On the day of her discharge, Elara expected to return home quietly. But instead of heading toward their villa, the stablehand stopped outside a brightly lit Lunar Fairground.

“Luna, Alpha Ashveil is waiting for you.” Elara froze. The bright colors, the laughter of strangers, all of it felt jarring to her still-weak body. She shook her head. “No. Just take me home.”

Before the steward could answer, Xander’s tall figure appeared by the carriage. He opened the door himself, his hand gripping her wrist with quiet force.

“Don’t make a scene. Come with me.” he said, his tone brooking no refusal.

“My scribe mentioned that you booked this entire fair for the pups’ birthday revels. Since Ravenna happens to share the same date, I thought it better to celebrate together. It’s livelier that way.”

Elara’s skin burned with fury the moment she heard those words.

Five years ago she had begged Xander to let the pups stay nine moons in her womb but he had cut her off.

“Seven moons is enough. Deliver them now.”

For the sake of the pups, she had bitten her tongue, believing there must be some medicinal reason and nearly died, her body torn. It was only now she realised that it wasn’t an accident.

It was all so that the triplets shared their birth-night with Ravenna.

Absolutely shameless!

Xander took her inside and gestured toward a side corridor. “Wait for me in the private booth. I will bring the pups after they finish their ride.”

At first Elara had a strong urge to walk away but she stopped herself. She needed irrefutable proof that could give her solid grounds to secure her separation swiftly.

Reluctantly, she stepped forward.

But just as her hand touched the carved door, muffled sounds reached her ears — low gasps, the rustle of fabric.

She froze.

For a moment, she thought she had taken the wrong turn. But through the crack, she saw Ravenna with two strange men, their shirts torn open amidst rough breathing filling the air.

Ravenna leaned lazily against them, her lips red, her throat marked with fresh bites as if she hadn’t even bothered to hide them.

Elara’s chest tightened.

Something was wrong. Terribly wrong.

She turned on her heel to leave but a hand shot out from inside, dragging her violently in.

The next second, the door burst open. Xander strode in with the children. They saw Ravenna collapsed to the floor, shaking at Elara’s feet. Her garments were all torn, exposing more than she intended.

“Luna Ashveil, I was wrong! I will never dare touch what belongs to you.”

Elara’s heart stopped. She wanted to speak, to explain, to shove the world’s cruelty away but Xander’s icy gaze pinned her like a bird in a snare.

“Luna. Ashveil please take me to the Healers, the pills you forced into my mouth to make me surely bear…after all the men are done abusing me… I… I can’t let them…! I will rather die!”

Elara opened her mouth, but the words didn’t come. Her throat felt as if it had been sealed shut as tears streamed down Ravenna’s face; her voice was barely a whisper as she rushed to Xander and collapsed in his arms trembling.

“Xander, I only came back because my ex-mate abused me… please don’t let these men take advantage of me.”

In between the sobs Elara saw the small smile forming on Ravenna’s lips and her entire reasoning snapped.

“I took advantage of you??” Elara asked, her voice low.

“You even ordered them to film it and post it upon the moonlink… I was wrong to post pictures with Xander.”

Xander’s jaw tightened. His gaze shifted from the tiny crystal camera whirring in the corner to Elara, disbelief hardening into icy fury.

“Shut up!” Elara raged. “It was Xander who told me that you would accompany us when we reached here! How could I know it beforehand unless I am some seer!”

Unexpectedly before she could speak anymore, the triplets pointed at Elara, their childish voices unusually firm.

“Mother, you’re so mean!”

“Yes! Mother, aren’t you the one who said that there would be a great show today! How could we have known she would hurt Aunt Ravenna? It was… it was your all doings, Mother!”

The men in the room froze and then, almost simultaneously, they bowed deeply.

“Alpha Ashveil, it was her indeed! If we had known Ravenna was your woman, we wouldn’t dare touch her even if we had a hundred guts!”

One of them fumbled, then produced a small recording crystal. A chilling voice played through the speaker in Elara’s unmistakable tone, calm and commanding, “Make sure she suffers. Don’t let her walk away. Record everything.”

Elara’s eyes widened as she looked at the trap which was so intricately planned to ruin her before a small miserable smile covered her features.

“All this effort to ruin me… just for a title? What a serpent you are—”

Smack!

The slap landed with a shattering crack, the sound ripping through the booth like thunder.

Elara hit the floor hard, the taste of iron spreading in her mouth.

Ravenna, who had been crying, suddenly fell quiet and gave a cruel smile as Xander stood over Elara, staring at her fiercely.

When Elara turned toward him, blood trickled from her lip and her eyes were empty, as if she had been emptied by terror. Xander froze, his hand still raised, a strange guilt clouding him.

“So in the end you believe her? If anyone saw, they’d think she’s your true Luna and I’m the mistress!”

Xander’s look turned cold and steady. “Is this how low you’ll go?”

His voice was calm, but each word cut like a blade.

He made a sharp gesture. The two men in the booth were hauled away, their protests lost under his order.

Xander moved closer until Elara couldn’t step back. “Did you strip Ravenna… did you enjoy putting her down?” he asked softly, hard.

“Now it’s your turn.”

Elara’s chest tightened. She shook her head, voice breaking, “No, please stop!”

Suddenly Xander grabbed her roughly. The sound of tearing fabric filled the booth.

Elara convulsed, her heart racing as the same hands that once touched her gently now forced her, rough and angry, leaving red marks on her skin.

Hot tears ran down her face as she gasped and sobbed.

“Xander… what are you doing? Please, don’t—” Her cries were ignored; she felt herself being torn apart inside.

His eyes did not soften. “You wanted to ruin her honor… now you will live that shame. Every moment. Every shred.”

A crystal camera in the corner whirred on, recording everything—her fear, her shame, her collapse.

“You wanted a show, right? Today I’ll teach you a lesson you’ll never forget.”

Before Elara could react, Xander yanked her arms with an iron grip, dragging her out into the moon-drenched night.

Panic surged through her as she struggled, but her strength was no match for his Alpha power. He hauled her toward the Oblivion Spiral, a forbidden ride that had claimed countless lives—wolves torn apart, bones shattered, screams swallowed by the wind.

“Once, I saved you from being dishonored by strangers,” Xander’s voice was low, venom lacing each word, “Who knew you would one day use the same vile trick—drugging another to steal her fertility.”

Ignoring her gut-wrenching protests, he fastened the iron restraints over her arms and chest, the runic belts biting into her bruised skin.

His cold eyes gleamed beneath the silver moonlight, hand hovering above the enchanted control sigil like a man ready to deliver a sentence.

Elara turned toward the triplets—their faces she had once kissed a thousand times—now watching her with quiet accusation.

She opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came. The mark of his disbelief was already burned into her.

The ride roared to life with a screech of metal and a surge of arcane power. Wheels screamed, chains rattled and the world spun violently.

“This is what it feels like to betray an Alpha,” Xander’s voice echoed through the night. “To destroy trust. Every bruise—you have earned it.”

The winds lashed at her hair; the cold steel cut into her skin. The longer it went, the more the pain bled into numbness. The moon above blurred into streaks of white.

From the ground, the children watched wide-eyed as their mother’s cries faded into the howl of the storm.

“Brother,” whispered the smallest one, clutching his twin’s sleeve, “Mother looks so sad… Are we wrong?”

“N-No,” the eldest replied, trembling, “Father said Aunt Ravenna knows best, so we must listen to her. She said Mother is wicked, so it must be true. Mother will forgive us later. She always does.”

Xander never shouted. He stood before the sigil board in silence, eyes fixed on the spinning cage of steel and magic, watching as Elara’s body endured wave after wave of agony. The woman he once held as sacred was now a broken shadow of herself, stripped of dignity, of warmth, of name.

When at last the ride groaned to a stop, Elara hung limply against the harness—skin raw, lips bloodied, hair tangled with frost and dust.

The Alpha who once promised her the world stood unmoving. His expression unreadable.

“All your debts,” Elara murmured through blood-stained lips, “I have repaid them now.”

Those were her last words before her world went dark.

Three nights later, Elara awoke to the faint shimmer of dawnlight through gauzy curtains. Her body felt like it had been torn apart and pieced back together by trembling hands.

Blinking through the haze, she saw Xander seated beside her bed—unshaven, eyes rimmed red, exhaustion etched deep into his face.

The moment she stirred, he lunged forward, gripping her hand with desperate relief.

“Elara! You’re awake!” His voice cracked, almost human again. He turned sharply. “Healer! Now!”

Within moments, the pack’s chief healer hurried in with scrolls and elixirs, his brows furrowed.

“Alpha Ashveil,” he began cautiously, “for the Luna to have endured such trauma—her life is no longer sustained by strength alone. Her blood disease—”

“It’s nothing,” Elara interrupted weakly, her voice calm but hollow. “Just exhaustion.”

The healer hesitated, glancing between the two, then bowed and withdrew silently. The room fell into thick, suffocating quiet.

Xander exhaled hard. Without a word, he lifted a tray from the table—soup, honeyed bread, and crushed herbs for pain. He scooped a spoonful and raised it toward her lips.

“Eat,” he said softly. His fingers brushed hers—too gentle, too late. “Tell me… how do you feel?”

Elara didn’t answer. Her eyes were glassy, unfocused, gazing somewhere beyond the walls, beyond the moon, as if seeing something Xander could never reach again.

Then, the door creaked open.

Ravenna stepped inside, cloaked in pale silk, her eyes glistening as she dragged a small travel trunk behind her.

“Elara…” she whispered, voice trembling with practiced fragility. “I—I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean for things to go so far.”

Her gaze flickered toward Xander, hopeful. “But, Xander… you promised I could stay. I have nowhere else to go.”

Elara turned her head slowly toward her. Her voice was quiet, detached. “I see. She’s already moved in.”

Xander’s brows knit tightly, his tone low but commanding. “Now isn’t the time, Ravenna. Elara needs rest.”

The faint glint of victory in Ravenna’s eyes vanished instantly. “But—”

“Wait outside.”

Ravenna froze. The steel in his tone left no room for disobedience. Her lips parted, but she swallowed whatever argument she had and left, the door clicking shut behind her.

Only the two of them remained.

Xander lowered himself to his knees beside her bed. His voice was softer now, carrying the faintest edge of regret.

“Elara, for what happened to you that day… if you apologize to Ravenna sincerely, I will let it go.”

“Ravenna will remain in the Ashveil Manor for a while,” Xander’s voice echoed through the stone hall, cool and commanding. “Until the Moon Council’s unrest settles, she is to be treated as our honored guest. Elara, she has endured enough already and I expect you to make her comfortable. Can you do this for me?”

Once, such words from her mate and Alpha would have made Elara flinch. The old her would have bowed, her tail lowered, her heart desperate for his approval. Now… she only nodded faintly, eyes calm as a frozen lake.

“She can stay as long as you wish,” she said softly, her voice stripped of warmth. “And I will offer her an apology, if that will please you.”

Her hands trembled as she rose from the wolfstone bench, the faint glow of her inner Moonfire dim under her skin. She reached for a parchment embossed with the royal seal and slid it toward Xander.

“Sign here,” she murmured. “I wish to establish a healing sanctuary for pups afflicted with moon-sickness. I will oversee it personally, but your approval is needed.”

Her voice was steady, but her knuckles turned white.

This—this was her turning point. The severing of the bond.

The Divorce of the Alpha Pair.

Xander stilled. For years, Elara had followed him with unshakable loyalty, her heart bound to his shadow. Now, her sudden detachment struck him like an unfamiliar scent carried by the night wind. It unsettled him—though he couldn’t say why.

“If you don’t want to, forget it. I won’t force you.”

Elara’s tone was light, detached—as though she were discussing the weather, not the end of a sacred bond blessed by the Moon Goddess herself.

The faint disappointment in her voice pierced him like a claw to the chest. Xander grabbed the quill and pressed it hard onto the parchment.

“I was merely surprised,” he said slowly. “You’ve never asked for anything before. If this is your wish, I’ll grant it.”

The silver ink shimmered faintly as he signed his name—unaware that his signature sealed their Divine Severance.

“After years as my Luna,” he continued, “this is your first request—and even now it’s for another’s sake. You’re still too softhearted, Elara. I don’t know what made you so cruel to Ravenna, but if it’s those rumors, you’ve disappointed me greatly.”

He turned away with a weary sigh. “You should learn from Ravenna—she carries the grace of a true Luna. Though she’s the princess of the Silvermane Pack, she never abuses her power.”

Elara bowed her head, swallowing the ache that burned her throat.

Foolish...

How foolish to think love could be earned through devotion.

Hours later, the heavy oak door creaked open. Three small figures padded in—their silver eyes gleaming in the dim moonlight.

Kael whispered, his wolfish ears twitching.

“Mom’s boring. She doesn’t know anything about racing wolves. She’s kinda dumb. She could at least tell us a bedtime story.”

“She only got lucky to have us,” said the second, snickering softly. “If we sleep here, she’ll probably nag again. But she won’t say no.”

“Yeah,” the third chimed in. “She never says no. Even if we mess up her bed.”

Their words sliced through her chest like frostbitten air, but Elara only drew a slow, steady breath.

“Mom, can we stay here tonight?” they chirped, bounding forward with their small pillows, fur cloaks dragging behind them.

Her face was unreadable. The tenderness that once warmed her eyes had vanished.

“No need,” she said quietly. “Go back to your rooms.”

No anger. No affection. Just command.

The triplets froze, shock flashing across their faces.

“B-but—”

The door closed softly but decisively. For the first time, they were the ones left outside.

That night, the Moon Messenger crystal blinked faintly on her desk.

A single rune glowed across its surface:

[In three nights, I will come for you. Until then, do not let anyone break you again.]

A small smile curved her lips.

The one she once called her rival now understood her more deeply than the mate who shared her bed for five long winters.

Later that night, Xander returned late. The triplets lay asleep on the stone floor, clutching their pillows.

“Why aren’t you in your beds?” he frowned.

“Mom didn’t want us,” one mumbled, half-asleep.

Xander’s step faltered. He turned toward their chamber—only to find the Luna’s door locked.

For the first time since their mating, she had shut him out.

He stood there for a long moment, hand raised… then lowered it again.

He left without knocking.

At dawn, Elara descended the grand staircase of the Ashveil Manor, the hall bathed in pale moonlight filtered through crystal panes. She halted at the sight before her.

Ravenna stood in the kitchen, damp hair curling against her cheeks, Xander’s cloak draped loosely over her shoulders. She hummed softly, stirring a cauldron of moon-brew, while the triplets clung to her like pups to a new mother.

“We want you to be our mom, Aunt Ravenna!” Kael cried, tail wagging.

The air stilled as Elara appeared. Ravenna’s lips curved into a cruel smile.

“So, you still dare show your face?” she sneered. “Now that the true Luna is here, shouldn’t a discarded bitch like you crawl away before I toss you out myself? Maybe you’ll find a lonely old wolf who’ll keep you as his mistress.”

Elara’s chest tightened—but before she could reply, Ravenna’s scent shifted sharply. Her eyes widened as she dropped to her knees, tears welling.

“I–I didn’t mean to offend you, Luna Elara,” she cried. “I only wore the Alpha’s cloak because mine hasn’t arrived yet. Please don’t misunderstand!”

Xander, who had just entered, froze mid-step. But Elara only laughed softly—a sound that silenced the room.

“You start crying even if I breathe near you,” she said coldly. “I only came down to eat, yet you act as though I’ve struck you. Perhaps you should visit the healers. Crying this often might be a sickness.”

A stunned silence filled the kitchen. The triplets looked between the two women, wide-eyed.

Ravenna stared, speechless, as Xander’s eyes clouded—not with anger, but with suspicion.

Elara turned to him, her expression empty.

“I came to apologize, I’m sorry. This will be my last favor. Don’t push your luck further.”

Ravenna blinked through her tears.

“T-then... will you return the necklace you tore from me? It was my brother’s last gift before he fell into a moon coma saving Xander from a silver chariot crash…”