Once I got home, I began packing up the things Sampson had left behind.

For the past three months, I had spent most of my time tracing the route Sampson took to find any trace of him. I rarely returned home at all.

Other than the kitchen and the bed in our room, I barely touched anything else.

When I opened the safe, I froze.

More than half of the cash inside the safe was gone. Many of my expensive jewelry had disappeared too, including the Moonshell Necklace my late mother had given me.

I trembled—I understood everything now, and laughed tearfully.

For three months, I camped in the wild while trying to find Sampson by tracing his patrol route. I slept in caves and survived on forages together with the rescue party, to the point of losing my sanity. I tried to get some kind of response through our mind-link every moment I was awake, but there was nothing.

Yet, while I was on the verge of collapsing, Sampson came home to take the money from the safe.

I switched on our home's security system and began to review the footage from the past months.

On the third day of Sampson's disappearance, he walked into our bedroom with his arm around Desiree's shoulders. After a while, the two of them emerged with a large amount of cash.

Desiree put on my late mother's necklace, smirking.

"The Luna has plenty of valuables. She's such a gold digger—no wonder you wanted to get rid of her! She must have begged you to buy such an expensive necklace for her." She pretended to be angry and huffed, "You gave all your money to your Luna and forgot about your best friend!"

Sampson waved the cash in his hand and said, "I'll make it up to you. Just buy whatever you want today. I guarantee they'll be better than Bethany's jewelry."

The footage reached the night before yesterday. Sampson once again got into our bedroom with his arm around Desiree's waist and only left when it was dawn.

I watched everything, tears rolling down my cheeks.

Not for Sampson, but for myself—for all my efforts all these years.

As the only daughter of the Eastplain Pack's Alpha, I had worked hard to manage our pack and build trade relationships with the Eastplain Pack. Not only had I fulfilled my duty as Sampson's Luna, but I had also covered much of his work as the Alpha.

That was why he could fool around.

But now, he turned around and called me a gold-digger instead.

My chest thumped in pain.

The whole time, my soul and body had been in pain. I had once thought it was the pain of losing Sampson, but I didn't realize that it was our mate bond warning me of his betrayal.

While I was searching for Sampson all over the place like a lunatic, he and Desiree would spend the nights here at home. Desiree would wear my pajamas and sleep with my mate together on our bed.

Looking at how intimate they were, I bit my lip and did my best to hold the tears back. Already, blood trickled down.

He wasn't worth the tears.

Just then, my phone rang. I wasn't in the mood to answer, but the calls didn't cease. The caller kept on ringing me over and over.

I froze for a moment when I saw the caller's name, and answered.

"What is it, Lambert?"

"There's something I want you to know."

Lambert sent me a video. Sampson and Desiree were drinking from the same glass in a bar; their lips almost touching, their gazes sweet.

"Sampson is alive," Lambert said.

"I know he's alive," I said, my voice trembling.

"Then, you…" Lambert realized something midway and then burst into laughter.

Lambert was the youngest son of Sampson's grandfather—he was Sampson's uncle despite being around Sampson's age. He also carried the Alpha's blood. After Sampson had inherited the position as Alpha, he ventured out of the pack. I heard he had built his own pack later.

We had barely kept in contact since.

When Sampson was missing, I did seek Lambert. As we were once a family, he agreed to help me find Sampson. I owed him for that.

But now, he was also the first to expose the truth that Sampson was alive.

"Lambert," I said, "if you have the time, come to Sampson's funeral the day after tomorrow."

"I'll be there."

After I hung up, Lambert sent me another video.

In the video, Sampson's friends grew agitated as they spoke to Sampson. Furious, Sampson hurled his glass to the ground and it smashed into pieces. The surrounding people tried to calm him down. Desiree said something, and he began to laugh before kissing her lips.

I knew Sampson must have found out that the Elders had been informing everyone about his funeral. He might have been blocking the mind-link, but his friends could still receive the news.

What surprised me was how easily Desiree could change his mood with just a few words. In the past, when he was angry, I had to be extremely careful. One wrong word, and he would throw me out of our home to reflect on it.

The contrast was enough to make me feel even colder inside.

I could see that Sampson wasn't worried in the slightest. In the past, no matter how bad his tantrums got, I would always be the first to apologize and beg for his forgiveness.

I saved the video of Sampson and Desiree cozying up with each other at the bar.

Just as I was about to turn my phone off, Desiree's call came in. I answered, but the club music from the other side almost deafened me.

Desiree screamed, "Are you mad, Bethany? Sampson isn't dead yet, and you're already preparing his funeral and beginning to elect the next Alpha? Aren't you afraid he'll be furious when he finds out?! You better call everything off! Call a meeting to admit that you've simply missed him too much and made a mistake!"

I hung up before she even finished and turned the phone off.

Then, I lay on my bed—I had the best sleep I'd had in three months.

The next morning, I received a list of names of those who carried Alpha blood in them. All of them were eager to participate in the election.

I smiled, satisfied.

Once the funeral and election arrangements were finalized, I went to Desiree's home.

Her door was shut. I knocked repeatedly, and finally heard the door open.

Desiree was wearing a lace camisole as she stood there, love marks trailing from her neck down to beneath the fabric.

My eyes locked onto my mother's Moonshell Necklace around her neck. My expression darkened as I moved my eyes to her face and met her indifferent gaze.

"I hope you can attend Sampson's funeral. You're his best friend, after all."

Desiree glared at me. "Are you mad, Bethany? There's no proof he's dead, and you're already confirming his death and going to prepare for his funeral? What if he's still alive? You're practically cursing him! What kind of Luna are you?"

I took out the Alpha Election's notice from my bag and tossed it at her.

"It has been three months. He's either killed by a Rogue, or he's already picked clean by vultures. The Pack needs an Alpha. I've already arranged the election. Have you forgotten what you told me to help me get out of my sadness before?"

Back then, when I heard that something had happened to Sampson, I almost blacked out. Sampson's friends took me to the hospital.

"Bethany, there are plenty of Rogues in that area. There's been no word from his bodyguards. I'm afraid there isn't much hope for him."

"That's right! It's too dangerous. You really shouldn't go."

But I got up anyway, and began searching along the route Sampson patrolled together with the rescue party day and night.

I didn't get to have even one restful sleep for three months.

Why hadn't I noticed back then? Sampson's friends weren't worried at all! Instead, they simply toyed with me like a fool.

As soon as I finished speaking, I could hear a loud noise from Desiree's room.

When she saw the unanimous approval of all the elders on the notice, her expression changed. She thought that I was simply bluffing about the Alpha Election, and didn't expect me to be completely serious.

"Bethany, you better stop whatever you're doing! Otherwise, Sampson won't show you any mercy once he's back," she warned.

To that, I merely gave her an indifferent chuckle.

Desiree glared at me and slammed the door shut.

I could hear sounds of fighting from inside the house.

Sampson was clearly unable to sit still and do nothing anymore once he found out he was at risk of losing his position as Alpha.

I wouldn't give him any chance to get out of this. I wanted him to pay the price!

Since he had severed our mind link and vanished from performing his duties for the pack for three months, it was fine for the Luna to rest for a while from exhaustion, right?

And so, I spent a peaceful day in a house Lambert had prepared for me.

When he came to see me to go to the funeral, he brought some interesting news.

"His friends have been trying to find you. They almost came to my pack to find information on you."

I grinned. "He refused to appear when I was going mad trying to find him, so of course I needed to make him have a taste of my pain."

I pulled out an outdated black-and-white dress, then took out my makeup kit and put on a ghostly-pale makeup. I applied some eye drops to make it look like tears had been welling in my eyes. I looked at myself in the mirror, then put on the face of a hollow and heartbroken woman.

After that, Lambert and I traveled separately to the funeral. My fingers paled slightly as they curled tightly around the flash drive.

When I arrived at the funeral, Lambert was already there, waiting for me. Dressed in a black suit, he made his way to me through the crowd and clapped my shoulders, giving his condolences.

All the werewolves from the pack must join the Alpha's funeral. The plaza was already filled with mourners, as well as friends and relatives who were none the wiser.

I could feel my heart squeeze in pain as I watched them grieve.

Sampson—you were the Alpha, yet your little disappearing act deceived me and your entire pack, as well as family and friends who loved you.

Today would be the day you pay for everything!

I welcomed each guest personally. Some of them were Alphas from other packs that were working together with our pack.

After today, Sampson's reputation with their packs would plummet. None of them would work with him again.

Sampson's close friends looked at me, welcoming the guests with a dark expression, until one of them finally pulled me aside and whispered, "Are you crazy, Bethany? Stop this! Sampson's still alive!"

I blinked; after some difficulty, I forced out a few tears and said in a tone of despair, "No need to comfort me. I know the dead can't be brought back. I should wake up after so many days. I won't cling to any more hope."

He still wanted to say something when Lambert stepped between us. "We're all grieving at this funeral today, Bethany. I hope you can come out of this stronger."

Lambert pulled me further and further away until we lost Sampson's friend.

"Almost everyone's here," he whispered.

I raised my eyebrow at him. "Get ready for showtime, then."

I stepped onto the stage and took the microphone, and announced to the entire pack and the other wolves, "Today is a sad day. Our Alpha has left us. Thank you all for attending his funeral…"

Before I could even finish, a screech cut me off.

"Bethany, have you gone mad? I told you, Sampson isn't dead!"

Desiree quickly ran forward and snatched the mic from my hands.

"What kind of Luna are you? We haven't found Sampson yet, but you're already starting his funeral!"

I didn't see Sampson behind her. Was he still not going to show himself even now?

"Who gave you the right to question the Luna?" I spat coldly. "Who do you think you are? What right do you have to question me?"

Desiree glared at me, eyes wide with disbelief, tears swirling in them. "How can you be so heartless? Sampson isn't dead yet, but you already said he's dead!"

My gaze lingered on the love marks along her neck and my Moonshell Necklace around her neck. I yanked the necklace off her and got closer to her, whispering, "He's not dead, you say? In my eyes, a cheating Alpha is as good as dead."

Desiree froze in place, unable to move.

I took back the mic; I was about to continue speaking when a figure in a tattered outfit suddenly appeared before my eyes.

"I'm alive, Bethany," Sampson choked. "I'm home."