Melissa’s POV

I never imagined the day would come when I’d be standing inside the grand hall of the Redmoon Pack—this cold, gilded mansion that once felt like another world to me. The marble floor gleamed beneath my worn boots, reflecting chandeliers that sparkled like icicles, so beautiful yet sharp enough to pierce. I shouldn’t be here. Not anymore. Not after what they did. But Elder Francine summoned me, and you don’t refuse the former Luna of Redmoon Pack, not if you value what little you still have left.

Her scent reached me before her voice did, lavender with a hint of dominance that made my wolf shrink back.

“Sit down, Melissa,” she said, her tone laced with politeness that was colder than winter wind. “We have important matters to settle.”

“What is it you want, Elder Francine?” I asked quietly, my voice hoarse from sleepless nights.

Her lips curved into something that resembled pity, though I knew better. “Straight to the point. I admire that,” she said, gesturing toward the seat opposite her massive oak desk. Everything here screamed power: the portraits of past Lunas, the Redmoon crest engraved in gold above the fireplace, the scent of old books and wealth.

Francine opened a drawer and took out a pristine white envelope. She slid it across the desk. I didn’t touch it, but I already knew what was inside.

“Five hundred thousand dollars,” she said smoothly. “That’s more than enough for you to start over somewhere far from here. You’ll never have to think about my son again.”

I swallowed hard. “You mean, you want me to leave Cyrus.”

“I want you to stop pretending you belong in his world,” she said, her tone sharpening. “You’re an omega, Melissa. You were born in the dirt and raised among the weak. My son—Alpha Cyrus Redmoon—was destined for greatness, not for a life in a rundown bungalow with… what was it? Your dead mother?”

The mention of my mother’s name made my stomach twist. I kept my voice steady, though the ache in my chest deepened. “You talk as if love chooses bloodlines.”

“Love?” Francine laughed lightly, the sound as bitter as venom. “Love doesn’t matter when it comes to a pack’s legacy. You think I’ll allow my son to be ruined because of your naive heart?”

Her words blurred for a moment as memories clawed their way into my mind, three years ago, when I found him.

He was lying in the woods, bleeding, disoriented, his wolf half-shifted and barely breathing. I thought he was just another rogue. I didn’t know then that he was Redmoon’s future Alpha. My mother and I took him in, nursed him back to health. He didn’t remember who he was, only fragments, something about a battle, a betrayal, and a woman’s voice calling his name before he fell unconscious.

And for a while, he was mine.

He chopped wood behind the bungalow. He fixed the roof when it leaked. He’d hold me under the moonlight and whisper promises of forever, his wolf humming with warmth against mine. I never cared that he didn’t remember his past. Because for the first time, someone saw me, not as an omega, not as a servant, but as Melissa.

Then one morning, he woke up and remembered everything.

The Redmoon crest burned on his arm, the mark of his bloodline, and everything changed after that.

He became distant. Cold. The Alpha in him resurfaced, and the man who once laughed with me over burnt stew was gone. When his mother came for him, I knew he’d choose them. And he did.

Now, here I was, sitting before the woman who had taken everything from me, being offered money to erase what was left.

Francine must have seen the flicker of defiance in my eyes because she sighed and reached for her phone. “You’re a stubborn one,” she said. “Perhaps this will help you make up your mind.”

She pressed a button, and the large monitor behind her desk came alive. My heart stopped when I saw what was on the screen.

A video. Two wolves, large and crimson-eyed, holding something between their jaws, a bronze urn. My breath hitched.

“Mother…” I whispered.

Francine tilted her head. “You recognize it, don’t you? The urn containing your dear mother’s ashes.”

My chest tightened. I could barely breathe. “What… what are you doing?”

“They’re at the cliffs now,” she said casually, as if she were talking about a walk in the park. “If I don’t make a call in the next ten minutes, they’ll scatter her ashes into the ocean. I hear the tide is rather strong this morning.”

“Please don’t.” My voice cracked, the omega in me kneeling beneath the weight of her dominance. “Please, Elder Francine, don’t do this. My mother… she doesn’t deserve this.”

“Neither does my son deserve your scandal,” Francine replied, her voice as calm as a blade before it strikes. “You filed a case against Alicia—the woman my son was arranged to marry. You accused her of murder. That case needs to disappear. Today.”

I clenched my fists, nails biting into my palms.

And now even that was being taken away.

“Drop the case,” Francine said softly. “And promise me you’ll leave Redmoon territory. You’ll never see my son again. Do that, and your mother’s ashes will remain safe. Refuse…”

Her eyes glinted with something cruel. “And you’ll have nothing left to mourn.”

Tears blurred my vision. I wanted to scream, to let my wolf out and tear through this woman’s arrogance, but I couldn’t. I was still an omega. My wolf whimpered inside me, torn between pride and grief.

“Fine,” I whispered, the words tasting like ash. “I’ll drop the case. I’ll leave Cyrus. Just… don’t touch her ashes.”

Francine leaned back in her chair, satisfaction flickering in her gaze. “Wise choice.” She tapped a quick command on her phone and nodded toward the screen. The wolves disappeared from the cliffside, taking the urn with them.

I stared down at the envelope on the table. “I don’t want your money,” I muttered.

“Consider it compensation,” she said smoothly. “You’ve been useful in your own way. After all, my son’s survival back then was thanks to you. Think of this as a reward for your… service.”

My stomach churned. Her words made me feel filthy, as though everything Cyrus and I shared was nothing but a transaction.

I stood. My knees were shaking, but I refused to let her see my weakness. “You’ll get what you want, Elder Francine. I’ll be gone tomorrow.”

Tomorrow, I’ll leave this place for good. No one will stop me. Not even him.

Melissa’s POV

When Cyrus finally remembered who he was, I thought it was a blessing. I thought the Moon Goddess was giving him back his life, the one he had lost in the woods that night I found him half-dead and bleeding. I didn’t realize it was the start of the end for me.

The day his memories returned, the air itself felt different. I remember waking up to the sound of his heavy breathing beside me, his chest rising and falling fast, his wolf restless beneath his skin. I reached for him, but he pulled away. His eyes, usually soft and silver when he looked at me, were sharp, glowing with that unmistakable Alpha fire.

“Melissa,” he said, voice deep and unfamiliar. “I remember now.”

My heart had leapt then. “That’s good, Cyrus. That’s—”

“I’m not Cyrus Wallace,” he interrupted, almost as if saying his name insulted him. “I’m Cyrus Redmoon. The heir of the Redmoon Pack.”

The words hit me like cold rain. I blinked, confused. “Redmoon…? You mean the Redmoon Pack, the one with the estate beyond the riverlands?”

He nodded, his expression unreadable. “My father was Alpha Roderick Redmoon. My mother, Elder Francine. I… I was attacked three years ago by wolves from the rival pack. A woman saved me before I lost consciousness.”

A woman. My wolf whimpered at the edge of my mind, sensing what my heart refused to.

He turned to me then, his gaze softening slightly. “You saved me too, Melissa. I owe you my life. But I can’t stay here anymore. I have a duty. My pack needs me.”

I swallowed hard. “And me?”

He hesitated. “You and your mother will come with me. You’ll be safe there.”

I should have known that safe didn’t mean belonging.

The Redmoon Pack mansion was enormous, almost suffocatingly so. Wolves roamed the halls in fine clothes, servants bowed when Cyrus passed, and every corner smelled of dominance, power, and wealth. My mother and I, two omegas who had lived in a small bungalow surrounded by pine trees, were out of place from the moment we arrived.

I remember how the pack members looked at me. Like I was filth clinging to their Alpha’s boots. The whispers never stopped.

“An omega? He brought her here?”

“She must have tricked him when he was injured.”

“I heard her mother was a mere omega too.”

I tried to ignore them. I told myself that once they saw how much Cyrus and I loved each other, they’d understand. But Cyrus… he was changing too.

Every day, more of the Alpha returned, and less of the man who used to hold me close at night.

And then she came. Alicia.

The moment I saw her, I understood everything. She was beautiful in a way that made my stomach twist, long hair, bright eyes that shimmered like morning light, and a confidence that only highborn wolves carried. The first time she saw Cyrus, she ran into his arms, tears streaming down her face.

“You remember me,” she said, clutching him tightly.

Cyrus smiled, a real, warm smile I hadn’t seen in weeks. “Of course. You’re the woman who saved me.”

And just like that, I ceased to exist in the room.

Since then, Cyrus gave her everything. Gifts. Time. Attention. When she walked in, he forgot I was even there. And though I tried to keep quiet, my wolf howled in my chest, begging me to fight. But how could I fight the woman who saved his life?

When Alicia claimed she wasn’t feeling well, Cyrus grew frantic. “She risked her life for me, Melissa,” he told me, voice hard and commanding. “You’ll look after her personally. She’s under my protection, and now under yours. Do I make myself clear?”

I nodded. “Yes, Alpha.”

He handed me a list, an actual list written in his own hand. No spicy food. No late-night tea. She’s sensitive to certain herbs. Keep her warm at all times.

I bit back my pride and did everything he said.

For days, I attended to her needs, fetching her soup, folding her blankets, listening to her fake coughs and dramatic sighs.

Alicia had demanded soup. “Hot,” she said, her tone sharp as a whip. “Not lukewarm like last time. The Alpha said I need warmth.”

I cooked it myself, careful with every ingredient, afraid of giving her a single reason to complain. When I brought it up to her room, she was sitting by the fire, wrapped in furs like a queen.

“I brought your soup, Miss Alicia,” I said quietly.

She turned, eyes gleaming with malice. “About time.”

I placed the bowl on her bedside table, but as I turned to leave, she suddenly gasped—too loud, too dramatic—and knocked the bowl over, spilling it across her lap.

She screamed as if I’d poured boiling oil on her.

“Alpha Cyrus!” she cried out. “She burned me! Melissa burned me!”

My heart stopped. “No! I didn’t! Alicia, that’s not what happened!” I reached out to help, but she shoved me away, clutching her leg in mock pain.

The door burst open. Cyrus stood there, his aura flaring with rage, his wolf close to the surface. “What happened here?”

Alicia pointed at me, tears streaking her perfect face. “She did it! She poured it on me on purpose!”

“That’s not true!” I said desperately. “She—she spilled it herself—”

“Silence!” His roar shook the walls. My wolf whimpered. I fell to my knees, trembling.

Cyrus’s eyes glowed bright silver, his dominance heavy like chains around my throat. “I told you to take care of her, Melissa. And this is what you do?”

“Cyrus, please,” I whispered, my voice breaking. “You have to believe me. I would never—”

“Enough.” He turned to the guards. “Lock her in the north chamber. I’ll deal with her in the morning.”

I couldn’t breathe. “Alpha—”

But his back was already turned to me.

They dragged me away, my wrists bruising beneath their grip. The north chamber was cold, the scent of mildew thick in the air. I heard the lock click, and then silence.

I sat in the dark for hours, sobbing, my wolf pressing against my skin, desperate to escape.

---

The same night that I was locked in the north chamber, my mother died. They said she accidentally slipped down the stairs.

“No…” My voice broke. “No, no, no…”

I cradled her body, sobbing into her cold skin. My wolf howled, the sound raw and hollow.

That night, something inside me died with her. The girl who once believed in love, in the Alpha who promised forever, was gone.

From that night on, I swore to the Moon Goddess—I would never bow to the Redmoon Pack again.

Melissa’s POV

The sky wept the day my mother was buried.

The rain fell steady and cold, soaking through my thin black dress, plastering my hair to my face. The forest that once sang with our laughter was silent now, only the sound of shovels and thunder filling the air.

Her grave was small, humble, just a mound of earth beneath the old cedar tree where she used to sit and brew herbs. I knelt before it, my hands trembling as I placed her favorite wildflowers over the fresh soil. My wolf whimpered softly inside me, grieving with me.

“Sleep well, Mama,” I whispered. “I’ll be fine.”

But that was a lie. Because I wasn’t fine. Because the man I had loved more than anything in this world didn’t even come to her funeral.

Cyrus didn’t come. Not the Alpha I risked everything for. Not the man I once called my future, who promised me the moon and stars beneath our little bungalow roof.

The pack members said he was “busy.” But deep down, I knew the truth. He wasn’t busy. He just didn’t care.

When the rain finally stopped and everyone else had gone, I stayed behind until the sun began to set.

I didn’t know then how deep betrayal could cut—until that night.

I went back to the Redmoon Packhouse because a part of me still hoped he’d explain. That there was a reason. That maybe, just maybe, he’d still hold me and say he was sorry.

Our room, the one Cyrus and I used to share, was at the end of the east wing. I climbed the stairs quietly, each step heavier than the last. The closer I got, the stronger his scent became—fresh pine and smoke, the scent that used to calm me, that used to mean home.

But that night, it smelled like betrayal.

The door was slightly ajar. I pushed it open slowly, careful not to make a sound. The moonlight streamed in through the open window, casting soft silver light across the bed.

And there they were. Cyrus and Alicia.

Under the same sheets I once slept in. In the same bed where we used to whisper dreams.

Her body arched beneath him, her moans filling the room like the sound of everything I had lost. Cyrus’s voice—deep, raw—murmured words I couldn’t bear to hear.

For a moment, I couldn’t move. My heart stopped. My legs went weak. I pressed a hand to my mouth to stop myself from screaming. My wolf howled inside me, broken and enraged, begging to tear the room apart, to shred them both.

I turned to leave, but then Alicia spoke.

“Cyrus,” she whispered, her voice trembling between breaths. “What if… what if Melissa finds out I was the one who—”

Cyrus groaned softly, brushing her hair from her face. “Shh. Don’t say it.”

“But… what if she finds out that I accidentally killed her mother?”

The room spun. My breath caught in my throat.

Cyrus’s answer came low and firm. “Don’t worry. She won’t know. I’ll make sure of that.”

My heart stopped beating. My knees buckled, and I gripped the doorframe for support.

Accidentally killed her mother.

The words echoed in my skull, sharper than any blade.

I bit my lip until I tasted blood, fighting back the sob that clawed its way up my throat. Every nerve in my body burned. I wanted to storm in, to scream, to make him see what he had done—but I couldn’t.

Because in that moment, I realized the truth.

The man I loved had not only abandoned me. He had protected my mother’s killer.

And worse—he had helped hide it.

The next few weeks passed in a blur. Elder Francine’s birthday banquet came like a cruel reminder that I was still trapped in their world. I should have left after my mother’s death, but I couldn’t—not yet. Not when I still needed to know how deep their lies ran.

The banquet hall glittered with gold and laughter. Wolves dressed in silk and velvet filled the room, raising their glasses in toast to the woman who had taken everything from me. I stood among them, my plain black dress marking me as the outcast I’d always been.

“Melissa!” one of the pack females called out, waving her hand as if summoning a servant. “Be a dear and fetch more wine for our table, will you?”

I froze. Her tone was sweet, but her eyes glinted with malice.

Before I could respond, another one chimed in, smirking. “Oh, and bring some of those tarts too. Quickly now, omega.”

Laughter followed. I felt the burn of humiliation rise in my chest. My wolf growled faintly, but I forced her down. I wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of seeing me break.

And then I saw him.

Cyrus stood across the room, dressed in a dark suit, his arm around Alicia’s waist. She wore silver silk that clung to her like a second skin, a smug smile on her lips.

Our eyes met for a brief second. His gaze faltered, just for a heartbeat, but he didn’t move. He didn’t speak. He just looked away.

That was when I knew he wasn’t my Cyrus anymore. That the man I had saved, loved, and bled for was gone.

I walked toward the buffet table, my hands steady even though my heart was in pieces. Every laugh, every insult from the pack members became fuel for the fire burning inside me.

I lifted my gaze once more, and my eyes met Cyrus’s from across the room.

He didn’t know it yet, but the moment he let me walk away that night… was the moment he created his own downfall.