finally returning, her father’s only concern was that she hadn’t brought a gift.

Narissa suppressed the searing pain in her chest and looked at her father with a bitter smile. "To you, it seems I’m less important than a gift."

Elowen’s face twisted with fury, his chest heaving with anger as he slapped her hard, sending her crashing to the floor of the Great Hall.

The pain on her face was unbearable, but her gaze remained stubborn as she looked at him. "Dad, if Mom was here, she would surely hate you."

Elowen was momentarily stunned, unable to speak, but Wilde smiled and spoke softly, "Narissa, you're overthinking. If Astrid knew, she would surely want your father to be happy."

Upon hearing these words, Elowen's expression softened. He nodded and muttered, "Wilde, you’re right. Astrid will understand me under the Moon.”

He then turned to Narissa. "Narissa, stop embarrassing yourself. If your mom saw you like this, she'd be furious."

With that, they turned and left, leaving Narissa standing there, her heart filled with disbelief.

Narissa was subjected to countless strange stares, but she remained silent, never responding to the gossip.

It wasn't until Drake came looking for her, a person who had rarely reached out to her recently.

Her heart, numb from everything, was momentarily stunned. Just as she processed the situation, she heard him say, "Narissa, you've made Liora cry. Come with me and apologize to her."

It turned out that he approached her because of Liora. Even though Narissa had become accustomed to everyone focusing on Liora, a sharp sting of pain still flickered in her chest.

Drake reached out to grab her, but she quickly pulled away, leaving him momentarily stunned. "Narissa, you’re the one at fault here. Liora has been running around preparing for the feast ever since you left. This was your responsibility, don’t you know how exhausted she is? Yet now, you…"

He stopped abruptly, unable to continue, as he noticed the tears streaming down her face.

For a moment, his mind recalled how long it had been since she cried. It was ever since her mother passed into the stars. The sight of her tears left him frozen, a sharp pain shooting through his heart.

Narissa's eyes reddened with anger, her whole body trembling as she asked him, word by word, "Drake, would you apologize to someone who insults your mother?"

He didn't answer and Narissa repeated firmly, "I won't apologize, not even to Liora. She doesn't deserve it."

Drake's face darkened completely and even the last trace of pity in his eyes disappeared. "When did you become so unable to distinguish right from wrong? You need to understand that it was Bella who spoke those words, not Liora. Can't you be more rational?"

Narissa slowly raised her eyes, locking onto his gaze, determined not to miss any hint of emotion in his expression. Her voice was calm yet steady as she asked, “Drake, did you do all of this on purpose?”

Had he deliberately stopped her from collecting an offering? Had he intentionally sent her to the front of the Hall, forcing her to face a crowd of pack-wolves who supported Bella?

Bella had always been her nemesis, constantly making trouble for her. Most of the wolves invited by Liora were ones she didn’t get along with and he must have known that.

She still couldn’t bring herself to believe Drake was capable of doing such a thing. But when she saw the brief flicker of panic in Drake’s eyes, a wave of disappointment and bitterness filled her heart.

Drake quickly regained his composure, but when he looked at Narissa, whose face had turned pale, he felt somewhat a twinge of guilt and unease. He lowered his voice, attempting to explain, “The incident where you almost caused Liora’s death needs to be addressed. That’s why I made sure word spread that you were released from the Moon-Call prison. But don’t worry, once this is over, our bonding-promise will remain standing.”

Tears had dried from Narissa’s face, yet the pain in her chest felt like a dagger being driven deeper. She suppressed it as much as she could, but the more she tried, the more broken she became. “How many times do I have to say it for you to believe me? I didn’t do it. It was Liora who framed me on purpose! But none of you, not a single one, has ever stood by me or been willing to believe me.”

Her voice trembled as she let out a bitter laugh, the sound hollow and full of despair. If he had ever wanted to believe her, he would have done so already. But he never did.

A faint, mocking smile crossed her lips as she forced herself to speak the words, her heart completely numb. “Drake, I’ll call off the bonding-promise. You can mate with Liora instead!”

Drake froze for a moment before his anger flared. “Can you stop acting on impulse? We’ve been together for so many years. Do you think this is something you can just end so easily?”

Narissa took a deep breath, her voice calm yet resolute. “I’m not acting on impulse, Drake. I’m simply giving you what you’ve always wanted.”

“I only see Liora as a sister…”

Just as Drake was about to explain, a messenger wolf rushed in, bowing his head. Narissa caught the glimpse of the carved bone-token in his claws — the symbol Liora used to summon Drake.

Without hesitation, he walked away, heading toward Liora, who stood in the distance, smiling and waving at him.

Narissa’s heart grew colder. She lowered her eyes, took a deep breath and left the feast without looking back.

When Narissa returned home, she discovered that her old den-chamber was now filled with Liora’s belongings.

The den-servitor, Lily, approached her and said, “Miss, this chamber now belongs to Miss Liora.”

Lily’s gaze held a hint of pity as she looked at Narissa. Narissa stood frozen outside the doorway for a long moment before she finally spoke, her voice hoarse and trembling, “Then… where are my things?”

A minute later, Lily led her to a guest chamber covered in dust, her expression somewhat awkward.

"Miss, since you left, this room has been used to store your things. I'll clean it up right away."

Narissa pressed her lips together and said nothing. She spent more than half an hour searching through the guest chamber but found that the only carving-stone image she had with her mother was missing.

After her mother's death, her father refused to let anyone speak her name. He tore down all her mother's woven portraits, had all the memory-paintings of her burned, saying he didn't want to see them because they reminded him of sorrow.

At that time, she had secretly hidden a carved-stone frame with the only remaining likeness of her and her mother. She had kept it carefully in a wooden chest.

Remembering this, she hurried to her old chamber, only to find a memory-frame placed at the bedside. The carving was unmistakably the one of her and her mother.

With great care, she picked it up. The carving was perfectly preserved, showing her mother holding her with a gentle smile. Unable to hold back her tears any longer, they began to fall. However, through her tears, she noticed something familiar; a moon-forged hairpin.

It was the one her brother had specially crafted for her, along with the crescent necklace her mother had given her and the silver earrings Drake had once gifted her during the Spring Hunt.

These things, which she had carefully kept and never dared to wear, were now taken by Liora.

Unable to control her emotions any longer, Narissa trembled as she reached out to grab what was rightfully hers.

Behind her, a surprised voice called out, “Narissa, what are you doing in my chamber?”

Narissa clenched the items tightly in her hand. She shut her eyes, wiped away her tears and then, without hesitation, turned around and slapped her across the face.

Liora screamed as she was knocked to the ground and Drake rushed over in a panic, quickly helping her up. His face was filled with anger as he looked at Narissa, “Narissa, are you out of your mind? She’s your sister!”

Seeing the tears on Liora’s face, he became flustered and hastily called for a healer to bring cooling ice-leaves.

Normally, Narissa would have restrained herself, but now she was completely enraged, losing all sense of control. “Sister? She’s just the illegitimate cub of my father’s betrayal with another she-wolf.”

With a sharp slap, Narissa was sent crashing to the ground, her arm scraping against the rough stone-floor and bleeding.

With eyes burning with anger, she cupped her face, slowly lifting her head, only to meet Evan's cold gaze from above, looking at her as though she were something filthy.

Drake and Evan positioned themselves on either side of Liora, their postures protective. With a cold sneer, Drake uttered, “You’ve gone too far. The only reason you’re out of that Moon-Call prison so quickly is because of Liora.”

The words “Moon-Call prison” struck Narissa like a blow to the chest, instantly bringing back the horrors of her nightmare. But witnessing this scene only deepened the wound in her heart.

It felt as though someone had taken a knife and sliced through her chest repeatedly, the pain so intense that she could barely catch her breath.

Evan acted as if nothing had happened, casually reaching out to help her up while gently asking, "Does your face hurt?"

How could he speak to her like that when he had been the one who slapped her?

Narissa's eyes flashed with anger as she wrenched herself free from his touch and stood on her own. She gripped the items tightly in her hand, feeling an intense fear of losing them, as if she couldn’t hold on to what was rightfully hers.

With a fierce, trembling voice, she confronted Liora, who stood behind Drake. “These are my stuff. How dare you take them without my permission?”

Liora's face softened with a hint of guilt, her voice laced with feigned innocence. “I'm sorry, I just thought the necklaces were so pretty. Drake and Evan gave them to me. I didn't mean to take something that was yours.”

Upon hearing these words, Narissa's eyes trembled and her heart tightened with a sense of helplessness. She slowly turned her gaze toward them. “Is that so?”

Drake and Evan were immediately taken aback, as the once bright and smiling eyes of Narissa had now lost all their light.

For some reason, both of them felt a sense of unease. Evan suppressed his anxiety and coldly declared, “Liora just arrived and doesn’t have any moon-jewels. If you like something, I’ll craft new ones for you.”

Drake hurriedly stepped forward and reached out to grab Narissa, but he was met with the shock of how cold her hand was. His voice softened in an attempt to explain, “Narissa, it’s not a big deal. If you like something, I’ll commission a new set for you.”

Narissa remained silent, her gaze fixed on the gifts they once gave her. Back then, they spared no effort, spending moons choosing the perfect surprises for her.

But now everything had changed. Their hearts had changed and these gifts seemed to lose their meaning.

She forced a small, bitter smile and without warning, released her grip. The delicate jewelry fell to the ground and the sound of it crashing against the stone-floor made everyone in the room change their expression.

Narissa's cold gaze turned to Liora, who was visibly uncomfortable. Her voice was light but cutting as she spoke, “Liora, weren't you always the one who liked to steal other people's things? If you want them, they're yours.”

She didn’t want anything anymore, neither the people nor the things. She wanted it all gone.

Liora's expression froze, a flash of malice flickering in her eyes. Without warning, she shoved Narissa to the ground and then bent down to pick up the fallen items.