At that time, my grandmother was gravely ill. He had raised me through scavenging and trading for scraps of food, just enough to keep us alive until I completed my coming of age trial. Fate never granted him the chance to enjoy his later years.

His life was like a lamp about to go out. Only by constantly consuming precious medicine and rituals could its faint flame be prolonged.

I could not afford such a cost.

I lay awake night after night, keeping watch over him, listening as his breathing grew shallower.

The turning point came on the second day after I met Evan.

He proposed a mate bond to me, his tone calm and straightforward, as if negotiating a transaction.

He would provide everything my grandmother needed, medicine, priests, and protection.

In exchange, I would become his mate, stand by his side, and take Karen’s place.

I understood exactly what that meant.

But I did not want my grandmother to die in pain.

So I agreed.

After the bond was formed, he did treat me well.

Because of my lowly origins, his parents did not approve of me. He simply excluded them from the ceremony.

When people within the tribe whispered, he made his stance public and suppressed all disrespect.

He never deprived me of material things or resources. Furs, ornaments, moonstones, as long as I asked, he would give.

Through these things, he compensated for my barren childhood.

If even the smallest mark appeared on my face, he would become unusually tense, as if that face itself mattered more than I did.

Those details once made me believe that he loved me.

That illusion shattered the day I discovered the room he never allowed me to enter.

That time, a small beast I had raised was kicked to death by Diana. I confronted him in fury, even threatening to tell Evan.

Diana only smiled.

The smile was cold and cruel.

You think he truly loves you.

Before I could react, he seized my collar and dragged me into the forbidden room.

It was a carefully arranged chamber, bright as a dream.

The most blinding sight was an entire stone wall covered densely with portraits.

The girl in the paintings, from childhood to adulthood, from innocent smiles to gentle eyes.

She looked almost exactly like me.

I stood there, barely able to breathe.

Behind me, Diana spoke coldly.

Do you see clearly now. This is the woman my brother loves. You stand beside him only because you look like her. And you still dare to dream of becoming his true mate. I am telling you, you are not worthy.

From that day on, I began to distance myself from Evan.

He noticed, but did not ask.

In his eyes, there was no need to explain anything to someone who was not loved.

A year ago, the clan physician said my grandmother could live for another three years.

But he left quietly one night.

There was no pain, no struggle.

As I watched over his body, I realized for the first time that I no longer had a reason to stay.

I asked Evan to let me leave.

He refused.

He said to wait until Karen returned.

He said that before I left, I had to give the position back to him.

I knew I owed him my life, and far too much in resources and protection.

So I stayed.

Now, Karen had returned.

And I had finally repaid everything that needed to be repaid.

That night, I began to run a fever.

At first, it was only heat beneath my skin. Soon after, chills and burning alternated, trapping me between fire and ice. A dull ache rose from deep within the wound, as if something were corroding my flesh and blood from the inside.

My consciousness was fading, yet I instinctively activated the communication sigil Evan had left me.

The runes lit up and were answered quickly.

His voice came through, edged with clear impatience.

“Do not contact me again. You are already an adult she wolf. Can you not even handle your own problems.”

Breathing became difficult. My throat felt clogged with hot mist, my chest rising and falling with painful effort.

“Evan, I… I feel terrible. Something is wrong. Could you…”

Before I could finish, another voice slipped in gently.

It was Karen.

“Diana, please stop bothering him.” His tone was soft, carrying a faint hint of complaint. “He has been taking care of me all day and is very tired. Since you are still his mate, you should be more considerate of him.”

The communication sigil went dark at once.

In that instant, it felt as if cold water had been poured over me from head to toe, and my mind cleared for a brief moment.

I immediately activated Alfred’s sigil.

He arrived quickly.

When he pushed open the stone door to the guest room, I was already soaked in cold sweat, the animal hides beneath me damp as if pulled from a river.

His expression changed instantly, and his first instinct was to contact Evan.

I reached out and stopped him, my voice faint.

“I already tried.”

A shadow passed through Alfred’s eyes, a mixture of pain and helplessness. He said nothing, only lifted me carefully.

He took me away from the Chandler family territory.

Along the way, I lay in the beast cart, barely able to stay conscious, and softly asked him to take me to another healing camp.

Alfred hesitated.

“The distance is far,” he said. “With your condition, you may not hold on. The nearest healing point is in the main clan territory. It is only a quarter hour away.”

“Do not go there.” I shook my head, my tone unusually firm. “Take me where I said.”

He was silent for a moment, then nodded.

“Alright. But you must hold on. I will go as fast as I can.”

He urged the beast cart to speed up, the night wind carrying a biting chill as it rushed in.

The Chandler family healing camp was the most powerful on this land.

The priests, apothecaries, and guards there all answered to the main clan.

If I collapsed there, or was quietly disposed of, no one would speak for me.

I was just a she wolf with no backing.

And now I knew clearly that for Karen’s sake, Evan was capable of anything.

It was indeed because of a wound infection that I was admitted to the healing camp.

The apothecary later told me that if it had been any later, the decay would have spread to my organs, with unimaginable consequences.

In the days that followed, Evan did not appear.

Perhaps he had already forgotten me.

Alfred, however, came every day, bringing herbs and clean water.

He tried more than once to mention my condition to Evan, but each time he was cut off coldly.

Evan did not want to hear it.

A week later, he finally remembered me.

He had originally come to discuss dissolving the mate bond, but when he learned that I was in the healing camp, he clearly froze for a moment.

Karen came with him that day.

By then, my condition had stabilized, and I would soon be able to leave the altar.

“Diana,” he said. “I did not know you were in the healing camp.”

A flicker of guilt passed through his eyes, brief and sharp, as if he had been unexpectedly pricked.

Karen immediately hooked his arm and gave me a gentle smile.

“I am sorry,” he said softly. “He has been with me these days, so he could not come see you.”

He paused, then added as if casually.

“But you know, we grew up together. We are used to relying on each other.”

As he spoke, he raised the hand interlaced with Evan’s fingers, the gesture natural and intimate.

I pretended not to care, casually tugging at the corner of my mouth.

“It is fine,” I said. “We are dissolving the bond anyway. From now on, you can stand together openly.”

My voice was calm.

Yet my heart felt as though it were being torn apart inch by inch, the pain so sharp I could barely breathe.

Hearing me say this with such indifference, Evan’s gaze flickered with complexity for a brief moment.

Then he spoke.

“I will give you sufficient compensation,” he said. “Land, resources, protection. I will arrange everything. You will never lack the means to survive in this lifetime.”

He said it as if it were only natural.

As if everything could be settled through exchange.

I forced a faint smile, as though completing a final formality.

“Alright,” I said. “I have already sent the runes for dissolving the mate oath to the council stone. Find a time to complete it.”

With that, I turned and left.

“Diana.”

Evan suddenly called after me.

“Let us go together. I will see you to where you plan to go.”

I did not turn around. I only replied softly.

“No.”

Once I had decided to leave, there was no reason to leave behind any unnecessary ties.

Evan kept his promise.

He granted me a stretch of borderland territory and left behind enough supplies and protection contracts to last a lifetime. It was more than enough for me to survive in the wastelands, the forests, or any forgotten corner of the world, and to live decently.

That had always been his way.

Using compensation to bring everything to an end.

On the day I was leaving the main house, Karen suddenly caused a scene.

He blocked my path in tears, his eyes red, his voice trembling.

“Did you take the engagement ring Evan gave me?”

He grabbed my arm, almost dropping to his knees.

“Diana, please. I am about to renew the oath with him. That ring was forged especially for me for the Moon Rite. It belongs to me.”

His voice grew more frantic.

“If you do not want to return it, do not do this instead.”

“You can have anything you want. I can exchange anything with you. Just give the ring back to me.”

I looked at him coldly.

“I did not take it.”

I pushed him aside and turned to leave, only to have my wrist seized by a powerful hand.

Evan stood behind me, his gaze icy.

“If you took it, hand it over,” he said. “I can compensate you, but I will give you nothing else.”

His tone was that of an order.

“I did not take it, and I do not need it,” I replied.

I knew very well that this was Karen’s usual trick.

He was always good at creating chaos and directing all suspicion toward me.

I tried to pull free from Evan, but he suddenly exerted force and dragged me straight back into the house.

“Until this is cleared up, you are not leaving.”

“Evan, have you lost your mind?” I demanded angrily. “I said I did not take it.”

My voice was loud, yet my body trembled beyond my control.

Fear crept up my spine bit by bit.

I was afraid he would do what he had done before, that for the sake of some so called token, he would once again treat me as a vessel that could be cut open at will.

He locked me in the bedroom.

The door was sealed with runes. Alfred was explicitly forbidden to approach, forbidden to bring any food or water.

He wanted me to hand over the ring.

But I did not have it.

What proof could I possibly give?

As night deepened, hunger began to gnaw at my stomach, low sounds echoing in the empty room.

Just then, the door opened.

It was Karen.

His footsteps were light, as if savoring the final struggle of his prey.

Smiling, he walked toward me step by step.

“Diana,” he said softly. “Guess what this is.”

He raised his right hand.

Under the moonlight, a dazzling ring gleamed on his ring finger.

A vow ring forged of moonstone and silver bone.

It sat there perfectly, firmly upon his hand.