“Luna… these are this morning’s alerts.” Gamma Lily set a stack of briefings on my desk, head bowed so low she might as well have been staring at the floor.

I waved her out.

For seven straight days, Adrian didn’t come home.

Instead, the gossip headlines kept coming: he took Emma to an auction and bought her a blue-diamond necklace; he accompanied her to a private clinic and got photographed gently patting her back in the hallway; after a Council meeting, he openly held her hand as they left…

I grabbed my bag and drove straight to Blood Moon Pack’s main hall.

The Omega at the front desk went pale when she saw me. She looked like she was about to call upstairs, but one glance from me stopped her cold.

I walked straight to the Alpha-only elevator, swiped my card, and went up.

In the office area, Emma was standing at the copier, wearing a fitted, professional outfit.

“Ann?” She saw me and instinctively took a step back.

I didn’t give her time to react. I walked up and slapped her across the face hard.

The crack of it dropped the entire office into instant, stunned silence.

“Emma. If Adrian refuses to send you away and wants to pity you, fine.” My voice carried cleanly through the air. “But you’d better get your position straight. As long as I’m not divorced, you’re the mistress.”

She covered her cheek, tears trembling in her eyes. “I’m sorry, Luna. I never meant to ruin your marriage. I just…”

“Ann!”

Adrian’s voice came from behind me.

He strode over and pulled Emma behind him, staring at me with ice in his eyes.

“When did you start throwing your weight around like this?” he sneered. “Don’t forget you used to be the one getting bullied. Without me, you wouldn’t be standing where you are today.”

My heart felt like it had been stabbed straight through.

Yeah. Back then, I was the Ann living under the White family’s roof, the one everyone pushed around. If I hadn’t met Adrian… how could I have ever become today’s Luna?

But the same man was now using my ugliest past to humiliate me.

“Go home,” he ordered. “We’ll do this by pack law.”

I almost laughed.

Any pack member who disobeyed an Alpha could be punished by pack law, kneeling inside a vow circle drawn in salt and silver powder, sealed under moonlight while an elder read the vows and the wolf soul backlash tore through you.

When we did our mate ceremony, we marked each other in front of the Moon Goddess’s statue.

Back then he’d said, “In this lifetime, I’ll never let pack law touch you.”

Emma suddenly let out a small groan and went limp.

“Emma!” Adrian caught her, the anger on his face instantly replaced by concern.

He shot me a vicious look. “If anything happens to her, I’ll never forgive you.”

He carried her toward the elevator without even looking back at me once.

I stood there, feeling the stares around me, some pitying, some mocking.

The last bit of warmth in my chest went out.

When I got back to the House, it was already late.

The second I pushed the door open, two unfamiliar Omegas grabbed me one on each side.

“Luna, forgive us. The Alpha ordered us to take you somewhere.”

I fought, but it was useless.

They shoved me into a car and drove west, out into the suburbs.

We stopped in front of the Moon Goddess temple.

Adrian stood beneath the towering doors, his silhouette in the night hard as iron.

“Emma woke up,” he said. “The doctor says she has a mild concussion, and… her emotions are unstable.”

I stared at him coldly, saying nothing.

“Do you know why I have to keep her close?” He took a step toward me, voice low. “Because that night a year ago… she was pregnant with my pup.”

My breath hitched.

“Because I suppressed her, she kept changing jobs. She overworked herself…” His voice carried a pain I’d never heard from him before.

“She miscarried. While I was chasing you publicly, sending drones to announce our engagement, she was lying in a hospital bed alone. The doctors even said she showed signs of postpartum depression.”

“If you hadn’t broken up with me back then, none of this would’ve happened,” Adrian said quietly.

“Ann, you owe her.”

“You think I owe her?” I finally spoke, my voice hoarse.

“Yes.” He admitted it without flinching. “Ann, that slap you hit too hard. She can’t take it.”

He turned, bowed slightly toward the massive doors, then said to the elder beside him, “Please. Keep her here. Let her atone for Emma.”

I stared at him, disbelief burning. “Adrian, you’re locking me in here?”

“Not locking,” he corrected. “Spiritual practice. Seven days. I’ll come get you.”

He turned to leave. I lunged and grabbed his sleeve. “What if I refuse?”

He gently pulled free, his eyes empty of warmth. “Then you’ll never get a divorce. Ann, you should know this. I’m Alpha. I lead this marriage. Without my consent, you can’t divorce me.”

He walked away.

The temple doors closed behind me, slow and heavy.

The days that followed, I was forced to wake at four a.m., kneel on the ice-cold marble, and listen to the elder read vows in front of me while my wolf soul felt like it was being torn apart. The food was so bland it made me nauseous. At night I slept on a hard plank bed under a thin cotton blanket.

On the third night, I spiked a fever. A dull ache tugged low in my belly until I curled into the corner of the bed.

“Baby…” I stroked my stomach as tears slid soundlessly down my face. “Hold on a little longer…”

I lay curled on the plank bed, my fever blurring my vision. The cramping in my lower belly came in waves, tighter and tighter. Cold sweat soaked through the thin robe.

“Is anyone there…?” I dragged myself to the door and pounded on the thick wood with what little strength I had left. “Please… let me see the Pack Doctor…”

Outside, the elder’s voice was calm, flat. “Luna, Adrian told me you’d try any method to avoid atonement.”

“I’m not avoiding…” My throat was so raw I could barely force the words out. “I’m really sick… please…”

The door creaked open.

The elder stood there, and beside him were two Warriors.

He’d even stationed Warriors here to keep me in line.

“Take Luna back to bed,” he said blandly.

The Warriors grabbed me and hauled me back, rough hands forcing me onto the mattress. I fought, but they pinned me down like I was nothing.

“You can’t—” I sobbed, desperate. “I’m pregnant… the pup will—”

The elder’s eyes didn’t flicker. “Luna, enough. The Alpha specifically said you’re best at making up lies.”

They threw me down hard. The back of my head struck the wooden frame. Everything went black.

“Watch her,” the elder ordered at last. “Vows at dawn.”

The door shut again. The lock clicked—sharp, cruel.

I curled in the dark, feeling my body heat draining away.

“Baby…” My hand trembled over my belly. Tears mixed with sweat, soaking the pillow. “I’m sorry… Mom can’t protect you…”

My mind blurred, fading until the last thing I saw was the cold moon outside the window.

When I woke again, the sting of disinfectant hit my nose.

I pried my heavy eyelids open to a white hospital ceiling. An IV needle was taped to the back of my hand, cold fluid dripping slowly into my vein.

“You’re awake.”

Adrian’s voice came from the bedside. I turned my head and saw him sitting there, eyes bloodshot, dark stubble shadowing his jaw.

“The doctor said your fever hit 104°F. If you’d come in a little later…” His voice was hoarse. He reached for my face I turned away.

“Ann, be good, okay?” He rubbed his brow like he was exhausted. “We owe Emma. That was a life.”

I looked at him and suddenly laughed, dry, bitter, broken.

“Adrian, do you believe yourself when you say that?” I asked softly. “You’ve had countless lovers. You know in your own heart whether you’ve ever forced anyone to abort, to terminate. If you really feel guilty now, why don’t you go compensate every single one of them from all these years?”

His face dropped, storm-dark. “Ann, do you have to be this unreasonable? Emma just wants to live quietly. I only gave her a job…”

His phone rang, cutting him off.

He glanced at the caller ID, frowned, but still answered.

“Adrian… I’m sorry…” Emma’s tearful voice leaked out of the speaker, loud in the quiet room. “I messed up the cooperation with Blue Moon Pack… Henry… he tried to get handsy with me. I got scared and ran. He’s furious…”

Adrian’s expression tightened by the second. “Where are you? I’m coming.”

He hung up and stood. “Something urgent came up at the office. I’ll have the Pack Doctor look after you.”

Not long after he rushed out, the Pack Doctor came in to change my meds.

“Ann, you’re so lucky,” she said with envy. “Adrian cares about you so much. I heard he crippled Blue Moon Pack’s people for you. Now everyone in Blood Moon knows no one can afford to mess with Luna Ann.”

I closed my eyes, a heavy helplessness pressing down on me.

This marriage. This man. This place… it all suffocated me.

I had to leave. But before I could, I had to find a way to make him sign the divorce agreement.

I was discharged and went home. The House felt extremely empty.

A maid hurried up, eyes darting away from mine. When I asked where Adrian was, she stammered that he hadn’t been back these past few days.

I made a few calls and pieced together the truth.

Ever since Emma was harassed, Adrian had practically kept her in the palm of his hand.

He picked her up and dropped her off himself, didn’t care if his million-dollar car got scratched in grimy alleys insisted on escorting her all the way to her door.

Then he decided her place was too shabby. With a casual wave, he threw down a hundred million and bought her a new House.

I stood alone in the vast living room, cold all the way to my bones. The way I’d run toward him back then was laughable. The way I’d been moved by his kneeling and begged forgiveness was even more ridiculous.

When I called Adrian, it rang long before he finally answered. The background was loud, chaotic.

“What?” His voice was impatient.

“Come home.”

“Can’t.”

I took a slow breath. “Adrian. Do you remember what day it is?”

He went quiet for a moment. His tone softened a fraction. “…I’ll be right back.”

I hung up and waited from dusk to late night, then late night to dawn.

Finally, noise came from the entryway. I walked over and saw Emma struggling to support a drunk Adrian. He was dead weight, practically draped over her, out cold.

Emma saw me and put on a timid, troubled expression.

“Ann… today was my birthday, and Adrian drank a little too much celebrating with me. Please don’t be mad.”

I looked at her and let out a cold laugh. “And what are you, exactly, telling me not to be mad? His Beta or the other woman?”

Her eyes reddened instantly. “I’m sorry…”

Adrian, swaying and half-conscious, seemed to sense something. He shifted, instinctively shielding Emma behind him, slurring, “Ann… d-don’t bully her…”

The last bit of warmth in my chest died. I called for the maids and had them carry Adrian upstairs.

Now the living room held only me and Emma. I handed her the documents I’d prepared.

“I know what you want. If you can get him to sign without him noticing, the Luna status will be yours.”

She stared at the Divorce Agreement, hesitated then took it.

The next morning, Adrian woke up rubbing his temples. The first thing out of his mouth was, “Last night… you didn’t make things hard for Emma, did you?”

I looked at his face without a hint of concern for me and spoke evenly. “Adrian, you said you’d never let me spend any holiday alone.”

His expression stiffened. He looked away, guilty. “Last night was an accident… What kind of compensation do you want? Name it.”

“If I say I want a divorce?”

His face changed instantly, turning dark. “Ann, stop it. I didn’t hear that.”

He grabbed his coat like he was fleeing. Before he left, he transferred a huge sum to my phone and told me to go buy whatever I wanted.

Less than an hour later, someone delivered the divorce papers to me, sent by Emma.

I opened them.

On the last page, under Party B’s signature, the name “Adrian” sat there in bold, unmistakable strokes.