I groaned in pain.

“While I was busy taking care of your illegitimate children, you were seducing Logan and luring him into your bed, even though you just gave birth three weeks ago! You shameless whore!”

“I didn’t lure him. Logan… I mean, the Alpha came to me.”

A hard slap landed on my cheek, its sound echoing throughout the room.

‘Mia, we can’t stay silent anymore!’ my wolf, Lena, growled in my mind.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, calming my angry wolf. ‘Calm down; defying Luna will only get us a much harsher punishment.’

Out of the corner of my eye, Logan paused briefly at the door but didn’t come in to stop his Luna from venting her anger.

He walked away as if he hadn’t seen a thing.

I hung my head indifferently. I’d learned that no one in this pack would stand by my side.

“How dare you talk back! You’re a nobody, just a former maid’s child raised by the Alpha family. Don’t think Logan is coming to you because he wants you! That breeder position was given to you by me—it wasn’t Logan who wanted you!”

“I’m well aware of that, Luna Olivia.”

Olivia seemed to grow angrier at the tone of my voice. She grabbed a glass from the table to throw at me, but the sound of someone clearing their throat made her stop.

Her expression changed instantly, and she smiled at the arriving guest.

“Alpha Heir, what brings you here?”

“I just came to say hello and thank you for your hospitality, Luna Olivia. Am I interrupting your activities?”

“No, no, no. I was disciplining a disobedient maid," Olivia glared at me, signalling for me to stand up.

I stood up calmly and looked up, meeting the male guest’s gaze.

His eyes blatantly scanned a certain area of my body; something like lust flashed in his eyes.

I tried to cover my soaking-wet body, which clung to me like a second skin.

“She’s so beautiful. Who is this beautiful maid?”

“She is our pack’s breeder.”

“A breeder, huh? She must be very good.”

Olivia glanced at him briefly, then smiled sweetly. “If the Wildfire Pack no longer needs her, I’ll send her to the Moonstone Pack to be a breeder if you want her.”

“That would be great,” the man said with a broad smile, staring at my body with a leering gaze.

They were talking about me as if I were a piece of merchandise. My hands clenched into fists as I glared at Luna.

“Luna, if there’s nothing else you need from me, I’m going to head back to work.”

Behind me, I heard John speaking to Olivia.

“She has a haughty temperament and doesn’t respect you, Luna.”

“Mia’s always been like that, thinking she’s so great just because she was raised in an Alpha family. She won’t last long in this Pack. I’ll make sure she becomes a breeder for another Pack.”

Luna’s words made my blood boil.

No, that will never happen. I have to get out of here before they ruin my life.

I went back to my room, took my phone out of the drawer, and called someone.

After a few moments, the call connected.

“Who’s this …”

“Alpha Asher, do you still remember me?”

There was a pause before a deep voice answered.

[“Yes, of course, I still remember you, Miss Klein.”]

Alpha Asher, of the Blackwood Pack. The strongest Alpha, feared by all packs in South America, and Logan’s rival and sworn enemy.

I saved him a few days ago when Logan took me to the Moon Temple. Alpha Asher had been severely wounded in an attack by another werewolf pack

I gave him the rare Moonflower Elixir, which only the Sinclair family possesses. The elixir was a gift from Madam Freya to heal my body after I miscarried twins, and I never imagined that it would now make Alpha Asher indebted to me.

“I want to collect on your promise to repay your debt.”

[“Yes, of course. What can I do to help?”]

"I want you to fake my death and move my mother out of the hospital. Make me die in front of Logan, so he believes he killed me and won't look for me or force me to have children anymore. After that, prepare a fake identity for me.“

[”Okay. But I need time.“]

”I'll give you until the Moonlight Birth Fest. You and your pack will be guests in the Wildfire Pack Territory. You have one week to prepare everything.“

The Moonlight Birth Fest is a tradition to welcome the birth of a werewolf child. Every pack holds a Moonlight Birth Fest every year.

[”Okay."]

Alpha Asher’s answer relieved me. I just needed to be patient and wait.

A few days later, various packs began arriving, keeping the maid busy arranging the guest rooms.

I did my best to avoid interacting with the guests, especially John Martinez, the heir to the Moonstone Alpha, and pretended not to know Alpha Asher to avoid arousing suspicion.

John suddenly appeared before me as I was crossing the western forest behind the packhouse.

“Alpha heir, what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be hunting with the others?” I stared at him warily.

Logan invited guests from various wolf packs to hunt in the Wildfire Forest.

“That’s boring. I’d rather chat with you here.”

“That's boring. I'd rather do something fun with you here.”

John suddenly pulled me into a hug and kissed me forcefully on the lips. “I've wanted you ever since I first saw you.”

“Alpha Heir, let me go!” I growled, trying to break free from him in disgust.

“It seems the Wildfire Pack has treated you badly. If you come with me, I’ll make you my Luna. I’m a hundred times better than Alpha Logan.”

John laughed lustfully and began tearing at the front of my blouse.

A wave of disgust and rage surged through me, causing me to unleash my wolf claws and tear at his arm as I tried to push him away.

“Arrggg, damn it!” John cursed in pain.

I quickly stepped back, trembling, and reflexively covered the torn front of my blouse.

“What’s going on here?!”

Suddenly, Logan appeared along with several other pack members.

“Logan….”

“Alpha Logan! This woman was seducing me! She said she wanted me to take her away from the Wildfire Pack! I refused, and then she hurt me!” John shouted, pointing at me.

I looked at Logan and shook my head, trying to defend myself, “Logan, that’s not true! He started it and hurt...”

“John! My son!”

Alpha Martinez approached his son and saw the wound on his hand, then shouted angrily, "Alpha Logan! How are you going to take responsibility for this! Please discipline your Breeder! She's like a whore who can't resist seducing every man she sees! “

"Don’t worry, I’ll punish her!”

Logan’s expression was icy; his gaze pierced me like a dagger.

“Take Mia to the dungeon and lock her in there. Don’t give her anything to eat!”

Two pack members stepped forward and grabbed my arms.

“No! Let me go! Logan, please believe me! I didn’t do anything!”

I struggled as the two pack members roughly dragged me away.

No one cared. They all stared at me with accusing eyes, including Logan, the man who had spent years with me and shared hundreds of nights by my side.

My body was thrown onto the cold floor.

They left me alone in a stinking, damp, cold, pitch-black dungeon.

I’m afraid of the dark. I feel like I can’t breathe in the darkness, and all my senses go numb.

Logan knows I’m afraid of the dark, but he still locked me in a dark cell.

I cried out. “Get me out of here! Please get me out of here!”

No one came for two days. No one brought me food.

I curled up, hugging myself in the darkness, trembling with fear in my mind.

My body began to fail.

The image of my mother appeared in my mind.

I haven’t even visited her in the past five years. Logan and Madam Freya have kept me locked up in the pack. I don’t even know which hospital my mother is in.

My mother is the only reason I’ve endured all the oppression in this pack.

“Lena, I don’t want to die. I want to see my mother.”

“Calm down, Mia! They won’t let you die here. Please hang in there a little longer. Everything will be okay.” Lena calmed me down, then played back memories of my mother.

The image of my mother’s smiling face shone like sunlight in the midst of pitch-black darkness.

When I cried because of a nightmare in the middle of the night, Mom would rock me to sleep on her lap. Her gentle hands would stroke my head.

“Sleep, my little star. As long as I’m here, no one will hurt you.”

Tears streamed down my cheeks.

I have to get out of here, find my mother, and take her far away from this utterly repulsive Wildfire gang’s extortion.

That resolve is what keeps me going.

The cell door creaked open. The light of a torch dimly illuminated the dark cell.

Logan’s figure appeared in my line of sight. His face remained cold.

“Have you reflected on your mistake?”

I just stared at him blankly from the dirty floor.

Though I desperately wanted to scream at him, I knew better than to lose my temper if I wanted to get out of here.

I pretended to admit my mistake.

“I... I admit my mistake...”

After that, I lost consciousness.

When I woke up, I was already in my warm bed with an IV in my arm. Someone was holding me tightly from behind, whispering softly in a hoarse voice.

“Mia... as long as you stay by my side, I’ll never hurt you. You mustn’t leave this pack. I’ll give you anything you want.”

My eyes closed again. He only showed this tenderness when we were in bed, purely because he felt satisfied, not out of genuine affection.

Logan ordered the doctors and maids to take care of me until my body recovered and to stay by my side. He relieved me of my duty to serve Olivia.

He was so attentive, reminding me of my childhood.

I fell ill at the start of winter. Logan’s face was filled with panic then. He never left my side and cared for me himself, even skipping work.

A few days later, my body recovered.

Logan returned to his usual demeanour.

“Go cheer Olivia up. She’s in a bad mood because I’ve been taking care of you for days. Whatever she does to you, you have to endure it, understand?”

I bowed my head, answering indifferently. “Yes, Alpha.”

Before leaving, Logan suddenly pulled something out of his pants pocket and tossed it onto my lap.

“Wear this during the Moonlight Birth Fest.”

A ruby necklace, a family heirloom passed down through the Sinclair family.

I pursed my lips, ignoring the necklace on the table, began packing my belongings into a box, then sent it out discreetly and called Alpha Asher to ask for his help in retrieving those items.

***

Kneeling before Olivia, I pulled the basin to wash her feet.

“You must be so happy,” Olivia glared at me with eyes full of hatred. “I heard Logan talking to the pack elders about making you his second mate.”

My eyes widened as I stared at her. The blood seemed to drain from my face.

Logan wants to make me his second mate? To bind me to the pack forever?

No!

I shook my head. “I don’t want to be his second mate.”

“Don’t play dumb! You accepted that necklace! You must’ve loved showing off that necklace at the party, right? To tell everyone that Logan dumped me? Let me tell you, Logan only made you his second mate—and I’m still Luna!”

The wine glass in her hand was hurled at my face.

It shattered against my head. The thick mixture of my blood and wine felt warm as it trickled down the side of my head.

My hands clenched into fists, trying to restrain myself.

“Luna Olivia, I never wanted the position of Second Mate. If I could, I’d leave this place and never come back.”

“You want to leave this place? There’s only one way you can leave here.” Her eyes flashed with cruelty and extreme hatred toward me.

“I know a place that’ll welcome you with open arms: an omega auction house that specializes in breeding.”

My body tensed, staring at Olivia in disbelief.

“Are you crazy? Do you think you can sell people like goods? Does Logan know what you’re doing?!”

“Logan? He loves me. For my sake, he made the foster sister he raised into my servant. It wouldn’t be any different if I auctioned you off to an auction house.”

I clenched my fists and stood with a cold expression. “Take your crazy actions elsewhere. Even if you’re Luna Pack, I’m not your slave or this pack’s slave.”

I turned and walked away.

I’m done humiliating myself in front of Olivia. If I have to fight the entire pack and Olivia, I’ll do it rather than be humiliated at an auction like livestock.

Olivia’s expression was icy. She stood up and grabbed my hair from behind.

“I don’t need your consent. I have a way to make you obey like a slave.”

Before I could fight back against Olivia, the servants rushed to grab my arms and hold me down. They forced me to kneel in front of Olivia.

Olivia poured a liquid from a small bottle into my mouth and slapped my face. “Be a good slave if you want to stay alive.”

My head began to spin. My vision grew blurry.

I shook my head vigorously to shake off the effects of the anesthetic.

Olivia was going to smuggle me into the auction house without anyone knowing if I lost consciousness here.

‘Lena, I need your help.’

‘Gladly, Mia. I’ve wanted to teach that bitch a lesson for a long time.’ Lena roared.

In an instant, the room was filled with the maids' echoing screams as my wolf form roared, flinging their bodies one by one.

Olivia was shocked and furious.

The door burst open.

Logan appeared with a worried look on his face and shouted,

“Mia, stop!”

Due to the effects of the wine, I began to lose consciousness.

When I woke up, I was in the hospital, and Dr. Joseph’s face filled my vision.

“Mia, you’re awake.”

“Ugh….” I tried to sit up, but Dr. Joseph held my shoulders, pushing me back down.

“Stay lying down. The drug’s effects were so strong that you were unconscious for two days. Luna Olivia really went too far. The anesthetic she used could knock out an elephant.”

“Ahem.” Someone cleared their throat behind Dr. Joseph.

“Alpha,” Dr. Joseph greeted Logan. “I’ll leave the two of you alone.”

He then left, leaving Logan and me in the pack’s hospital ward.

Seeing that I was awake, the cold expression on Logan’s face softened for a moment.

“Mia, thank goodness you’re awake.” He paused for a moment, “What Olivia did… I hope you never bring it up with anyone. She didn’t mean to send you to an auction house. She was just joking. Don’t blame her, okay?”

“And don’t transform in front of Olivia. She’s having a panic attack. This is the last time I’ll forgive your werewolf ways.”

I covered my eyes with my hands, holding back a scornful laugh from escaping my lips.

All of Olivia’s misdeeds are considered minor mistakes, and Logan will always protect her.

My retaliation, however, will be seen as rebellion and blown out of proportion.

“Mia, are you listening to me?” Logan frowned.

I glanced at him, putting on a sweet smile. “Fine. I’ll never blame her. Even when she holds a knife to my throat, I’ll have to stay sweet and let her slit my throat. I get it—after all, this isn’t the first time.”

Logan tensed. “Mia, why are you being so sarcastic?"

“I’m joking. Please leave me alone.” I turned my back on him.

Don’t provoke him today.

I have to get out of here; it’s better to keep pretending to be submissive.

I felt his presence slowly retreat and disappear behind me.

The next day, Logan sent a lot of gifts to my room as compensation for Olivia’s actions. No apology.

“Miss Klein….” A maid slipped a small bottle into my hand as she delivered Logan’s gifts. She then left without saying a word.

I stared at her back suspiciously. I’d never seen her in the Wildfire pack. My gaze shifted to the small bottle containing a dark blue liquid.

Aconitum potion.

A potion that creates a false death for whoever drinks it, making their heart seem to stop beating for just two days.

It’s extremely rare.

The phone on the bedside table rang. A call from Alpha Asher.