Only an Alpha could achieve that kind of explosive speed.

Then came several dull thuds as the wolves were all sent flying backward.

"How dare you lay hands on my she-wolf?"

That familiar voice made my heart skip a beat.

I looked up to find Claude standing protectively in front of me.

The cursed chain was now wrapped around his left arm. Its sharp barbs had torn through his suit jacket, and blood dripped from his fingers onto the concrete floor.

It was a shocking sight, to say the least.

"A-Alpha Claude, what brings you here?"

Dad's and Linda's legs gave way, and they dropped to their knees with a thud, trembling.

Claude's oppressive air swept over everyone, terrifying them so much they didn't dare lift their heads.

He swept his gaze across the group like a conqueror. "Go back and tell your Alpha that if he dares provoke us again, we won't hesitate to raze Blackwater pack to the ground. And you two!"

His eyes locked onto Dad and Linda. "If I ever catch you scheming like this again, you're out of the pack for good."

"O-Of course. There won't be a next time." They scrambled away on all fours, fleeing as fast as they could.

The room fell silent.

Leaning against the wall, I watched the tall figure before me, my heart pounding uncontrollably.

Ten years ago, I'd been just as helpless, watching him descend like a savior to shield me from all the cruelty.

For a moment, I wondered if maybe there was still a tiny part of him that cared for me.

But then I heard him impatiently say, "Heather, learn to handle this kind of trivial nonsense yourself from now on. I'm busy—I don't have time to clean up your messes."

When I didn't respond, he straightened his sleeves. "Now, come home with me. Don't make me ask twice."

With that, he headed downstairs without so much as a backward glance.

"Claude!" A figure emerged from the car.

Victoria's eyes reddened the moment she spotted the blood on Claude's sleeve.

"How did you get hurt?" She held Claude's arm with concern. After confirming he wasn't seriously hurt, she let go in a huff and turned her head away.

"You promised to spend my birthday with me today, but you broke your word for Heather. What does she have that I don't? Why, after everything she's done to challenge your authority, can you still not let her go?"

I reached the bottom of the stairs just in time to witness this scene.

Claude pulled the sulking Victoria into his arms, a flicker of helplessness crossing his face.

"Alright, stop overthinking this. She can't compare to you in any way. In fact, you're the most important she-wolf to me. As far as I'm concerned, she's nothing more than a useful hunting dog."

My suitcase thudded to the ground.

Claude caught sight of me standing in the shadowed corner, and for a brief moment, bewilderment flickered in his eyes. He instinctively let Victoria go and opened his mouth to speak, yet no words came out.

I refused to go back with Claude.

According to the plan, I'd leave his territory completely the day after tomorrow and head into human society.

After seeing Victoria off, Claude returned to my place.

"Are you angry?"

I turned my head away, avoiding his gaze. "No."

"I only said that earlier because Victoria was emotionally unstable at the time," Claude explained unprompted, his tone flat. "You know how she's always been. If she doesn't get her way, she tends to take it hard."

I didn't respond, as I was tired of hearing the same excuse again.

Seeing me silent, Claude assumed I'd taken it in, and his tone softened. "Besides, I've already made it clear to Victoria that I won't be with her. So, you don't need to be jealous of her.

"To me, she's just a child—a little sister. She'll never be a threat to your position."

I looked up and met his deep eyes.

He was gazing at me with an unusual seriousness I rarely saw.

Maybe I had overthought things after all.

Just as I was beginning to question whether I'd been too hasty, my phone vibrated.

I opened it and saw a message boldly flashing in the pack forum's push notifications.

"Congratulations! The "Moonwing Pack Border Defense Spell", proposed and authored by Ms. Grimm, has officially passed the Council of Elders' review. Tomorrow, in collaboration with the pack priest, a demonstration of the defense spell will be held."

Attached below was a message, "A belated birthday gift from Claude."

In that moment, my mind went completely blank.

That defense spell was the fruit of my labor, something I'd spent three whole years completing. I'd visited border defenses across the pack's territory, run thousands of sand table simulations, and even risked ambush by Rogues and vampires.

Yet now, it was being credited to Victoria?

I turned to look at Claude.

In this moment, I finally understood why his attitude had suddenly shifted.

It was all for Victoria.

Blood rushed to my head.

I bent down to pick up the phone and thrust the screen in front of Claude's face.

"So, this is what you meant by she'll never be a threat to my position?" I asked hoarsely. "You're paving a way for Victoria with the work I nearly died for?"

Claude's eyes wavered with guilt under my gaze. He looked away and said, "Heather, be reasonable. There's something I haven't told you. I'm planning to send Victoria into a political marriage.

"If it goes through, our pack will gain significant advantages. The other party is an Alpha from a major pack, so he has high standards. Victoria may be noble by birth, but her abilities are limited.

"Without some talent and achievements to her name, how could she establish herself there?"

His logic was flawless.

I let out an exasperated laugh and asked, "Then aren't you afraid I won't be able to secure my place in the pack?"

Claude hadn't expected this reaction from me. Anger flared in his eyes as he demanded, "Why are you being so petty? You're a powerful Beta, so the whole pack already acknowledges you.

"What use do you have for empty titles? But the same can't be said for Victoria. She's going to an unfamiliar pack. Without these accolades to her name, she wouldn't survive at all!"

Was that so? But how was it that I remembered, ever since Victoria came back, my glory and the faith of our pack had all become hers?

I'd once believed he simply didn't know how to love. But looking at the wolf before me, I realized I was wrong. In his subconscious, I was just a tool that needed no care, whereas Victoria was the one who needed protecting.

I was truly exhausted and no longer wanted to argue with him.

"Claude, please leave. I need to rest."

His expression darkened, and he threatened, "Heather, my patience has limits."

"Then stop being patient and just revoke my Luna position." I pointed at the door. "Get out, now."

Claude gave me a long, hard look, suppressing his anger. "Given that you've been wronged, I won't hold this against you. I'll pick you up tomorrow morning.

"If you've thought it through, the Luna position is still yours. Don't make a decision you'll regret."

He turned and left, his back still tall and proud.

Silence returned once more to the room.

I walked to my desk and pulled a thick stack of documents from a hidden compartment in the drawer.

They were the original manuscripts for the defense spell. On them were the restoration incantations that only I knew, something I'd traveled thousands of miles to obtain from the legendary mysterious priest.

As a core secret, not even the High Priest of the Moonwing pack, Fenris Kane, knew about them.

Originally, I'd planned to leave them for the pack, since the spell was my life's work. But now, I wanted to be selfish for once.

I tore the manuscript into tiny pieces and tossed them into the trash. Then, I turned and walked out the door.

Without the restoration incantations, the defense barrier would be on the verge of collapse at any moment.

Now, I was going back to take one last look at my life's work—not for Claude, but myself.

At the pack's ceremonial altar, Victoria stood on the elevated platform, draped in a pristine white robe like a holy maiden.

"I shall now activate the pack's territorial defense spell for everyone."

She raised the scepter in her hand.

Cheers erupted from the crowd. Some even knelt in worship, proclaiming that this was what a true Luna should look like.

I stood in the shadows of the crowd, watching yet another moment of glory that should've been mine being claimed by someone else. Despite myself, my heart clenched with pain.

Victoria wore a smug smile, her gaze sweeping toward me with open provocation.

I ignored her. I just wanted to see the results of three years of my hard work.

The spell activated, and a visible sphere of energy slowly expanded from the crystal ball.

If all went as planned, the spell would soon take effect.

Amid everyone's anticipation, the ceremony reached its critical moment. All hearts were in their throats.

But in the next instant, something went terribly wrong.

The crystal ball, which had been glowing softly, suddenly swelled and emitted a blinding flash. Then, it shattered into pieces with a bang.

Victoria screamed, clutching her eyes as the energy backlash sent her flying through the air before she crashed heavily to the ground.

The crowd erupted in chaos, staring at the shattered crystal ball, utterly bewildered about what could have gone wrong.

Claude rushed onto the platform and gathered Victoria into his arms, anxiously checking her injuries.

"Quick! Get a healer!" he roared, his eyes burning crimson like those of a raging beast.

Victoria sobbed heartbreakingly in Claude's embrace. "Claude, why did the spell fail? Did someone tamper with the crystal ball? My eyes hurt so much—am I going blind?"

The healer arrived swiftly, and Victoria gradually calmed down.

"What happened?" Claude finished calming Victoria and then roared at the crowd. "Who did this?"

His oppressive presence swept through the area, forcing everyone to their knees.

As panic spread, Victoria's personal attendant, Saskia Moor, darted out from somewhere and dropped to her knees with a thud.

She looked at me with a mix of resentment and a trace of inexplicable guilt.

"Alpha Claude, I know who sabotaged the spell!" Her gaze fixed on me, her implication unmistakable.

One by one, eyes filled with hatred or contempt followed her line of sight toward me.

Everyone knew that Victoria and I were the only ones with a history of bad blood.

A feeling of dread washed over me. Just as I opened my mouth to explain, Saskia pointed at me and said, "It was her, Beta Heather! This morning, I saw her enter the council hall.

"She said that if they didn't return the authorship to her, she'd destroy Ms. Victoria's life's work."

Trembling, she produced a memory crystal and projected its contents into the air.

The image showed me tearing up another copy of the manuscript and throwing the pieces into a trash bin.

I'd originally thought that if Victoria wanted to steal my achievement, she should be prepared to deal with the consequences. Never did it once cross my mind that this would become irrefutable evidence that I'd deliberately sabotaged the spell.

Claude turned to me with a cold gleam in his eyes. "Heather, do you have anything to say for yourself?"

All I felt was the ridiculousness of it all as I stood there watching this shoddy frame-up unfold.

I looked at Claude and asked calmly, "Have you verified anything? You're going to convict me based solely on an attendant's words and a few images of torn paper?"

"Silence! The evidence is right in front of us, and you still dare to quibble?" Claude rose slowly and walked toward me. "Heather, you have truly disappointed me. It seems you won't learn your lesson without punishment."

A surge of supreme Alpha authority crashed down upon me.

"Kneel," he uttered coldly. "We'll settle the matter of sabotaging the spell later. For now, kneel and apologize to Victoria."

"I didn't do it, so why should I kneel?" I retorted with a glare.

"Unyielding fool!"

My defiance seemed to enrage Claude further, and the weight of his Alpha authority intensified.

Before the crowd, I was forcibly crushed to my knees by the sheer force of his power.

"Guards, hold her head down. She will apologize to Victoria until she is forgiven!"

Ten years of battle merits I'd earned, and a body full of scars to show for it. Yet in the end, all they brought me was being forced to kneel before a thief in front of the entire pack, my head pushed down by the very wolf I loved.

Before I could react, the guards grabbed my head and slammed it against the ground toward Victoria again and again until blood seeped from my forehead.

The ground grew slick with blood. Through a haze of pain, I heard fragments of conversation between Victoria and Claude.

"It's alright, Claude. Maybe she didn't mean to do it."

"It's precisely because you're too kind-hearted that she dares to scheme against you. Keep going—are you all slacking off?"

Those were the last words I heard before I blacked out.

Something inside me died, because after that, I could no longer feel the pain.