Xavier took out the pole and dragged her towards it. Lunaire screamed and struggled to escape, knowing she might not survive another night of pain.

However, her brother kicked her leg, breaking a bone, and rendering her helpless.

He tied both her hands and hung her up the pole.

"X-Xavier...please don't do this. You're my b-brother," Lunaire cried, but her pleas never reached his conscience.

"You're not my fucking sister, murder!" He spat and slapped her face.

"I didn't do it!" Lunaire screamed, earning her a hard punch to her gut.

"I hate you," Xavier whispered with gritted teeth.

"I didn't do it," she whimpered, coughing up blood.

He punched her again and almost knocked her out. Then Zane stood in front of her with a whip in his hand. Lunaire's eyes widened in horror when she saw blades on the lash. She even heard Crystal whimper in her mind.

Their mate didn't hesitate to lash the whip on their skin, making her scream in agony. He mercilessly whipped her until she bled and almost burst her lungs screaming in pain.

Lunaire trashed around as the blades shredded her skin. She screamed like a banshee as one of the blades got stuck to her thigh.

"Take her to the dungeon!" She heard Zane bark as she lingered between life and death.

Two pack members cut the rope, dragged her motionless body away, and dumped her in the dungeon.

Though she seemed lifeless, Lunaire was still barely awake. Seconds after she got thrown into the dungeon, the scent of her horrible mate drew closer.

Deep in her heart, she still believed in him. Maybe he came to apologize. She struggled to open her eyes, but what horror it was to see him with Bella, both flashing an evil smile.

Zane squatted, tilting his head as he clicked his tongue. "Look at you. So fucking weak,"

Lunaire coughed out some blood along with the shattered pieces of her heart.

"You're m-my m-mate. Why w-would y-you do this t-to me?" She asked, wheezing in pain.

A burst of maniacal laughter shook the dungeon.

"You really thought I'd accept a disgusting, ugly, fat piece of shit like you?"

Her entire world shrunk to the abyss.

And as if that wasn't enough, he landed another blow, "Why so shocked, my mate? Did you think I would go for a slut like you? Have you seen yourself? You are so ugly, fat. Fuck! I nearly puked when I saw your ugly scarred body last night, but you were a great fuck. I didn't expect that from a virgin."

Lunaire's mind went blank.

'It was a lie? Everything that happened last night was a lie? Fake? And meant nothing to him?'

Her tears continued falling from her eyes, but her soul was absent.

"Why would I need a whore like you when I have a beautiful girl with me?" Zane said as he stood up and wrapped his arms around Bella while she smirked down at her.

A bitter laugh left Lunaire's lips.

"You...you planned this, right?" She asked, laughing at herself for being a fool.

Zane mockingly clapped his hands and commended her. "Never thought you were this clever." He chuckled.

"Planned? The accusation? The Love confession? Do you think I have the time for you to do all that?" He scoffed.

"You're a fucking murderer, and murderers like you don't deserve happiness. You killed your parents, and you should have died instead of them. A weak and powerless wolf like you would never make a good Luna!" he growled, seething with anger.

"I need a strong, beautiful, and sexy Luna to rule my pack, not trash like you who can't even stand up for herself," he snapped at her.

"Forget about being the Luna, baby. She will never become a good mate as well. I mean, look at her. Even her brothers don't want her. Gosh, I feel like retching. Such a weak-ass bitch. The moon goddess must have made a mistake, pairing you with a useless mate," Bella sneered.

Lunaire looked down, biting her lip, regretting everything. Her weakness, for letting him touch her and for foolishly clinging onto an illusion that he accepted her flaws.

"You will regret this," she coldly said.

Zane and Bella only laughed at her. "Nah, baby. Only you would have regrets, especially after what we're going to do."

Zane flashed an evil look. Lunaire looked back, confused.

Then, her world turned red as she cried in torment, watching her mate smash his lips onto another woman.

Pain, loathing, and anger eroded her soul as Zane did the things he did to her last night with Bella.

"Stop! Stop! Stop!" She screamed as the pain worsened, but the two didn't care.

Lunaire screamed until I felt a kick on her stomach, making me cough out blood. She looked to see Zane standing before her, zipping his pants up.

"I, Alpha Zane Villain, reject you, Lunaire, as my mate and Luna of the Black Rose Pack," he spat, sending her to the epitome of her misery.

Her soul felt like it had disintegrated into space. She screamed her life out. It was worse than the wounds inflicted by the whip.

Zane dragged her out to the yard by her hair. She lost all will to struggle, but her cries sirened.

"If anyone dares to steal in this pack, this is what will happen to them!" Zane spat, pointing his finger at Lunaire.

He tossed her to the ground like a rag. She winced when he landed a kick to her gut.

Zane left her half dead while flirting with Bella.

Lunaire roamed her eyes, searching for a sliver of sympathy from their pack, but they all saw her worse than an insect.

No one helped her nor looked saddened by her plight.

'They were all monsters! All of them!' she bitterly thought.

Darius came forward and dragged her back into the pack house like a sack. And as he took her away, Lunaire hit her head on a rock, knocking her out.

An unknown time later, Lunaire opened her eyes, only to find herself lying on the floor in her room. As soon as she woke up, she felt her head throbbing and her body stinging, making her groan in pain.

She caught her forehead with her hand, but immediately hissed and retracted her hand as she felt a twinge, then saw blood in her hand.

Only then did Lunaire recall what happened earlier, causing her tears to fall down her cheeks as she curled up, hugging her knees. It turned out that her long-awaited mate simply used her body the night she treasured the most. Zane directly dumped her right after that and went together with his bitch, Bella. They even schemed against her, prompting everyone, especially her brothers, to torture and loathe her even more.

With so much agony Lunaire had gone through, her heart was filled with sorrow, hopelessness, and indignation.

'Why did you let me live? Why didn't you just take my life instead of my parents'? The mate you gave me didn't want me and even rejected me. Then my brothers, who were supposedly protecting me, were the ones who tortured me the most. I have no one in this pack. So, what is the point of living?' Lunaire ranted to the Moon Goddess in her head.

"Crystal...Crystal, are you there?" she called her wolf but got no response. As she was struck by a thought, she froze for a moment, and then a sob escaped from her mouth.

"C-crystal," she called out once more, but still no response.

In frustration, she grabbed a bunch of her hair and screamed loudly in her head. Suddenly, when an idea crossed her mind, she stared nowhere, not sobbing anymore.

'I will get out of here. I will leave this pack. I need to save myself from the monsters here in this land,' Lunaire declared inwardly and stood, wobbling.

She strode to her shabby wooden closet to get all her worn-out belongings. She then grabbed her backpack, stuffed all her things in it, and zipped it up.

Before running away, she went to the table beside her bed and pulled out a notepad and a pen from the drawer. Crying, she wrote two letters and placed them on the table.

Afterward, Lunaire hardly lunged at the window and looked downward. Upon confirming that the coast was clear, she heaved a sigh of relief. For the last time, she glanced at her scruffy room. Though it was not an ideal room, she treasured the place in her heart as it witnessed all her suffering and held all the memories, good and bad, she had in the pack. But she had enough now; she had already decided to flee from this land of monsters.

Upon realizing how high she was from the ground, she hitched her breath. As such, she tried to call her wolf once again.

"Crystal, I need your help," she uttered.

Luckily, this time, her wolf answered. "L-luna… I c-can't. I'm… too weak right n-now," Crystal replied, out of breath.

But Lunaire was desperate, so she pleaded, "We have to, Crystal. Gather all the strength left inside you. Please."

Crystal understood Lunaire and obediently uttered, "Okay, I will do it, for you, for us." She then did as the latter said.

Lunaire dropped her bag, and on the count of three, she jumped with her eyes closed.

To her surprise, she landed safely and unhurt. When she opened her eyes, she saw her feet change into black paws; she had successfully shifted into her wolf form. In delight, she giggled and jumped, forgetting she was injured. As a result, she winced in pain and lost her balance.

Actually, this was not Lunaire's first time shifting into her wolf form. In fact, her first was when she was only 12 years old, but she kept it to herself in fear that the pack might chase her out of the land for being extraordinary. However, that became the last time as she suffered a lot from the pack members, weakening her wolf and making her unable to shift.

Shortly, Lunaire pulled herself together, bit her bag, and ran at full speed. She passed through the woods to avoid encountering her pack members. She kept running until she suddenly heard howls from a distance, but she ignored them as she was desperate to leave the land. Her perfect chance to run away was already at hand, so she wouldn't let it slip. Hence, she sped up without looking back again at the land.

Meanwhile, it was already meal time, so the four brothers were starving and waiting for Lunaire to serve them their food. However, it had been a few minutes, but no food had been served to them yet.

Irked, Xavier roared, "Where's that bitch?! We've been starving here, but she's not still here! That slut must be awake now, so what is she doing?!"

"I'll go and check on her. I'll beat the shit out of her if I catch her just dawdling in her room," Darius said, smirking. His brothers burst out laughing upon hearing him, but he just sniggered.

He then headed upstairs to Lunaire's room and slammed the door open upon reaching it. But he was only greeted by a breeze coming from the open window. He looked around to find his sister, who he thought was just hiding somewhere.

"Lunaire," Darius called out, but no one responded.

"Lunaire! Come the fuck out if you don't want me to cripple you!" he threatened, thinking that the girl would come out after hearing it.

Still, no Lunaire appeared. Darius clenched his jaw in exasperation and was about to walk toward the window when the pieces of paper inserted at the foot of the lamp on the table near the bed caught his attention.

Curious, he picked one of those that was addressed to the four of them.

[Dear Brothers,

When you read this, I will be long gone. I know you would be happy to know I have left. That's what you wanted, right? Either gone or dead? Well, I have now granted your wish.

I just want you to know that after everything you did to me, I still love you four. You are my big brothers, once my protectors and best friends. You were supposed to protect me, love me, and care for me as brothers do, but after our parents died, all you did was abuse me, mentally and physically. You can't imagine how painful this has been for me. It has been six years since, but I'm still barely living.

If Mom and Dad were still around, they would be disappointed with you all. Brothers don't hit, curse, and treat their sisters like slaves, but all of you did just that. Although I love you, you can't blame me that I hold a grudge against you all.

For the last time, I'll tell you, I didn't kill mum and dad; I would never do that. I was just fucking 10 years old back then, so how would I even do what you are all accusing me of? I yelled, begged, and screamed for you all to believe me, but you're just like everyone else. You chose to believe in the pack members over your sister, your own blood relative.

Now, I only hope for one thing. And that is for you all to rot in hell. I promise I will never come back to you all. From now on, you are all dead to me, and I have no brothers from today onwards.

Goodbye. I hope you enjoy your life burning in hell!

From your so-called sister, Lunaire.]

After Darius read the letter, his legs weakened as if his strength escaped him, causing him to drop his knees to the floor. His hand clutched the paper as he placed it on his chest, crying.

The letter served as an eye-opener for him. It took six long years before he was woken up from the blindness brought on by wrong accusations and wrath. It seemed Lunaire had to write this letter first before her brothers realized and regretted what they had done. However, although it happened now, it was too late. Lunaire was already fed up and left them.

'What have I done? My baby sister is gone. She had already left us,' Darius dejected, upon a realization finally dawned on him.

Looking up, he talked to her late parents. 'Mom, Dad. Sorry, we disappointed you. You must be disgusted with us now for treating our sister like that. She was right. We were supposed to love and protect her, but we nearly killed her.'

His tears flowed even more, when he saw marks of blood on the floor. It was Lunaire's blood when they tortured her. Gradually, everything was finally sinking, and remorse was consuming him.

Downstairs, the three brothers grew impatient as Darius took so long, so they decided to check on him upstairs. But they were shocked to find him on his knees, crying as they entered Lunaire's room.

"Darius, what in the world happened to you?" Lucas wondered as he ran towards Darius, followed by Xavier and Dustin, perplexed.

Darius looked up at them and uttered, "She's gone."

Confused about what the latter was saying, Dustin snatched the letter from his brother's hand and read its content. Like his brother, his eyes widened in shock as well, and then tears began to trickle down his cheeks. Strength also escaped from his body, causing him to fall down on Lunaire's bed.

Lucas and Xavier looked at each other in puzzlement and took the letter from Dustin's hand. Upon reading it, they also flashed the same expression as their brothers'.

"Fuck," Dustin cursed, running his hand through his hair.

"She was suffering from the wrong accusation for six years, but we didn't do anything to protect her and made her life miserable instead," Lucas cried.

Getting his act together, Darius stood up, wiped his tears away, and declared, "We need to find her. We need to bring back our baby sister."

All at once, the four of them howled in pain as their tears rose.

"I'm so sorry, Lunaire. I promise we will protect you with our lives this time," Darius promised.

Suddenly, Lucas saw another piece of paper on the table. "What is this letter?" he wondered as he picked it up.

"Read it out aloud," Darius ordered sternly.

"Dear Alpha Zane, I actually don't know what to say to you other than thank you. Thank you for showing the true color that you hid from the world. Thank you for freeing me from this toxic bond. A guy like you doesn't even deserve true love as you are not worth it. My heart still churns in pain with the thought of you being with someone else, but it's okay; I will move on while you rot on your own.

I pray to the moon goddess that no one gets a mate like you. Thank you for rejecting me, and I will have the honor to do the same. I, Lunaire, reject you, Alpha Zane Villain, as my mate and as my Alpha.

I hope we never meet. Enjoy your life with that whore! Goodbye forever.

Your so-called weak mate, Lunaire," Lucas read the letter out loud as Darius instructed.

They were all shocked to learn that their sister had already found her mate, and it was even Zane! But the rage overwhelmed them as they learned that the latter had rejected their sister.

"What the fuck? Lunaire was his mate, and he fucking rejected her? I'm going to kill him!" Xavier roared and stormed out of the room.

With their blood boiling in a rage, the three followed the latter to Zane's room.

As soon as they reached the room, Xavier called him out. "Zane!" He then slammed the door open, exposing Zane lying on his bed.

Surprised and bewildered, the latter got up and asked, "What's going on, bro?"

But instead of receiving an answer, he got a punch from Darius right in the face.

"What the fuck, man?! What was that for?" Zane yelled, glaring at Darius.

"You fucking bastard, why the fuck did you reject my sister?" Darius asked, lunging at Zane again and throwing his fist at him. But the latter's reflex was fast. He quickly dodged it and returned the punch, making Darius stumble back.

"Surrender!" Zane growled, power embedded in his voice. His fangs were shooting out, and his yellow eyes were flashing, making the four brothers bow down, and tilt their heads, showing their necks, indicating submission.

"You don't have the fucking right to shout at me, Darius. And what did you say? Sister? Huh! When the fuck did that slut become your sister?" Zane sneered, making the four growl in anger.

Darius couldn't contain the rage and was about to squawk when they heard a commotion downstairs. Their heads quickly turned to the direction where the noise was coming from. Without any word, they all rush downstairs, led by Darius.

"Take the women and pups to safety!" one of the pack members instructed.

"Fuck! We're under attack," Zane cursed as he sped up and overtook the four brothers.

They then transformed into wolves and dashed outside to find other pack members fighting the rogues. The battle between the two groups was intense, causing many casualties.

Darius was enraged and was about to vent it out to Zane earlier, but then rogues suddenly attacked, preventing him from doing so. Hence, he snarled and ran at full speed, attacking a rogue wolf away from their pack member. He bit the neck, ripped the head off, and threw the wolf away.

Glancing at Dustin, he saw him doing well as the latter ripped off the head of one of the rogues.

All of a sudden, a thunderous howl rang out, making all the wolves stop fighting. As they turned their heads towards where the howl was coming from, their eyes changed to yellow as they growled in unison.

"Well, well, well. Look how big you have all become," an ugly rogue in a wolf form said as he strode towards Zane and the four brothers.

Zane jumped in front of him, snarling and showing his teeth.

"Oh, calm down, dear pup. Where is that weak mate of yours?" the rogue asked in a mocking tone, which gained a growl from the five of them.

"Oh, didn't she tell you anything?" he sarcastically laughed, bringing confusion to Zane and the four brothers.

"Poor little girl. She suffered from something she didn't commit. I pity the poor soul, but what can you expect from a weak girl like her? "he smirked, then shifted into his human form.

All of their eyes widened as they witnessed the rogue transform into a fully clothed human form, which was unusual as all wolves turned naked after shifting.

The rogue intently stared at them with his red eyes etched with mockery and a smirk plastered on his face, urging Darius to kill me at once.

The rogue faced Zane and said, "I'll tell you a little secret. I was the one who killed your ex-Beta and his mate. I ripped their hearts out and satisfyingly drank their blood." He even let out an evil laugh after saying it. Zane couldn't contain his wrath any longer and ran full speed towards the rogue. He then jumped on top of the latter and bit his leg.

Darius's eyes, on the other hand, began to shed a tear as the image of my dying parents suddenly flashed in his mind. Indeed, their sister was innocent, but they didn't believe her, not even once.

Like Darius, his three brothers also howled in pain and ran towards the rogue, in full charge, only to be flung back with brutal force. Zane tried to stand up again, but his body banged on a tree, so he hissed in pain and found it difficult to get back on his feet again.

"I'll finish you off now!" Zane roared and dug his nails right into the rogue's thigh, making him scream in pain. Gritting his teeth, Darius lunged at the rogue and bore his claws into the latter's eye.

"I'll kill you, you fucking bastard. You killed my parents. Because of you, my sister nearly died. I will fucking kill you!" Darius fumed, drawing the rogue's eyeball out of the eye socket, making him scream in agony.

They froze, however, when the rogue stopped yowling and began laughing like a lunatic. A gust of wind appeared out of nowhere and slammed into them, knocking them back.

Darius's back slammed into a tree, making him groan in pain. Upon opening his eyes, he found his surroundings spinning, so he shook his head and tried to stand up. Limping, he looked around to find the rogue, but he failed to see him; even his troops were missing.

"Where the fuck did that rogue go?" Zane threw a fit.

"Find that fucker right now!" he commanded his pack soldiers.

Darius shifted back to his human form, not caring if others would see him naked.

He then approached Zane and said, "We need to find Lunaire. She is out there alone. If that rogue can come here, then he can fucking reach my sister in no time. We need to save her!"

"No one will hurt my mate. We will fucking find her, and I will kill that fucking rogue once and for all!" he sternly stated, his eyes showing determination. Afterward, he quickly headed inside, leaving the pack members outside, mourning their lost family members and mates.

But aside from sorrow, their eyes were also filled with shame, regret, and guilt after hearing the truth behind the death of the former Beta and his mate from the killer himself. Some couldn't bring themselves to make eye contact with the four brothers due to extreme shame, but some dared to give the four brothers apologetic looks. Although the entire pack tormented Lunaire, Darius could only glare at them, knowing that he was not different from them.

Disregarding the pack, Darius declared to himself, 'I need to find her as soon as possible. I promise you, Mom and Dad, I won't let you down anymore. I'm the fucking Beta of the pack for a reason, and I'll prove it by saving my sister!'