CRYSTAL LAKE CITY NCL SPORTS INFIRMARY.

Inside one of the private examination rooms of the NCL Sports Infirmary, Neavah Knox sat completely still, staring at the blood-test results spread across the desk.

She had been looking at the same report for nearly a full minute without realizing she had stopped breathing.

Across from her, Caleb, the head sports-health healer and her assistant, slowly removed his glasses and placed them beside the medical equipment.

After years of examining athletes and supernatural blood conditions, Caleb had learned how to remain calm when delivering difficult results. But this result was different. His expression was unusually heavy.

“Neavah,” he said quietly.

She looked up. “Yes, Caleb?”

He glanced down at the blood report once more before meeting her eyes, “This results are conclusive.”

Neavah’s fingers tightened around the edge of the chair, “What did you find?”

Caleb took a slow breath, “The blood sample has been contaminated with very feral poison.”

Her brows pulled together, “Contaminated with what kind of poison, and how feral?”

He hesitated. “Purple Wolfsbane.”

The words made the room suddenly feel colder. Neavah stared at him, “That means I was right? What I suspected was real?”

“It seems so. And as you instructed, we repeated the test several times,” Caleb said. “I also checked the sample personally. So there is no mistake.”

Neavah shook her head slowly, broken. “Purple Wolfsbane poisoning doesn't happen accidentally.”

“I know.”

“And whoever has this in their blood…” Caleb stared bit cut himself off, looking down at the report, “The condition is already severe.”

Neavah's heartbeat quickened, “What happens to the blood owner?”

Caleb remained silent for a moment, then he finally answered. “Well, the Poisoning is so feral and severe that now the blood owner has approximately twenty-five days to live.”

The room went completely still.

Twenty-five days? Neavah stared at the report as if the number might somehow change if she looked at it long enough. It can't be.

This person was only twenty-eight, young and has a whole career ahead of them. Twenty-five days was not enough time for such a young werewolf to live.

Her voice came out barely above a whisper, “You're saying the blood owner has only twenty-five days left?”

Caleb nodded, “Unless the poisoning is treated.”

“Then treat it.”

Caleb's expression tightened, “There is only one person who can completely cure Purple Wolfsbane poisoning.”

Neavah looked at him, “Who?”

“The Moonlight Healer.”

A strange silence followed. Neavah lowered her gaze. The answer was almost ironic because she was the successor of the Moonlight Healer bloodline.

But Caleb continued before she could tell him that. “The problem is that the Moonlight Healer bloodline has been hidden for 100 years after the last Moonlight Healer died treating a very peculiar illness known as the Scatfang Virus. Very few people know where the true successor is.”

Neavah remained quiet.

Caleb studied her carefully, “If the person carrying this poison cannot reach the Moonlight Healer before those twenty-five days are over…”

He stopped.

Neavah nodded. She understood. There would be no second chance for the person.

She slowly gathered the blood report in her hands.

“Twenty-five days you said,” she murmured.

Caleb nodded. “Yes.”

She stood from the chair, still holding the report.

***

Outside the examination room, Alpha Langston Hill stood beside a beautiful young woman.

Langston was twenty-eight, the famous NCL Clawball star whose name was known throughout Crystal Lake City.

The woman beside him was Titi Rose.

She looked at him nervously before touching her stomach. “Alpha Langston…”

He glanced at her, “What is it, baby?”

“What if I really am carrying your spawn?”

Langston frowned, “You already took the test and it came out negative.”

“I know.” Titi lowered her eyes, “But what if the test was wrong?”

Langston sighed, “That’s why we're at the infirmary, not so?"

Titi looked at him carefully, “You're not angry?”

“Why would I be angry?”

She hesitated, “Because you already have a mate. Luna Neavah. She is an Alpha and fit to be by your side, but I am just an Omega."

Langston's expression remained unchanged. “We'll deal with it if it's true that you are carrying my pup.”

Titi gave a small smile.

Then a voice from inside the examination room reached them through the closed door.

“From the test, it's just approximately twenty-five days before death.”

Both of them froze.

Titi slowly turned toward the door, “Did he just say someone has twenty-five days before they died?”

Langston's brows furrowed.

Caleb's voice continued from inside. “Unless the person finds the Moonlight Healer…”

Titi's eyes widened, “That person in there only has twenty-five days? How can such a thing happen?”

Langston shrugged, “It's possible.”

Titi looked troubled, “That's horrible. What a pity.”

But Langston's expression remained indifferent. It was none of their concern.

Before either of them could say anything else, the examination-room door opened and Neavah stepped outside. Her face was pale, and she held the medical report tightly in one hand.

She took one step forward then she stopped as her eyes landed directly on Langston. For a moment, neither of them moved until Langston's indifferent expression changed.

“Neavah?” he called her.

She stared at him.

The woman beside him followed his gaze, her eyes widened. “Wait…” She looked at Langston, “Isn't she your mate? Luna Neavah?”

Langston's jaw tightened.

Neavah said nothing. Her gaze moved from Langston to Titi. The woman was standing far too close to her mate. Neavah's fingers tightened around the report.

What was Langston doing here? And why was Titi Rose, the Pack's filthy Omega, standing beside him like they belonged together?

Langston's eyes dropped to the report in Neavah's hand and his expression changed again, into something cold this time. “You were the one inside there?”

Neavah didn't say anything. She remained silent, trying to figure out why Langston was here and with a slutty woman.

His eyes narrowed, “So you're the one who has twenty-five days left to live?”

Titi looked between them, “Alpha Langston…” she grabbed his arm, timidly. "Don't speak to the Luna with such harsh tone."

"No! I want to know," he ignored her.

For a moment, Neavah waited for concern. She waited for the Alpha she was in love with to step toward her and ask her with concern.

Instead, Langston gave a cold laugh, “Twenty-five days? Really? You?"

Neavah looked directly into his eyes. There was no sympathy there or fear of loosing her. No concern either, only coldness.

Langston reached for Titi and pulled her closer.

Titi looked surprised, “Alpha Langston, in front of the Luna?”

CRYSTAL LAKE CITY NCL SPORTS INFIRMARY.

“You're the one who has twenty-five days left? I'm asking you so open your mouth and answer me!”

Neavah slowly took a deep breath and pointed to Titi Rose. "Who is she?"

Langston Hill stood beside Titi Rose. His arm was still wrapped around Titi as though Neavah had never existed. "She is Titi Rose."

“I know who she is," Neavah's voice trembled. Who didn't know who the slutty Omega of the pack was? “What I want to know is why she's standing beside my mate. Who is she to stand beside my Alpha Langston?”

Langston sighed, “Neavah, don't give me that tone and eyes like I betrayed you. You are dying and I just got to find out now—that is betrayal."

He sneered, then hugged the woman beside him even closer, "Titi Rose is who I will choose to be my new Luna. And if she is really carrying our pup then I will make the announcement as soon as possible."

"Langston, there can't be two Luna's in a pack," Neavah corrected, hoping he wasn't saying what she thought he was insinuating.

Langston curled his lips into a thin, snide smile.

"Come on, Neavah. Use your brains. She will be my one and only Luna."

“One and only Luna?” She gave a bitter laugh, “After nine years?”

Langston looked away.

For nine years, Neavah had stood behind him. She had cared for his health when no one was watching. In front of the whole world, she was his manager who managed his sports career publicly while secretly taking care of him when his body was exhausted.

She had arranged his training schedules, handled his health appointments, and protected his reputation by denying they were mates outside their pack whenever she was asked. And whenever Langston needed someone, she was there.

But their relationship had remained hidden within his very small Pack. She had accepted everything because she believed one day he would finally acknowledge her properly.

Now she understood that day might never come.

Langston looked at her coldly, “You have twenty-five days left. So why waste time acknowledging the dead?”

Neavah's fingers tightened around the report, “So that's your reason? You're abandoning me because you think I'm going to die. Or no. You just needed a reason to abandon me for a long time, and now this is it. Isn't it?”

Langston said nothing.

Titi stepped closer to him. Neavah looked at her, “And you?”

Titi lowered her eyes, “I didn't ask him to leave you, Luna Neavah.”

Neavah almost smiled, “But you're still standing beside him even when you know I am his Luna.”

Langston's expression hardened.

“Enough!"

Neavah stared at him, “Then what happens to me?”

Langston reached into his pocket and pulled out a document. He held it toward her. “I arranged a place for you.”

Neavah looked at the document, “What is this?”

“An abandoned house in the far north.”

Her eyes widened, “You want me to go there?”

“You need somewhere to stay while you walk into the hands of death.”

“You're sending me away to die?” Neavah stared at him in disbelief. Her heart sank.

After nine years of standing beside him, this was what she had become to him. A problem he wanted removed. Neavah's eyes filled with tears,

"Langston…I stood beside you when you had nothing. I became your secret caregiver. I managed your entire sports career in public.” Her voice broke, “Why are you doing this to me?”

Langston looked away, “Because I have chosen Titi.”

Neavah closed her eyes.

For a moment, she said nothing. Then she opened them again. “You should at least acknowledge our bond.”

Langston frowned, “What are you talking about?”

“You know what I'm asking.”

She took a slow breath. “If you truly intend to leave me, then at least stop hiding what we are. Take me to bed, put a mark on me, claim me as your mate. Let the pack know that I stood beside you for nine years.”

Langston's expression became cold. “No.”

The single word shattered whatever hope remained inside her. “You won't even acknowledge me?”

“No.”

Titi moved closer to him and Langston took her hand while Neavah watched them.

She finally understood. Langston had already chosen and he had chosen Titi. He had decided that she was no longer part of it.

Langston turned away, “Go to the house in the north, and don't come looking for me.”

Then he walked away with Titi.

Neavah watched them disappear as the hallway became quiet. She slowly looked down at the medical report in her hand. Her tears finally stopped.

She unfolded the report again as her eyes moved across the results, then she smiled faintly.

The patient whose blood had been contaminated with Purple Wolfsbane was not her, Neavah Knox. It was Langston Hill—Him!

Her eyes hardened.

Langston believed he had just abandoned a dying woman. But he had no idea that he was the one dying, and the woman he had rejected was the only person who could save him.

Neavah was not simply a sports-health manager and assistant healer. She was the successor of the legendary Moonlight Healer bloodline—the very bloodline capable of curing Purple Wolfsbane poisoning.

Neavah folded the report carefully.

She looked toward the direction he had disappeared. Her voice was calm, “You're the one left with 25 days to live, Langston Hill, not me.”

And as for her, she wasn't going to any abandoned house to die. She was going to take her time to decide whether the man who had just abandoned her—her mate—deserved to be saved or not.

Neavah had gone back to the Pack house.

Standing in the middle of the living room, she stared at the home she had spent years building with Langston. Every piece of furniture carried a memory, from the curtains she had personally chosen to the paintings she had bought after saving for months.

The dining table where she and Langston had once sat together, laughing over dinner and making plans about their future too. Now, none of it felt like hers anymore. Langston had made that clear.

He had thrown her belongings outside as though she were a stranger who had trespassed into his life.

Neavah wiped the tears from her cheeks and looked around the apartment one last time.

She was done.

For years, she had believed that if she loved Langston enough, he would eventually see her worth. She had forgiven him when he ignored her. She had defended him when others questioned his behavior. She had stayed beside him through difficult times.

But there was a limit to how much humiliation a person could endure. And Langston had finally pushed her beyond that limit.

She tapped the side of her head, connecting her wolf instincts mind link.

There was only one person she reach out to now. Her twin brother, Naytan Knox.

She hesitated for some time.

They had been separated by circumstances and misunderstandings for far too long. She had avoided returning home to the South, because she had been determined to make her life with Alpha Langston work.

But now there was nothing left to save here. She tapped the side of her head, just above her ears again.

The werewolf mind link connected.

“Neavah?”

The sound of her brother's voice almost broke her. She swallowed hard, “Naytan.”

There was silence until his voice changed to that of absolute worry. “Are you crying?”

Neavah quickly wiped her face. “No.”

“Don't lie to me," he asked, his voice becoming serious, “What happened?”

Neavah looked toward the doorway where Langston had disappeared after throwing her things all out.

“I want to come home.”

For several seconds, Naytan said nothing then he spoke softly, “Then come home, Neavah.”

Her lips trembled, “I don't know if Dad will—”

“Forget Dad," Naytan interrupted her. “You're my twin sister. Whatever happened, you're still my sister. Come home.”

A tear rolled down Neavah's cheek, “I thought you hated me.”

“I was angry. But angry doesn't mean I stopped loving you small face," Naytan sighed.

Neavah covered her mouth as she tried to hold back a sob. “I’m sorry.”

“You don't need to apologize over the phone.” His voice softened, “Just come home. I'll handle everything else.”

Neavah closed her eyes. For the first time in years, she felt as though she had somewhere to go. “Thank you, Naytan.”

“Where are you?”

“In Blue Moon Pack, Alpha Langston's place.”

“Stay there. I'm coming.”

With that the mind link ended.

Neavah lowered her left hand. Immediately, the front door suddenly opened. Langston walked inside and his expression was cold.

His eyes immediately fell on Neavah, “You're still here?”

Neavah looked at him, “This is still my house. I built it.”

Langston gave a humorless laugh. “Not anymore.”

Neavah's chest tightened.

“I've already told you to leave. Why don't you listen?" Langston added.

“Langston, you should know that you're the one dying and not me,” Neavah took out the medical report and threw it at his face.

“Shut up! It's clearly you who's dying, not me!" His words were final. "I'm a healthy Clawball player and soon, soon I will be invited to wear the golden Clawball Crown. But I can't stand to bring you with me on that event!"

Neavah stared at him. She had once believed this man was her future but now he couldn't even look at her with kindness.

Langston walked toward the bedroom and returned carrying her last bag. He dropped it onto the floor, “Take your things.”

Neavah looked down at the bag.

“You're seriously throwing me out? Look, Langston, I will give you one more chance to claim me and I will save your life.”

"You?" Langston laughed. "Have you gone mad or something? Save me? Save me from what? Who do you think you are?"

“Claim me, Alpha Langston. Stay with me."

Langston's expression didn't change, “You disgust me. You desperate slut!"

That sentence hurt more than anything else he had said. Neavah slowly nodded. “Right.”

She bent down and picked up the bag.

Langston watched her.

“You should be grateful I'm even letting you take anything.” He pointed toward the door. “Just leave.”

Her eyes filled with tears again, but she refused to let them fall. She had cried enough.

She walked outside and looked at her belongings. Clothes, shoes, jewelry, photographs. Everything that represented the life she had built with him.

What was the point of taking all these things?

She didn't want anything from Langston anymore. However, her eyes landed on a whitish-blue headband that looked almost worthless compared to everything else in the apartment.

But it wasn't.

It was a headband she had made for him with her own hands for Clawball, to suit his jersey. It had powerful tendons in it that would help him breathe steadily. It was worth 10,000 diamond fangs in the market, but he never wore it or appreciated it.

Neavah picked it up and held it tightly. That was all she would take.

Langston stared at her. “That's it? You're really leaving everything behind for that piece of cheap trash?"

She looked him, “I already left everything behind the moment you stopped being the man I loved.”

Langston's jaw tightened. “Don't make yourself sound like some victim. Go die somewhere else. Don't make me a widower now my career is about to kick off. And don't come back.”

Neavah stopped, slowly turning her head.

“Don't worry, I won't." Her voice was calm, “I wish you and your career well.”

The moment she took a step towards the main road, she heard multiple engines roar near. A convoy of luxury vehicles with a silver wolf face was approaching the building.

The first vehicle was a sleek black luxury sedan, behind it came another expensive vehicle, followed by two more. Armed wolf soldiers stepped out almost immediately. One of them opened the rear door.

Neavah stood completely still.

Langston stepped behind her, his expression changing to that of utter surprise. “Who...?”

One of the wolf guards approached her respectfully, “Miss Neavah, we're here to take you home.”

“My brother sent you?”

“Yes, ma'am.”

Langston's face went pale. “Home? What are they talking about?”

The wolf guard didn't even look at him.

Neavah glanced back at the apartment, then at Langston. She gave him one final look. “I told you I was leaving.”

Langston stared at the convoy.

His eyes moved from one luxury vehicle to another. His confidence disappeared, “Neavah…”

She stepped toward the waiting vehicle as the wolf guard opened the door for her. Neavah climbed inside, then the door closed.

The convoy began to move.

Langston remained standing in the middle of the road, staring after her.

He had thought he was throwing away a woman who had nowhere to go. After all, she was just an 18 year old nobody when he met her in the stadium. She looked dirty, handing him a bottle of water even though he was just kicked out of the team for making them loose the match.

But look here. Instead, he had just watched that same person who devoted nine years of her life to him, enter a set of luxury cars?