The private room spun with clinking glasses and raucous laughter, Alphas and Betas drinking like the world belonged to them.

I sat curled in a corner, invisible, my glass clutched tight.

Richard stood in the center of it all, commanding the room without effort. Yet his green-brown eyes never once strayed to me. No, every look, every subtle smile, every small act of tenderness—twisting a cap, handing over a drink—belonged to her.

To Lynn.

All the things I had longed for, he gave so easily to her.

I tilted my head back and drained the wine in one go, the burn cutting down my throat.

“He was never ours,” Lily snarled in my head, her voice icy and merciless. “Stop deluding yourself.”

My heart twisted, like a dull blade carving into flesh. Maybe she was right. Maybe the bond between us was just instinct. Maybe every whispered word, every tender moment I thought was love—was nothing more than me projecting my own desperate hope onto him.

A shout erupted across the room.

“The bottle landed on Richard!” someone cheered.

They shoved a tablet into his hands. “Come on, Alpha. Let’s play ‘This or That.’ Tell us who stirs your blood more.”

The screen lit up with two photos: a famous actress and Lynn.

Richard didn’t hesitate. “Lynn.”

The room roared with laughter and applause. Lynn’s cheeks flushed pink, her smile glowing under the attention.

I gripped my glass harder until it nearly cracked.

Then, the next round lit the screen—and my blood froze.

Two pictures. One of her. One of me.

The room went wild. “Now this is interesting! Ann’s the most beautiful she-wolf in Silver Fang. If Richard still chooses Lynn, well… that says it all!”

Every eye turned to him.

For three long, suffocating seconds, Richard was silent.

And then “Ann.” His voice was cold, detached.

The crowd exploded in cheers.

But the word meant nothing. It wasn’t affection. It wasn’t choice. It was a handout, a pity answer to quiet the crowd.

I stood abruptly; my chest was hollow. The walls of the private room pressed in, choking me.

In the hallway, three drunken wolves staggered into my path.

“Hey, pretty thing,” one of them slurred, reaching for my face. “Give me your number.”

My wolf surged. My eyes glowed gold as I growled, “Get lost.”

But they only laughed, their breath heavy with alcohol.

“Why so cold?” another sneered, yanking my wrist. His grip was bruising, cruel. “Dressed like this… you’re practically begging for attention.”

“Rip them apart!” Lily howled in my mind.

I struggled against their grip, ready to shift—when the door opened.

Richard.

He stood framed in the light, his expression tight, his body coiled with power. Relief washed through me—until Lynn’s scream sliced through the air.

“Ahh!”

Richard’s head whipped around.

“I—I twisted my ankle,” Lynn whimpered, eyes brimming with tears. “It’s fine, go help Ann first…”

But before I could blink, his arm was already around her waist, steadying her, protecting her. With his other hand, he slammed one wolf against the wall by the throat.

The others backed off instantly, cowed by an Alpha’s fury.

I saw it then—his hand on her waist, her pitiful eyes locked on him. And I couldn’t breathe.

I snatched a bottle from a nearby display and smashed it against the floor, glass biting into my palm, blood spilling hot and fast.

“Get out of my way!” My voice cracked with fury and something far more fragile.

While they stared at me in shock, I slipped past and bolted.

I didn’t take Richard’s car. I couldn’t stand to. Instead, I stood in the downpour, the rain drenching me to the bone.

“Ann!” Lynn’s voice chirped from behind me.

She appeared with an umbrella, smiling sweetly as if we hadn’t just lived through hell. In her hand, she dangled keys to a brand-new sports car, flashing them like jewelry.

“Didn’t you drive? I can take you home.”

I stared at the car keys, then at her carefully polished smile—and laughed bitterly.

How perfect she looked in her glittering facade.

“No thanks,” I sneered. “I’d rather walk than ride in the car of a mistress’s daughter. It reeks of filth.”

Her expression shattered, the mask slipping. For once, her eyes burned.

“Ann! Say that again!”

I stepped closer, my words sharp as knives. “Say it a hundred times, it won’t erase your mother’s sins. That’s who she is—and who you are.”

Her face twisted with rage.

But before she could retort, headlights blinded us both.

A car, out of control, barreled toward us.

I froze.

And then—Richard lunged.

He grabbed Lynn, pulling her into his arms. Just as he reached for me—

Impact.

Pain exploded, sharp and merciless. The world spun, and then—blackness.

I hit the ground hard, collapsing into a pool of my own blood. My vision blurred; the copper tasted thick in my mouth, and I could feel my wolf’s pain echoing inside me. Weak. Broken. Dying.

Flashes of memory tore through me like knives.

The first time I met him, those greenish-brown eyes were colder than a winter storm.

The day I swapped the sugar in his coffee with salt, and he drank it without even flinching.

The first time he pinned me against his office desk—my teeth sinking into his shoulder, drawing blood, refusing to let him win.

On the night of his birthday, I decorated the entire villa with lights and roses, only to hear the news that he was with her. With Lynn.

The day I walked alone to the cemetery, heels digging into my skin until blisters bled through my stockings. He found me, took off my shoes without a word, carried them in one hand while carrying me on his back all the way home.

My tears had slipped into the hollow of his neck that night, and for one fleeting second, I thought: Maybe, just maybe, we could make it. Maybe he and I could walk through life together.

But the last image I carried into the darkness was him—shielding Lynn in his arms.

---

“Beep, beep, beep—”

The sharp rhythm of medical machines dragged me back to reality. I opened my eyes slowly, blinking at the sterile white ceiling.

A voice came in from the next room. Lynn.

“It’s all my fault,” she sobbed, her words laced with guilt. “I shouldn’t have argued with Ann by the side of the road… Richard, why did you save me first? Ann will be angry…”

Richard’s voice was low, soothing. Too soft. The kind of voice he used when he cared.

“I didn’t save you first,” he murmured. “You were closest to the car. It was instinct. Just… my first reaction.”

My chest clenched so tight I couldn’t breathe. Instinct. Just instinct. Not love. No choice.

I lay still, staring at the ceiling, listening as he continued to comfort her. His words were like silk, tender enough to wrap around her broken heart. Words I had once craved.

Finally, the door clicked shut, and silence filled the room.

When Richard turned, his gaze collided with mine. I didn’t move. Didn’t speak. Just looked at him.

“You’re awake.” His tone was calm, composed. “It’s nothing serious. Just a flesh wound. I know you’re terrified of pain, so I made sure you had the best medical team. They’ll make sure you don’t scar.”

In the past, I would have broken down, tears pouring as I demanded answers he never gave. I would have clung to the smallest scraps of affection he offered.

But not now.

“Got it. Thanks,” I said flatly. “I’ll pay you back for the medical expenses in two weeks.”

His brows furrowed, confusion flickering across his perfect features. He didn’t understand. He couldn’t.

Because he didn’t know what I knew.

Only thirteen days left.

And then I was gone.

I woke again, dragged back into consciousness by a nurse’s sharp voice.

“Why is no one with her? The needle’s backed up with blood! Something terrible could’ve happened!” she scolded.

Blinking, I glanced down at my hand. The back of it was swollen and bruised, the IV needle lodged at a bad angle.

My phone lay on the table. I reached for it with trembling fingers, and the time on the screen made me freeze.

Seven hours.

Richard hadn’t been here once.

“Miss, where’s your handsome Alpha?” the nurse asked as she adjusted the IV. “It’s too dangerous for a werewolf to be left alone on a drip. If the spiritual energy in your blood gets out of control, the consequences could be… fatal.”

I curved my lips into something that resembled a smile but said nothing.

Later, as I made my way down the hallway, leaning against the cold wall for balance, my wolf ears caught whispers drifting from the nurses’ station.

“That Miss Lynn is so lucky,” one said. “Her stepfather protects her, and her Alpha hasn’t left her side once.”

“I heard he rented out the entire VIP floor just for her,” another added. “Even brought in a bloodline healer from overseas. Can you imagine? He hasn’t left her bedside in a whole day.”

“He’s treating her like the future Luna.”

Each word struck me like a thorn, tearing into already raw flesh.

I stopped in front of a half-open door. Through the narrow gap, I saw Richard adjusting Lynn’s IV with careful hands, his long fingers moving gently, his expression calm, almost tender.

Lynn lay on the bed, fragile and glowing like the Moon Goddess herself had chosen her.

That kind of devotion, that kind of instinct… it was what an Alpha showed only to the woman he intended to make his Luna.

My chest seized so violently I could barely breathe.

Tears spilled hot down my cheeks.

Don’t you dare cry! Lily’s snarl ripped through me. We are she-wolves. Even if abandoned, even if discarded, we hold our heads high when we walk out of the pack hall. Ann, look up.

With shaking hands, I wiped my tears and whispered into the empty hallway, “No one’s going to feel sorry for you. Don’t cry.”

---

Days passed. Richard never came.

Not until the day of my discharge.

A sleek black Maybach idled in front of the hospital. The tinted window rolled down to reveal his chiseled profile.

“Get in,” he said, his voice flat, cold.

I turned to walk away.

“Do you want me to carry you into the car in front of the entire pack?”

The command in his voice made my body freeze. Alpha’s authority wasn’t something a she-wolf could defy, no matter how much she wanted to.

Jaw tight, I climbed into the car.

He didn’t look at me. Instead, he handed me a thick catalog. “You’ve been unstable lately. Haven’t you always liked collecting things? There’s an auction today. I’m taking you.”

I flipped through the glossy pages, detached, until my eyes landed on one photo. My breath caught.

A pearl necklace.

Not just jewelry. My mother’s necklace.

A sacred bloodline talisman, blessed by the Moon Goddess herself. It could steady a she-wolf’s spiritual energy during a full moon.

After she died, everything of hers had been swept from the house under the excuse that her things were “unlucky.”

And now here it was. On an auction block.

My hands trembled; the paper crumpled in my grip.

“Take it back!” Lily’s roar filled my chest. “No matter what it costs—you take it back.”

I pulled out my phone and sent a single command: [Sell everything in the safe. Now.]

Even if I was mocked for having no dowry when I married into the Bloodmoon Pack… even if the entire world laughed at me… I would get my mother’s relic back.

---

The auction hall sparkled with crystal chandeliers, filled with celebrities and the elite of both human and werewolf society. Artifacts gleamed under spotlights—ancient weapons, sacred talismans, priceless jewels.

Richard led me to the VIP section.

And there she was.

Lynn.

Smiling in a sunshine-yellow dress, sweet and delicate, like the very image of innocence.

“Ann!” she chirped, looping her arm through mine. “I told Richard I wanted to apologize in person, but I didn’t think he’d actually bring you. Your relationship must be so good!”

My body went stiff. Slowly, I turned my head.

Richard was focused on the auction catalog, his expression unreadable, his eyes cool and distant like a frozen lake. He didn’t even glance at my way.

And then it hit me.

He hadn’t brought me here because he cared. Not because he noticed my pain.

He brought me here because she asked. Because Lynn wanted a moment to play the part of the sweet, innocent sister.

The hollow in my chest widened, deeper than any wound.

“Remember, Ann,” Lily whispered fiercely. “Thirteen days left. You are not his shadow. We will leave with your mother’s necklace. Even if we walk out of here as a lone wolf—we walk tall.”