That evening, Claude returned in triumph with Victoria.

But when he pushed open the doors to the banquet hall, he was dumbfounded.

The wine hadn't been decanted, the seating arrangements were chaotic, the newly appointed Gamma was in a fluster, and they'd even forgotten to adjust the lighting over the main table.

Claude stood at the entrance, his brows knotted tight.

Yet, the atmosphere of the party forced him to maintain appearances.

I sat in a corner of the hall, squeezed onto a table with ordinary patrol warriors, watching this farce unfold.

The lights converged on the main table.

Victoria, wearing a bespoke white gown, stood beside Claude like a proud peacock. The contrast with me, his legitimate mate, was ironically perfect.

Victoria had clearly spotted me. She picked up her glass and gracefully stepped onto the stage.

"Heather, so that's where you've been hiding," she said, her voice amplified through the microphone. "On the way back yesterday, a few vampire remnants ambushed us, and Alpha Claude exhausted himself to protect me.

"I seem to recall that you're responsible for eliminating them, so how come you dropped the ball this time? What if Alpha Claude had been injured?"

Every wolf began whispering among themselves, their accusatory gaze boring into me one by one.

Claude looked over as well. His gaze was cold, and it carried a hint of displeasure at being slighted.

I set down my glass and rose unhurriedly to my feet.

"Ms. Grimm, I must correct you. The Luna crown you wear on your head is a symbol of honor and status. Since Alpha Claude bestowed this honor upon you, you should know to be grateful and repay his kindness.

"Yet, you focus only on enjoyment. At a critical moment, not only were you unable to protect Alpha Claude, but you actually let him protect you. That is your dereliction of duty.

"Or perhaps ask yourself—why is it that, wearing the Luna crown, you still cannot take down a few remnant vampires?"

The pack felt I had a point, and the looks they cast toward Victoria held a hint of something different.

"That's not it. I was just—" Victoria panicked, her lips trembling as she failed to fabricate a decent excuse.

She seemed not to have expected that the me who usually swallowed my pride had changed so much today.

The murmuring continued. Some werewolves even began questioning whether the coronation ceremony had been tainted by personal feelings.

Unable to find a way to respond, Victoria burst into tears on the spot in her desperation, demanding to know why I'd embarrassed her in public.

A celebration party held in her honor had turned into a mockery.

"Enough, Heather!" Claude interjected with a darkened face, coming to her rescue. "You are my Beta, so protecting me is your duty. Stop shirking responsibility. Now, apologize to Victoria for ruining the celebration."

I laughed in exasperation.

Claude had deliberately taken Victoria to the border as a formality, staging the illusion that she'd contributed to the pack, all to legitimize her coronation.

It was a pure accident they'd run into those vampire remnants, yet now he was twisting it into my dereliction of duty?

I lifted my chin and met Claude's eyes squarely. "I did nothing wrong! I'm not the one who started this dispute—she did. She's the one who should apologize!"

This was the first time I had defied Claude's comment, and in front of all our pack members, no less. It made Claude lose face completely.

He stared at me intently, anger churning in his eyes. "I'll say it one more time—apologize to her now!"

"No!"

As we stood locked in confrontation, Claude raised his hand and struck me hard across the face.

The entire hall fell into dead silence. Even Claude himself looked stunned.

My face quickly swelled red. I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth, but remained obstinate.

"I won't apologize!"

"Very well then." Claude forcibly suppressed his rage, one hand supporting his forehead as he paced back and forth. "Guards, take her down and lock her up. She can come out when she's ready to see reason."

The party ended on a sour note.

Claude returned very late, still carrying that cloying perfume scent Victoria always wore.

Seeing me curled up on the couch, apparently having cried, he looked momentarily guilty.

"Does it still hurt?" He crouched down and reached out to touch my face. "I was just—

"Don't touch me!" I knocked his hand away. "You should go be with Victoria."

My lack of receptiveness angered him once again.

"What exactly are you making a scene about?" He stood up, looking down at me. In a tone laced with undisguised annoyance, he continued, "Victoria was just concerned because she felt you've been off lately. Was it necessary to cause such a commotion?"

I looked up at this wolf I'd loved for ten years. Even now, he still believed I was the one at fault.

"Claude, you call that concern? Concern means throwing mud on me in front of everyone and humiliating me publicly?"

Claude's eyes flickered for a moment, then he shifted the subject.

"That still doesn't justify you making a scene."

He moved closer to the window and lit a cigarette, his emotions gradually calming.

"When it comes down to it, isn't this all about that Luna crown? After next month's actual Luna coronation ceremony, the entire pack will be yours. Was it necessary to cause such a fuss?"

He was always using the Luna position to guilt me into being the bigger wolf.

I said nothing because I felt there was no point in continuing this conversation.

He thought I'd come to see my mistake, so he softened his tone. "Alright, I was wrong tonight too. I shouldn't have hit you. Consider that slap your atonement to Victoria. We're even now."

I listened to his reasoning in disbelief.

I'd been falsely accused first, yet the instigator only had to shed a few tears before I ended up being slapped.

And now he was telling me this made us even?

What kind of twisted logic was that?

I closed my eyes and steadied my breathing, trying hard to suppress the urge to lose control.

It was time to tell him about dissolving the mate bond.

"Claude Thorne," I called him by his full name for the first time as I casually tossed the "Notice of Dissolution of Mate Bond" toward him.

"I am now formally informing you that I no longer wish to be Beta, and I couldn't care less about the Luna position either. Since you care so much about Victoria, you can have her take my place at the coronation ceremony next month."

"How many times do I have to say it?" Claude was thoroughly enraged. Without even glancing at the notice, he lunged forward and seized me by the shoulders.

"I think of Victoria as a sister. My regard for her is based solely on the debt I owe her father! And you want me to make her Luna? You must've lost your mind!"

Rage burned in his eyes. "Do you have any idea what giving up Luna means? You'd actually make a joke out of something like this just to get my attention? Do you think I have nothing better to do?"

"Do you truly think of her only as a sister?" I demanded, my voice cracking.

Just then, a figure appeared in the doorway.

Victoria stumbled in, panic written all over her face.

"Claude, something terrible has happened! The border barrier is weakening, and outsiders are attacking!"

Claude's expression instantly tightened. He released me and coldly tossed out a final remark.

"Stay home and reflect properly. I'll deal with you when I get back."

With that, he rushed out of the door.

I calmly picked up the notice he'd ignored. Then, I looked around the room that no longer held any of my belongings and murmured to myself, "Home? Do I still have a home?"

Claude was right. I did need to reflect—on how I'd been blind to the truth for ten years.

Early the next morning, I left the pack's core territory and returned to what had once been my home.

It was a small settlement attached to the fringes of the Moonwing pack.

The moment I stepped through the door, my father, Raymond Ashwood, rubbed his hands together as he hurried over. His face, puffy from years of heavy drinking, was plastered with a fawning smile.

"Heather, how did it go? Did Claude promise you the Luna position? I heard Luna gets extra monthly supplies, plus—"

"No," I interrupted flatly, crushing his fantasies. "And there are no supplies. I've dissolved my mate bond with Claude, so I'll probably be moving back here from now on."

The air froze for a second.

The smile on Dad's face stiffened, then twisted into something hideous and terrifying.

A sharp, heavy slap landed across my face.

"You useless wretch!" Dad exploded in rage, jabbing his finger at my nose as he cursed me out. "Your brother Jax made a huge bet with some other wolves and lost a fortune.

"The whole family's counting on you to turn things around, yet you dare dissolve the mate bond? I'm going to beat you to death!"

"What a loser." My stepmother, Linda Lupine, folded her arms and fanned the flames. "You can't even hold on to a mate, and now you want to come back here and freeload? The nerve!"

Dad grew more agitated with each passing moment. He grabbed a glass ashtray from the table and hurled it at me with all his might.

I didn't dodge. The ashtray struck my temple, and blood streamed down from my brow, staining my vision red.

But I felt no pain. After all, what was a little physical hurt compared to the wounds already carved into my heart?

I casually wiped the blood from my face and looked at my so-called father as if seeing a stranger.

"That slap and this blood should just about repay you for raising me. From today onward, I have nothing more to do with this family."

With that, I turned and walked away.

Behind me came Dad's vicious curses, accompanied by the loud crash of things being smashed.

"Stubborn brat! If you walk out that door, don't ever come back! You can die out there for all I care. Throw out everything she left in the attic, lest they bring bad luck!"

Dragging my suitcase, I had nowhere to go.

In the end, I went to the gray zone between the two packs.

Here, there were no laws or jurisdiction. Instead, there was only a mix of Rogues and exiled outcasts.

I rented the cheapest apartment available.

Ironically, this was exactly where Claude had first placed me ten years ago when he took me away from my family.

Back then, he'd said, "You're an outsider. If you live in the core territory, you'll be ostracized. So, this place suits you better."

I'd believed him then, and I'd been so grateful. Now that I thought about it, it was just that he didn't consider me worthy of setting foot in his territory.

I'd just reached the apartment building with my suitcase when a familiar SUV slowly pulled up to the curb.

The window rolled down, revealing Claude's sharply defined face.

In the passenger seat, Victoria leaned forward, looking surprised.

"Heather? What are you doing in a place like this? Good heavens, how did you get that injury on your forehead?"

They were here to handle the border barrier issues, and the last thing they expected was to run into me.

Claude pushed the door open and stepped out of the car. When his gaze swept over the wound on my temple, his brow furrowed—not with concern, but with disgust and impatience.

"Heather, you're really something. I told you to stay home and reflect properly. Did that just go in one ear and out the other?"

His eyes fell on my suitcase. "You're actually moving out just to avoid apologizing? And you've let yourself go to such a state! You know full well how much I hate being threatened."

My grip on the suitcase handle tightened.

So, to him, my injuries and my blood were always just tactics to gain his attention?

I didn't argue, nor could I be bothered to explain.

Let him think whatever he wanted. After all, he and I were no longer connected.

I picked up the suitcase and turned to head upstairs. With my old wound still unhealed, my arm trembled slightly against my will.

Claude instinctively reached out to help me.

"Oh, dear." Behind us, Victoria suddenly let out a coy exclamation.

Her heel had broken, and she was now half-leaning against the car.

Claude strode over and lifted her into his arms with practiced ease.

"I've told you before not to wear high heels when going out, but you never listen," he said in a tone that carried a fondness he himself hadn't even realized.

Victoria casually wrapped her arms around Claude's neck, her gaze shifting to me.

"Claude, maybe you should put me down. Heather's suitcase looks heavy, and I heard her injury hasn't healed yet. Perhaps you could help her?"

I stopped in my tracks, my back still turned to them. At that moment, I felt as if my heart had stopped beating.

Perhaps out of unwillingness, I was waiting for the man I'd given ten years to might show even a trace of pity.

But there was none.

After a few seconds of silence, Claude's indifferent voice drifted over.

"Don't bother with her. She's just a little hurt—it's not like she's made of glass."

Behind me came the sound of a car door closing, followed by Claude's warning, "Heather, there's a limit to my patience. Move back within tomorrow, or don't bother coming back at all."

I stood frozen at the entrance to the stairwell, staring at the scar on my hand—the one I'd gotten saving him—and suddenly felt that these ten years of persistence had been nothing but a complete and utter joke.

The next morning, I was jolted awake by the sound of someone pounding on my door.

The moment I cracked it open, the nauseating stench of cheap tobacco smoke rushed in.

"You little brat! You made me hunt all over for you!" Dad kicked the door open.

Behind him were Linda and several strange wolves dressed in Blackwater pack's attire. From their scent, they were at least Gamma or higher rank.

I frowned and cautiously took a step back.

The lead wolf looked me up and down. "So, this is your daughter? She's quite a looker. No wonder she's been Moonwing pack's Alpha's bed companion all these years. Too bad she got dumped."

"Yes." Dad nodded eagerly with an obsequious smile. "Sure, Claude's gotten tired of her, but she's healthy and good for breeding. You can have her for five carts of supplies, and I won't go any lower than that."

Listening to them haggle, I stared in disbelief at this so-called father of mine.

"You're selling me to Blackwater pack for five carts of supplies?"

The Blackwater pack was notorious for its brutality. Their Alpha, Colbin Bloodworth, was rumored to be a sadist, and he had tortured more than ten she-wolves to death.

"What do you mean 'selling?'" Linda cut in shrilly. "Alpha Colbin might be old, but his territory's vast. Being with him means living the good life, and it'll score Jax some bargaining chips."

"I won't do it." My chest heaved as I stared coldly at them. "This is my home, and I've already cut ties with you. Now, get out!"

"That's not your decision to make." Dad's expression darkened as he signaled to the Gamma wolves. "Take her away! Just make sure she's delivered alive to Alpha Colbin."

Several wolves lunged at me immediately.

If I were in good health, these brutes wouldn't stand a chance against me. But alas, with my old injuries unhealed and the exhaustion from the past few days, my body was already pushed past its limits.

The wolves charged aggressively, reaching out to seize me by the shoulders.

I sidestepped one grasping hand and countered with a punch straight to another's nose, only for a third wolf to kick me hard in the stomach.

The searing pain made everything go dark. I nearly blacked out, and the wolves seized the chance to pin me down.

"Let's see how you escape now, you worthless mutt!" The lead wolf pulled a chain from his waist, a lecherous grin spreading across his face.

"This chain's been cursed by a witch and is specially designed to deal with unruly she-wolves like you. Once it's on, even a noble Luna has to behave."

Despair and terror washed over me. I closed my eyes.

Was this to be my end? Sold off like livestock, dying in some dark corner somewhere?

"Stop right there!"

Just as the chain was about to touch my neck, a silver streak flashed by.