When I woke up, I was alone.

Cain wasn't there.

The Beta came in carrying a velvet box.

"The Alpha asked me to relay a message to the Luna." He kept his head down, unable to meet my eyes. "The moonlight herb... has already been given to Miss Vivienne."

My fingertips went cold.

"The Alpha takes your mother's condition very seriously. He's offered fifty million dollars to purchase moonlight herb from neighboring packs. There should be news soon."

Fifty million.

He said it like a number could make up for everything.

The Beta opened the velvet box. Inside was a necklace of healing gemstones, each one glowing with a faint silver-blue light.

"This is the Alpha's compensation." He hesitated. "The Alpha also said... he asks that the Luna stop targeting Miss Vivienne."

I stared at the necklace.

The Beta had the sense to set the box on the nightstand and leave.

I sat holding that necklace for a long time.

Finally, I placed it back in the box and closed the lid.

I picked up my phone and scrolled to a number I hadn't called in years.

Cain's father, the former Alpha—Alaric.

The call connected.

"I'll agree to sever the Mate Bond and give up my position as Luna." My voice was calm. "But you need to help me stage a death."

Three seconds of silence on the other end.

"I want to leave Blackwood Pack—me, my mother, and my brother."

Over the next few days, I prepared a Mate Bond dissolution petition.

Then I went to Cain's office.

He was reviewing documents and looked up, momentarily startled to see me.

I knew I looked terrible. My face was deathly pale.

Something like concern flickered in Cain's eyes.

"Why aren't you resting at home?"

I didn't answer. I placed the document in front of him.

Cain took it and flipped through.

"What is this?"

I smiled and cut him off. "A formal agreement I signed, waiving all claims against Vivienne."

Cain's hand paused.

He looked at me. The confusion in his eyes slowly shifted to surprise, then relief.

"You've finally come around." His tone carried a note of gratitude. "That's what a real Luna does."

My heart wrenched.

But I smiled and urged him on. "Sign it quickly, before I change my mind."

Cain seemed genuinely afraid I'd take it back. He picked up a pen and signed the last page without hesitation.

He didn't read the contents carefully at all.

After signing, he looked at me with what seemed like a trace of guilt.

"Let me walk you home."

I was about to refuse when his phone rang.

Vivienne's name flashed on the screen.

He answered, and Vivienne's voice came through, soft and helpless. "Cain, the aftereffects of my old injury are acting up again. I'm scared..."

"Don't worry, I'll be right there." Cain hung up and turned to me. "Head back on your own. I've got something to take care of."

He grabbed his coat and left.

I stood in the empty office.

I laughed bitterly.

Then I took the signed document and went straight to the Alpha Council.

Mate Bond dissolution agreement—officially filed.

When I returned from the Council, I saw my belongings in the hallway.

Clothes, books, my jewelry box—all thrown on the floor.

Servants were busy carrying Vivienne's luggage into my bedroom.

Vivienne stood at the bedroom door directing them. When she saw me, a flash of satisfaction crossed her eyes.

Cain came down the stairs, his expression slightly uncomfortable.

"Someone contaminated Vivienne's herb storage with silver powder. Until we find out who, she's safer here in the main residence." He wouldn't look me in the eye.

I said nothing.

"And Vivienne's old injuries—the moonlight from the master bedroom helps with her recovery." He paused. "Just stay in the guest room for a few days. I know it's an inconvenience."

I bent down and picked up my suitcase from the floor.

No answer.

No argument.

I dragged the suitcase to the guest room at the end of the hall.

I'd be leaving soon anyway.

That evening, while I was resting in the guest room, a scream pierced the hallway.

I rushed out to find Vivienne collapsed at the kitchen door.

A raw, red burn streaked across her arm. A pot of hot soup lay overturned beside her.

When Vivienne saw me appear, something calculating flickered in her eyes.

The next second, her crying amplified tenfold.

Cain came charging downstairs, taking the steps three at a time to reach Vivienne's side.

"What happened?! Where are you hurt?!"

Vivienne sobbed. "I was just trying to heat up some soup, and when I went into the kitchen I found wolfsbane powder mixed into it... I panicked and knocked over the pot..."

She didn't name anyone.

But her gaze kept drifting toward me.

Cain's expression grew darker and darker.

A servant attending Vivienne added quietly, "The only person who went into the kitchen today was the Luna. No one else."

I whipped around to face the servant.

"I just stepped out of my room. I didn't touch anything," I said coldly.

But Cain was silent for a long time.

His voice was heavy with exhaustion and disappointment. "I thought you'd come around."

I opened my mouth to explain.

"Guards. Take the Luna to the silver prison to cool off."

He turned away to help Vivienne, and didn't look at me again.

The silver prison door slammed shut behind me.

I was an ordinary she-wolf. My tolerance for silver was nowhere near a warrior's.

In less than ten minutes, my skin erupted in burning red welts—itching and stinging at once.

The sealed space was saturated with silver toxin. Every breath felt like inhaling fire.

I pounded on the door. I screamed all night.

No one came.

My voice gave out completely.

I curled up on the one small patch of floor in the center of the cell that wasn't lined with silver.

Covered in welts, my consciousness started to slip.

I don't know how much time passed before the door opened.

Cain stood in the doorway.

When he saw the state I was in, his brow furrowed sharply.

He walked in quickly and crouched down in front of me.

I felt his hand touch my forehead. Burning hot.

"Don't do something that cruel again." His voice was soft.

My lips twitched.

A miserable smile.

I was in too much pain to even explain.

He said "cruel."

I'd been locked in a silver prison for god knows how many hours, my skin blistering and infected, nearly dead.

And I was the cruel one.

Cain had just carried me out of the silver prison.

Vivienne happened to be walking down the hallway toward us.

She was carrying a bowl of dark liquid, all smiles.

"I specially prepared a silver-detox herbal remedy for the Luna. To help her recover."

Cain looked pleased. He turned to me and said, "See? Vivienne is so good to you, and you keep misunderstanding her."

He took the bowl and brought it to my lips himself. "Drink."

I looked into Vivienne's eyes. A flash of malice, there and gone.

I tried to refuse.

Cain thought I was being difficult. His tone carried a hint of exasperation. "Stop being stubborn. It's good for you."

He held the bowl steady against my lips, his other hand cradling the back of my head. The liquid poured down my throat.

It wasn't a detox remedy at all.

It was diluted wolfsbane.

My wolf felt like it was being swallowed by fire. My entire body seized violently.

I couldn't breathe. Everything went black.

Cain panicked and grabbed me. "What's happening?! Wren!"

Vivienne covered her mouth, putting on a perfect look of shock.

"Maybe being in the silver prison too long weakened her body, causing a rejection reaction..." Her voice trembled—a convincing performance. "I'll go prepare an antidote right away!"

She turned and ran.

My consciousness shattered into pieces in the agony.

When I woke again, I was lying in a bed at the healing center.

Cain was sitting beside me.

He looked like he'd been sitting there a long time.

In his hand was a brand-new moonstone bracelet, the stones glowing with a faint silver-white light.

"This will help repair the damage the silver toxin did to your wolf." He carefully slipped the bracelet onto my wrist, his movements gentle, avoiding the welts that still hadn't faded. "I had someone buy it overnight from another pack at a premium."

I said nothing.

"I shouldn't have left you in the silver prison that long." There was unmistakable guilt in his voice. "I didn't consider your tolerance for silver."

I still said nothing.

He was quiet for a moment.

Then he changed the subject.

"Because of everything that's happened, Vivienne's reputation in the pack has hit rock bottom." He sighed. "A lot of healers are openly questioning her abilities. Some even filed a joint petition to revoke her healer credentials."

I stared at the ceiling.

"I'd like you to publicly reconcile with Vivienne at the next Pack Assembly."

My fingers slowly clenched the bedsheets.

"Not an apology," he added quickly. "Just a public display of goodwill. A handshake, a few kind words."

He looked at me, his tone suggesting this was a perfectly reasonable request. "If the pack sees that the Luna and Vivienne have no conflict, she can continue her work as a healer in peace."

I slowly turned my head to look at him.

My mother was in a permanent coma because of her.

I'd just been force-fed wolfsbane and nearly died because of her.

And now he wanted me to publicly "reconcile."

"Absolutely not."

Cain's expression darkened.

"You put wolfsbane in her food, and she was still kind enough to bring you a silver-detox remedy." His voice was tight with barely contained anger. "Can't you be even a fraction as generous as she is?"

My lips trembled violently.

I was the one who poisoned her.

I was the one who wasn't generous enough.

Cain paused, then lowered his voice.

"If you agree to reconcile, I'll release your brother from the silver prison in two weeks."

Ethan.

The silver prison, saturated with silver toxin—could Ethan's body hold up?

How long had he been in there?

Was his skin blistering like mine had? Had he screamed himself hoarse with no one coming?

I closed my eyes. "...Fine."

Cain relaxed.

He reached over and pulled the blanket up for me. The gesture was gentle.

I turned my head away. I couldn't look at him.

Pack Assembly day came quickly.

Cain had the Beta escort me to the Assembly hall.

He stood next to Vivienne the entire time.

I walked up to the stage. Hundreds of eyes stared up at me.

I clenched my fist, nails digging into my palm.

"There is no conflict between myself and Healer Vivienne."

The words scraped out of my throat, dry and hollow.

"What happened before was a misunderstanding. I hope every member of this pack will continue to trust and support her."

Two seconds of silence.

Then the crowd erupted.

"You made such a scene for so long that our best healer almost left!" An older woman shot to her feet, pointing straight at me.

"And now you're saying it was a misunderstanding?" Someone else scoffed.

"Is this what a Luna does? Say one thing and do another?"

I stood on that stage and didn't explain.

What was there to explain?

That Vivienne poisoned my mother? That she force-fed me wolfsbane?

It wouldn't matter. And Ethan was still in the silver prison.

I turned and walked off the stage.

I'd barely stepped down when a hand caught my arm.

"Luna!"

Vivienne had followed me, a sweet smile plastered on her face.

"I have some rare healing supplies stored in an old cave near the border. Lately I've been feeling like someone's been stealing from it." She tilted her head. "Could you go check on it for me?"

She paused, her smile widening.

"After all, you're the Luna. It'll carry more weight if you go."

"Send a guard." I refused coldly.

Vivienne tugged on Cain's sleeve like a child.

Cain walked over and frowned at me. "You can't even do her this small favor? You just stood up there and said there was no conflict, and now you won't even cooperate on something this minor."

I let out a bitter laugh. I knew I couldn't refuse.

He'd always been this domineering.

The difference was that before, his dominance was aimed at everyone else, and all his tenderness was saved for me.

Now his tenderness belonged to someone else.

He had a thousand ways to make me say yes.

I walked to the border alone.

The storage cave was deep in a dense stretch of forest. The moment I approached the entrance, three rogues in black cloaks burst from the trees.

The leader grabbed me by the throat and slammed me to the ground.

"Miss Vivienne asked us to teach you a lesson." His voice was ice cold. "Don't think being Luna means you can push people around."

A silver dagger sliced my arm. Once, twice, three times.

Silver toxin seeped through the wounds into my blood. The burning spread through my entire body in an instant.

They smashed my head against the cave wall again and again.

Blood poured down my face.

I fought with everything I had, but I couldn't break free from three rogues.

My consciousness was fading.

They started dragging me deeper into the cave.

Then a howl pierced the distance.

A figure came racing toward us.

I couldn't make out who it was before I blacked out completely.

I woke up in the pack's medical wing.

Cain was sitting by the bed, dark circles under his eyes, clearly up all night.

He'd been holding my hand.

When he saw me open my eyes, his grip tightened.

"We've identified them." His voice was hoarse. "A group of rogues that had been prowling the border tried to raid the supplies in the cave. You just happened to be there."

I stared at him.

"I've already sent warriors to eliminate them." His thumb traced lightly over the back of my hand. "I won't let you go to the border alone again."

He pulled a small bottle from his pocket and held it out to me.

"Vivienne prepared this specially—a concentrated wolf-spirit restoration remedy." He said, "She felt terrible when she heard you were hurt. She blames herself for asking you to go."

I looked at the bottle. I didn't take it.

"The rogue said, word for word, 'Miss Vivienne asked us to teach you a lesson.'" I looked at Cain evenly. "Do you believe me?"

Cain's expression changed instantly.

All the concern and guilt vanished, replaced by irritation.

"Wren, can you stop playing games? How could Vivienne possibly hire rogues to attack you?" His voice was sharp with annoyance. "She's a healer. Where would she even meet rogues?"

I said nothing.

"I feel terrible that you got hurt, but you can't blame Vivienne for everything just because something bad happened to you."

He paused, his tone softening. "Once you've healed, I'll take you to Moonlight Lake. Just the two of us. How does that sound?"

He truly wanted to make it up to me.

But he also truly didn't believe a single word I said about Vivienne.

I closed my eyes and stopped talking.